*This post is not for vegetarians, fussy eaters or those of a faint stomach.
When you travel you have the opportunity to try things you’d never be able to pick up in your weekly shop at home. For me, food is one of the best things about getting out there and seeing the world.
Going to large noisy street markets, haggling in a language you can’t speak for some vegetable you can’t pronounce but looks so strange you have to try it, taking part in cooking classes to learn how to recreate these incredible dishes back at home, and perusing the shelves in foreign supermarkets is the only time I understand that food shopping can be a pleasure and not just a chore.
I’m firmly in the camp that you should try anything once. Who knows what incredible things you will get to savour if you just give it a go? Of course there is the risk that what you put in your mouth may be so disgusting you spit it right back out again, but that is part of the fun.
On my travels I’ve tried the Peruvian dish of guinea pig, horse steak, frogs legs and snails, crispy cockroaches on sticks, elephants ear (actually the name of a large mushroom rather than Dumbo’s ear), kangaroo, alpaca and many more that I can’t remember how to spell their name here. Some of these foods that I would consider bizarre are totally normal for others, it all comes down to what you grew up with and the norms of the culture around you. Imagine explaining black pudding, haggis, marmite, spam, tripe and pickled eggs to foreigners! We don’t bat an eyelid at these more unusual products, but if you think about it they are slightly random!
When travelling I like to keep an open mind, not just with the people and new cultures that you will encounter but the dishes of the day too. Getting to eat like a local is a priceless experience. Challenge your tastebuds, opt for the dish you can’t pronounce, eat with your fingers or master chopsticks if that is what others around you are doing.
Is there anything you wouldn’t eat?!
