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Horrible Smelling Foods
There are foods that will make you sick by their smell. Let’s try to open our mind to some new experiences as we remind ourselves that a particular smell we find offensive may not be so for others. Here are some of the foulest smelling international foods.
Stinky Tofu
By the name itself, there’s no question about its smell, which is said to resemble that of rotting garbage or manure. A popular midnight snack in Oriental Asia, particularly in Taiwan, China and Indonesia, it is made from tofu marinated in a brine mixture of fermented milk, dried shrimp, vegetables, mustard greens and herbs for as long as several months; and can be eaten cold, steamed, fried or stewed.
Durian
Popularly known as the “King of Fruits” in Southeast Asia, durian is distinguished not only for its size and thorn-covered husk, but definitely also for its repulsive stench, which is best described as a mixture of feces and vomit. In spite of its odor, it tastes heavenly. As the British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace puts it, it flesh is like “a rich custard highly flavored with almonds,” while English novelist Anthony Burgess compared his experience of eating durian to “eating sweet raspberry blancmange in the lavatory.” Durian is widely used to flavor an assortment of sweet and savory Southeast Asian cuisines as candies, biscuits and ice creams. However, due to its smell, it is banned from establishments as airports and hotels.
Limburger Cheese
Limburger cheese is a high calorie and cholesterol-rich German/Belgium dairy product well-known for its pungent aroma. It is made from pasteurized goat’s milk fermented in the bacterium Brevibacterium linens, the very same bacterium found on human skin and partly responsible for body odor. So, if by chance you walked past someone who hasn’t taken a bath in a month and thought if only such a scent could be turned into something edible, then, take heart, treat yourself with some Limburger cheese!
Nattō
Nattō is a popular traditional Japanese food made from fermented soybeans, most usually eaten during breakfast to accompany rice. Commonly used as an ingredient of miso soup, salad and even ice cream, it has a somewhat nutty and salty taste that somehow contradicts its rather strong ammoniac smell. Supported by medical studies, nattō contains a chemical enzyme, aptly called nattokinase, which can reduce the likelihood of blood clotting, and thus, can help to prevent heart attack and strokes. It is also rich in vitamin K, which can assist in bone formation, thereby preventing osteoporosis.
Surströmming
Also called as “soured herring”, surströmming is a Swedish delicacy consisting of fermented Baltic herring. Freshly caught herring are cleaned, placed in barrels to be fermented for about 2 months, and then canned for another 6 to 12 months of fermentation. Gases accumulate considerably inside the cans, building up an enormous amount of pressure that causes the once cylindrically-shaped cans to swell into rounded ones. Several major airlines have banned the fish citing the possibility of the pressurized cans exploding in-flight. The dish is often eaten outdoors due to its smell, which is a blend of amazing aromas including rancid-butter butyric acid, pungent propionic acid, rotten-egg hydrogen sulfide and sour acetic acid. It is normally eaten with bread topped with butter, chopped onions and boiled potatoes and served a glass of cold milk or beer. Though the Swedes do confess that it may not be the world’s best smelling food, it certainly makes up for its taste.
Century Egg
Also known as hundred-year egg and thousand-year egg, century egg is a Chinese delicacy made from duck, quail or chicken eggs preserved in a mixture of clay, ash, lime, salt and rice straw. After the process is completed for several months, the yolk becomes a dark soft, greenish substance that exudes an odor similar to ammonia and sulfur, while the white becomes a dark brownish transparent jelly with little flavor. It can be eaten without extra preparation as a dim sum or side dish; and is popularly used to garnish rice congee or porridge.
Kimchee
A staple of the Korean diet, kimchee is made of vegetables, principally cabbages and radishes, fermented in brine and a mixture of seasonings as garlic, scallions, onions, chili pepper and ginger. Kimchee smells much like sweaty feet. And the bad news is: eating it also makes one smell pretty much the same as the pungent spices such as chili and garlic makes the odor ooze out of your pores even long after you have consumed it. Having a variety of vegetables as its main ingredients, it is reputable for being a healthy food as it contains very high concentration of dietary fiber that can aid digestion, and is rich in various vitamins and minerals that may possibly reduce the risk of some types of cancer.
Hákarl
Hákarl, a traditional Icelandic delicacy, is made from Greenland or basking shark, which is very poisonous in its unprocessed state due to its high uric acid content. The shark is fermented for about 6 to 12 weeks under the ground covered with gravel and topped with stones until all fluids are squeezed out of the body; and then hung to dry for several months. It has a particularly formidable ammoniac smell, much akin to many cleaning products; and a taste that will get your gag reflexes going in no time. Hákarl is generally served in small cubes on toothpicks with a shot of the local brandy brennivin that can somehow ease the eating process. Renowned chef Anthony Bourdain from the Travel Channel hit show “No Reservations” described the dish as “the single worst, most disgusting and terrible tasting thing.”
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35 Comments
good find,job well done
Great article! (This is my 3rd tries to post the comment)
Good article as usual, nobert.
Sorry, but this article really stunk, but in a good way LOL Yes, we have to be open minded and try these foods as we’ll never know what we’re missing if we get turned away by the smell. Excellent write and details. Michael
I haven’t tried most of them. But I had tasted Durian. Despite of its foul smell, it is really good! Nice article, eddiego65!
Well presented. the description almost made the pics smell. thank you!
Fantastic Article
Aroma is an integral part of the dining experience – it must go against human nature to consume something that smells off and rancid.
It must have been a brave person (or one with no sense of smell) who discovered these items tasted nice.
Interesting stuff – well researched and written
Yuk! I watched how stinky tofu is made and there is no way you would get me to put that stuff or any of the things you have listed above in my mouth…reading about it all is fun though, fun stuff!
eddiego65, I am so sorry, I called you by the wrong name in my earlier post.
I come from Mindanao, but I could not eat durian…but love durian flavored candies though.
Very interesting. I just know from this article that kind of egg called ‘century egg’ in English. Thanks.
Gotta admit, I enjoy trying some new foods, but if it stinks, I really have a hard time trying it. I cannot even stand the smell of Blue Cheese.
I have to admit after seeing this I really must try the Durian. Thanks!
Haha…apparently we all have different opinions of what smells. I don’t mind the smell of kimchi, really. And if you think limburger smells bad, try real brie cheese (not the pasteurized American version) for true stank. Fun read!
as usual excellent article…
Thanks for all your encouraging comments!
It’s ok, Darlene. Everybody makes mistakes. In fact, I’m really flattered you called me Nobert, because he’s such a great writer.
God bless you all!
Luckily I was eating anything while reading this
. Great Article.
Great article! One of my co-workers brought Durian in his lunch one day. It made the whole building smell like dirty feet — totally gross.
Yuck! Excellent article.
I love your article but i love durian too..heehhe
Ooohh.. I love durian, there are so many in Davao. haha
for me, durian is never a stinky fruit. I find it sweet as its taste so good. I like Durian. It is the top tropical fruit in the Philippines.
Because I love cheese so much, I decided to try Limburger cheese several years ago. When I brought the package home and opened it up, the most disgustingly rotton aroma I’ve ever smelled came out of it. I knew it was supposed to smell terrible, but this chunk of cheese just couldn’t possibly be any good. So I threw it out. At work the next day, I was told that this is how the cheese smells…that it’s not spoiled. So I bought another cheese, opened it up, forced myself to get past the smell…and ended up loving the mild buttery nut flavor! Creamy and addicting!
Your article was so clear and descriptive that I may be willing to try Durian BUT NOTHING ELSE! Ha ha. Great job!!
Great find and great read, thanks!
great article…but gross smelling,lol…i can almost smell it, i am a picky eater,i love italian food and i havent been around anything to different! for money i might try somethinfg really bad smelling!…lol
I love eating; I don’t care their smells. I want to try them all. Well Durian, I have been eating it since childhood. It’s one of the sweetest fruits in all the world.
That’s great! The first food is very popular in my country. Many people regard tasting this kind of food as a way of enjoying life. A tiny bamboo stick pricks into stinky tofu with full of dilicious taste in mouth.Eh———
People never know what they are missing when they won’t try something. Unfortunately for me, I am somewhat a picky eater and yet I was raised to eat many things that other people want eat. When you are raised in the backwoods of The Ozarks, you get some odd but good foods placed before you at meal time.
Great piece my friend!
Damon
Stinky one are the palatable one. I’m not Korean but I love kimchee and that yuummmy dorian.
I think I will be sure to leave trying out these foods. lol
Great article. I can vouch for Natto. That stuff is NASTY!
A co-worker of mine is from Manila and he brought this fruit that smelled like ammonia and it shut down the factory because he did not tell the management it was his snack not a gas leak. Do you think it was Durian because I can’t remember the name of it?
Fun read!
Blessings to you,
Chris Stonecipher
Well-written and well-researched article.
I first came across Durian in Singapore and disliked the smell. However, when I ate it my whole attitude changed and now I love both the taste and the smell!
Limburger cheese has a wonderful, fairly mild taste compared with its smell. My mother told me that her father (my grandfather) used to eat limburger and sweet onion sandwiches on rye. Even though it sounds like the punchline for a joke about going to a dentist you hate, I’ve tried them and they’re actually quite good!
Great information! The pictures are very detailed and full of information also.