Italian cuisine being one of the most famous around the world, you wouldn't expect to find any weird foods there, but there are a few recipes that would leave the average palates a little hesitant. Most of these dishes are considered a delicacy and here is a short guide to some of them.
Weird Food n.1 : Casu Marzu or the Maggot Cheese
Casu Marzu in Sardinian dialect literally means "rotten cheese" and gets its appetizing name from the fact that it's a fermented sheep cheese filled with the larvae of a kind of fly. The cheese is considered toxic if the larvae are dead and has to be eaten when the maggots are still alive. Remember to hold your hand over the cheese while eating, since the disturbed larvae can jump as far as 6 inches.
Weird Food n.2: Bottarga or the Poor Man's Caviar
Bottarga is typical of Sicilian and Sardinian cuisine and it is nothing else but the roe pouch of tuna, grey mullet or swordfish, dried in sea salt and coated in beeswax until it becomes hard. It is then served grated over spaghetti adding a pleasant fishy and salty taste to it.
Weird Food n.3 : Lardo di Colonnata or Cured Pork Fat
Colonnata is a town near Carrara located in an area famous for its white marble quarries. The Lardo is obtained by curing pure pig fat into large basins of white marble with salt, pepper and rosemary. The result is served thinly sliced over warm bread and, though not the best thing for your arteries, it has a surprisingly delicate taste.
Weird Food n.4 : Coda alla Vaccinara or Stewed Oxtail
This dish that would now be considered a strange food, dates from back when people used to use every part of the beast after killing it. The butchers from Rome invented this recipe with what were considered to be the scraps of butchering: the cheeks and the tail of the cow. It is a stew with vegetables, lard and tomatoes and other ingredients in as many variations as many are the kitchens in Rome. The meat is softened by the stewing and brings a wonderful flavor to the stew.
Weird Food n.5 : Lampredotto or Tripe Sandwich
Many of the regional foods of Italy include recipes with entrails from various animals prepared in very different ways. In Florence eating this kind of cow tripe boiled with tomatoes and Parmesan cheese and served in a crunchy bun is a tradition that goes back to the 15th century when the poor people of Florence invented a way to make more tasty what was considered a cheap protein. The sandwiches are sold everywhere around town and are still a favorite among locals.
Weird Food n.6: Cieche Fritte or Fried Baby Eels
At the end of winter the baby eels that were born in the Sargasso sea migrate back to the coasts of Europe and North Africa and colonize the rivers of Italy. Cieche literally means "blind" since the little eels are blind, no longer than 1 cm and transparent in color. In Livorno they are usually served fried, with a delicate seafood taste.
Gabriella Vagnoli - I was born and raised in beautiful Tuscany, Italy, and I moved to the Midwest two years ago. I have a Masters in English Language and ...
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