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Disgusting Delicacies
You'll need a strong stomach to sample these foods. No, I mean a REALLY strong stomach. While many consider these foods delicacies, others may view them as, well, downright disgusting.
From maggot cheese to serpent blood, take a short tour of some of the world's oddest edibles.
Digestive-Tract Java
Kopi Luwak Coffee
Cost: $600 a pound
These Sumatran coffee beans earn their delicacy status after a journey through the digestive tract of a civet, a small cat-like animal. Once picked from civet droppings on the jungle floor, the beans are scrubbed clean. The result: Beans which produce an earthy, chocolate flavored coffee.
Goat Poop Oil
Argan Oil
Cost: $120 a liter
In Morocco, goats climb and perch in the branches of the Argan tree in search of its fruit, which contains a small number of almond-shaped nuts. After the nuts are excreted by the goats, local farmers use them to produce a rich, golden-colored oil that has a nutty, buttery taste and is said to have medicinal properties.
Bird-Saliva Aphrodisiac
Swiftlet Nests
Cost: $1K-10K per kilogram
Male swiftlet birds use a glutinous substance in their saliva to build nests that are a delicacy in China. The nests themselves are considered tasteless, but they are often added to soups and sought after for perceived aphrodisiac and medicinal qualities.
Maggot Cheese
Casu Frazigu
Cost: $100 a pound
During the aging process of "Rotten Cheese," a fly called Piophila casei deposits its eggs on the cheese. When the maggots are born, they move throughout the cheese, excreting enzymes that give it an overwhelmingly pungent smell, a rotten taste, and a soft, creamy texture. This Italian cheese is served at weddings and other family gatherings.
Serpent Blood
Snake Wine
Cost: $21 per jug
The blood from the belly of a snake is drained into a vat of rice wine. The mixture is often served in rounds of shots, with one lucky drinker downing the snake's still-beating heart, and is followed by a meal of snake meat. Vietnamese locals consider the fiery, unpleasant-tasting drink a potent aphrodisiac that heals.
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