There are foods that everyone likes and are extremely popular, like pasta or pizza, but there are many others that are appreciated only by the cultures in which they originated, such as "rotten" foods. We're talking about those highly fermented, usually smelly foods, born out of necessity or discovered by chance, which in recent years have been enjoying a revival thanks to food tourism. Think of Icelandic shark or the more famous Korean kimchi, the latter now common even in our latitudes. Let's take a look at the most famous and popular "rotten" foods found around the world.
From Preservation Method to Gourmet Cuisine
Most "rotten" products are obtained from fermentation, the process in which the enzymes of certain microorganisms break down the sugars present in a food into other substances in the absence of oxygen. It is one of the oldest preservation methods known to us and one of the most economical techniques for preventing food from spoiling. Fermentation has allowed us to make great strides towards the complex civilization we know today: preserving food for long periods when there is plenty and preserving it for lean times has facilitated the development of sedentary societies. Obviously, all of this has had a downside: almost no one likes fermented food at first sight, so we have become accustomed to certain flavors and smells out of necessity.
With the discovery of pasteurization and new technologies, such as refrigerators, fermentation techniques were lost over time, only to be rediscovered in recent years thanks to the revival of tradition and nostalgia that are so popular. In this context, we find miso, kefir, and kombucha, all highly nutritious products that our ancestors tried to avoid at all costs, only to capitulate out of necessity. Let's see what the most famous rotting foods in the world are.
1. The Hákarl, The Icelandic Shark
If you've been to Iceland, you've surely tasted it, or at least been tempted to: it's the nation's signature dish, but today it's eaten almost exclusively by the elderly and tourists. It's fermented shark meat, invented by the Vikings to exploit the few resources available. In Iceland, it's still difficult to grow plants and raise animals; imagine how difficult it would have been five hundred years ago.
To make this "delicacy," they use the Greenland shark, a huge beast that can reach 7 meters in length and weigh a ton. The "fun" thing is that this shark can only be eaten after fermentation. Eaten fresh, it is highly toxic because sharks (all of them) lack a urinary system, so all the urea ends up in the blood. Only a long fermentation process eliminates all the toxins: the head is cut off, the innards are removed, the shark is buried in a hole, and it is pressed with stones, gravel, and pebbles. This pressure causes the toxic fluids to drain. The shark is left to literally rot for up to six months, then the carcass is dug up, cut into strips, and left to dry in a cool, ventilated place. This place must be far from inhabited areas because the meat gives off a nauseating odor (a odor that persists even after it is ready).
The drying process lasts a few months, and the meat is covered with a dark crust on the outside but softens on the inside. It is then cut into small pieces, vacuum-packed, and sold as a snack. There are two types of shark meat: a white one, obtained from the belly, which is more tender; the other, reddish, more rubbery. In fact, Icelanders hardly eat it anymore, but it is offered to adventurous tourists. One memorable episode of No Reservation, Anthony Bourdain‘s program, in which the chef discusses gastronomic traditions around the world, is a memorable one. The chef, who has eaten some truly strange things in his life, describes hákarl as "the worst, most disgusting, and most revolting-tasting thing I've ever tasted." Even The Simpsons poke fun at the dish: in a relatively recent episode, we discover that Carl Carlsson, Homer's longtime friend, is actually Icelandic and does something nasty to his friends. Homer threatens Carl with the plate, saying, "Give us some answers or you'll end up with a piece of rotten shark fermenting in its own urine!" and Carl exclaims, "No, no! Anything but the inedible, disgusting food from my homeland!" sparking laughter from the audience.
2. The Pi Dàn, Chinese Century Egg
The century egg is a gastronomic specialty that originated in Ming Dynasty China. It is the result of fermentation (lasting just over three months) in a solution of water, salt, charcoal, and calcium oxide, which gives it a transparent black color and a gelatinous consistency. It's definitely not a food to be eaten with the eyes, but the Chinese consider it a true delicacy. The egg can be chicken or quail, but is generally duck. It is then wrapped in plastic film for a few weeks, resulting in a dark green yolk and black egg white. The exterior resembles Gorgonzola, while the egg white is gelatinous and salty, with a very repulsive odor.
There's a grain of truth to the name, however: the original recipe called for a 100-day fermentation period in a mixture of quicklime, ash, salt, and sometimes an infusion of boiling tea. Centenary eggs are readily available commercially, even in the U.S..
3. Korean Kimchi
We're learning more and more about it: we see it on television, both in food shows and drama series, we read about it on the menus of fusion cuisines and Korean restaurants. Kimchi is now a trend: a dish based on Napa cabbage, or Chinese cabbage, and Korean radishes, fermented with various spices and seasonings. To make it, you start by marinating the cabbage, rinsing it, and adding it to the other ingredients. The whole thing is then sealed in an airtight jar for about five days, the time it takes for bubbles to form, indicating fermentation has taken place. It's essentially a common lactic fermentation, the same process used to pickle gherkins and other pickled vegetables.
The first kimchi was developed in the north of the country, a truly hostile region to live in. Koreans of the past were highly skilled preservers and invented various fermentation and salting techniques. The current kimchi recipe is about 200 years old and was developed after a centuries-long evolutionary process, which began about a thousand years ago with the importation of Napa cabbage from China.
4. The Swedish Surströmming
These are fermented herrings, typical of Swedish cuisine. They are famous for their extremely pungent and penetrating odor, which is due to the fermentation process the fish undergoes. The herring is caught in the Baltic Sea during the spring, then salted and left to ferment in barrels for about a month. The fish is then packaged in cans, where it continues to ferment for several more months. Traditionally, the dish is eaten with boiled potatoes, raw onions, bread, and sour cream. Despite the odor, the flavor of the fish is less intense and can be appreciated by those who can overcome the initial olfactory sensation. Overcoming this obstacle is no small feat, as the aroma of this product is often described as a mix of very mature cheese, rancid butter, and rotten eggs. This odor is so intense that it is customary to open the cans outdoors to avoid permeating the interior. In Sweden, however, it is considered a delicacy, especially in the northern part of the country which hosts annual festivals, fairs and events dedicated to tasting surströmming.
The invention of this dish dates back to 1500, caused by the salt taxes that forced the Swedes to change their method of preserving fish.
5. Korean Hongeohoe
Let's return to Korea, this time with a fish dish. Hongeohoe is a type of skate and is one of the "hardest to swallow" dishes. As the Post writes, "the smell is a mix of public toilets and damp clothes left unhung out for days, accompanying rubbery meat and crispy cartilage. Skate, like shark, does not have a urinary system and releases urine through its skin: for this reason, during the approximately month-long fermentation process, uric acid preserves the meat but gives it a typical ammonia-like odor." Unlike Icelandic shark, however, hongeohoe is served raw, sliced, like sashimi. It is eaten with boiled pork belly and kimchi.
The history of this dish dates back to the 1300s, when it was born following a siege by Japanese pirates. The coastal inhabitants fled inland, but upon moving, they discovered that all the fish had rotted. Everything except the skates. While it's not particularly popular due to the above, authorities estimate that 11,000 tons of hongeohoe are consumed each year in South Korea—no small amount.
6. Chinese Hairy Tofu
We attribute this dish to China because of a legend: it seems that a disgraced Qing Dynasty scholar supported himself by selling tofu in Beijing. One day, things didn't go well, so he put the unsold tofu in a clay pot, opened it a few days later, and discovered the transformation: the tofu turned greenish and smelly. He tasted it anyway, liked it, and decided to sell it: the experiment was so successful that the Qing Dynasty recalled him to the palace and readmitted him to the Forbidden City. Historically, the origins of this dish are attributed to the city of Anhui, in eastern China, but in reality, it is eaten throughout the Far East.
But what is it exactly? Also known as maotofu, it is characterized by a white fuzz covering its surface. This unusual appearance comes from a fermentation process that gives tofu a strong flavor and a pungent ammonia-like odor. Production is similar to traditional tofu, but in this case the soybean curd is inoculated with the fungus Rhizopus oligosporus, the same one used to make tempeh. This fungus grows on the surface of the tofu, forming the white fuzz. Fermentation lasts 3 to 6 days at room temperature. Then comes the aging process, which lasts from several weeks to a few months.
7. The Eskimo Kiviak
Kiviak is a traditional dish eaten by the Inuit of Greenland during the winter and on special occasions such as weddings and holidays. It is a preparation that involves the fermentation of seabirds, usually small auks called "auk." The preparation may be disturbing to more sensitive people even just reading about it: it uses a seal skin, which is previously emptied of its internal parts and cleaned. Hundreds of small seabirds are placed inside this skin, whole, without being plucked or gutted. The skin is sealed with seal blubber and buried: an anaerobic fermentation takes place that lasts from 3 to 18 months. During this time, bacteria naturally present in the environment cause the birds to ferment. Once the fermentation process is complete, the seal skin is opened and the birds are eaten raw but plucked, debeaked and legs removed, and rinsed. They are eaten whole, including bones and feathers, as fermentation makes everything sufficiently soft and edible.
8. Japanese Nattō
"It's a classic component of Japanese cuisine. It's basically fermented soybeans into a mucilaginous paste. When you pick it, it leaves thin, filament-like strands that extend into your mouth. The texture is horrible, and the taste is horrible," is how Anthony Bourdain describes it in No Reservation. It's universally known as one of the foulest dishes in the world: the smell is reminiscent of dirty socks and damp garbage. In Japan, it's eaten with soy sauce, onion, and a local mustard similar to wasabi. It's all accompanied by gohan rice. As "unusual" as it may sound, it's a very healthy dish, and the Japanese eat it primarily for that, but it must be said that it's truly highly prized by the local population.
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