I've had durian (I don't like it--tastes like sweet onions) and mangosteen (delicious!). I've also had frog legs, but they didn't make an impression.

Don't think I would try any of those on the second half of the list, but balut is by far the least appealing.

several years ago, i was in a philippino food store in virginia beach and picked up a dozen eggs, some coconut milk and pan de sol (awesome bread). a few days later i went to make an omelette from the eggs i bought, instead of nice yellow yolk, i got a partially formed chicken embryo...my first and last intro to balut

I've had durian and it's not as god awful as everyone keeps saying it is. Also balut is not the bad either. Although I didn't eat the whole thing I just had the juices when I went to the Philippines. There's a reason why they sell it at night with beers.

If anyone actually DOES want to try Balut and you're in the Bay Area, I was stunned to discover that the egg booth in the Alameda Farmers' Market has it. I will definitely pass, though. I don't think I could ever get past the weirdness of it.

Durian... yum! Best durians I can find are in SoCal.

I've never had the reindeer pate in a can, but when I lived in Montreal the gourmet food shops sold loaves of reindeer pate and caribou terrines, like French shops sell loaves of duck pate, etc. It was pretty tasty.

I just read the wikipedia entry on the maggot cheese. Apparently, the larvaes can launch themselves 14 inches and people have to cover their eyes. They also are resistant to stomach acids and have hook like mouths. The cheese has been banned, and you can only find it on the black market.

I can smell that durian from here!

I have had durian. I am not a fan. To me, it tastes as it smells.
I am not the biggest coffee fan, but I have tried the infamous coffee. It was delicious and strong. I just tried not to think of its journey to my mug.

Mangosteens are one of the earth's most perfect, amazing foods... always eat them chilled! And BTW, the jackfruit is the the King of Fruits, the Mangosteen is called the Queen of all fruits!

Add me to the "tried durian, wasn't mindblowingly good" list. I got one at the local Asian market, let it ripen outside, but brought it inside to open it. The smell was bad, but an hour or two with the windows open and it was gone.

I loved the texture, but wasn't as impressed with the flavor.

Durian, check - I'm not a fan

Frog legs, check - yup, they tasted like chicken

Reindeer paté, check - available in Montreal, and probably other places in Canada too. Not unlike other game-based patés.

Bird's nest soup, check - a rich relative in Hong Kong wanted to impress my family. It's entirely a textural thing, like a dense cheesecloth made of cartilage. I wouldn't spring for it myself, but it was interesting to try.

Mangosteen, check - in a word, fabulous. Available in most Asian markets in Canada, so come up and visit!

Kopi Luwak is good. Chocolately, and rich. I say definitely add it to the "to try" list.

Can't afford that coffee! Other than that, I ate some of these items (none from the bottom list).... I wouldn't be able to eat a durian. Anything that Andrew Zimmern spits out is automatically on my "no list". Frog legs taste like frog... and I don't mean that in a good way. I ate a plate of them, but won't re-order it. Personally, I'm much more of a snail and pate girl......

On a recent trip to Thailand, I loved mangosteens, but the durian smelled weird. I had a pastry supposedly made from durian fruit that was delicious, however.

Durian - bleh; frog legs - used to eat them off the sea-food buffet at the local bar as a child, taste like fried things;reindeer - smoked slices are great, never had pate; mangosteens are one of the best foods ever (I found some in the Asian market in here in Arkansas, surely they are available most places at least occasionally - not as fresh and tasty as in the tropics, but still darned good!).

I've had various beetles and bugs, but never cockroaches per se - might have trouble with that.

I would absolutely try the coffee - it's not like they haven't washed off the poop! (though you have to wonder who tried that first...)

I've never seen fish sperm offered, but fish eggs are so tasty, I might give it a shot...

The rest of it, no thanks. Especially not the jumping maggots. Ug.

I accidently purchased sandwich cookies filled with durian flavored cream (thinking they were vanilla!) and man, oh, man! utterly disgusting! how can a fruit smell like natural gas?

I tried it anyway, and yep. it didn't taste any better.

I won't go near the actual fruit now. no way, no how!

@lemonadefish: Where in Arkansas did you find them? I'm in the Northwest corner, and I've never seen Mangosteen around here. The last time I've had them was when we gorged on like 4 lbs. of them in Canada. :\

My god is that a revolting list!
I have been researching the green walnut liquors featured here recently and gathered some a little late, chipped my cleaver and put them into the wine. ( I was nervous about the recipe because walnut is so toxic to horses that standing on walnut shavings can be fatal.) I painted my nails to hide the stains. Discussing my uncharacteristic manicure with my mom today, she revealed that as a young bride she almost killed my dad by making a walnut poultice to treat a boil on his private area. He sat on the poultice for a day and became very ill and told his mother he had thought of and applied the poultice himself, sparing his bride any criticism or embarrassment. I am asking a botanist about the science of walnuts. So thanks Kitchn, my mom might have taken that story to her grave if I hadn't made the vin de noix.

Of the first 5 I've had durian, frog legs and mangosteen. Mangosteen is the only thing I'd want more of. As for the second 5, I haven't had any. I did have deep fried meal worms and grub worms in Thailand which I'm sure are prepared in a similar manner to the beetles. It was on a dare so I bought some in the market. They tasted a lot like french fries.

I am going to have nightmares about those jumping cheese maggots for sure.

Of all of those, I'd probably only try mangosteen and the durian.

Things I would never eat are all meat related, and it's not just because I'm a vegetarian. Even if I was still an omni I could never do horse, dog/cat, tiger, balut, or lutefisk. Plus fermented shark, head cheese, cow tongue, or any animal's testicles. That stuff is all better left for the game shows.

i was just reading this list from cracked (out loud to my coworkers) on saturday! there is some crossover.

the fetal egg doesn't seem so strange to me. maybe because i'm a vegetarian, but if you eat ducks, and you eat eggs, what's so strange about eating a half formed duck in an egg?

i'm wondering if the maggot cheese is just an urban legend. it has such an urban legend feel to it. those crazy sardinians! there isn't really anything else we eat that has animals jump up at us from them.

was the fish sperm gross? it totally doesn't sound gross. like the yin or yang to caviar's yin or yang (i'm not sure which is feminine.)

and finally, while i don't see why eating a cockroach is so offensive, beetles -aren't- roaches, so maybe you should add it to you want to try list instead. that said, the ant eggs on the cracked page with the 'consistency of cottage cheese' make my stomach turn on a few levels.

When I visit Indonesia, I actually love eating "salak" aka snakefruit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salak It's really, really good!!! It has snake-scale like skin and the inside is like large garlic cloves that are crunchy like apples.

Durian is always good, balut I don't eat because I'm vegetarian now, but I have tried it, frog's legs, and bird's nest before.

My sister goes gaga over mangosteen, but for some reason, I just think it's okay...maybe I didn't have a good one...

Kopi Luwak definitely has a different taste. Try not to picture the animal when you are drinking it though!!! lol

I dont' think I can ever eat cockroaches!

my family's from the philippines so i've had balut before. can't say i hate it. it honestly tastes like a hard-boiled egg. but the sight of a half-formed embryo most certainly is quite unappealing... but if you close your eyes and pretend it's not there, it's a tasty hard-boiled egg :)

Had durian, mangosteen, frogs legs and birds nest soup. And roasted beetles. Roasted beetles are actually a lot better than durian in my opinion. Mangosteen is awesomely delicious.

Oh, and they sell balut at the Oakland Friday farmer's market. I accidentally almost bought them once when I was trying to buy duck eggs from the same vendor, but luckily he clued me in. That would have been a sorry disappointment!

Tried the frog's legs, not so impressed with the ones I had. I'd like to try them again though.

Sign me up for kopi luwak coffee, roasted beetles, durian, and mangosteen.

we have a new asian market here that has big bags of mangosteen for $7! I was over my impulse buy limit for the week already, but you better bet I'll be back for them next week.

To add to the list, I want to try chocolate fruit, also know an chocolate pudding fruit or black sapote.

I always mean to try it when I go north to Queensland but always forget...

Frog legs are chewy but pretty good.

Never had reindeer pate but I've had caribou meat (they're the same species) and it tastes like regular venison.

Balut wouldn't bother me much to eat. I raise chickens and have the occasional bloody egg. What's a couple weeks more developed?

I've had roasted crickets and they're odd but not bad tasting.

Mangosteen is on my list but stuff like that is hard to get up here in rural Maine.

Kopi Luwak sounds kinda close to weasel coffee from Vietnam (which you can buy from Think Geek). It's not exactly the same, as it's not pooped out, it's regurgitated. Sounds interesting, but I don't wanna try it.

I drank civet coffee (it was delicious) but I'd never do the bird's nest soup. Do you know what that nest is made of? Shiver!

Frog legs are awesome. My grandparents used to run a fish farm on their property, so there's lots of ponds and likewise lots of frogs. Best when fried like one would do for chicken.

Also, no turtle soup? That is wonderfully tasty as well.

@lemonadefish and @checor: I'm also in NW Arkansas and I want to know! I've wanted to try mangosteen for a while. (Also, Tontitown Grape Festival this week. Yay!)

I tried durian in Singapore and as long as you plug your nose it's fine... :) There were signs in the MRT in Singapore prohibiting durians though. Hilarious!

So sad...so little durian love in these comments!

I think it's good as long as you know what you're expecting. I think that's why Zimmerman spat it out (btw the "bizarre foods" on that show are really not all that bizarre). It's got the texture of avocado. The first time I had it, I was expecting something like a mangosteen or an apple - getting a dose of strong, sweet creaminess was really nasty when you're expecting crispness. Next time I did it and knew what I was in for, it was great.

I (unknowingly) had hedgehog once. It was quite tasty.

Yeah, I'm with most people on here--durian tastes like rotting fruit mixed with garlic/onion. Yuck! But mangosteens are very nice.

I grew up in the South where everyone eats frog legs--you get these pitchfork like things and go out "gigging for frogs". Not my cup of tea as a vegetarian, but some local meat I guess.

Don't knock everything pooped out by an animal though. Argan oil, from northern Africa, is a truly delish nut oil. You all probably know the process, but basically tree climbing goats eat the nuts, digest the impossibly hard outer covering, and then the nuts are harvested and pressed for oil.

I had a friend in Cambodia who could not go home after a night out without a stop for fried silkworms. I was chicken, but they were obviously delicious. As long as we're talking about gross though, I'm surprised there's no shout out to Caracoles Bordelaise and/or the many variations on "bowl of steamed snails still in shell" in iberian cuisine. We ordered that one by accident in a Spanish restaurant in Mexico City. We had worked out that it was something cooked in a wine sauce with chorizo and bacon. Also in my book of nasty foods that have been placed before me: As an intrepid eight year old, I ordered tongue once in a Basque restaurant. I got a big tongue. On a plate. Kerplunk. I probably stared at in horror for 15 minutes before my parents asked if I wanted to just order a hamburger. I'm sure they thought it was absolutely hysterical.

They thought I was an intrepid eater because ... if you're a member of the San Francisco Zoo they might still serve a lot of different bug-delicacies on zoo night. Or not. That is where I did all my bug tasting.

I'm cool with all the vegetative options, though. Pooped coffee? Love to try it. Durian and Mangosteen? Delicious. Birds Nest soup sounds icky but I'd totally try it.

I tried a taste of the durian my botany professor brought in to class. The poor econ. students that next occupied that lecture hall walked in only to have their eyes tear up... I overheard someone say "Should we call facilities? I think there's a gas leak!"

I tasted onion and something I can only describe as strawberry car-freshener for the rest of the day and my Singaporean roommate had a good laugh at me. Then she told me about century eggs...

Haha, I'm Filipino and we have Balut with our San Miguel beer whenever we play Mahjong or poker. Crack, sip, spit. I can't however, stand durian. Everything from the smell to the texture is unappealing.

All unpleasantries aside, I REALLY want to try some mangosteen.

I've got to say, Andrew Zimmer is weak sauce. You're not supposed to bite the whole piece, cuz each piece have a stone in it, you see. I could just see him chomping down on the hard seed and he spat out a specially grown durian codenamed D24.

Now, Anthony Bourdain have my respect. He tried durian, he love it, and even searched for it whenever he's around Thailand. Thailand have a fleshier durian. I prefer Malaysian durian with thinner flesh, and always have a few friend around to enjoy them with you. It makes a difference.

In SouthEast Asia, durian is known as the king of fruits, and the mangosteen as the queen of fruits. The durian contains high carb, high vitamins, sugar that the locals consider durian a "heaty" fruit (causing the body to sweat more). Where as the mangosteen is a fruit that "cools" down the body. Hence the King and Queen term that they are suited to be enjoyed together.

I've tried frogs legs in kung-pow stir-fried and frogs leg cooked in rice porridge, both a yummy, but too many little bones. I will go for them again whenever possible.

I don't believe birds nests soup have any miracle healing properties, and the ones you can buy processed are bleached (unless you get to buy those birds nest without the feathers, that's a different story and diff price). My siblings have helped pluck just one birds nest and the tiny feathers are megamoniously a pain to pluck off.

I'd probably try the fried bugs next time I'm around Thailand. But not balut mainly I don't like anything feathery on my food.

@oofs

"i'm wondering if the maggot cheese is just an urban legend. it has such an urban legend feel to it. those crazy sardinians! there isn't really anything else we eat that has animals jump up at us from them."

There is an episode of Anthony Bourdain where he eats it on camera. It is definitely not an urban legend!

The only thing I might try is the civet cat poop coffee. :D

I've tried 4 of the 5 "good" foods.

Durian has a very strong flavor. You either love it or hate it. I hate it. My mom used to eat it after we go to bed, so we can't smell it.

Frog legs taste like catfish to me. It's not bad.

never tried reindeer pate

Bird's nest soup is really good. It's very good for you, especially women. My mom makes a sweet soup with it.

Mangosteen is probably one of the best fruit I've ever tried. I've only had it in NY. It's sweet and very refreshing. A little like logan. I love that it's so rough outside and so delicate inside.

Oh and the thought of eating a balut makes me wanna puke.

That cheese is the most disgusting thing I have ever heard of -- ugh!

Frog legs really don't taste like chicken, but if they tasted like fish I'd like them. I guess they taste amphibian, go figure!

I would never eat the casu marzu, but the beetles don't bother me. I guess I like my insects crunchy?

I'd eat the balut, but I don't know how much I'd enjoy it. Asian food sometimes has more cartilage/bone/chewy meat substance than I'm accustomed to, so I can't tell just how obstructionless a entire pre-hatched duck would really be!

I'd try the kopi luwak but I wonder if it's really that different? I've had some pretty amazing coffee that didn't involve civets. I'm glad there's a market for it though!

Mangosteen sounds great; I'll look for it. I pass by the durian fruit every time I see it, so I guess I don't want to try it!

I'm surprised natto isn't on here (though I think it's delicious). Not a fan of durian, though.

Blowfish. I ate this in China because I didn't want to offend the Chinese customers who served it to us. However, had I known the exact way it can kill you (by paralysis and asphyxiation, while you are fully conscious), it would have been difficult to take that first bite. Also, the skin is slimy and not especially tasty. It was a bit of a struggle.

Growing up in Hong Kong, it is very common to see durian, magonsteen (so yummy, but expensive, and there's really not much to eat in each fruit), bird's nest soup.
Frog legs really does taste like chicken, but each bite I took, I had to spit out like hundreds of bones... Too much work.
Having a mom as Chinese-Philippino, I've had to pleasure of seeing the balut. Scared the sh*t out of me (I was only 4~) Never had one, never will...
Also had the coffee. Not bad. Just don't think of "I'm drinking pooped coffee" then it's great.
Reindeer meet? Yuck. It's like eating precious Bambi.
Maggot cheese & fried bugs? No thanks.

I do want to add "Thousand-year-old eggs" or Century eggs. I love them! Fear Factor actually used them once on the show. They were gagging and puking, but for me, "Yum..."

I have to say that eggs, in general, are pretty repulsive to me. You're eating chicken menstruation, why does no one seem to find that disturbing?!

For those of you who speak german / the sardic language
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyL9Pn8kMZc
a nice film about the casu marzu ;)

mmm! mangosteen, i had 5 a day while visiting Laos. Too bad its not readily available here in the U.S. because they area so delicious. Durian. blegh! cant stand the smell enough to want to eat it.
I used to be able to eat Balut, id avoid the actual embryo (i'd give it to my dad or mom to eat) and just eat the yolk with this tasty sweet & spicy sauce. but now, now i cant even look at it after having been a vegetarian for a few years. im not one anymore but still cant bring myself to eat it. I tried whole frogs in Laos as well, sure, it tasted a lil like chicken as most say, but the skin was still to slimey for intake.
Anyway, having Asian parents surely stretches your taste bud's experience.

I had tried 6 of these items.
I LOVE durian! You just have to get over the smell... and texture. Like another poster says, if you had expected a crispy texture fruit (as it looks on the outside), you will be pretty gross out by durian's slimey texture. I love it! It's so sweet!

I grew up eating frog legs. They're chewier than chicken, but pretty mild flavor still. Not much meat though.

Never had reindeer pate, but had smoked reindeer in Sweden. Not bad at all. Taste like ham to me actually...

Bird's nest soup has very bland taste to it. Don't care for it much, although I won't get gross out by it. Asian women swear by this stuff for fair skin and anti-aging.

I... have had balut many times.... bf's family always buy them here in the bay area. I can see how most people find it unpalatable. If you look at it while you're eating, it is pretty frightening (veins and occasionally hair). I'm just notorious for eating almost anything (I think i can beat Andrew Zimmer in this area), so I can get past that quickly. It tastes pretty ok. It's saltier than normal eggs and have a harder (obviously) texture.

I also have beetles before. Most of the time, these things are prepared deep fried. So you can't taste much other than the crunchiness.

I think pig's brain can get on this list too. Probably in the second category ^_^. It tastes fine, but the look is pretty disgusting...

I've only tried the reindeer paté... reindeer is delicious! I've also had reindeer steak and reindeer burgers.

I've seen Durian fruit and Mangosteen here in Iceland, but I've never tried them.

I have however, tried the following:

Mink Whale.

Singed and boiled sheep's head.

Putrefied shark.

Salmon eyes.

Well... you know the expression, make do or do without? In the days of yore, Icelanders had to do just that. No 600$ coffee for us! Eat whatever you can get your frostbitten hands on! Even the sheep's head!

big thumbs up to mangosteen, big thumbs down to durian. i challenge you to get past the smell of durian long enough to swallow it...but i know people who love it. it definitely seems to be a love it/hate it fruit. mangosteen, on the other hand, looks cool and tastes delicious. the texture is kind of like a peeled grape. love it!

In Malaysia, durian is the king of fruits while mangosteen's the queen :)

Uh, That70sHeidi, chickens don't menstruate. You eat fruit, right? That's the same as an egg, only vegetative.

"Uh, That70sHeidi, chickens don't menstruate. You eat fruit, right? That's the same as an egg, only vegetative."

that's absurd. chickens lay unfertilzed eggs for the same -reason- we menstruate. what do you think happens to your unfertilized eggs? you menstruate them out with the rest of the contents of your uterus (which for chickens is inside the egg).

that is completely different than fruit where they are carrying seeds that will grow on their own into new plants.

I WOULDN'T EAT ANY OF THIS ON A BET!!!!!

I am NOT an adventurous eater at all. I would definitely try the durian or mangosteen, but you couldn't pay me to eat any of the others on this list.

Growing up in an asian family though, as a child I tried many odd foods... fish eyes, cartilage, chicken feet, century eggs, and more. As I grew up my stomach got weaker and weaker, and now I won't touch any of those except century eggs. I still loooooove those. I love it when you get a good one with the beautiful snowflake patterns! Other century egg eaters know what I'm talking about. I like them chopped up with tofu, soy sauce, sesame oil, and chives and parsley, chilled, and then served over fluffy hot jasmine rice. My mom does it the best!

Hehe, I'm a total chicken myself, but having allergies & being lacto-vegetarian I'm picky anyway. Still it seems that local delicacies or even quite everyday food can be a shock experience. Try this link about Estonian cuisine - I have eaten most of that stuff somewhen as a kid myself, but can't say that I liked everything.

http://www.inyourpocket.com/estonia/tallinn/Estonian-cuisine-55202f?more=1

Interesting article ! I tried the Kopi Luwak coffee from Bali and it's really good ! There is a trustfull website to buy some if you are curious: www.cafekopiluwak.ca