The meal it is a necessity, its preparation is care and its consumption is a pleasure. Or so it should be.
Because sometimes this pleasure does not come pure. It is accompanied by dangers, sometimes very big. So big that it can even cost the life of the man who chooses to try various dangerous delicacies and dishes that can send him from the hospital to the other world.
It's not just bad food that "kills" - figuratively. There are other foods that kill, not figuratively but literally. Probably with poisoning or with suffocation. Yes, the price of those who want to put a lot of risk on their table can go to extremes and instead of eating their meal they are likely to "eat" it αυτό
They say it is so delicious that many people despise it being extremely deadly at the same time. The fish Fugu is so difficult to prepare and so poisonous that it is prepared only by licensed chefs. After all, in the last 20 years he has sent at least 23 Japanese to the other world.
Chefs in Japan spend at least three years learning how to prepare this fish, and it is said that only one in three pass the exams. But even with certification, the risk lurks. In 2011, a two-star Michelin chef at a Tokyo restaurant specializing in fugu poisoned patrons and lost his license. Fugu fish will kill you with its tetratotoxin.
Remember the scene from the movie "Indiana Jones: The Temple of the Lost Treasure" where frozen monkey minds are offered on the table, served inside his skull? Apart from being barbaric and disgusting, this also proves to be very dangerous.
This is because the brains carry Variant Creutsfeldt-Jakob disease, the disease of mad cows, which can be fatal. If you become infected, it will be about a year before you leave this useless world, and this time will not be easy. The symptoms you will have are dementia, loss of movement control, depression, anxiety, loss of vision, loss of speech and language comprehension, difficulty swallowing and chronic pain.
This delicacy, which breaks in Shanghai, is thrown into boiling water for just 20 seconds just to hold the increased amount of blood it has, and in fact with an impressive red color. The result is a combination of viruses and bacteria such as hepatitis A and E, typhoid and dysentery. In 2014, bloody quinces infected tens of thousands of people and killed 31, although banned in China. This dish is not necessarily going to kill you but it is likely to put your health in trouble.
It's a question of why one should consume one χταπόδι which is still alive but finally the San Nak Ji octopus is considered an authentic Korean delicacy.
But it is not for the faint of heart. Not just because it's a bit wild to say something that is still alive. But also because edible octopuses that are alive are likely to use their suction cups to be saved. And if this defense mechanism means sticking to the throat of the one who devours them, it will be done. So the octopus can be very tasty but it will also be deadly, as it can cause suffocation. Especially if baby octopuses are served on the plate, which due to their size are not cut into pieces but are offered whole.
Cassava is rich in carbohydrates but also potentially deadly if not cooked properly. The focus is on its root, which is often served as a side dish to meat but also fried, replacing the potato. It is also available in flour form, which can be used in cakes and pastries.
The point is that every kilo root contains 20 mg of cyanide, which is enough to kill a cow. In smaller quantities, Cassava can cause paralytic disease.
There is a reason we only eat its stems: Because its leaves are poisonous, as they contain oxalic acid, which in large doses is lethal. If consumed they will kill you by destroying your respiratory tract if you inhale it, or the tissues of the viscera, in digestion. Coughing and convulsions will lead to pulmonary edema.
This "gift" comes from its generous waters Nile- or rather from their withdrawal. The history of its consumption is long and goes back to the years of the Pharaohs, so despite its bad taste it is still consumed as it is considered traditional.
Essentially it is a fish that undergoes a specific fermentation, after first being dried in the sun and placed in salt water. Salt practically does not allow the fish to rot - although it smells like rotten, as those who tried it say. The problem is the so-called sausage toxin which remains if either the salt is not enough or the fish managed to start rotting before the fermentation started. This toxin causes muscle paralysis and its symptoms resemble those of a stroke. It can kill you but it can also be neutralized with an antidote. And under conditions not so bad - it is used in injectable form to delay skin aging in the well-known Botox.
Do not imagine stunning transparent sea creatures that cause excitement. That said μέδουσα has a size of almost two meters and weighs more than 220 kg. It creates a big problem for fishermen as it will definitely get entangled in a net and thus it will bite - and make inedible - the other fish. But it became edible after the human demon led it to our dishes. To cook safely you need to cut the toxic pieces and neutralize the poison. Then it is used in many preparations - if we assume that there is any reason to eat something like that.
Are you thinking of a tiny cute green frog? Nothing to do with. The buffalo frog can grow to the size of a cat and is a very effective hunter.
At Namibia They are also considered a great delicacy - only here timing plays a decisive role. You have to wait until the time of reproduction because only then the skin and their organs do not produce the toxin "Oshiketakata", which causes kidney failure. Those who decide to taste them at another time should be prepared for unbearably painful urination, among other things, but also possible death.
It starts as a pecorino but then takes its own path, as they open it and let it rot and fill with larvae.
The flies arrive first, leaving their eggs in the cheese. These grow as they have easy access to rich food, cheese. As insects begin to feed, the cheese decomposes. It sounds unbelievable but this is the "recipe" as the cheese softens and starts to drip. The name of this liquid is cute, it is called lagrima, but it remains disgusting no matter what you say.
Its consumption cheese does not exclude insects - instead includes them. It is even said that it is good to cover with your hand the part of this food that you are preparing to bite, because the insects perceive you and jump. That would say live bites, not jokes…
And things can get worse. Consumption of larvae does not kill them, instead they find their next hospitable home as the process of digestion into the body of the one who ate them progresses. Did we say good appetite?