Maasai milk and blood drink among 11 ‘bizarre’ delicacies in the world

The Maasai community’s beverage of milk mixed with freshly 'tapped’ cow blood is among eleven bizarre delicacies tourists are advised to sample over the Christmas holidays.

The responsibletravel.com website said travellers to Kenya could taste it first hand in community-led ritual as they mingle with Maasai community members engaged in circumcision and marriage festivities around this time in the year.

“Used in sausages around the world, the Maasai community in Kenya prefer it straight up, direct from the cow.

Nicking the cow’s jugular, the Maasai then mix the fresh, warm blood with milk before knocking(imbibing) it back. Later they seal the cow’s wound allowing it romp to freedom and appears to suffer no ill effects,” said the website’s Managing director Justin Francis.

The website known for listing world famous tourist attraction sites urged tourists to let down their cares as appertains dishes and beverages and taste what other world communities devour especially at this festive period.

“With food such an important part of Christmas, it is a shame if we let our perspectives be narrowed to just turkey and Brussels sprouts. When I look at the wide range of cultures and cuisines we have across the 400 specialist tour operators listed on responsibletravel.com, it always reminds me that part of experiencing a new place is discovering local delicacies and tasting new things.

Mr Francis however issued a word of caution: “While I do not support eating everything on the list, it is fun discovering some of the world’s most weird and wonderful fare at this time of year.”

LIVE MAGGOTS
Tourists traveling to Italy can decide to sample Casu Marzu (Maggot cheese) in Sardinia (an autonomous region of Italy).

Live maggots are allowed to thrive on the cheese partly digesting the pecorino into soft, crumbling goo.

The Aficionados eat it with live maggots, as dead ones suggest the cheese is unsafe.

The aftertaste is said to linger for hours and the nightmares for years.

Cambodians love Tarantulas-stir-fried in chilli, garlic and salt which makes it to taste a bit like soft-shell crab.

The white meat found in the head and body is the tastiest while the brown, pasty gunk in the abdomen in spider marmite. You either love it or hate it.

In Thailand, locals love eating the Dancing Shrimps known as 'Goong Ten’ salad which features tiny live shrimp tossed in fish sauce, ground roasted chilli, coriander and onion, with lime juice squeezed over to set them jigging.
FRIED FROGS

Fried frogs is served by Thais and also known to be a revered delicacy among the French.

“Enjoy the whole beast – deep-fried, curried, stewed. Or try Mok Huak, deep-fried, partially developed tadpoles reputed to taste like chicken nuggets,” notes Francis.

Italians have also given the world Pajata-a specialty where unweaned calves intestines are cooked with the chyme (partly digested mother’s milk) left inside.

Heat turns it into a unique cheesy sauce for a dish served grilled (pajata arrosto) or with rigatoni.

New Zealanders have the Michelin Man’s bug alter-ego whereby the larvae of New Zealand’s largest endemic beetle are said to taste like peanut butter.

DUCK FOETUS
The Chinese people have a liking for duck foetus (about 8-9 days old) boiled in the shell that is prepared a variety of ways with the Vietnamese adding 'salt 'n’ pepper,

lemon juice and Vietnamese mint, while the Philippines sip the broth surrounding the embryo before the shell is peeled and the embryo scoffed.

The Americans around the Rocky Mountain Oysters, have developed a liking for bull testicles that are deep fried and have been made famous as food fit for cowboys out on the prairie.

Icelanders drive out the cold with by eating Hrútspungar-pickled lambs testicles loved when soft and the advice is “ tangy treat, peel off the membrane and saute with lemon and sumac.