“GMO” foods may seem like a modern phenomenon, made possible only because of well-funded labs and genome analysis. What most consumers don’t realize is that most of humanity’s crops were already genetically modified thousands of years ago. In almost all cases, our favorite fruits and vegetables were engineered to be fundamentally different from their wild ancestors.

SEE ALSO: 10 Foods That Have Been Genetically Modified Beyond Recognition

10Almonds

The almonds we eat today are a domesticated variety derived from several species of wild almonds, all of which are bitter, spiny, and contain deadly amounts of cyanide. In the wild, almond trees produce a sugary compound and an enzyme that inevitably combine into cyanide when the edible parts of the plant are chewed up.

The identities of the specific strains used to create modern almonds are unknown. However, it is clear that humans selected and interbred the sweetest varieties of bitter almonds until the nuts were edible. This is quite a feat, considering that eating a dozen or so of the toxic kind would kill whoever had the task of testing out the newest crops. Luckily, the mutation that halts cyanide production is a dominant one, and almonds quickly became a popular treat.

9Watermelon

The modern watermelon is one of the most extensively modified fruits in human history. Sub-Saharan Africans created the first domesticated varieties, which came in larger sizes and different colors. After the fruit’s introduction to Asia and Europe, it became substantially fleshier, sweeter, and larger.

Compared to the original watermelons found in the wild, which consisted mostly of seeds and weighed a mere 80 grams, modern ones are 91.5 percent water and weigh 2–8 kilograms (4–18 lb). Through several thousand years of artificial selection, the average volume of the watermelon has undergone a 1,680-fold increase.

The fruit’s appetizing red color is relatively new as well. It’s caused by the overproduction of the compound lycopene, a trait intentionally bred into watermelons by humans. Analysis of the watermelon genome also reveals that domestication has reduced the plant’s natural resistance to diseases. Today we are still modifying them, mostly to restore and then improve these natural immune functions.

8Broccoli, Cauliflower, And Other Cultivars

Broccoli doesn’t exist in the wild. Neither does cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, collards, or kale. All of these plants are the result of human cultivation, and they’re all the same species. These crops are artificially bred variations of the mustard plant Brassica oleracea. In its wild form, this plant produces several large leaves, as well as bunches of small yellow flowers. Different subspecies such as broccoli or cauliflower are created by modifying the expression of genes controlling the way the plant grows.

In broccoli, the flower clusters that once bloomed in the wild have been expanded into a cloud-like structure of many closed buds. In cauliflower, the flowery white head consists of mutant, undifferentiated cells that almost always remain sterile. One of the most striking examples of unique structures in this species is Romanesco broccoli: Its single modified bud is made up of smaller and smaller buds, forming a distinct logarithmic spiral pattern.

7Bananas

It seems like bananas were practically designed for us primates: They’re soft, seedless, tailor-made for the grip of our hand, and even come with a tab for easy opening. In reality, wild-type bananas are mostly inedible, and the plantains we eat today are completely different after genetic modifications. Wild-type bananas, which are tiny, tough, and filled with pit-like seeds, sometimes produce mutant variants without seeds.

Humans have been playing with this specific mutation for at least 6,500 years to produce all the varieties of seedless bananas available today. The banana’s design might even be too popular at this point; today’s mass-produced bananas are considered too genetically uniform, making them susceptible to diseases. Looks like we have some more work to do.

6Corn

The wild ancestor of modern-day corn is a grass known as Zea or teosintes. Ancient Meso-Americans began selectively breeding this species as far back as 10,000 years ago. Gradually, they produced a plant unlike any other found in the world.

These soft, starchy plants appeared suddenly and mysteriously in archaeological records; the secrets of its development were only discovered recently through molecular and genetic analysis. The most important change suppressed branching of stalks. As a result, the plant produces fewer ears, but these ears are enormous, with long rows of kernels.

Stranger still, very little was changed in the plant’s genome during its domestication. The difference between the ancient and modern version amounts to a mere five or so genes.

5Pumpkins

Pumpkins, squash, and all other gourds are cultivated forms of tiny ancient plants. They all hail from the genus Cucurbita, which has become one of the most important plant groups for human consumption. Like corn, it was domesticated in the Americas at least 7,000 years ago. Ancient varieties were small, with extremely bitter flesh and few seeds. At some point, they were bred to produce more seeds. Later in history, there was more focus on creating different shapes, sizes, and types of flesh.

Pumpkins are native to North America and have no known wild variety that still exists. Long before their domestication, specifically around 14,000 years ago when humans first arrived to the continent, the early varieties of pumpkin nearly went extinct. These plants were once rich in cucurbitacins, one of the bitterest compound groups known to science. It appears that humans first used these gourds as containers and later began to use them as food sources.

4Strawberries

Sweet, juicy strawberries are a very recent creation. Tiny ancestors were sometimes collected throughout the British Isles during the ice age, but the strawberry we enjoy today was cultivated as recently as the 1750s.

Mathematician and engineer Amedee-Francois Frezier brought a larger variety of wild strawberry while mapping out Chile for Louis XIV. After decades of trial and error, garden strawberries were created in France by crossing this plant with wild berries from America.

In 1759, pine strawberries became commercially significant. Finally, the huge, “modern” type of strawberry appeared by accident during hybridization experiments in 1806.

3Avocados

The original, primitive forms of the avocado are better described as “avocado-like fruits.” Unlike the fleshy, leathery-skinned kind we have today, most wild avocados are encased in hard shells. Uncultivated avocados are tiny enough to fit into the center of your palm, growing to about two or three inches in diameter. The wild-type flesh is gritty instead of creamy, and there is very little of it because the pit takes up almost all of the space inside the fruit. In 1927, agricultural explorer and researcher Wilson Popenoe commented that “the flavor is strong, not pleasant, and the fruit is scarcely considered eatable.”

For most of its time as a domesticated crop, the avocado remained unchanged due to its status as a sacred plant in tropical Mesoamerica. Large gardens—sometimes even entire forests—of avocado trees were grown and carefully maintained over ancestral burial grounds.

2Coffee

The coffee bean is another recently discovered and cultivated plant. It makes this list not because it has been fundamentally changed from its wild form but because there are so many varieties created solely to satisfy our cravings for novel tastes.

First cultivated in India during the 1600s, this African plant now comes in several dozen varieties and cultivars and continues to evolve with humans. Not even looking at varieties within each species, there are about 10 distinct species of coffee plant at present. Need your coffee less bitter? More bitter? Slightly buttery? Caffeine-free? Sourced from frost-resistant, self-fertilizing genetic stock that is purposely grown in civet feces? There’s a variety of bean for that. All modern, genetically modified varieties descend from ancient Arabica beans, which in itself is a hybrid of mysterious origin.

1Wheat

The cultivation of wheat began long before recorded history. In fact, the start of human civilization itself began when primitive people transitioned from the nomadic, hunter-gatherer lifestyle to an agriculturally based one. Wheat was one of the first and most important crops grown during this time, and the first human settlements gathered around areas where this food could be grown.

At first, prehistoric man was content to gather stray seeds of wild grasses. But soon (before people started making pottery, even) they had started to gather plants from areas with more seeds and replant them back home. Eventual changes in seed size and nutritional value were achieved, but the most important trait we managed coax out of their genomes was something called “indehiscence.” Normally, pods containing the edible parts of these plants shattered, so seeds could spread across the wind and ground. Thanks to prehistoric artificial selection, this trait was eliminated and our ancestors could harvest the plant itself, with all its seeds intact.

When it comes to street foods, you might be accustomed to your local Halal cart, or maybe that hot dog stand on the corner. However, if you are willing to expand your cultural horizons even further, an entirely new world of food will open up for you. Japanese culture boasts some of the most creative and mouthwateringly delicious street foods imaginable. From the sweet to the savory, these are 10 popular Japanese street foods that’ll have you drooling over your keyboard. 

10. Karaage

Vegans and vegetarians aside, it’d be pretty hard to find someone who’ll pass up on a plate of fried chicken. A beloved comfort food in many cultures, fried chicken has been taken in some truly inventive directions, not the least of which being Karaage.

The name itself is attributed to the cooking methods where diced-up bits of meat, in this instance chicken, are marinated and then deep-fried until golden brown. Where Karaage diverges from typical fried chicken is through its marinade which is frequently a blend of soy sauce, sake, ginger, and garlic. This method ensures that, after the frying is complete, the inside of the chicken will not only be juicy and succulent but imbued with extra umami flavor as well. The exterior’s crispiness is usually attributed to the coating which can either be wheat flour or potato starch.

Even though chicken is the most popular option, the preparation can easily be applied to seafood and other types of meat as well. With its excellent combination of crunch and unparalleled taste, Karaage is a favorite of many Japanese citizens, serving as a home-cooked and street vendor staple. 

9. Tako Tamago

Now of course eggs, whether they are fried, scrambled, or poached, are a staple of countless diets worldwide. However, the Tako Tamago takes the concept of a poached egg and takes it to its most visually dazzling and uniquely flavored conclusion. Tako Tamago is a unique little dish, even among other Japanese street foods, boasting a unique combination of elements. 

A Tako Tamago contains a quail egg, an already diminutive egg, that has been put inside a tiny, bite-sized octopus. Its final appearance is quite the feast for the eyes before one even consumes it, with the egg almost serving as the brain of the octopus. However, the dish’s appeal doesn’t stop at its appearance, as the combination of the poached quail egg and the chewy octopus makes for a superb crossbreed of flavors.

Tako Tamago, much like many other Japanese street and vendor foods, is typically served on a skewer, making it a very portable dish despite its odd appearance. The dish is honestly a perfect little microcosm of Japanese street foods, as it boasts not only a dazzling visual gimmick but yummy flavors as well.

8. Korokke

Before properly discussing Korokke, it’s important to understand the Western dish that influenced it, that being the Croquette. Croquettes originated in France and consist of a filling that is tossed in a special sauce, breaded, and then fried till the outside is crispy. This is quite fitting as the name Croquette even derives from the French word croquer which means “to crunch.”

Korokke takes the Croquette and puts a thoroughly Japanese spin on it with fillings like mashed potatoes, ground meat, or a mixture of vegetables. When everything is prepared properly, you’ll be treated to a perfectly balanced dish that boasts both a crispy outside and a creamy interior. This is only enhanced by the wide range of ways the filling can be customized with other ingredients, such as beef, pork, seafood, and even curry. It’s also very common to find Korokke paired with a side of tonkatsu sauce which only serves to heighten its flavor profile. 

Oftentimes the Korokke can find itself sandwiched between two pieces of bread, turning it into a Korokke Pan, adding even more to the dish’s convenient nature. Its utility and delicious flavors have turned Korokke into a staple of Japanese street foods, as well as school lunches and bento boxes. 

7. Okonomiyaki

Everyone loves pancakes, but rest assured, an Okonomiyaki isn’t your run-of-the-mill pancake you’d get at IHOP or Cracker Barrel. As opposed to typical pancakes which are predicated on their sweetness, an Okonomiyaki is more of a savory affair.

Much like Takoyaki, one of the major appeals of Okonomiyaki is just how customizable it is, with its name even translating to “grilled as you like it.” Much like regular pancakes, the batter begins with flour but from there, this is where it truly becomes its own unique creation. This batter is then mixed with shredded cabbage, eggs, and a variety of other add-ons such as meat, seafood, and even cheese. If you’ve ever had an Okonomiyaki, then you know that the final product is an absolute symphony of different textures and flavors.  

Another aspect leading to Okonomiyaki’s widespread success is the interactive element that goes hand-in-hand with it. It’s not uncommon for restaurants to prepare the Okonomiyaki right in front of the customer or even allow them to cook it themselves, very much like Korean barbeque. With all of this in mind, you can easily see how this customizable pancake broke out of Osaka and went worldwide. 

6. Yakitori

A commonality among Japanese foods is that many of them could easily slot right into being casual street food or served at an actual restaurant. A perfect example of this is Yakitori, a very popular skewered chicken dish that’s usually prepared over hot charcoals. 

The dish itself couldn’t be simpler, it’s diced chicken pieces marinated in a soy-based tare sauce, cooked, and then served on a skewer. This simple cooking method results in mouthwateringly tender and smoky meat complete with a delicious caramel-like glaze. However, Yakitori isn’t solely dependent on chicken as one can easily substitute other ingredients like vegetables, beef, or seafood.

Yakitori is a very recreational food and you’ll often see people enjoying it with a cold beer in their other hand. Often the best foods don’t need flashy theatrics or fanciful plating, as sometimes simplicity and good flavor are more than enough. Just imagine walking home on a cold day in Japan and having the aromas of the still-cooking skewers waft toward your nose. Much like many of the street foods on this list, not only has Yakitori exploded outside of Japan but it has transcended its original format as well. Nowadays it’s not uncommon to go to an indoor eating establishment and find it on the menu right alongside more complicated items. 

5. Taiyaki

Japanese culture is rife with sensational sweets and creative confections, many of them having lineages going back hundreds of years. One such treat is Taiyaki, a Japanese pastry with the unique visual distinction of being molded in the shape of a fish. The pastry’s fish name translates to “baked sea bream,” a fish regarded as a symbol of good fortune in Japanese culture.

Originating in Toyko during the Meiji period – a time of great economic, political, and social change – Taiyaki was created by a man named Seijiro Kanbei. The original, and most standard, version of Taiyaki is filled with sweet red bean paste, which is made from azuki beans and serves a popular filling in many Japanese treats. This, like many other Japanese snacks, can be altered or customized with various locations filling their Taiyaki with sweet potato, custard, chocolate, or even savory options like cheese and sausage. 

This is all held together by the batter which, similarly to pancake or waffle batter, is poured into fish-shaped molds and cooked until it’s a savory golden brown. With its lovely flavors and its charming visual charm, Taiyaki has become a prime example of Japanese comfort food.

4. Yakisoba

There are countless Japanese noodle dishes ranging from cheap street food to the most lavish of five-star cuisine. However, Yakisoba seems to hold a very special place in people’s hearts and it isn’t too hard to understand why. 

Yakisoba is made by stir-frying the ingredients, which include ramen noodles, as well as vegetables like cabbage, carrots, and onions. This cooking method is where the dish derives its name, which is a translation of the term “grilled noodles.” Meat is also an optional ingredient as well, with many opting to add in bits of thinly sliced pork, beef, or seafood. What sets the dish apart is the special sauce the stir-fried ingredients are seasoned with, that being a savory-sweet Yakisoba sauce made from Worcestershire. Once everything is cooked to completion, the final product can be topped with bonito flakes, pickled ginger, and mayonnaise.

All this coalesces into a savory dish that, due to the inclusion of meats and seasonings, boasts a strong umami taste. Unami, when translated into English, means means “essence of deliciousness” and is common among meaty and savory Japanese dishes. Due to its portable nature, as well as its mix of textures and flavors, Yakisoba has attained a global fandom, becoming rapidly more widespread across several cultures.

3. Onigiri

One need only look at how often it pops up in the hands of anime characters to understand Onigiri’s immense popularity. For example, in One Piece when Roronoa Zoro is tied up in Axe Hand Morgan’s base, a little girl from the surrounding town brings him homemade Onigiri. When the deadliest swordsman in the East Blue can’t resist their deliciousness, then you know it’s a treat worth getting excited for.

The name translates to “rice ball,” and the dish has served as a pillar of Japanese cuisine for several decades now. The handheld snack starts with rice which receives a little seasoning via some salt or vinegar, as well as a sheet of nori, a crispy piece of seaweed. Once the base is prepared, the Onigiri receives its filling which is where its customizable nature comes into play. Simply put, the sky is the limit with Onigiri, with the fillings ranging from sweet to savory, and ranging in texture as well. This includes pickled plums, grilled salmon, kimchi, cheese, tuna mayo, and teriyaki chicken, each one offering something different to enjoy when packed into the rice.

Due to its diverse fillings, as well as its portable size, Onigiri is a staple of Japanese lunches, aiding with its constantly expanding worldwide appeal. 

2. Dango

Dango’s name stems from the Japanese verb “dango,” which means to knead or form something into a ball. The sweet Japanese treat is a chewy little bite-sized dumpling made from glutinous rice flour and served on a stick in groups of three to five. Typically, the most popular filling for Dango is Anko, also known as red bean paste, a topping/filling in many Japanese desserts.

Due to the rice flour used in its preparation, Dango is typically white in its appearance but people often use things like fruits, herbs, and eggs, to alter its flavor and color. This is most relevant when it comes to Hanami Dango, a type of multicolored dango, which is typically sold and enjoyed during cherry blossom season in Japan. There is also Kuri Dango, a wonderful variant if you are a fan of nuts, with the Dango being covered in a sweet pureed chestnut paste. Additionally, there is Goma Dango, a version that is filled with Anko but is finished with a layer of sesame seeds before being fried to crispy perfection. It’s this combination of simplicity, variation, and inherent tradition that has kept Dango as a beloved Japanese treat for many decades.

1. Takoyaki

Takoyaki is a favorite of many Japanese food connoisseurs, with its popularity extending beyond Osaka, Japan’s borders, and into the United States. Its name, Takoyaki, is a one-for-one translation of what it is, that being grilled/fried octopus, though other ingredients are often added in as well. 

The cooking process begins with the Takoyaki’s batter, which is made from flour, egg, and dashi, the latter being a type of Japanese soup stock. This is mixed with diced octopus, pickled ginger, green onions, and any additional mix-ins the chef or customer desires. These mix-ins can include bits of sausage, cheese, mochi, corn, kimchi, and even other types of seafood like shrimp.

Once the batter and the mix-ins are prepared, it’s then poured into a very special cooking mold, built to create the Takoyaki’s circular shape. If prepared properly, the final product should be a perfectly circular bite-sized ball with a fluffy inside and a crispy outside. Once complete, the Takoyaki balls are often coated in a healthy layer of a special takoyaki sauce, mayonnaise, seaweed flakes, and bonito flakes. With its combination of delectable textures and its inherently customizable nature, it’s not surprising Takoyaki has taken the culinary world by storm.

We take great pains to make sure our food is as clean as possible. There are even government agencies dedicated to the task, and some of the most common practices in our own kitchens are geared to keep our food clean. Its in our nature. Still, we have free will and we can choose to defy our nature, even if sometimes it really seems like we shouldn’t. Humans have developed food items made from some of the things that most disgust us.

10Kopi Luwak

83 percent of adults in the US drink coffee. We love the stuff, and it comes in as many varieties as we could want, from exotic locales the world over. But one locale in particular might give even coffee lovers pause: A cat’s butt.

Kopi Luwak, the most expensive coffee in the world, is produced from coffee beans that have passed through the digestive system of a civet cat. This cat, native to Southeast Asia, loves coffee almost as much as we do. It eats the choicest coffee cherries, but it doesn’t digest the beans. Instead, it deposits them. Having gone through the digestive process, the bean is made less acidic, lower in protein, and lower in caffeine. Ultimately, this produces the smooth, aromatic, and low bitter Kopi Luwak coffee, prized the world over.

Fun Fact: when a civet wants to mark its territory it sprays a thick repulsive smelling oil. That oil is gathered up and is used as a perfume additive in the luxury perfume industry. Historically Civet musk traders would taste the oil to make sure it wasn’t adulterated with human feces (which is much cheaper and equally repulsive smelling). And like its close relative the Meerkat, it is not actually related to the cat family.

9Panda Dung Green Tea

Pandas famously diet on little except bamboo, but according to one tea entrepreneur, they digest only about 30 percent of the nutrients found in that bamboo. This leaves their excrement still rich in the vitamins and minerals present in the plant, in a form perfect for fertilizer. That tea entrepreneur is named An Yashi. He is a Sinchuan University lecturer and wildlife expert who has put that panda dung to work in making a unique green tea.

His tea is fertilized with the dung, to special effect. He says, “Just like green tea, bamboo contains an element that can prevent cancer and enhance green tea’s anti-cancer effects if it is used as fertilizer for the tea.” An Yashi’s panda dung green tea has a price tag of $35,000 a pound.

8Un, Kono Kuro

This beer’s name is a pun on the Japanese word for crap, Unko. Produced by Kanagawa-based brewery Sankt Gallen for April Fools 2013, this beer sold out within minutes of becoming available. The stout is made with an ingredient unusual for beers: coffee. Even more unusual for coffee, the beans were collected from the helpful elephants of Thailand’s Golden Triangle Elephant Foundation. Like Kopi Luwak, the beans pass through the digestive system and arrive at the other end. Unlike with the civet cat, most of the beans perish in the process. 33 kilograms of beans go in, but only 1 kilogram of usable beans emerge out the other end.

One reviewer, Mr. Sato, said of the beer, “After downing the last drop, slowly rising from my throat and mouth was that afterglow. The combination of bitter and sweet stayed fresh and lingered in my head. It was a familiar aroma that accompanied me through the entire beer. For some time after, I could still feel as if my body was saturated with that warm scent.” $104 dollars will net you 35 grams of this unique coffee, should you wish to enhance your own micro brews.

7Traditional Chicha

Chicha is a corn beer brewed in the Andes. The beverage dates back thousands of years and played a large role in the cultures of groups such as the Incas and Aztecs, who thought of drunkenness as a spiritual activity and sharing a drink as a sign of friendship.

Though you may have enjoyed a glass of Chicha, traditionally, the drink is brewed differently than most versions in the modern day. To begin the fermentation process, the Chicha brewers would begin by working maize thoroughly with their tongue, completely moistening it with their own saliva. The enzymes in our spit are enough to work the cornstarch into fermentable sugar. After a drying period, the maize cakes would be ready.

This step happens before the beer is brewed, so the final product is sterile, and some breweries still make the drink in the traditional fashion. One modern brewer was quoted by The New York Times during the first saliva-filled step of the process: “Would it be bad if I thed we bit off maw than we could thew? Heh, heh.”

6Honey

Bees have two stomachs, one of which is completely dedicated to storing the nectar they collect from flowers. When full, this stomach can weigh as much as the bee itself. These honeybees return to the hive after visiting upward of 1,500 flowers. Once there, they pass off the nectar to worker bees by vomiting it up out of their second stomach and into the worker bees’ waiting mouths. This regurgitation process is repeated until the partially digested nectar is finally prepared and then deposited into a honeycomb. From there, the water is fanned out of the nectar, which reduces the substance into the syrupy bug vomit we all know and love.

5Shellac

Shellac is an ingredient commonly used as a glaze. Though the name may be unfamiliar to us, we’re all likely familiar with the foods its used in. Coated candy, chocolate, and even waxed fresh fruit can contain shellac.

Just what is this versatile substance? Shellac is the purified form of lac. Lac is a secretion of the Laccifer lacca Kerr insect, cultivated in India, Thailand, and Burma. The secretions form on twigs, which are then soaked in water to clear away any debris such as insect parts and then soaked again in sodium carbonate to remove acid. This purified bug poop finds its way into many of our foods but is also useful as a varnish or wood primer.

4Baby Poop Sausages

Bacterial fermentation plays a huge role in the making of sausage. That spicy flavor pepperoni gives your pizza? It’s a result of bacteria. So it may not seem like a stretch when researchers say they’ve developed a way to ferment sausage that could result in a healthy, bacteria-rich food, like probiotic yogurts. The catch? The bacteria used was gathered from infant feces. Human infants, mind you.

The researchers behind this invention cultured the collected bacteria from 43 stool samples and used them when making six batches of fuet—a pork sausage. These sausages were all tested by professional tasters, who reported that the flavor was indistinguishable from normal fuet.

3Kuchikami No Sake

Much like Chicha, the preparation of sake has changed over the years. This rice-based alcohol is sometimes called “rice wine” but has more in common with a beer. Today, the rice is usually fermented with a mold (Aspergillus oryzae) that has the enzymes necessary to convert the rice starch into sugar, but before this mold was discovered, a different ingredient was used: Human saliva.

The brewers would begin by chewing rice, chestnuts, or acorns to begin the fermentation process. This special brand of Sake is called Kuchikami No Sake or “Mouth-Chewed Sake” and is still sometimes made today.

2Ambergris

This substance is an intestinal slurry produced in a sperm whale’s stomach or throat. Because of its rarity and variety of uses, it can fetch about $29 a gram. Some of those uses have famously been perfumes, but it has also been used in cooking eggs, ice cream, and even cocktails. The smell is said to be that of highly concentrated ocean.

One of the most common misconceptions about this miraculous slurry is that it’s the vomit of the sperm whale. Rest assured, this is not the case. Ambergris is much more likely to be pooped out than to be vomited.

1Yan Wo

Described as “the caviar of the east” because of its high cost and status as a delicacy in China, this ingredient is bird’s nest. The swiftlet, a swallow-like bird, produces these nests out of its own saliva secretions. The nests are built expressly for the purpose of raising young and are abandoned once this task is complete.

The protein-rich Yan Wo are used in soup, tonics, and even desserts. A decade ago, there were an estimated 1,000 swiftlet farms, and now, there are some 60,000. The industry behind these saliva nests has blown to an estimated $5 billion value.

And if that isn’t gross enough for you, it gets worse: the texture of Yan Wo when cooked in soup is like lumps of snot.

Americans love their food, and they are able to buy (almost) anything imaginable at restaurants, farms, markets, and other stores, but some foods are currently banned. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has banned many foods from being sold or eaten in the United States due to their not being safe for consumption. Here is a list of the top ten foods that are surprisingly banned in the US.

10 Haggis

Haggis is a type of pudding composed of the liver, heart, and lungs of a sheep, mixed with beef and oatmeal and seasoned with onions, cayenne peppers, and other spices. This mixture is then packed into a sheep’s stomach and boiled. Haggis is the national dish of Scotland and is usually accompanied by turnips and mashed potatoes.

Haggis is currently banned from being imported into the United States. In 1971, the US banned all foods that are made from animal lungs. Scotland has made several efforts to influence the US into lifting the ban on haggis and changing federal food safety regulations, but they have come up short each time.^[1]

9 Beluga Caviar

The beluga sturgeon is the largest of the sturgeons, weighing more than 900 kilograms (2,000 lb) and measuring more than 4.5 meters (15 ft) long. It can take up to 25 years for the female beluga to mature and produce eggs. Beluga caviar varies in color from light to dark grey and is the largest-grain caviar. Their pearls are the most delicate and have a mild, buttery flavor.

In 2005, the United States banned beluga caviar from further import due to overfishing. The US was consuming about 60 percent of the world’s beluga caviar, which is considered the king of caviar due to costing $200 per ounce. Beluga caviar was so desirable that the available stock declined by 90 percent. Overfishing of the beluga can be traced back to poaching and the black market.^[2]

8 Unpasteurized Milk

Unpasteurized milk, or raw milk, is milk that comes directly from an animal’s udder and hasn’t been heat-treated, or pasteurized, to kill any bacteria. Raw milk carries a higher risk of being contaminated with harmful bacteria that cause foodborne illnesses than pasteurized milk. Children are at a higher risk for these diseases because their immune systems have not yet fully developed.

The FDA banned the interstate sale or distribution of raw milk in the US, but states are able to adopt their own laws of the sale of raw milk. Drinking and consuming unpasteurized milk is legal in all 50 states, but 20 states prohibit the sale of raw milk. Thirteen states allow the sales of raw milk in retail stores, and 17 allow the sale of raw milk only on the farm in which it was produced.^[3]

There is currently a movement in the United States to consume organic and locally grown foods. Some believe that raw milk is more nutritious and provides “good bacteria” for the body. Many of the states that allow the selling of raw milk require a warning label informing consumers about the risk of pathogens that can be found in the milk.

7 Sassafras Oil

Sassafras oil is extracted from the dried root bark of the sassafras tree. The tree stands anywhere from 6 to 12 meters (20–40 ft) tall, with slender branches and orange- and brown-colored bark. The leaves are oval and can grow 8 to 18 centimeters (3–7 in) long, and the flowers are small and of a greenish or yellow color.

Many Native American tribes used sassafras for various medicinal purposes, including to help with acne, urinary disorders, and fevers. Sassafras can also be found in Chinese medications to help treat rheumatism and trauma. The twigs from the plants were once used as toothbrushes, and sassafras was also used as an early anesthetic and disinfectant. Sassafras was found in many distinct foods in the US, and it was known as a key ingredient in many root beers and teas.

The FDA prohibits all sassafras bark, oil, and safrole as flavorings or food additives. Sassafras is no longer considered safe for human consumption, and it was banned in 1979, after research linked it to cancer. Also, when too much sassafras oil is consumed, poisoning can possibly occur.^[4]

6 Ortolan

The ortolan is a bird in the bunting family of Emberizidae. It is a tiny songbird that weighs less than an ounce. This bird was once a controversial meal in France and is cooked for eight minutes and served with the head attached. The bird is meant to be eaten whole, including the head and bones.

Killing and selling the ortolan was banned in France in the 1990s, but poachers continued to catch the small bunting and sell it to local restaurants. France’s League for the Protection of Birds claimed that the ortolan population dropped 30 percent even after the ban, forcing the government to enact more stringent enforcement in 2007.

The killing of the rare bird is less controversial than the barbaric way in which it is killed. These birds are trapped during their migratory season and kept in covered cages. The ortolan eats more at night, so the covering the cages will encourage them to gorge on grain, to the point where their bodies double in size. It is said that ancient emperors would pluck out the birds’ eyes, tricking them to thinking it was night so that they would eat more. The ortolans are ultimately thrown alive into a vat of Armagnac, which both drowns and marinates them.^[5]

France now strictly enforces the ban on killing ortolans. The killing, cooking, or smuggling of the bird anywhere in the European Union or the United States is currently a crime.

5 Casu Marzu

Casu marzu, translated into English, means “rotten cheese,” and if the rotten part isn’t already bad enough, it’s also known as “maggot cheese.” This Sardinian cheese is typically soaked in brine, smoked, and left to ripen in a cheese cellar. Then cheese makers set it outside uncovered, allowing cheesing flies to lay eggs inside it.

The eggs hatch into maggots, which start feeding on the cheese. They produce enzymes that promote fermentation and cause fats within the cheese to decompose. The cheese becomes supersoft and leaves a burn on the tongue when eaten. Local Sardinians say the cheese is only good when the maggots are still moving. If the maggots are dead, then the cheese has gone bad and is too toxic for consumption.^[6]Casu marzu is not in compliance with European Union hygienic standards and has been declared illegal. It is also illegal in the United States because it is unpasteurized and has more than six mites per square inch. (The microscopic bugs live on the surface of aged cheese.)

4 Shark Fins

The act of shark finning was deemed illegal by the United States. Finning, the act of cutting off a shark’s fin, is one of the greatest threats that sharks face. After a shark is finned, it is thrown back in the sea, where it may drown, bleed to death, or be eaten by other animals.

There is a large market for shark fins to make shark fin soup, which is a popular and luxurious Asian dish. Shark fins are very popular in Asia and can be found in food stores, pharmacies, and fishing villages. The demand for the shark fins has led to sharks being targeted solely for their fins, but don’t expect to try that soup in the US anytime soon.^[7]

3 Ackee Fruit

Ackee appears to be a very delightful and delicious fruit, but one must be very careful before eating. If the fruit is improperly eaten, it can cause vomiting or even lead to a coma or death. In Jamaica, the harmful effects of ackee fruit are known as Jamaican Vomiting Sickness.

The ackee fruit’s protective pod turns red and naturally opens, revealing the edible portion, which is the yellow arilli that surround the toxic black seeds. The fruit can be tried in Jamaica paired with codfish, which is a popular national dish.

The ackee fruit is originally native to West Africa but was brought to Jamaica in 1778. It is Jamaica’s national fruit. The FDA banned all ackee but would later allow the sales of frozen or canned ackee. The import of fresh ackee is still banned.^[8]

2 Mirabelle Plum

The mirabelle plum is the small, oval-shaped, and dark yellow fruit grown on a mirabelle plum tree. It is known to be sweet and full of flavor and is used in fruit preserves and dessert pies. The fruit can mostly be found in France, where 70 percent of the world’s mirabelle production occurs.

The production of the mirabelle plum has been supported since 1996 by a Protected Geographical Indication to help guarantee is authenticity.^[9] It has been promoted as a high-quality regional product, and the protected origin designation makes it almost impossible to get this fruit into the US.

1 Kinder Surprise Chocolate Eggs

Kinder Surprise Chocolate Eggs are a widely popular candy sold across the world—except in the United States. There are more than 3.5 billion Kinder Surprise Eggs sold each year, with no help from US markets. The Kinder Surprise Egg is a hollow chocolate egg that holds a plastic capsule which contains a toy. The toy is usually a simple collectible, like a tiny bike or a miniature beach bucket and pail.

Kinder Surprise Eggs have always been illegal in the Unites States. A 1938 regulation made it illegal to sell any candy that contains a non-nutritive object. Despite efforts to import the chocolate egg into the US, the federal government has continued its ban and recalled the item each time it was introduced. If you haven’t been lucky enough to try it yet, don’t worry, because Kinder just announced this May that they will be selling a similar chocolate egg in the US market!

Kinder will introduce the Joy Egg, which is a more recent version that separates the toy from the chocolate, as it is comprised of two sealed halves. The new egg meets FDA regulations and is compliant with the Consumer Product Safety Commission. It won’t be exactly the same as the Kinder Surprise, but fans across the US will be able to get their fix.^[10]

I’m just another bearded guy trying to write my way through life.
MDavidScott.com

There is a monster hiding in your house. Many, actually. They’re watching you, waiting. They’re in your refrigerator, your oven, and your kitchen cabinets, because it seems one of the most dangerous things you handle each day is your food. The ways in which your diet can come back to haunt you range far beyond heart disease and diabetes. Human history is rife with horrific episodes brought about by nothing more than this most basic necessity. One look at these ferocious foodstuffs, and you’ll never turn your back on your local supermarket again.

10 Bread

During the 1800s, England’s population was growing faster than ever before. In fact, by 1850, London had become the largest city in history. But this sudden, enormous growth led to serious shortages of day-to-day items, and profiteering manufacturers were quick to respond . . . by packing their products with whatever they could find lying around their garage.

Plaster of Paris and even chalk were used to stretch out actual ingredients, but the worst was the use of toxic alum.^[1] Safer versions of alum are used for things like pickling, but the dangerous variety—used in modern-day washing detergents—was used heavily in bread. Not only did it allow for more loaves per batch, but it also gave them a more attractive white color. The thing is, alum prevents actual food from being absorbed by the intestines. In the end, this practice led to an epidemic of severe malnutrition, diarrhea, and even the deaths of many children, as starving citizens were unable to digest what meager scraps they could find.

9 Corn

The early 20th century saw the American South gripped by a nightmarish new disease. Sickening skin lesions and madness were the calling cards of the mysterious malady, which took over 100,000 lives between 1906 and 1940. Worse yet, no one could figure out where this “pellagra” even came from.

That is, until Dr. Joseph Goldberger came along. The Pennsylvania physician joined the Public Health Service in 1899 and had spent the last few decades traveling the country solving medical mysteries. It occurred to him that the disease only struck the especially poor, who survived on a diet composed almost entirely of nice, cheap corn.

His dietary findings didn’t go down well with Southern doctors, though, who were convinced the illness was caused by a germ. So Dr. Goldberger proved it wasn’t contagious by swallowing the scabs from an infected patient’s sores as well as infected urine and feces.^[2] He didn’t catch the dreaded disease, and his work helped to unmask pellagra as a simple niacin deficiency.

8 Wine

A symbol of class and refinement for millennia, wine would seem like one of the least harmful things on the planet (unless you count the occasional drunken fistfight). But just try telling that to English nobleman George Plantagenet.

The duke of Clarence and brother of King Edward IV, Plantagenet found himself involved in a Game of Thrones–style medieval power struggle in the late 1400s. Constantly at odds with his brother, he began scheming to remove him from the throne. However, before his rebellion could even start, King Edward beat him to the punch. Plantagenet was secretly imprisoned in the Tower of London and executed on February 18, 1478.

Despite beheading being the traditional fate of traitors, Edward instead had a final insult planned for his sibling. He ordered Plantagenet drowned in a barrel of his favorite drink, malmsey wine.^[3] After his uniquely ironic execution, some believe his body was left in the barrel when it was sent off to be buried.

7 Chocolate

In the early 20th century, the world stumbled upon a miracle. By simply adding a small amount of a newly documented element, any humdrum object could be made the stuff of fairy tales. Clock faces and cosmetics were dressed up with the miraculous glowing material. Candy manufacturers even began adding it to their chocolate for its supposedly invigorating qualities. Too bad it was radioactive.

Radium-infused chocolate was only one dangerous product that people were woefully eager to cram in their mouths. Wines and water were also packed with radiation before the dangers started to make themselves known. A 1925 article in The New York Times heralded the end of the radium age with the announcement of a nightmarish new disease: radium necrosis. It was basically radiation poisoning of the jaw caused by ingesting radium. Victims found the flesh and bone of their lower faces dying and falling away or developing grotesque tumors.^[4] Death followed shortly after.

6 Fish

For some, eating raw fish may be a terrifying prospect in its own right, but a certain Japanese delicacy gives sushi-phobes another reason to fear. Blowfish, or fugu, is prepared with extreme care by master sushi chefs. The law demands it. The government regulates the process carefully because a single mistake could end the life of a customer.

The organs of the blowfish are filled with a substance called tetrodotoxin.^[5] Should any taint the meat, this unbelievably nightmarish poison begins with a subtle numbing of the unlucky customer’s mouth. Soon, however, the numbness evolves into full-blown paralysis, which slowly migrates down the body. The victim is left completely unable to move but fully aware. Death finally comes when the paralysis reaches the lungs, and the still-conscious diner slowly suffocates. Luckily, due to the strict laws concerning its preparation, only 23 people have been killed by fugu in the last 16 years. Still, not many takers.

5 Nutmeg

During the 1600s, a terrible war was waged between the English and the Dutch. It was a brutal and bloody conflict that lasted for years. It was over something we like to sprinkle on eggnog.

Humble nutmeg found itself at the center of this bizarre international conflict because it had become something of a status symbol.^[6] Nobles of the era would stockpile spices like gold, and the trendiest new addition to any spice cabinet was nutmeg. The seeds were prized for their exotic flavor, their supposed aphrodisiac properties, and the belief that they could actually cure the Black Death. Unfortunately, though, they could only be found on a single Indonesian island chain, the Bandas. The quest to monopolize the nutmeg industry led Dutch and English forces to commit horrors ranging from torture to mass slaughter, upon both enemy combatants and the innocent residents of the islands.

Luckily, the bloodshed finally ended in 1667, when England signed a treaty handing over control of their only remaining Banda island. They didn’t get much in return, just the Dutch-controlled island of Manhattan.

4 Water

Throughout history, typhoid fever has claimed countless lives. Minor epidemics were fairly common until recently, but in 1903, the city of Ithaca, New York, faced a sudden and unusually aggressive outbreak of the dreadful disease.^[7] Construction had recently begun on the Six Mile Creek Dam, and the shady owners had neglected to include a filtration system of any kind. Conditions were rough for the builders as well; the entire crew was forced to share a single outhouse, leading many to simply use the creek. However, the final nail in the coffin was that a few of the builders had recently moved from an area of Italy notorious for typhoid outbreaks.

The results were as obvious as they were devastating. Ithaca residents began experiencing crippling stomach pain and dangerously high fevers. The sickness had spread far and wide before anyone figured out their drinking water was to blame. People could only watch as friends and family began to succumb. In the end, 82 people, including 29 college students, were killed.

3 Grain

Medieval England just couldn’t catch a break. As if constant war and the Black Plague weren’t enough, folks had a more obscure reason to lock themselves in their mud cottages: English sweating sickness.

With outbreaks occurring mainly during the summers of the 15th and 16th centuries, this strange illness came on fast and killed faster. Within 24 hours of infection, the victim would sweat profusely, experience shortness of breath and heart palpitations, and finally drop dead. Despite much documentation in everything from official records to fiction (Shakespeare even mentioned it in his play Measure for Measure), no one really knew where it came from.

Researchers now believe the hantavirus was to blame.^[8] The symptoms are eerily similar, and just like the Black Death, it is transmitted by rodents. Medieval England had no shortage of rats; the vermin were notorious for chowing down on stores of grains like wheat and oats. While eating, the incontinent beasts would leave their urine behind, contaminating the food. Unlucky peasants would then sit down for dinner, and an epidemic would be born.

2 Cheese

Listeria monocytogenes is a particularly nasty bacterium. In humans, it causes an unpredictable condition called listeriosis, which can be as minor as a touch of the flu or infect the nervous system, causing convulsions and death. It also really seems to like cheese.

Products containing unpasteurized milk are prime targets for Listeria. In 1985, California’s Jalisco Products produced a batch of cheese without following pasteurization procedures. The result was one of the largest listeriosis outbreaks in history.^[9] Southern California was devastated by the deadly neurological disease, which hit pregnant women and newborn babies the hardest. The death toll topped out at a terrifying 62 when all was said and done, including many stillbirths.

And this wasn’t an isolated incident. Listeriosis outbreaks linked to cheese are insanely common, even now. Maybe order a side of antibiotics the next time you hit the pizza joint.

1 Rye

In the Middle Ages, Europe was subjected to what can only be described as a full-on living nightmare. A strange plague, known as St. Anthony’s fire, began to spread. Victims suffered extreme burning sensations in their hands and feet, the feeling of insects crawling beneath their skin, and horrifying hallucinations. The infection sometimes even caused the flesh of the hands and feet to die, requiring amputation.

It wasn’t until much later that botanists were able to crack this “holy fire.” The fungus Claviceps purpurea infects many grain plants, but it seems especially fond of rye.^[10] Small black growths called ergots grow alongside the grains on tainted plants and were often mistakenly ground up with them in medieval mills. Bread made from the flour would then infect humans, leading to the hellish symptoms.

Despite the horrors, the study of ergot has led to many advances in medical science, like cures for migraine headaches and psychological disorders. It has also led to advances in psychedelic science by giving the world LSD.

Snacks are a big part of our lives. An after-school snack is a custom that most of us grow up with. Popcorn is a necessity at the movie theater, and chips are perfect for munching on in front of the TV at home.

You wouldn’t throw a party without supplying some sort of finger-food spread. Checkout lanes at many stores are stocked with a variety of snacks, allowing us to make a last-minute grab for something to tide us over until the next meal.

But some of the most popular—and tastiest—snacks have an unappetizing side you might not be aware of.

10 Cheetos Mess With Your Mind

Orange-stained fingers are a small price to pay for this delightfully cheesy snack. Classic crunchy Cheetos have been around for almost 70 years. Introduced by Frito-Lay in 1948, the cheese-dusted cornmeal puffs are still one of the top brands in snacking.

But Cheetos did not become insanely popular by accident.

According to food scientist Steven Witherly, Cheetos are an example of “vanishing caloric density.” When a food melts quickly in your mouth, it tricks the brain into thinking that no calories have been consumed.^[1] If your brain does not think you are consuming any calories, then it does not send a message to your stomach that you are full.

This makes it easy to plow through an entire bag of Cheetos at once because of their light and airy design. Which is exactly what the manufacturers intended.

9 Pretzels Are Bathed In Lye

Those warm, soft pretzels that are perfect for tearing into chunks and eating might have been dipped in a caustic chemical that is capable of dissolving glass.

Lye is commonly used to make soap and unclog drains. It is also used to make traditional Bavarian-style soft pretzels. The pretzel dough is dipped into a mixture of water and lye before being baked. The lye bath is a browning agent that gives pretzels their color.

If no browning agent had been applied to the dough before baking, the pretzels would come out of the oven white. A mix of hot water and baking soda can also be used as a browning agent, but many bakers believe that the lye method yields the best results.^[2]

Bakers typically use food-grade lye for this process. Food-grade lye is produced and packaged in a regulated way but remains the chemical equivalent of the cleaning solution.

8 Veggie Straws Lack Veggies

Sensible Portions Garden Veggie Straws are advertised as a healthy alternative to regular potato chips. As a result, they are facing a lawsuit. It turns out that Garden Veggie Straws are not any healthier than a bag of Lay’s Classic potato chips, despite the bright pictures of spinach and tomatoes on their packaging.

John Solak and Jim Figger filed a class action lawsuit against Sensible Portions, accusing the company of using false and deceptive marketing to convince consumers that their product is healthier than it really is. Solak and Figger say that they paid a higher price for Garden Veggie Straws compared to other snacks because they believed the product was made from whole vegetables.

The lawsuit states that the plaintiffs never would have purchased Garden Veggie Straws if they had known the product contained only vegetable by-products that lack the nutrients and vitamins found in whole vegetables. Along with monetary compensation, Solak and Figger are seeking an injunction that would prohibit Sensible Portions from continuing to falsely advertise their products in the future.^[3]

On the Garden Veggie Straws packaging, one thing that seems to be true is the claim that their product contains 30 percent less fat than the leading potato chips. This is accurate when comparing a single serving of Garden Veggie Straws to a single serving of Lay’s Classic potato chips.

However, that is the only area where the straws trump the chips. Garden Veggie Straws also contain more sodium per serving than Lay’s Classic potato chips, while the chips have higher amounts of dietary fiber, protein, and vitamins.

7 Jerky Is A Carcinogen

Jerky seems like a good choice for anyone looking to snack on something loaded with protein. But you might want to find your energy boost elsewhere.

The World Health Organization has classified processed meat as a Group One carcinogen, meaning that convincing evidence exists that the meat causes cancer. Processed meats, including jerky, have been linked to colorectal cancer.

About 34,000 cancer deaths per year worldwide are attributable to diets that are high in processed meat. The more processed meat you consume, the higher your risk becomes. Studies estimate that every 50-gram portion of processed meat eaten daily increases the risk of colorectal cancer by 18 percent.^[4]

The specific process by which consuming processed meat increases the risk of colorectal cancer is not yet known, but it is likely related to chemicals that are formed when meat is processed or cooked. Some of these chemicals are known or suspected carcinogens.

6 Gummy Bears Are More Than Just Sugar And Spice

These snacks are chewy and adorable. They also contain the leftovers from slaughterhouses. Gold-Bears from Haribo are the original gummy bears. Their nutrition page lists gelatin as the ingredient responsible for their trademark chewiness.

Gelatin is a versatile ingredient that comes from animal collagen. In the Middle Ages, it was discovered that animal bones and hides boiled in water created a broth that solidified when cooled. Back then, making gelatin was a long process that involved boiling animal parts for six hours. Only wealthy households with many servants could accomplish the task.^[5]

Today, gelatin is commercially manufactured worldwide. Therefore, you do not have to be wealthy to enjoy the chewy gummy bears that owe their existence to boiled animal parts.

5 Takis Can Erode Your Stomach Lining

Takis are mini rolled corn chips that come in a variety of flavors. In particular, the spicy flavors have become a hit, especially among kids. But this obsession is sending people to the hospital, and some spicy snack food brands have even been banned by school districts.

People are ending up in the emergency room with gastritis after eating snacks such as Takis. Gastritis is an inflammation or erosion of the stomach lining. Some of the symptoms include abdominal pain, nausea, and a burning sensation in the stomach.

Twelve-year-old Andrew Medina of Los Angeles was taken to the doctor because of abdominal pain. He said that it felt similar to a bruise. He also said that he ate 20–30 bags of spicy chips every month.^[6]

Dr. Robert Glatter, an emergency room physician, believes that the flavoring on spicy snacks affects the pH levels in the stomach, causing it to become painfully acidic. Some kids suffer from stomachaches so severe that they arrive at the hospital doubled over in pain.

4 French Fries Are Worse Than You Thought

Due to their high sodium and fat content, french fries are not considered a healthy snack choice to begin with. But they also contain a chemical called acrylamide. First found in certain foods in 2002, acrylamide was recognized as a major concern for humans based on its ability to cause cancer in laboratory animals.

The chemical is not found in raw potatoes. It is formed when they are cooked using high temperature methods such as frying. Researchers have discovered that french fries contain higher levels of acrylamide than other foods.

The level of the chemical rises when cooking is done for longer periods or at higher temperatures. This means that frying potatoes creates more acrylamide than boiling or microwaving them. It also means that crispy brown fries tend to contain more acrylamide than golden yellow ones.

The National Toxicology Program and the International Agency for Research on Cancer consider acrylamide to be a probable human carcinogen. There are regulations on acrylamide for materials that come in contact with food and drinking water. There are no regulations on acrylamide in food itself.^[7]

3 Fruit Snacks Are No Better Than Candy

Fruit snacks are marketed as a healthy source of vitamins. Many package labels state that they are made with real fruit and contain the daily recommended amount of vitamin C. But that does not mean fruit snacks measure up to real strawberries or bananas. Nutritionally, fruit snacks have more in common with candy than actual fruit.

Fruit snacks lack dietary fiber, an important nutrient supplied by fresh fruit. If you eat just two small pouches of Welch’s Fruit Snacks, you have consumed the same amount of calories and sugar that are in a pack of Starburst candies.

The makers of Welch’s Fruit Snacks are facing a class action lawsuit alleging that their labels are false and misleading. Plaintiff Lauren Hall claims that the company’s labels promise more nutritional benefits than what their product delivers. Hall says that sugar makes up 40 percent of each serving of fruit snacks and as much as 60 percent of Welch’s Fruit ‘n Yogurt Snacks.^[8]

It remains to be seen if the lawsuit will result in fruit snacks being moved to the candy aisle.

2 Check Your Cheese Sources

Cheese is a popular snack in many forms. String cheese is added to sack lunches, block cheese is sliced for cracker toppings, and shredded cheese is melted over chips to make homemade nachos.

Some cheeses are made using an enzyme called rennet. This enzyme curdles milk during the process of making cheese. It can be found in the fourth stomach of young calves and other milk-fed young mammals.^[9]

Natural calf rennet is a by-product of veal. Rennet must be extracted from calves that have been slaughtered before they are weaned. Older calves that have eaten grain or grass do not have the same level of the enzyme in their stomach.

It is thought that rennet was discovered accidentally by ancient Egyptians. They stored milk in containers made from animal stomachs, and the enzyme would have caused the milk to separate into curds.

For people who do not eat meat for ethical reasons, this little-known fact about some cheeses can be an unpleasant discovery.

1 Popcorn Can Damage Your Lungs

Popcorn is one of the oldest known snacks. Archaeologists have found evidence that popcorn was made as early as 6,700 years ago in Peru. Back then, popcorn was made by resting a cob on hot coals or heating it directly over a flame.

Today, microwave popcorn makes it easy to enjoy the snack without building a fire. Anyone who has ever popped a bag of popcorn in the microwave knows how good it smells.

But the buttery flavoring that smells so good contains chemicals. Inhaling these chemicals has been proven to cause damage to the lungs. Workers in microwave popcorn manufacturing plants have developed “popcorn lung” after being exposed to the chemical vapors on a regular basis. “Popcorn lung” refers to a condition where the smallest airways of the lungs are damaged and become narrower, making it harder to breathe.

However, it is not just the workers in manufacturing plants who are at risk for popcorn-related lung damage. Wayne Watson of Colorado developed “popcorn lung” after eating two bags of microwave popcorn every day for 10 years. After being diagnosed with lung damage, Watson sued the manufacturer and retailers of the popcorn he had eaten.

He was awarded $7 million dollars in 2012.^[10] Watson said that he no longer eats two bags of popcorn each day and only has the snack once in a while when it is prepared on a stovetop.

Food. The noblest of all human pursuits.

From ancient emperors to the fast-food restaurants of modern America, the enjoyment of food has always been an integral part of our lives. Despite their troubles, our ancestors still found the time to turn the items around them into delectable delights.

Here are 10 of the most interesting ancient foods, including one that could kill you if you’re one of the rare people whose body lacks a particular enzyme.

10 Maccu

What might be Hannibal Lecter’s favorite meal on this list, maccu is an ancient Roman dish made primarily from crushed fava beans. Initially created on the island of Sicily, this particular dish spread once the Sicilians were integrated into the Roman Empire. Widely known as some of the best cooks in the Roman Empire, the island dwellers were introduced to the bean sometime in the distant past, though the exact date is unknown.

As for the preparation, the fava beans were boiled with any number of herbs and spices. Olive oil was added to the mixture, and it was eaten as a soup.^[1] Leftovers could be poured out, left to harden, and then eaten as a snack. (Sometimes, they would be cut up, floured, and fried before being eaten again.) Though a rarity in today’s Sicily, some restaurants carry the foodstuff as peasant food, meant to play on our nostalgia for ages past.

However, fava beans can cause illness and even death in some people who lack the enzyme glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase. Certain people without this enzyme cannot process the toxins in fava beans, so their red blood cells are destroyed by these toxins. This rare hereditary condition occurs more often in the Mediterranean than in the US.

9 Moretum

Staying in ancient Rome, moretum was a kind of cheese spread that Roman peasants used on the various breads which they ate. The great poet Virgil, more widely known for the epic Aeneid, compiled a collection of poetry called Appendix Vergiliana. (Ancient sources believed that Virgil was the author of most of them, but it’s more likely that he merely assembled those written by others.)

One of the poems discusses the foodstuff, and it is eponymously named “Moretum.”^[2] In the poem, the peasant collected ingredients from his land (garlic, herbs, and butter) and then produced the meal, all while talking and singing to his slave.

There was also a widely eaten variant involving pine nuts which is remarkably similar to modern-day pesto. As for the name, since all the ingredients needed to be crushed together in a mortar, it only made sense to name it after that.

8 Shrikhand

Deriving its name from the Sanskrit word for “milk” (ksheer) and the Persian word for “sweet” (qand), shrikhand is a dessert made from fermented milk. The exact origins are lost to history, but tradition says it arose in ancient western India.

Traveling herdsmen were said to have hung either curd or yogurt overnight, thickening it in the process.^[3] Later versions of shrikhand contained various other ingredients, including sugar, spices, and nuts.

Most commonly found in India today, shrikhand is served as a breakfast dish in the North. In the South, they’ve kept its tradition as a dessert. As for the actual creation process, milk is heated and then cooled to room temperature, with a culture being introduced to make a firm curd. The resulting curd is strained to remove the whey and then mixed with the desired additional ingredients.

7 Tamales

An extremely traditional Mesoamerican foodstuff, tamales have been cooked since at least 1500 BC. Some evidence actually points to as long ago as 8000 BC.

The word itself is derived from the Nahuatl word for “wrapped food” (tamalii), and the correct singular form is tamal. (In English, it’s commonly spelled and pronounced “tamale.”) Tradition holds that the Maya would make their cornmeal delights both filled and unfilled, with the fillings ranging from fish to beans to eggs.^[4]

Aztec tamales were quite similar, with some of their descriptions coming from Bernardino de Sahagun, a Spanish priest who wrote about his experiences in the New World shortly after the Aztecs were conquered. (They also had “dessert” tamales, which were filled with fruit or honey.)

Tamales, especially those made of ground amaranth, also took on a religious connotation due in part to their use as offerings to various gods. As a result, the Catholic Church banned tamales and amaranth. Execution was the likely punishment for those caught making this food.

As for the tamales’ wrapping, which serves to help the steaming process, corn husks are the most widely used. However, banana leaves are more common in tropical areas.

6 ‘Black Soup’

Leave it to the Spartans of ancient Greece to have one of the most reviled foodstuffs in history. “Black soup” (melas zomos) was a traditional soup or broth eaten by soldiers in the army. Adding to their legacy of caring for nothing but warfare, it was only eaten for sustenance, though some say the Spartans enjoyed the soup. Made from boiled pigs’ blood, pork, and vinegar, black soup was infamous even in its own time.

Supposedly, one Italian who tasted it said that he finally understood why Spartans were so willing to sacrifice their lives in battle if black soup was all they had to eat. Another tale has a king of Pontus who wanted to try the soup. He had a Spartan chef prepare it for him, and with the first spoonful barely in his mouth, he was disgusted.^[5] The chef’s response was that the king should have first bathed in a Spartan river, implying that one had to be Spartan to enjoy it.

Unfortunately, or perhaps not, there is no specific recipe surviving to this day. (However, various blood soups are still enjoyed throughout the world.)

5 Acquacotta

Acquacotta, another peasant’s dish, originally came from western coastal Italy in an area known as the Maremma. Literally translated as “cooked water,” this particular foodstuff is a relatively simple soup. Farmers and other laborers often just gathered whatever wild herbs and vegetables they could find.^[6] Unsalted bread, often stale, was then added to the soup to soften the bread and make it edible.

The more prosperous proponents of acquacotta would top it all off with an egg, poached by the heat of the soup. Legends abound about the initial creation of the dish, with some bearing a striking resemblance to the legendary creation of stone soup. In one of many versions, a poor person convinces others to add ingredients to his pot, which began with nothing but water and a stone inside it. Eventually, a delicious soup was created and everyone enjoyed themselves.

4 Tharida

Tharida (aka tharid) is an Arab soup dating as far back as the time of Muhammad. Created by a group known as the Ghassanids, this dish combines stewed meat with broth and bread crumbs. Traditional tharida has the bread crumbled by hand.

Although the Ghassanids are Arab, they remained Christians until their kingdom was finally annexed. However, tharida’s allure transcended those bounds, becoming increasingly popular among Muslim Arabs.

Muhammad compared the dish to his favorite wife, Aisha, by saying that tharida surpassed all other dishes, much like Aisha surpassed all other women.^[7] Thanks in no small part to his love of tharida, it was one of the few traditional Arab foods which spread far across the world. Variants could be found from Morocco to China.

Each new culture added their own unique flavor, and today, there are hundreds of versions of tharida. (Moorish Spain used eggplants in their form of tharida.)

3 Cantal Cheese

Dating all the way back to the rule of the Gauls, Cantal cheese is one of the oldest cheeses in the history of France. A semihard cheese, this particular type is often referred to as fourme by locals, a name which was used by Gregory of Tours, the famed historian of France. In his depiction of an ancient pagan religious rite, various offerings were thrown into a specific mountain lake, with cheese being one of the items tossed into the water.

The Roman author Pliny the Elder also wrote about the cheese in the first century AD.^[8] Much to the woe of Roman cheesemakers, Pliny said that the best cheese came from Nimes, a city in southern France.

Relatively unchanged through the centuries that followed its creation, Cantal cheese rose to prominence during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Today’s Cantal cheese is sold much younger than it traditionally was, often with much less salt as well.

2 Papadzules

A pre-Columbian enchilada of sorts, papadzules is a traditional dish from the Yucatan Peninsula. Traditionally made by the Maya, the dish consists of tortillas, preferably corn, dipped in a sauce made from pumpkin seeds. (Other varieties of squash may be used instead.) Chopped hard-boiled eggs are placed in the tortilla, and it is wrapped shut and drenched in a tomato sauce.

The papadzules of today have droplets of squash or pumpkin oil all over the surface. Controversy abounds as to whether the Maya could have produced the same effect without more advanced technology. (They were likely capable of producing different kinds of oil which they may have used instead.)

As for the name, the story goes that it meant “food for the lords” and the papadzules were fed to the Spanish conquistadors who encountered the Maya. (Other sources say the name is derived from the Mayan words for “food” and “love.”)^[9]

1 Harissa

Not to be confused with the Tunisian hot sauce of the same name, harissa is a traditional Armenian dish. A ritual dish popular during festivals and on other religious days, it is a thick porridge made from wheat and chicken or lamb.

During fasts which require giving up meat, herbs are used in place of meat. Harissa can be difficult to prepare as it is cooked over a low heat and requires constant stirring for a long period of time. However, part of its cherished value in Armenian culture comes from the time spent.

The name of the dish is legendarily said to have come from Gregory the Illuminator, the patron saint of Armenia. A meal of sheep was being prepared, and it wasn’t going to be enough to feed everyone. Saint Gregory had some wheat added to the pot. When he noticed it was sticking, he proclaimed, “Harekh!” (“Stir it!”)^[10]

For a long time afterward, harissa was a traditional meal given to the poor by Armenian churches.

Would you eat or even recognize these foods in their original forms? Chances are that you wouldn’t.

Genetically modified foods are a big source of debate these days. Some don’t want anything to do with modern GMOs, while others are all for them. However, a lot of people don’t realize that many of today’s fruits and vegetables wouldn’t exist without careful selective breeding. In fact, the original versions of these popular plants might be downright unrecognizable to the modern public.

10 Carrots

The earliest known cultivated carrots were first grown in the 10th century in Asia Minor and Persia. Before it was domesticated, the wild carrot was spread all over the world. Seeds up to 5,000 years old have been discovered in Europe.

The carrot’s original appearance was small and white. It also had more of a forked appearance like a plant root. Most likely, ancient cultures used it as a medicinal plant.^[1]

It’s thought that the carrot’s transformation into the orange, sweet, less bitter descendant so popular today took many centuries to breed. Today’s orange carrots are known as Carotene or Western carrots, while their cousins are known as Asiatic or Eastern carrots, which have purple and sometimes yellow roots.

9 Eggplants

No one can mistake a big, purple, shiny eggplant for anything other than what it is. However, eggplants actually have many varieties. The eggplant was first domesticated in what is modern-day India and Burma. Today, it’s widely cultivated in the land that stretches from northeast India and Burma to Northern Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and southwest China.

The word “eggplant” is said to come from the British occupation of India, where the plants were white and egg-shaped. Writings from as early as 300 BC describe the plant in a variety of ways—as the “blue” fruit, as the royal melon, and as having spines.^[2]

Over the centuries, the plant migrated across Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and North America. The plant in its various forms was often included in early art and literature from these regions.

8 Bananas

The fleshy yellow fruit found in so many kids’ lunchboxes was first cultivated in Papua New Guinea between 7,000 and 10,000 years ago. The banana is yet another edible plant with several varieties, most of which are found today in Asia.

The long, yellow variety, known as the Cavendish, is the result of centuries of careful breeding by diligent agriculturalists. It descends from two wild banana species: Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana. The former has flesh that isn’t very tasty when eaten raw, and the latter is a short, stubby little thing with lots of hard, pea-sized seeds in the middle.^[3]

Thousands of years ago, banana cultivators discovered that cross-pollinating these two plants sometimes produced a sweet, yellow, seedless fruit that was also rich in nutrients. As this variety is seedless, these bananas must be produced by human-assisted asexual propagation (otherwise known as cloning).

This form of reproduction makes the Cavendish much more susceptible to disease than its hardy ancestor. Since the plants are genetically uniform, a banana-killing pestilence could quickly and easily wipe out whole crops. For this reason, cultivators are careful with their output lest the world experience a banana apocalypse.

7 Tomatoes

Wild Tiny Pimp might sound like an unfortunate street name, but it’s actually the name of a tomato species. In fact, it’s the tomato species from which all other tomatoes descend. Plant scientists call it Solanum pimpinellifolium, or just “pimp.”

Today, these pea-sized tomatoes grow on scraggly vines found in northern Peru and southern Ecuador. South Americans first domesticated them during the pre-Columbian era.^[4] Then these tomatoes spread to Europe and eventually back to North America.

Today’s wide assortment of domesticated tomatoes all come from the tiny pimp and, interestingly enough, only have five percent genetic variation between them. Crossbreeding modern types with the earlier wild ones, including the pimp, produces a plant that’s hardier and less susceptible to disease.

6 Watermelons

Theories abound concerning where exactly the watermelon originated. Historians only agree that it first grew somewhere in Africa, spread to the Mediterranean, and later popped up in Europe.

Harry Paris, a horticulturalist at the Agricultural Research Organization in Israel, has concluded that the watermelon’s earliest ancestor was first cultivated in Egypt some 4,000 years ago. This ancient fruit was hard, bitter, and pale green in color—a far cry from today’s sweet, fleshy variety.

So why would the ancient Egyptians want to spend time and energy growing something like that?

Paris believes that they were cultivated simply for their water. During the dry season, watermelons stored well and the Egyptians could pound them to a pulp and extract their water content. He also believes that the Egyptians were the ones who began the selective breeding process that ultimately led to watermelon as we know it.^[5]

5 Corn

It’s hard to imagine a world without this most essential staple crop. Corn was one of the first food plants cultivated at the start of human agriculture some 10,000 years ago in the area that is modern-day Mexico. At one time, ears of corn were very small and gradually became bigger over time thanks to artificial selection.

If we go back even further, we find that corn’s ancient ancestor is a wild grass plant called teosinte. It looks very little like corn, though they both produce kernels. On a genetic level, though, the two plants are quite similar.^[6]

Geneticist George Beadle found in his experiments that there were only five chromosomes responsible for the most noticeable differences between the two plants. Teosinte underwent small genetic changes over time that eventually resulted in the appearance of maize.

4 Peaches

The peach has quite a long history. In fact, peach pit fossils have been discovered in China that are 2.5 million years old. These peaches were smaller than today’s variety. They more closely resembled small cherries and had very little flesh.^[7]

It took about 3,000 years for the peach to reach its modern appearance. Unsurprisingly, peaches have an important part in Chinese culture. They symbolize long life and are commonly found in markets throughout the country.

3 Avocados

The fleshy fruit responsible for the tastiness of guacamole was originally a snack for prehistoric giant mammals 65.5 million years ago. In fact, these animals were the avocados’ sole mode of transportation since they would eat the fruit whole and then poop out the seed later in another location.^[8]

The original avocado had a bigger pit (if you can imagine that) and much less flesh than today’s Hass avocados. Sometime after the large mammals died out, humans took to cultivating the fruit so that it became fleshier and more appealing over time.

2 Papayas

Though papaya is eaten around the world today, it originated in the tropical climate of Latin America. The modern commercial papaya descends from the wild papaya, and they both have very different appearances.

The wild papaya is round and about the size of a plum.^[9] Some species even closely resemble a cacao pod. The ancient Maya were the first to cultivate papaya about 4,000 years ago. Growing the fruit is a complicated process because the grower doesn’t know which seeds will produce fruit-bearing plants until after they’ve begun to grow.

1 Pumpkins

The original word for “pumpkin” came from the Greek word pepon, which means “large melon.” Over time, the word was morphed into what we now know it as. Pumpkins and squash are believed to have originated in the early Americas. The earliest pumpkins were the size of a softball, tasted bitter, and were toxic when raw.

Only large prehistoric mammals could eat them, so these creatures alone were responsible for spreading the seeds around. When these mammals died out, the pumpkin could have gone with them if it weren’t for human cultivation.^[10]

Humans would go on to find various uses for hollowed-out pumpkins and gourds, such as containers for water. Eventually, they began eating pumpkins and saving the seeds of the tastier types for replanting. It kind of makes you appreciate pumpkin spice lattes a bit more.

Tiffany is a freelance writer hailing from Southern California. She’s a fan of pop science and considers herself a human repository of random facts.

Renowned for its beautiful architecture, scarily advanced technology, and strong tradition, Japan remains one of the most fascinating countries to culturally dissect. However, it is the nation’s eccentric game shows, colorful anime, and unusual gadgets that seem to generate considerable attention. The same fervent interest lies in Japanese food.

Japan’s gastronomical delights have evolved through centuries of social, political, and economic shifts. The region’s chefs are notorious for their fusion cuisine, combing dishes from around the world with their own culinary flair. Such emphasis on innovation and originality has led to a mishmash of novel, interesting, and downright strange creations. As you will see from this list, the Japanese certainly adhere to the “try everything once” school of thought in terms of food.

10 Fish Sperm (Shirako)

The Japanese love a bit of piscine semen. For that matter, the dish has spread throughout the civilized world. Americans call it “milt.” The Japanese call it shirako. The Russians relish a little moloka (herring milt).

Reminiscent of the human brain’s slimy labyrinth of gyri and fissures, shirako is actually the fluid-filled sperm sac of a fish. Although the sac is most often extracted from cod, it is sometimes taken from salmon, puffer fish, and anglerfish.

Shirako is served in a variety of formats. Chefs have been known to deep-fry the reproductive apparatus in batter, saute it, or put it in a hot pot. For hard-core diners, shirako is frequently served raw with spring onions, leeks, and a citrus dressing. In terms of taste, the semen-packed snack is creamy, mildly sweet, and has a hint of tofu about it.^[1]

It may have all the aesthetic appeal of a Tim Burton film prop, but at least it offers some nutritional value. The fishy dish is packed with vitamin B, calcium, potassium, and protein.

Caviar might not seem like such an unpalatable dish after all.

9 Kare Donatsu

The Japanese have taken a traditional Indian dish and put a unique spin on it. Simply put, kare donatsu is a deep-fried doughnut filled with curry. The inexpensive snack, costing a mere couple of bucks, is sold at bakeries and stores across Japan. Tokyo’s Toyofuku bakery proudly claims that it has produced kare donatsu using Japanese beef for more than a century.

Inspired by the kare donatsu recipe, Japanese confectionary company Tirol decided to release another bizarre curry creation—curry chocolates. These bite-size snacks, called Kare Pan Tirol, have a chocolate, curry, and crunchy bread interior. The emergence of curry doughnuts even spawned “Kare Pan Man” (Curry Bread Man), an anime superhero made of curry bread.

Curry was first used in Japan during the mid-1800s. It is believed that English merchants of the Japanese port city Kobe first introduced the country to curry powders. Curry dishes quickly spread through cookbooks and became a staple diet of the Japanese navy.

In the 1930s, a Japanese merchant sampled curry rice aboard a steamship bound for Europe. Upon his return, he began selling an affordable version of the dish in his Osaka department store. It was an instant hit and led to curry houses appearing all over Japan.^[2]

8 Dancing Squid

The dancing squid (katsu ika odori-don) is both a Japanese delicacy and viral sensation. As the name suggests, the squid serves as an acrobatic jester to restaurant goers. Dousing the cephalopod in soy sauce leads to an electrical response in the creature’s limbs. More specifically, it is the salt in the soy sauce that causes the tentacles to thrash, making it seem as if the squid were still alive.

As the squid is freshly killed, much of the tissue is still functional. The sodium chloride within the sauce triggers action potentials in the sensory neurons of the tentacles. A series of electrical signals are then sent to the muscles, causing them to contract and relax. Since the squid’s muscle cells still possess energy reserves in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), movement is still possible.

The dancing squid has courted controversy online, with some viewers complaining about animal cruelty. However, the squid’s brain is removed during cooking. As a result, the squid is dead and cannot feel pain.^[3]

The same phenomenon is at play when salt is sprinkled over severed frog legs. For those of a morbid disposition, it is worth mentioning that a similar experiment was performed on a dead convict during the early 1800s.

The dancing squid is sold at Ikkatei Tabiji, a restaurant in Hakodate. It is typically served alongside rice, salmon roe, and shiso leaves.

7 Shiro-uo (Ice Gobies)

Here is another piece of “dancing” cuisine. Unlike the dancing squid, however, these sea creatures are sometimes alive when consumed. Shiro-uo are tiny, translucent fish. When placed in the mouth, they are said to do the odorigui dance.

More generally, the Japanese word odorigui refers to eating seafood that is still moving. This can occur when the creature is alive (e.g., shiro-uo) or dead (e.g., katsu ika odori-don). More commonly, though, shiro-uo are consumed when they are motionless and dead. For example, they are frequently used as a rice topping.

Caught throughout the Kyushu and Honshu islands of Japan, living gobies are sold at premium prices. Different regions use different types of small fish in their dishes. Fukuoka (Kyushu) chefs use ice gobies, whereas those from Iwakuni (western Honshu) use whitebait.

Many intrepid adventurers flock to Fukuoka’s Koharu restaurant to eat shiro-uo. This temporary structure overlooks the Muromi River, where local fishermen spend their days capturing unsuspecting shiro-uo.

Once inside the famed establishment, patrons mix the cold-blooded dancers with a vinegar and egg mix. With chopsticks at the ready, consumers are left to embrace the splendors of the odorigui dance. At the discretion of the customer, the fish are then either chewed or swallowed whole.^[4]

6 Wasps, Hornets, Bees, And Their Larvae

To most, these insects are picnic-plundering pests. To the Japanese, they represent a delicious snack. In fact, Emperor Hirohito was known to engage in a spot of entomophagy, munching away on a diet of wasps and rice.

Somewhere in Japan is a man chasing down a flag-waving wasp. These “wasp hunters” place small lumps of meat around the forested slopes of central Japan, waiting for the carnivorous critters to take a piece back to their nest. Affixed to the meat is a little white flag that allows the hunters to trace the wasp through the air.

Once the nest is located, the group incapacitates the wasps using smoke. Parts of the larvae-rich nest are then taken away and used in Japanese cuisine. It is even possible to purchase cans of wasp larvae from stores and packets of bee larvae from vending machines.

Hunters search for nests of the Asian giant hornet (aka the yak killer) using a similar technique. The powerful adult hornets are lured into a large container of shochu alcohol and left to ferment. The end result is an intoxicating hornet juice packed with vitamin C and protein. Meanwhile, the larvae is harvested from the nest and used in a variety of dishes, including appetizers, broths, and tempura.^[5]

Japan’s insect-eating ways have put the country on the map. Thrill-seeking tourists travel from all over the world to try the island nation’s rice grasshoppers, silk pupae, and giant water bugs. Mouthwatering.

5 Square Watermelons

Who knew that molding fruit into a variety of unconventional shapes could become such a prolific market? But that is the legacy of one Japanese farmer who created the square watermelon.

The square fruit was originally devised as an elegant solution to stacking and refrigeration issues. Apparently, the Japanese thought that traditional watermelons were difficult to stack and took up too much space in refrigerators.

Farmers grew the watermelons in square, glass cages, thereby molding them into a more practical shape. The dimensions of the glass containers corresponded closely to those of the refrigeration units.

Alas, square watermelons never enjoyed mass appeal. The square fruit was far more expensive than traditional watermelons and, once picked, took longer to ripen. Overall, the molding process diminished the product’s quality. As a result, square watermelons are now sold as decorative items, fetching hundreds of dollars each.

This obsession with fruit molding has spread to other countries, including Brazil, the United States, Canada, China, and Panama. Chinese company Fruit Mould is renowned for selling skull pumpkins, watermelon hearts, Buddha pears, and other so-called “fashion fruits.”

In Japan, high-end fruit is often given to loved ones during the gift-giving seasons, Chugen and Seibo. In 2016, a pair of melons went for over $27,000 at a market auction in Hokkaido. Bunches of behemoth-sized strawberries and grapes can go for hundreds of dollars. Top fruit stores sell oversized, blemish-free apples, mangoes, and pears at similarly exorbitant prices.^[6]

4 Novelty Ice Cream

Japan is famed for its novelty ice creams. Many of the unorthodox ingredients locked within these pungent scoops will make your taste buds do somersaults. From raw horse flesh to tulips, it would seem there is a flavor to suit any palate.

One of the most popular attractions in Tokyo is Namco’s Namja Town, home of the now-defunct Ice Cream City. Smaller ice cream and dessert stalls were set up following the museum’s closure. However, in its heyday, Ice Cream City was known for its squid ink, soy sauce, oyster, shark fin, beer, and whiskey-flavored ice cream offerings.

Every year, Japan celebrates “Ice Cream Day.” On May 9, in the Saitama prefecture, ice cream aficionados celebrate the day by sampling 100 different flavors. Some of the more unusual recipes have included crab, eel, and octopus.

Octopus and jellyfish ice creams are also available from the Kumamoto (Kyushu) and Yamagata (Honshu) prefectures, respectively. From the town of Bizen, it is possible to buy ice cream that has chunks of deep-fried oysters jutting from the sides.

And if you ever fancied a bit of pit viper ice cream, Japan is your ticket. The ice cream’s distinctive flavor leaves much to be desired. Some say it tastes like vomit. More charitably, others claim it has an air of garlic and almond. Many Japanese citizens believe the venomous reptile, called mamushi, has powerful aphrodisiac qualities and improves the nervous and circulatory systems.^[7]

3 Green Caviar (aka Sea Grapes)

The deceptively named “green caviar” (umi budou) is actually a type of seaweed. Grown in the shallow waters around Okinawa Island, situated in the south of Japan, the algae form bunches of green spheres. As the seaweed is transported in darkness, it temporarily loses its distinctive green coloring. The color returns when the “sea grapes” are exposed to low-intensity light.

The food is typically consumed raw in salads along with the citrus-based dipping sauce ponzu. The spheres have a slimy texture, and they burst in the mouth to release a slightly salty flavor. Japanese chefs also use the seaweed as a garnish for various types of seafood, including smoked salmon blini and tuna sashimi.^[8]

Sea grapes have high nutritional value, boasting carbohydrates, protein, fiber, omega-3, antioxidants, and minerals. However, some studies have suggested that the seaweed (Caulerpa lentillifera) may contain “appreciable amounts of cadmium,” leading to fears over potential toxicity.

The seaweed is popular in other Asian countries, too, regularly appearing on menus throughout the Philippines and Malaysia.

2 Horumon

The Japanese take a “waste not, want not” approach to the island’s resources. They even have a special word, mottainai, that expresses their disdain for wasteful behavior.

The concept behind this ancient Buddhist philosophy explains why many Japanese residents save wrapping paper, reuse discarded sink water in toilets, and turn old kimonos into purses, fans, and chopstick holders.

Japanese cuisine is no different, with the dish horumon perfectly encapsulating the country’s mottainai spirit. Horumon (“things to discard”) is a post–World War II viand that involves cooking offal and tripe. It is considered an inexpensive, working-class meal and is found throughout eateries in the Kansai region of Honshu.

The dish uses beef or pork and can include the diaphragm, esophagus, intestine, kidney, liver, rectum, and stomach. While these parts are often skewered and grilled (horumonyaki), many prefer to deep-fry the meat in batter (horumon tempura), stir-fry it with noodles, or cook it in a hot pot (horumon nabe).^[9]

This curious assortment of organs is also added to stews (motsunabe). The pork or beef offal is boiled in a soup along with cabbage, garlic, soy, and noodles.

1 Turtle

Suppon (Pelodiscus sinensis) is an expensive Asian cuisine. The dish’s popularity perhaps stems from unsubstantiated claims that the soft-shelled turtle affords increased energy, strength, and virility. Suppon oil extract is even sold as an unproven treatment for erectile dysfunction.

The creature inhabits the lakes, rivers, canals, ponds, and rice fields of Honshu and Kyushu, feasting on a diet of fish, mollusks, insects, and local flora. It is also specially bred on turtle farms for human consumption.

While suppon is seen as an alluring treat in urban hubs like Kyoto and Tokyo, it is also sold in rural restaurants at a fraction of the price. Suppon meals typically go for a minimum of 10,000 yen (over $88) in many city restaurants.

During preparation, the turtle’s neck is cut while the animal is still alive. This allows the chef to collect the blood. The blood is then consumed with or without sake according to the patron’s preference. The body of the reptile is chopped into pieces and cooked in a nabe pot to produce a vegetable-and-suppon broth. Alternative dishes incorporate the collagen-rich meat into seafood broths, stir-fries, and ramens.^[10]

The United States government has a department responsible for making sure its citizens don’t eat foods that may be dangerous. Whether this is due to an ingredient or how the dish is made, the Food and Drug Administration and the Consumer Products Safety Commission have decided that some stuff, no matter how delicious it may be, is just too dangerous to consume.

SEE ALSO: 10 Ridiculous Myths People Believe About Fast Food

Some of the items on this list may actually surprise you, given that you either had them growing up or consider them perfectly fine. These ten foods are considered safe for almost everyone else on the planet. The US government, however, has determined that they aren’t good for Americans.

10 Raw Milk

Remember in school, when you learned that Louis Pasteur figured out how to pasteurize milk, saving millions of lives and making milk safe for everyone to drink? It seems some folks missed school that day because there are people who enjoy drinking raw, unpasteurized milk. Raw milk isn’t necessarily dangerous to consume, but when it is mass-produced on the level the dairy industry puts out milk in the United States, the odds of passing on harmful bacteria increase exponentially if pasteurization is skipped.

Unpasteurized milk can carry dangerous bacteria like Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria. These and other harmful organisms killed in the pasteurization process can be dangerous to the young, people with weakened immune systems, the elderly, and pregnant women. Pasteurization prevents harmful diseases such as listeriosis, typhoid fever, tuberculosis, diphtheria, and brucellosis, so it makes sense to keep raw milk under control. In the US, 20 states and the District of Columbia prohibit the sale of raw milk, while its sale is heavily regulated in all but 13 of the remaining 30 states.^[1]

9 Lazy Cakes

When having trouble sleeping, some people may take melatonin. In small doses, it’s a harmless supplement that can help regulate sleep, but it is not generally considered a food ingredient. That’s a problem for the makers of Lazy Larry brownies (formerly called Lazy Cakes), as their principal marketed ingredient is melatonin. The Food and Drug Administration found out about this additive and sent a letter to the company responsible, informing them that their cakes weren’t particularly good for people to . . . well, eat.

These cakes are particularly dangerous for children, who might see a delicious brownie and eat it. If a child were to take melatonin, they shouldn’t exceed 0.3 milligrams, but these brownies are packed with 8 milligrams of melatonin. While the nation as a whole hasn’t jumped on the bandwagon and outright banned Lazy Larry brownies just yet, you won’t be able to find them anywhere in Arkansas. The state banned them in 2011.^[2]

8 Ackee Fruit

Sometimes, the most dangerous treats are also the most delicious. That is certainly the case for the ackee fruit, which can be found in West Africa and Jamaica but certainly not in the United States. The FDA has completely banned the importation of ackee fruit into the country,^[3] and it may have been for a good reason: Ingesting unripe ackee will result in something called Jamaican vomiting sickness (JVS), which is pretty much exactly what you think it is. About two to 12 hours after eating unripe ackee, someone with JVS will begin vomiting uncontrollably, may lose consciousness, and is susceptible to seizures. If this happens while you’re out camping, this little fruit is going to kill you.

The reason ackee causes JVS has to do with the presence of hypoglycin, a nonproteinogenic amino acid. It functions by lowering a person’s blood sugar, which leads to an increased use of glucose and ultimately hypoglycemia. There are thousands of people who eat ackee fruit and its products every day without harm thanks to their patience in waiting for the fruit to ripen, but seeing as dozens of people die from eating it every year, the FDA may be on the right track with this ban.

7 Sassafras Oil

Sassafras oil is probably the one product many people have heard of but have never used. That’s certainly true for Americans, seeing as the use of it in commercially mass-produced foods was banned back in 1960. Sassafras is a bit different than other items on this list; you might just have it growing in your backyard. The plant hasn’t been banned, but you aren’t going to find it in your root beer anymore. The reason the oil has been banned in the States stems from the presence of safrole, a constituent in sassafras oil, which has been shown to be carcinogenic, causing cancer in lab animals.^[4]

There is another problem with safrole in that it is one of the principal ingredients of MDMA, otherwise known as Molly or ecstasy. Because the tree produces a component of the popular party drug, it is becoming threatened and may disappear one day. Despite the dangers posed from ingesting safrole, it is still used in a wide array of products across the planet. Some uses are not banned in the United States, but it is no longer included in foods.

6 Haggis (Imported)

If you have never been to Scotland or eaten their food, odds are you have heard of haggis and want nothing to do with it. Take it from the writer of this article, you are doing yourself a disservice! Haggis is delicious! Unfortunately, you cannot import it into the United States, thanks to a ban placed on the dish in 1971 by the FDA. They made the ban due to the presence of sheep lung, which constitutes less than 15 percent of the total dish. The FDA created the ban, which encompasses all lung meat, due to the potential presence of stomach acid and phlegm.^[5]

The ban only exists on haggis imported from the United Kingdom, so there is nothing stopping an intrepid eater from getting some homemade haggis in the States. If you aren’t ready to take the haggis challenge just yet, you may want to learn what it is: Haggis is described as a pudding in the way only folks from the UK can call a meat dish a pudding. It consists of a sheep’s heart, liver, and lung meat, which is then minced with various spices, onions, and oats before it is stuffed into a sheep stomach. It sounds disgusting but is arguably delicious, and many people in and out of Scotland enjoy it.

5 Casu Marzu

Most Americans reading this may be scratching their heads wondering what casu marzu is, and there’s a reason for it which you’ve probably already guessed: It’s banned in the United States. The traditional dish from Sardinia is made from sheep milk that contains an ingredient the people at the FDA may have gagged at learning: live insect larvae, more commonly known as maggots. Yes, you read that correctly—when prepared in the traditional way, this dish contains a cheeseload of maggots.

Casu Marzu is made by placing a wheel of pecorino cheese outside with a small portion of the rind removed. This allows a fly, Piophila casei, to lay its eggs in the cheese. Seeing as these little buggers can lay up to 500 eggs at a time, there are going to be quite a few maggots inside. As they mature and eat the cheese, the acid in their stomachs breaks down the cheese fat, making the cheese incredibly soft. The chef knows the dish is ready to be served when several thousand maggots are present. It’s up to the person eating the dish whether or not they want to eat the maggots whole or by mashing them into a paste. Many do this, while others flick them aside. While casu marzu is certainly banned in the United States, it is also banned in the EU, making it difficult to find . . . should you want to.^[6]

4 Mirabelle Plums

For most of the foods on this list, the United States government banned them for health reasons or environmental concerns. For the mirabelle plum, their reason is quite different, thanks to rules making the fruit protected from importation due to its designation as a “protected origin” food.^[7] This designation is the result of an agreement between the French and American governments aimed at helping the French market. As a regional delicacy in France, the country prefers to keep it in-house as a means of attracting tourism. This isn’t unusual for France, which protects a number of regional delicacies, including certain peppers and wines.

Because of this agreement, it is nearly impossible to get a mirabelle plum into the United States. If you want one (and you do, they are delicious), you need to travel to the Lorraine region of France. You can even attend a two-week festival in honor of the fruit and its economic importance to the region in the city of Metz. They hold a mirabelle festival every August, when the fruit becomes ripe. They do grow in other countries outside France but should be enjoyed when cultivated from their native soil.

3 Fugu

This food is so dangerous, it nearly killed Homer Simpson! Fugu is the sushi cut from a pufferfish—you know, those cute fish that blow up at the sense of danger. These fish possess within their bodies an incredibly toxic chemical called tetrodotoxin, a type of neurotoxin and one of the deadliest substances in the world. Because of the danger from eating it, the United States slammed the ban hammer down on serving it, but there are a few places you can get it. In order to serve fugu, a special license is required, and in Japan, three years of training are required before a chef can serve the dish.

If you ever end up eating fugu but then start to feel a little sick, you might have ingested some of the toxin. Here’s what you have to look forward to: some light dizziness followed by outright exhaustion, headache, and nausea. If you ingested a lethal dose, you will begin to have difficulty breathing and then enter a state of total paralysis in which you are unable to do much but contemplate your poor life choices. When the body is completely paralyzed, your lungs cease to work, and asphyxiation occurs. There is no antidote to tetrodotoxin, but your life can be saved with a stomach pump and the ingestion of more charcoal than anyone would want to eat.^[8]

2 Shark Fin Soup (Eight States)

Shark fin soup is a traditional dish found mostly in China and Vietnam, but it has made its way around the world since it originated sometime in the Song dynasty roughly 1,000 years ago. The dish is considered a luxury item and is traditionally served only during special occasions. It is also considerably expensive, costing anywhere between $50 and $100 per serving. You may be picturing a bowl of broth with a shark fin sticking out of the liquid, but it is made using the meat from the fin, which is dried and shredded after the skin is removed. One of the reasons the dish has been so prominent in Chinese culture is due to the belief that it helps prevent cancer, among many other purported benefits.

Its use in Chinese medicine has caused the demand for shark fins to skyrocket, which has caused a decline in a number of shark species. The biggest problem occurs when fishermen pull in sharks, slice off the fin, and throw the bleeding fish back in the water to die. In order to help conservation efforts, many nations have written laws and bans protecting various species targeted for the dish. While shark fin soup is banned in only a handful of states, the US has established a law requiring that sharks caught in American waters be documented before a fin can go on sale.^[9] By the end of 2017, efforts to completely ban the dish in the United States were underway.

1 Kinder Eggs

Saving the best for last, Kinder Eggs are probably the most ridiculous ban the United States has placed on an imported item. For most of Europe, these candies are ubiquitous and a nostalgic part of most people’s childhood. Kinder Eggs, also called Kinder Surprise, are hollow, egg-shaped chocolates containing a toy. The toy comes in a yellow plastic shell, and it can be just about anything. Whether they are promoting a film or are releasing their own line of toys, these can range from small cars to intricate playsets, unique characters, or just about anything imaginable. Sadly, it’s the toy inside that the US government has set its sights on.^[10]

Thanks to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, food items cannot be sold if they contain a nonnutritive object. Since there is very little nutrition in plastic toys, Kinder Eggs fell victim to the ban hammer. In 1997, the Consumer Product Safety Commission reexamined the ban based on some eggs brought illegally into the United States. They determined the presence of small parts in the toys presented a health and safety risk to small children under the age of three. The fine for bringing a Kinder Egg into the United States is a whopping $2,500 per egg. Ferrero, the company that makes Kinder Eggs, was able to create a modified version to market in the US. The new product started showing up in stores at the end of 2017, but they differ considerably from their European counterpart and just aren’t the same.