Mmmmm.. now us Aussies love a meat pie or a snag on the barbie, but how about a sheep heads, carp sperm, a cock’s comb and wattles and pig blood when you’re travelling around Europe?
How many of these have you eaten?
Andouillette, France
Pronunciation: “ahn-doo-yet”
Translated to sausage, it’s some good old chopped-up pig intestine squeezed into a casing and fried, because everything tastes better fried, right?
Instagram image: https://www.instagram.com/p/BhjwhenlAgC/?tagged=andouillettes
2. Cibreo Sauce, Italy
Pronunciation: “chib-ree-oh”
Don’t you just love a hearty stew in winter? Well in Italy, you can get a filling
meaty sauce made from chicken livers and a cock’s flappy bits (y’know, the comb and wattles). They say wobbly parts add texture and flavour to the sauce, whilst the addition of unlaid eggs from the slaughtered hens keeps it traditional.
3. Finanziera, Italy
Pronunciation: “fi-nan-tsier-a”
A cibreo sauce not hearty enough? How about a stew made from all the farm’s leftover bits – think combs and wattles, veal brains, bull testicles and other cut offs.
Instagram image: https://www.instagram.com/p/BgiyzNFjW4h/?hl=en&tagged=finanziera
4. Blodplättar, Finland
Pronunciation: “blued-plettar”
Can you guess what this is from the name? Basically a pancake whipped up from pig or reindeer blood and molasses. Traditionally served with a side of pork or reindeer meat and lingonberry jam. Are you low in iron? No worries, eat some blodplättar!
Instagram image: https://www.instagram.com/p/BQTKqd7g-M9/?hl=en&tagged=blodpl%C3%A4ttar
5. Haggis, Scotland
Pronunciation: “hag-gis”
Are you a sweet or savoury person? Put your hands together and tada you have a savoury pudding! A sheep’s stomach is tightly packed to the brim with its lungs, heart, and liver. Add in onion, spices and oatmeal and just give it a good boil.
Instagram image: https://www.instagram.com/p/BkFGRpGn3v8/?hl=en&tagged=haggis or https://www.instagram.com/p/BkGpgEbjBuD/?hl=en&tagged=haggis
6. Smalahove, Norway
Pronunciation: “small-a-ho-vey”
This delicacy is eaten during Christmas – a torched and boiled lamb’s head, served with potatoes and mashed swede. You eat the fattiest bits first – the eyes, ears and tongue (if included) – before scooping the rest of the head out with a spoon.
Instagram image: https://www.instagram.com/p/BgH9rlAlE_5/?hl=en&tagged=smalahove
7. Mlíčí, Czech Republic
Pronunciation: “mli-chee””
Let’s just keep this one short and sweet. Seminal fluid of carp is fried up to create a fishy treat with an oyster-like texture.
Instagram image: https://www.instagram.com/p/BdFdubUj4Eg/?hl=en&tagged=mlici
8. Casu Marzu, Italy
Pronunciation: “ka-sou mar-tsou”
Rotten cheese, like, really rotten. The sheep’s milk cheese is filled with live insect larvae and the maggots work their way through it to digest the cheese and cause it to ferment to a state of decomposition. Now what’s left is the good bits. Some people remove the maggots, but eating the cheese with the maggots left in arguably enhance the flavour!
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