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Are you planning to take a vacation? I know it seems odd to hear this question in September
rather than May, but many of us find fall to be the best (and
cheapest!) time to travel. One of the best ways to 'take in' the
local culture is to try different foods. For some of us, however, it
is also the 'scariest'! We might think things like hamburgers and
pizza are 'safe' but, trust me, this isn't always true! To illustrate
my point, here are some of the rather odd toppings on pizzas around
the world.
One thing that is essential to a good
pizza is the crust. What is used for the crust, however, is rather
subjective. For instance, the Pizza Hut chain in Korea serves a pizza
with a crust made out of whole shrimp (heads and all) wrapped in
cheese and dough! While I can attest that shrimp on pizza can be
really good, the crust is where I draw the line! Since I don't read
Korean, here's where I saw this:
http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2008/02/crazy-weird-asian-pizza-crusts-japanese-korean-hong-kong.html.
Think pesto or alfredo sauce is weird
on pizza? Try squid ink! There's a restaurant in Japan that serves a
speciality pizza that substitutes squid ink for tomato sauce. Some
people say it's pretty good, but the mere appearance is enough
to turn me off. Here's a picture:
http://www.chachich.com/mdchachi/jpizza.html.
Here are some other strange and
somewhat frightening toppings that have been served on pizza:
- Guinea pig in Ecuador
- Spiders, scorpions and snakes from a chef in Switzerland
- Crocodile and kangaroo in Australia
- Asparagus and eggplant in Japan
- Ketchup and maple syrup as toppings, also in Japan
- Curried rice cakes in Korea
- Caviar in New York City
- Gherkins (pickles) in New Zealand
- Sweet potato mousse (?) in South Korea
- Abalone and crayfish in Hong Kong
- French fries in Italy (really? I expected more from them)
- Yogurt-based cheese in Israel
- Tuna and potatoes in France
- Orange marmalade in Cuba
- Squid and octopus in Japan
- Eel, crab legs and clam, also in Japan
- Hot dogs in England
- Ketchup as sauce in southeast Asia
- Salmon and tuna in Russia
- Steak sauce in Japan
- Cookie and shrimp on the same pizza in Korea
- Nutella (a chocolate-hazelnut spread) in England
- Bananas and curry powder in Sweden
I've had both spaghetti and mac and
cheese on pizza, albeit not at the same time. Believe it or not, it's
pretty good! I've also had S'mores and ice cream pizzas, which are
also very good. They're great for a fun dessert treat.
And finally-
Here's something that my husband would
love, but that sounds kind of gross to me:
Deep fried pizza from Scotland:
As you can see, pizza isn't always a
'guaranteed-good' food. Maybe squid ink, kangaroo and guinea pig
pizzas are well-liked in the places they are found but, to this
tourist, they're a bit much! Don't take my word for it; I'll leave
you to decide for yourself. Good luck!
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