Would You Try The Samples At The ‘Disgusting Foods Museum’?

Many foods that are commonly eaten today may be considered vile by those that don’t enjoy them. To showcase all of these controversial eats, a “Disgusting Food Museum” was recently opened in Sweden where you can sample all of them at once.

All photos courtesy of Anja Barte Telin of the Disgusting Food Museum

To make it into this head-turning culinary pantheon, a few requirements have to be met. According to museum curator Samuel West, the food has to be a real one either eaten today or of major historical significance to the world, has to be considered disgusting by many people, and be “interesting or fun.” West considers the term “disgusting” to be very subjective, as what is reviled by some is a delicacy to others.

Thus, we may not consider all of the items on display to be “disgusting,” but perhaps others do. Some of the 80-plus items on display include Jell-o salad, pork, durian, stinky tofu, guinea pigs, fruit bat soup, haggis, menudo, and century eggs. There’s also casu marzu, a cheese made utilizing maggots that are found inside of the wheel, and kumis, a drink made from fermented mare’s milk.

Most of the foods in the exhibits are the real deal, although some are replicas or just displayed on videos. Several can be sampled via smell, either by directly interacting with the food or via a “smell jar” on display next to it. The Disgusting Food Museum also offers outdoor tastings of some items throughout the day, including durian, Casu Marzu, Surströmming (Swedish fermented herring) and Hákarl (Icelandic fermented shark).

If you’re interested in viewing this unique collection, the museum will be displayed at Slagthuset (the Slaughterhouse) in Malmö, Sweden through January 27th. It’ll be open from noon to 6 pm local time Wednesday through Sunday.