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5 Weird Food Customs

One of many wonders of travelling is the discovery of alternate culture. Food is an essential part of any culture, with it’s astounding diversity, there’s no wonder we’ve been able to find so many customs that appear oddities from our perspective. Food can often define an entire cultural movement, so here’s 5 of the weirdest food traditions that we could find.

Italy – Please sir, can I have some extra cheese?

When dining in Italy, you’ll find yourself in a world of mesmerising tastes and textures. Maybe enjoying a dish of Spaghetti bolognese, but just don’t ask for extra cheese as it is seen as a direct challenge of the chef’s cooking abilities. Another tip is if an offer of leftovers also comes your way then don’t accept it on the first offer of second helping, only be willing to accept on the next offer of more food. The whole idea is to make it seem like your hand has been forced, when inside you’d kill for another top up! Politeness will get you far in just about any country, but one country’s polite is another country’s rude.

Middle East – Left Hand Is Out Of Bounds

Bad news for left handed people planning on visiting various parts of Africa and the Middle East. Due to the more common right handedness of the human race, naturally the less used hand was given the “dirty work” so to speak. Whilst the right hand was reserved as the tool for all the amazing foods one could eat… the left hand was used as the cleaning hand, which as you can imagine soon became a hand that you shouldn’t be touching food with. Whilst this isn’t a strict tradition, it is still polite to eat with your right hand. It’s probably as bad as having your elbow’s on the table back in the UK.

Mexico – The Radish Festival

“Noche de Rabanos”, the night of the Radishes started as a small party just before Christmas, celebrating giant radishes being carved into something of artistic worth. If you are fond of the bulbous vegetable then you’ll find many intriguing radish carvings waiting to be absorbed! Mexico never fails to surprise with street dancing and music to celebrate their equivalent to our creativity with pumpkins.

Jamaica – Children and strange eating prophecies.

Some simply strange food related taboos that give the UK’s superstition of walking under a ladder a run for it’s money. In Jamaican folklore it is of the belief that if a child starts to eat chicken before they can talk, then they will never learn of to speak. Eating half an egg will eventually turn the child into a thief and allowing them to drink from a baby bottle will turn them into a drunkard. We can’t imagine but think there must be a worried mother out there who’s given her child all 3!

Thailand & Cambodia – Forbidden Forks & Turantula For Tea

A fork is not your weapon for picking up your dinner in Thailand, it is instead used to push food onto a spoon. The spoon is then the utensil that you can use to eat things without appearing rude… funny how the world works isn’t it? However, that’s not the weirdest thing about Thailand, as there is a popular snack which has caught on from Cambodia. This is not for people with feint hearts. Fried Tarantula…

Many will gasp in horror, but this is actually a common choice of street market food.

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