- 19 hours ago
Embark on a culinary journey as we explore the world's most terrifying national dishes, cherished by locals across the globe. Discover peculiar delicacies that might make your taste buds tremble, yet hold great cultural significance. Then, venture into the captivating history of coffee, from its humble origins as beans to the fascinating process that brings it to your cup. Uncover the stories behind these captivating culinary treasures in this riveting video.
Category
🎈
FunTranscript
00:00One of the most popular ways to eat octopus in South Korea is by having it served up fresh
00:05and wriggling on your plate.
00:07Yep, it's called sanokji, and it's supposed to taste like a mix of chicken and shrimp.
00:12Just be careful not to get those suction cups stuck in your throat.
00:17Over in Canada, they've got a dish made from moose noses.
00:21It's slow cooked until it's tender, and then served up with some delicious gravy.
00:25Some folks say it tastes like beef, while others find it too gamey.
00:28But it's considered a delicacy in some parts of the country.
00:31If you're ever up north, give it a try.
00:34Ah, it can also be jellied.
00:36For those northern areas, it's pretty common to eat this kind of meat, and they say there
00:40are even pizza toppings with moose meat.
00:42Yikes.
00:43If you're heading to Peru, Bolivia, or Ecuador, you might come across quí, a type of guinea
00:49pig that's commonly eaten in those countries.
00:51It might sound weird, but apparently Mr. Cupcake tastes like chicken.
00:56Just brace yourself, because these little guys are not for the faint of heart.
01:00They're social rodents that are similar to guinea pigs, and are a bit unconventional
01:04as a meal.
01:06Norway has its own unique dish called lutefisk.
01:10It's made from dried cod that's been soaked in lye, and then boiled or baked.
01:15It's usually served with potatoes, gravy, and sour cream.
01:19But beware, it has a strong fishy flavor that some people find off-putting.
01:26Have you ever heard of silkworms being used to make silk?
01:28Well, turns out they're also a tasty treat.
01:31They're often fried up with a light tempura batter, and served with sweet and sour sauce
01:36over rice.
01:37It's definitely a bizarre dinner option, but hey, why not give it a try when you travel
01:41around Japan?
01:43Puffer fish is a Japanese delicacy with an evil side.
01:47Their highly poisonous flesh contains tetradotoxin, which is 1,200 more toxic than cyanide.
01:53Normally people can't stay alive if they eat this fish, yet Japanese chefs are trained to
01:58remove the poisonous parts.
02:00In Japan, such a delicacy called fugu will cost you at least $130.
02:06It's almost completely banned in the U.S. There are only a few authorized places that
02:10sell it.
02:12This funky, rotten cheese from Italy is totally banned in the U.S., but it's actually pretty
02:17popular in its homeland of Sardinia.
02:19If you're feeling brave and hungry, you should totally give it a try.
02:23It's made from sheep milk cheese that's left to chill with some special flies for 40 days.
02:27And get this, those flies lay eggs in the cheese that hatch into live maggots.
02:31These little guys help break down the cheese and give casu marzu that unique texture and
02:36spicy flavor.
02:37Sadly, you won't find it in the U.S. due to sanitary reasons.
02:40But if you're ever in Italy, go ahead and give it a taste.
02:45Now forget about that soft and creamy, and not that mouth-watering casu marzu cheese.
02:50Let me tell you about chirpy, the hardest cheese in the world.
02:54This thing is made from milk, just like any other cheese.
02:57But it's got a special secret.
03:00It can stay fresh for up to 20 years.
03:03The cows that make this cheese are a crazy cross between cows and yaks, and they munch
03:07on all kinds of mountain herbs.
03:10So when you taste this cheese, you know you're getting a unique flavor that you won't find
03:14anywhere else.
03:16Okay, so picture this.
03:18You're strolling down the streets of the Philippines, and you come across this weird-looking food
03:23called balut.
03:24It's like the local version of a protein shake, except it's a fertilized duck egg that's
03:29been boiled and eaten whole.
03:31Yup, you heard that right.
03:33Whole egg including the little duckling inside.
03:36Don't worry though, it's a cheap source of protein and calcium, so you won't break the
03:40bank trying it out.
03:41Apparently the Chinese introduced it to the Philippines way back in the day, and it's
03:45been a cultural staple ever since.
03:48But as word got out about this bizarre snack, people started questioning the ethics of eating
03:53it.
03:55Greenland sharks don't really have any pee-pee pipes, so all their gross stuff just seeps
03:59through their skin and meat.
04:00That means their flesh is straight up poisonous.
04:03But hold up!
04:04In Iceland, they still chow down on hackarl.
04:07That's shark meat that's been hung up to dry for like four, five months.
04:11And let me tell you, what you end up with is some stinky jelly-like fish that smells
04:16like straight up ammonia and feels like soggy bread.
04:18Yum, right?
04:20If you live in America and you've never heard of haggis, well, that's probably because
04:25it's been banned for almost 50 years.
04:28This Scottish delicacy is made from all the good parts of a sheep, aka the inner bits,
04:33mixed with some oatmeal, onions and broth.
04:36Sounds delicious, right?
04:37Oh, and did I mention it's spicy?
04:40Yum!
04:40But wait, there's more!
04:42If you're traveling abroad and happen to stumble upon a supermarket, you might notice a
04:46lack of raw milk.
04:47That's because it's banned in a bunch of countries, including Scotland.
04:51But guess what's not banned in Scotland?
04:54You got it, haggis.
04:56So, while we can enjoy a nice glass of raw milk, we can't even try this infamous Scottish
05:02pudding.
05:02Thanks a lot, FDA!
05:05You know what they say, some things just get better with age.
05:08And in Bangkok, Thailand, there's a bistro that's taken this saying to a whole new level.
05:12They've been serving the same beef and noodle soup for almost a whopping 50 years.
05:18That's right.
05:18You heard me correctly.
05:20Almost half a century.
05:22The broth has been simmering away for so long that it's practically become a living being,
05:26and they never throw it away.
05:28Nope.
05:29They just keep it overnight and use it for the next day's soup.
05:32The owner of the bistro wants to set the record straight about a common misconception.
05:36Lots of folks think they don't clean the pot, but they do it every night.
05:39They take out the soup and leave a little bit simmering overnight.
05:43That little bit becomes the base for the next day's soup.
05:46Which means that at least a part of what you're slurping is 45 years old.
05:50The owners have never really had a set recipe about how much of each ingredient to use.
05:55So whoever's making the soup has to taste it constantly to figure out what needs to be
05:59added.
06:00Who needs caviar when you can have Urumiette?
06:03The ultimate delicacy straight from Greenland.
06:06Made with love using the finest ptarmigan droppings collected during winter.
06:10It's like gorgonzola, but with a little extra...spice.
06:14Don't knock it until you try it.
06:16Hey, any ideas about food pairing?
06:19You still want some caviar?
06:20Alright you win.
06:21Do you fancy escamoles?
06:23It's also known as insect caviar.
06:26Escamoles is a Mexican dish made from ant larvae and pupae.
06:30That's right, little ants, but before you start squirming in your seat.
06:33Let me tell you that escamoles are actually considered a delicacy in Mexico.
06:38Some people even say that escamoles taste like a cross between cottage cheese and pine
06:42nuts.
06:43But let's be real, if you're going to eat ant larvae, you might as well convince yourself
06:47that they're delicious, right?
06:49In Mexico, they don't waste blackened corn kernels either.
06:53Nope, they turn it into a fancy dish called Huitlacoche.
06:57It's like the fungus version of a designer handbag.
07:00Earthy and woody with a hint of, I'm too cool for regular corn.
07:04And hey, who doesn't love a little fungus with their meal?
07:07It's like the mold on your favorite cheese, but with a Mexican twist.
07:11So go ahead, try some Huitlacoche and impress your friends with your exotic taste buds.
07:17And here's the bonus fact.
07:19This dish may taste regular, but it looks quite weird.
07:23You know what they say, sometimes a dish just needs a little extra pizzazz.
07:27Take stargazy pie from England, for example.
07:30It's like the sardines, potatoes, and eggs are all trying to catch a glimpse of their favorite
07:35celebrity in the sky.
07:37Or maybe they're just really into astrology and want to study the stars up close and personal.
07:42Either way, those little fishies are definitely reaching for the stars, or maybe just pointing
07:47their tails at them.
07:49Now think about it.
07:52Almost anywhere in the world, you'll be able to drink a cup of coffee.
07:57But how on earth did coffee become so popular among us human mammals?
08:02And what does it take for coffee to go all the way from a bean to the delicious java in
08:08our cups?
08:10Well, meet Carla.
08:12She comes from a Brazilian family that owns one of the most successful coffee farms in
08:17the world.
08:18She's going to show us around the farm and give us a behind-the-scenes look into the process
08:23of coffee production.
08:25By the way, do you even know what coffee is?
08:30Coffee is a fruit.
08:32It grows in medium-sized shrubs known as the coffea plant, just like the ones you see all
08:38over this place.
08:39The fruit itself is called a cherry because it's red in color.
08:44Carla is part of the team that picks cherries by hand, since they mature at a different pace.
08:53She walks around with a large, handmade basket and picks up to 55 pounds of cherries from the
08:58cherries every day.
09:01If she's been picking cherries all morning, she'll pause to eat something sweet and appreciate
09:06her first cup of coffee of the day.
09:09Carla, like me and probably you, are part of 1 billion people around the world that love
09:15drinking coffee.
09:16That means we'll share something in common.
09:18Isn't that nice?
09:20Carla will drink her coffee while sitting on a lovely balcony overlooking the beautiful
09:25mountains of Minas Gerais.
09:27It's one of Brazil's biggest coffee-producing regions.
09:31Her family farm works with Arabica beans.
09:34These are beans usually sold in your local specialty coffee shop.
09:38They are superior-quality beans with a richer flavor than the Robusta variety.
09:45Arabica beans are usually found at heights of 4,000 feet.
09:49To thrive, they need high altitudes and a drier climate.
09:52Thankfully, Carla's farm has all that Arabica beans need for a fantastic, delicious coffee.
09:59High altitudes allow coffee to have a richer taste since the oxygen in these regions is scarcer
10:05and it takes longer for coffee beans to grow and evolve.
10:08As a lover of coffee, Carla likes trying out different varieties of coffee every week, buying from other
10:16producers around the world.
10:17Her pantry has coffee from Uganda, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Guatemala, and other regions of Brazil as well.
10:25After all, each region produces coffee with a unique taste.
10:29Ah, brewing methods also influence the taste, but we're going to do the tasting later.
10:36Carla's family began working with coffee in the 20th century.
10:40Why does that sound so long ago?
10:43Anyway, coffee itself is much older than that.
10:46It was discovered in Ethiopia back in the 15th century.
10:50After Ethiopians started to brew it and discovered that the beverage had energizing qualities,
10:56they started to sell the commodity to the nearby countries.
11:01It is unknown who discovered coffee, but there is a legend that says it was a mountaineer goat herd.
11:08He noticed that the goats were eating red cherries that left them more energized,
11:12and he decided to try it for himself.
11:18It was only around the 17th century that coffee reached Europe through the trade done by Dutch merchants.
11:24These guys founded the first coffee shops in Europe.
11:28They were based in Amsterdam.
11:30But after that, coffee culture spread quickly around the Western world.
11:35Today, the world's biggest coffee consumer is the United States.
11:39Only the city of New York alone drinks millions of cups of coffee every day.
11:46Now back to Carla's Farm.
11:48The next stage of coffee production is necessary in order to get the beans out of the cherries.
11:53Producers need to do that without compromising the taste of coffee.
11:57So there are two ways to do that.
12:01One process is called washing, the one that Carla does.
12:04And the other is known as a natural process.
12:08After picking cherries, Carla washes the beans the way her great-grandfather taught her.
12:13First, she'll put the beans in a wet mill.
12:16This machine will separate the seeds, also known as the coffee beans, from the fruit.
12:21Water is an important part of this process as it will help to separate good beans from bad ones based
12:28on their density.
12:29Ripe beans are heavier, so they will sink to the bottom.
12:32A washed coffee bean will keep all of the original characteristics of the coffee bean, giving a more intense mouthfeel.
12:40Then the beans will need to be fermented for a day or two.
12:43Much like with cheese or chocolate, this is the part where coffee will acquire its rich and complex flavor.
12:50Some farms will ferment coffee beans for over 30 days.
12:54This is what is called a natural process.
12:57If you choose coffee that has undergone this process, expect a very fermented-tasting bean, almost cheesy in taste.
13:05But not in a bad way, I swear.
13:09Now, remember we said that the best coffee farms are located in a dry climate?
13:15That's because Carla needs to leave several tons of coffee to dry out in the open air before she continues
13:21the process.
13:22And no, the beans still aren't ready for consumption.
13:25They'll spend three weeks drying, and Carla will rake them regularly so that all the beans can dry evenly.
13:33Finally, the beans will go to the roasting stage.
13:36This is when coffee is cooked, or should I say, when it is baked.
13:40Whenever you walk into a coffee shop, you see that coffee beans are brown, right?
13:45But that's not their original color.
13:48Coffee beans are usually greenish in color, and they turn brown only during the roasting process.
13:53So it's safe to say that roasting coffee is a science, one that needs precision.
13:59Beans are baked at extremely high temperatures, ranging from 365 to 482 degrees Fahrenheit.
14:07So roasters have to be pretty careful not to over-roast and burn entire batches of coffee.
14:13Since a pound of raw specialty coffee can cost up to 20 bucks, there's not a lot of room for
14:19error while roasting.
14:21Next time you see a light roast coffee, remember that this process highlights traces of sweetness and floral notes.
14:28While a dark roast will bring a more chocolatey touch to it.
14:33Some countries deliberately over-roast their coffee beans, but this is a cultural option.
14:39Italians love extremely dark roasts, so it's common that in their local coffee shops, you'll taste an almost burnt espresso.
14:47But hey, it was Italians' love for strong coffee that gave the world the mocha pot.
14:53The mocha pot was invented around 1933, and it is like a mini espresso machine.
14:59It's a home-brewing method that will let you have a drink that is similar to espresso, but is a
15:04more watered-down version of it.
15:08Now, not all coffee producers roast their own coffee.
15:11A lot of farms sell their green beans to roasteries around the world.
15:16And hey, maybe your favorite local coffee shop is also a coffee roaster, so you'll always get freshly roasted coffee.
15:26Here at Carla's, they do their own roasting.
15:29To taste which roast they'll sell, they do something called cupping.
15:33This is when grounded beans are immersed in water, and professional tasters evaluate the coffee's taste, aroma, and mouthfeel to
15:41determine its quality.
15:43Here's the catch.
15:44They don't actually drink this coffee.
15:46They just let it sit in their mouths and spit it into another cup.
15:50Okay, since you're a coffee expert now, let's do some serious tasting.
15:55We need to pour the liquid into the cup first.
15:58So, how can we do that?
16:00We can try out different brewing methods.
16:02You can try pour-over methods for vibrant flavors but less bitterness.
16:07If you don't mind the natural bitterness, try some pressure methods like the espresso machine,
16:13the arrow press, or even the mocha pot.
16:17If you're one of those people who love your coffee cold, how about a cold brew?
16:22Everything depends on the taste you're looking for.
16:25Well, that's it.
16:26Our coffee tour is over.
16:28But hey, next time you think that paying five or six bucks for a cup of specialty espresso is too
16:34much,
16:34remember how long the entire process takes,
16:37and how many people are involved in delivering that tiny bit of liquid into your cup.
16:43We'll see you next time.
16:44Keep going all the amnesian.
16:47Well pick the options up again.
16:47Alrighty.
Comments