Iceland has Hákarl.
Hákarl (an abbreviation of kæstur hákarl [ˈcʰaistʏr ˈhauːˌkʰa(r)tl̥]), referred to as fermented shark in English, is a national dish of Iceland consisting of Greenland shark or other sleeper shark that has been cured with a particular fermentation process and hung to dry for four to five months. It has a strong ammonia-rich smell and fishy taste, making hákarl an acquired taste. Fermented shark is readily available in Icelandic stores and may be eaten year-round, but is most often served as part of a Þorramatur, a selection of traditional Icelandic food served at the midwinter festival þorrablót.
"An acquired taste." You acquire the taste because it is February and you are a farmer and do not want to kill your cows and sheep and you have run out of dried cod.
Surströmming (pronounced [ˈsʉ̂ːˌʂʈrœmːɪŋ]; "Swedish for 'sour herring') is lightly salted, fermented Baltic Sea herring traditional to Swedish cuisine since at least the 16th century. It is distinct from fried or pickled herring. " snip.....
"Fermentation occurs through autolysis and starts from a lactic acid enzyme in the spine of the fish. Together with bacteria, pungent smelling acids are formed, such as propionic acid, butyric acid and acetic acid. Hydrogen sulfide is also produced. The salt raises the osmotic pressure of the brine above the zone where bacteria responsible for rotting can thrive and prevents decomposition of proteins into oligopeptides and amino acids.[citation needed] Instead, the osmotic conditions enable Halanaerobium bacteria such as H. praevalens to thrive and decompose the fish glycogen into organic acids, making it sour (acidic."
".[14] As with the Nordic dried-fish dish lutefisk,[citation needed] it is a food that meets strong reactions. It is more popular in northern Sweden than in other parts of the country.[15]"
Airline bans
"In April 2006, several major airlines (such as Air France, British Airways, Finnair, and KLM) banned the fish,[28] claiming that the pressurised cans of fish are potentially explosive. The sale of the fish was subsequently discontinued at Stockholm Arlanda Airport. Those who produce the fish have called the airlines' decision "culturally illiterate", claiming that it is a "myth that the tinned fish can explode".[14]"
To reiterate: "Many people do not care for surströmming" I do not care for herring or pickled herring and I can affirm that based on this description I would NOT even try Surstromming. (There are youtubes of people who have!) Before about 1700 were really hard years in Scandinavia where as much as 30% of the people died of starvation. Potential starvation might encourage people to eat what is essentially rotted fish.
I live on the KS/MO border now and beef is cheaper than fresh or frozen fish. FOOD SLIDE OVER.
Not wasting butter on rotten fish. Maybe we could make a decent weapon out of those vacuum packed rotten fish cans? Heat ‘em up and let them blow over over a favorite target. Tehran comes to mind?
Iceland has Hákarl.
It has a strong ammonia-rich smell and fishy taste, making hákarl an acquired taste.
Sweden has Surströmming.
“Swedish for ‘sour herring’) is lightly salted, fermented Baltic Sea herring ... making it sour.”
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Ewww! and Yuck! Maybe I could get used to eating bugs after all.