There are a lot of people who believe that they need to leave the country if they want to try weird food. In reality, that is not necessarily the case. America is an incredibly large country, and that means that the cuisine can vary markedly from place to place. Depending on where you are located, you could end up biting into something that you will not find anywhere else. One of the best ways to learn about a new place is to try new food, so what are some of the weirdest foods you may encounter from state to state?
When you are thinking about weird food, scorpion lollipops may be at the top of the list. You can find these scattered across the desert Southwest, but they are typically associated with Arizona. Just about every roadside attraction in Arizona will have some type of Scorpion lollipop for you to try. When you take a look at the lollipop, you will immediately see the Scorpion sitting right in the center. Therefore, if you decide to eat the entire thing, you will be eating a scorpion. Even though the candy coating might make it a bit easier to force down, it will not make it any less weird! If you feel like stepping outside of your comfort zone, consider giving one of these scorpion lollipops a try.
Because California is such a large state, the cuisine can vary significantly from top to bottom. Therefore, there are plenty of options available if you are looking for weird food, but one of the options at the top of the list is called the Sushirrito. This is a fusion of Japanese and Mexican cuisine, and it is a nice representation of the melting pot that exists in California. As the name suggests, you should expect to find a lot of native Japanese ingredients combined with Native Mexican ingredients. You will find cucumbers, wasabi, and numerous other sushi items wrapped in rice and seaweed. Then, you will find the entire sushi roll stuffed inside a burrito, combined with traditional Mexican items. If you want to give this a try, you will need to head to San Francisco.
When people think about the Southeast, they usually think about barbecue and biscuits. Even though you can certainly find them in North Carolina, the weirdest food you could try in North Carolina is livermush. You might be able to find us on the shelf at grocery stores, but if you talk to someone in the grocery store, they will explain exactly how to make it at home. As the name suggests, there is a lot of liver in this food, but there are plenty of other ingredients as well. It is frequently seen when people go camping, and you will see it on the menu if you are in a rural restaurant.
State | Weird Food | Made From |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Ambrosia Salad | Side dish made of fruit, marshmallows, and whipped cream, served cold. |
| Alaska | Muktuk | A dish that consists of frozen whale skin and blubber. Muktuk is usually eaten raw but it can also be consumed frozen and cooked. |
| Arizona | Scorpion Lollipops | Actual scorpions are visible from inside a lollipop |
| Arkansas | Pork brains and eggs | Pork brains and eggs |
| California | Sushirrito | Sushi burrito made with different sushi elements but served in the form of a burrito |
| Colorado | Rocky Mountain oysters | Made from the testicles of bulls or pigs, chopped up and then deep-fried |
| Connecticut | Steamed burger | Burger steamed on a tray in a custom steamer |
| Delaware | Slippery dumplings | Dumplings filled with a combination of noodles and chicken and coated in a gravy-like broth. |
| Florida | Gator | Alligator meat, usually breaded and fried |
| Georgia | Pear salad | Salad made of canned pears and mayonnaise |
| Hawaii | Spam musubi | Grilled Spam enclosed in a square of sushi rice and wrapped in nori seaweed |
| Idaho | Potato Ice Cream | Made by blending cooked potatoes, milk, sugar, and vanilla extract until the mixture is smooth |
| Illinois | Gravy Bread | Italian roll drenched in au jus, sans meat |
| Indiana | Brain Sandwich | A cow or pig brain placed in fried buns and topped with mustard |
| Iowa | Fried Butter | Frozen butter on a stick, dipped in cinnamon- and honey-flavored batter and deep fried, then frosted with glazed sugar |
| Kansas | Chili and cinnamon rolls | Chili and cinnamon rolls |
| Kentucky | Wilted lettuce | Heated fat, such as bacon grease, poured over a mix of lettuce and cabbage |
| Louisiana | Nutria | Nutria (a semi-aquatic rodent) boiled in a crockpot for four hours |
| Maine | Tomalley | Lobster pancreas and liver served as spread on toast or whisked into sauces or softened butter |
| Maryland | Barbecue muskrat | Self-explanatory. Muskrats have has lean, dark meat and many tiny bones |
| Massachusetts | Fluffernutter | Peanut butter and marshmallow crème white-bread sandwich topped with several different sweet, salty, and savory ingredients |
| Michigan | Dessert nachos | Tortilla chips topped with cinnamon, sugar, smoked-chocolate-cherry Nutella sauce, chocolate-covered cherries, sprinkles, and whipped cream. |
| Minnesota | Pickle corndog | Several variations, ranging from a pickle spear slathered in cream cheese (or sauerkraut) and wrapped in pastrami to a huge pickle that has been cored and stuffed with a bratwurst, then dipped in corn dog batter and deep-fried. |
| Mississippi | Banana Sandwich | Banana, mayo and cheddar cheese |
| Missouri | Provel cheese | Melty processed cheese product that is a combination of cheddar, Swiss, and provolone cheeses, and liquid smoke. Particularly popular in St. Louis cuisine, |
| Montana | Roadkill | Any animal killed by a motor vehicle. Salvaging and eating roadkill is both legal and common, and the meat is used in a variety of dishes, including stews, casseroles, and tacos. |
| Nebraska | Hot Beef Sundae | A scoop of mashed potatoes (resembling ice cream) topped with shredded roast beef and gravy, shredded cheese, a dollop of cream and, yes, a cherry (tomato) on top. |
| Nevada | Cotton Candy Burrito | Ice cream topped with sprinkles, gummy bears and any other sweet topping on ice cream, wrapped in a shell of compressed cotton candy |
| New Hampshire | Apple cider doughnut | Apple cider doughnut. Not terribly crazy, but delicious nonetheless. |
| New Jersey | The Oreo Overload | Chocolate-and-vanilla-swirled bagels are topped with Oreos mixed with cookies and cream cheese |
| New Mexico | New Mexican Sundae | Frozen custard with green chili sauce and salty pecans. |
| New York | Garbage plate | Dish that looks like a microwaved combination from yesterday’s leftovers |
| North Carolina | Livermush | Pig livers mushed with various ingredients including pig head parts (ears and snouts), cornmeal, and seasonings. |
| North Dakota | Lutefisk | Made by soaking codfish in lye until it becomes soft (for a week or so) The lutefisk is then boiled and served with melted butter or white sauce. |
| Ohio | Skyline Chilli | This dish consists of half-liquid meat soaked in cinnamon topped with noodles |
| Oklahoma | Fried Rattlesnake | Rattlesnake battered and deep-fried. Second place goes to lamb fries, which are deep-fried lamb testicles also popular in Kentucky |
| Oregon | Salt & Straw ice cream | Strange ice cream flavor combinations including pear and blue cheese, arbequina olive oil, pickled mango, and strawberry honey balsamic with black pepper |
| Pennsylvania | Scrapple | Cornmeal and wheat flour and an array of pork scraps, including head, heart, and liver, mashed together |
| Rhode Island | Chop suey sandwich | Chicken noodles cooked in a starch-thickened sauce topped with mixed vegetables and served as a sandwich |
| South Carolina | Fried Pig Ears | Made by frying pig ears in oil until they are crispy |
| South Dakota | Cinnamon rolls with chili | Gooey-sweet cinnamon rolls dipped in or topped with spicy-hot chili |
| Tennessee | The Fat Elvis | Sandwich of peanut butter, jelly, banana, and bacon |
| Texas | Frito pie | Fritos, chili, cheese, and assorted veggies |
| Utah | Pickle pie | Pie filled with chopped, sweetened pickles and flavored with cinnamon and allspice |
| Vermont | Sugar on snow | Giant bowls of snow from the ground covered in maple syrup |
| Virginia | Chitlins | Small intestine of the pig, cut and fried |
| Washington | Geoduck | Geoduck, which is a shellfish not unlike a clam but whose body extends far out of its shell and resembles a massive male member |
| West Virginia | Fried squirrel | Fried squirrel |
| Wisconsin | Beer Cheese Soup | Beer Cheese Soup |
| Wyoming | Jackalope summer sausage | Sausage made from a combination of rabbit, venison, and pork meat |