It’s a gastronomic monster mash.
Taste might be subjective, but according to users of one food website, some trigger more gag reflexes globally than others.
TasteAtlas released its roundup of the “100 Worst-Rated Foods in the World” for 2025, which included blood pancakes, deep-fried silk worms, jellied eels and other wretched eats seemingly ripped from “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.”
Coincidentally, most of these entries hailed from Scandinavia. United States cuisine emerged relatively unscathed — aside from Brooklyn’s own Ramen Burger, which placed sixth in the rankings, proving that one person’s trash is another’s delicacy.
TasteAtlas based these culinary Razzie Awards off of 389,802 user ratings, which they went over with a fine-toothed comb to filter out “bot, nationalist or local patriotic ratings.”
Contrary to what the title might suggest, the purpose of the rankings was not to condemn certain dishes but rather “promote excellent local foods, instill pride in traditional dishes and arouse curiosity about dishes you haven’t tried,” per the editors.
Nonetheless, some of the delicacies test even the most adventurous eaters’ intestinal fortitude.
Without further ado, here are the most stomach-churning delicacies on Earth, per TasteAtlas.
1. Blodplättar (Sweden)
The Swedes have redefined “blood sugar” with the blodplättar, a pancake that’s transfused with the plasma of animals so it becomes tinged dark brown.
Blood’s high iron and protein content make it a great egg substitute and the perfect ingredient to bind the milk and flour together — because, well, blood is thicker than water.
To counteract any coppery tones, the creepy crepes are mixed with onions and spices, and come “topped with fresh lingonberries or lingonberry jam,” per the site.
All told, blodplättar — which is also eaten in Finland and Norway — is considered the ideal breakfast for fortifying one’s system on a frigid day.
2. Blodpalt (Lapland)
Ever wonder what Dracula would order if he went out for Chinese? The answer might be blodpalt, a rye or barley flour dumpling stuffed — wait for it — with animal blood, which happens to be a delicacy in Santa’s chomping grounds of Finnish Lapland and Sweden.
In fact, the macabre flour envelope was traditionally packed with reindeer blood, although more modern iterations generally are stuffed with pork blood or other types of animal plasma.
“They are sometimes filled with a mixture of sautéed onions and diced bacon, and are commonly cooked in flavorful meat broths,” TasteAtlas contributors wrote.
Blodpalt was actually ranked the most disgusting dish on Earth last year before getting bellied aside by its pancake counterpart. Blood in, blood out.
3. Calskrove (Sweden)
Sweden is even beating the U.S. at our own freaky Frankenfood game. Invented at Tre Kronor restaurant in Skellefteå, Calskrove is essentially a calzone pizza that’s crammed with hamburgers, bread, French fries and other accouterments like a fast food Turducken.
Then again, what else would you expect from the country that puts bananas on pizza?
According to TasteAtlas, this high-octane piñata was reportedly invented for people who couldn’t decide whether they wanted pizza or hamburger after a night of boozing.
4. Svið (Iceland)
The country famous for serving up the world’s most revolting seafood dishes — fermented Greenland shark — might also boast one of the most retch-worthy meals on land as well.
Svið entails a sheep’s head that’s been cut in half, singed to remove the fur and then boiled to eat, with the final product something that might adorn Hannibal Lecter’s mantlepiece.
The ghoulish-looking dish is traditionally eaten during the Icelandic mid-winter festival known as Þorrablót, where it’s served with mashed turnips, rhubarb jelly, and mashed potatoes.
While it may seem strange to make eye contact with one’s food, Svið harks back to a time when it was verboten to let any part of the animal go to waste.
5. Silkworm larvae (Thailand)
What do silkworms get for spinning one of the world’s most valuable materials? A dunk in the deep fryer.
At least that’s the case in Thailand, where street hawkers serve these battered creepy crawlies with salt, pepper and sometimes “a secret sauce that’s prepared by the vendor,” per TasteAtlas.
As this author can attest, the larvae taste crunchy, greasy and oily — like an entomological bar snack.
They’re additionally prized for their protein content and their purported medicinal properties.
Also worth mentioning is that Brooklyn’s own Ramen Burger somewhat questionably came in eighth place.
Is it really more offputting than fried spider, which is ranked No. 23? But we digress.
This Japanese-American mashup consists of a meat patty that’s bookended by two fried ramen noodle buns like a savory Luther Burger.
It was the brainchild of Keizo Shimamoto, a former computer programmer who quit his day job in 2009 to blog about ramen.
Since debuting at Smorgasbord food market in 2013, the fusion opus has taken Brooklyn by storm, attracting throngs of customers and spawning numerous spinoffs around the world.
Top 10 ‘worst’ foods in the world from TasteAtlas:
- Blodplättar (Sweden)
- Blodpalt (Lapland)
- Calskrove (Sweden)
- Svið (Iceland)
- Silkworm larvae (Thailand)
- Chapelele (Chile)
- Jellied eels (UK)
- Ramen Burger (New York City, US)
- Thai Fish Entrails Sour Curry (Thailand)
- Aginares salata (Greece)
