Gastronomically speaking, without smell we would be nothing, since it is the gateway to taste, but sometimes we would almost appreciate it if our pituitary glands take a backseat. This dilemma will surely be the one that the Masterchef contestants feel tonight, who will have to take on the world’s worst smelling foods to overcome your challenges.
Fermented products, blue cheeses and even fruits —yes, fruits can also be really stinky— will be part of the shopping list of the applicants, who will have to overcome fear, disgust and reluctance to bring some of these delicacies to the pot.
In the test more than one of the ingredients will sound to us, Well, they are going to cook with durian, with herring paste, with asafoetida… even with Cabrales cheese! It goes without saying that we cannot conceive of calling the Cabrales fetid, but it must be recognized that intense He is a ratu.
durian
Authentic delicacy of Southeast Asian cuisine and used in shakes and pastries, this fruit is said to be reminiscent of its nutty and spicy flavor, but its smell is truly infernal. So much so that you can’t travel on public transport with it because of the stink it gives off.
They say that he smells like soft rotten onions, mixing that sweet hue with the sourness of putrefaction, approaching rancid aromas that would throw back the most painted. However, it is considered a gastronomic jewel.
Natto
This asquete is a typical dish that you would say is the most difficult yet because its smell, between putrid and saline, adds an equally intense flavor and a sticky and viscous texture that does not favor its consumption either.
Typical of Japan, natto are soybeans that are ferment with different bacteria for several days and even weeks, to later be consumed almost like beans, so much so that it is even eaten for breakfast or lunch. Accompanied by mustard, soy sauce or sweet and spicy counterpoints, it is another of the typical Japanese dishes that a Westerner would hardly go near.
limburger cheese
Of Belgian origin, this cheese is cataloged as one of the stinkiest in the world —and more if we take into account the general fame of the cheeses—. Washed soft cheese, its exterior begins to give off aromas of ammonia when it begins to mature, when it is perfect for consumption.
Inside the intensity is multiplied in Violent, pungent and particularly nauseating aromas that, feeling it a lot, remember the smell of feet. The fault lies with one of the bacteria naturally present in this cheese, the Brevibacterium linens, which is the same that is partially found in the human body.
doenjang
Once again, soy makes an appearance, but this time it does so from Korea, one of the fermented paradises —let’s not forget kimchi—, which also harbors this other stinking infamy: The Doenjang.
It is a sauce that starts from fermented soybeans and is They are usually used only as an accompaniment. Basically what is done is to crush the soy beans after boiling them, to obtain a meju (a kind of slightly hardened soy brick).
When you have a meju, it is taken outside the house and dried in the sun and after several weeks, already fermented, it is submerged in a brine that is flavored with chillies and charcoal, where fermentation proceeds. Once ready, it is crushed until doenjang is obtained, which is very distantly reminiscent of an onion in a certain putrefaction, but with an intense salty touch.
Lutefisk
The literalness of the word lutefisk means translated from different Nordic languages as ‘bleach fish’, so that We already know what we are going to face. Common in Scandinavian cuisines, lutefisk was a way of preserving cod (although ling and burbot are also used).
To do this, fish dried in the open air (the Stockfish), whom after rubbing soda they end up immersing several days in different proportions of cold water, increasing its volume and its proteins, obtaining a gelatinous texture in which the fish is saturated with soda. So much so that it would be really corrosive to eat it.
To eat it, as in other cases with salted fish, you have to be ‘desalting’ it with plenty of cold water for several nights until it becomes edible again. Even so, it is still a smell reminiscent of ammonia and bleach, intense, penetrating and that even leaves a certain aftertaste in the mouth.
Stinky tofu (chòu dòufu)
Tofu may seem like a very friendly, tender and even bland ingredient with little flavor, until we see the eldest of the family, originally named as Chòu Dòufu and that literally means ‘stinky tofu’. The irony is that this dish, popular in Chinese street cuisine, is an evolution of traditional tofu.
Based on brine that part of fermented milk, vegetables and meat —that is, organic matter to bore—, plus certain spices and herbs, which will act as a bath, the recipe works. The blocks of tofu are introduced into this liquid element, which continues to ferment in here, becoming more intense as more time passes.
Surströmming
Sometimes we can come to understand why the Swedes do not invite people to eat at their homes and even less if they have the intention of taking the surströmming for a walk, a very traditional preserve that is made from herring and that is still considered a delicacy among many of its fellow citizens.
Of sour and fermented aroma in the can itself, the reality is that its smell is very similar to that of rotten fish, which is why it is even recommended to open it outdoors and wash the herring before serving. As a final note, its smell is so foul that it even attracts flies.
You couldn’t tell, of course.
Pictures | istock
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