I am Your Favorite Exotic Delicacy, But I Can Kill You!

S ometimes completely normal, everyday foods can turn toxic , things like raw or even infected meat, stuff past its expiry date, and of course, unwashed veggies and fruits. The fault lies less with the food and more with the preparation, and this is when nutrition ends up turning into food poisoning. It can harbor harmful ingredients such as toxins, bacteria, and even traces of fertilizer or insecticide.

There are times when we are offered food or drinks that we tend to refuse for many a different reason, and we hear someone insist, “Come on, try it – it won’t kill you.” Well as it turns out, sometimes, it can.

For some people, food doesn’t go to the stomach; it touches the soul and goes straight to the heart. And of course, some exotic treats deserve a special place. But would you believe if we say that some of these succulent cuisines can be fatal for you? Keep scrolling at your own risk.

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We have a list of 10 exotic foods that can kill you. So beware guys, it's not just heartbreak that kills you.

Don't chew on cherry seeds or pits for too long

Cherry seeds and pits are poisonous? Who knew! Dr. Kantor said,

"Spit out your cherry seeds because they contain the poisonous compound hydrogen cyanide"

That also goes for other stone fruits like peaches, plums, and apricots. But don't worry about it too much. Hydrogen cyanide is a poison, yes, but you'd have to eat a ton of cherry seeds before it would kill you.

The limit for a 150-pound human is 703 milligrams of hydrogen cyanide per day, according to the National Institute of Health, which is safely hundreds of cherry seeds.

The Smoking Shot: Nitro-Cocktails Can Kill

The next time someone offers you a “smoking” drink, which is a nitro cocktail of sorts i.e. a drink cooled with dry ice or liquid nitrogen, you should think long and hard before accepting it. Now as we all learned way back in school, liquid nitrogen is dangerous, toxic and all things bad.

It’s the thing dermatologists use to freeze off warts because it’s cold as hell and freezes off anything it comes in contact with. It is used to put out fires , remember extinguishers?

Trained chefs use it to make ice cream or even flash-freeze herbs, and bartenders use it to turn glasses super cold, which is why they emit that smoky vapor; liquid nitrogen turns to fog when it comes in contact with air. But the liquid nitrogen has to fully evaporate before the bartender can pour that drink for you in that cold, ghostly glass.

Make sure your bartender knows what he or she is doing, or just stick to cool glasses rather than nitro-cooled ones!

The Adventurous Sushi: Fugu Or Puffer Fish

Fugu or pufferfish is one of the most poisonous foods in the world. Unless it's cooked exactly right, the pufferfish is 1,200 times more deadly than cyanide, which makes those cherry pits look like a walk in the park.

If you see a pufferfish in action, it looks inedible, dangerous , and not something you’d want on your table.

Well, this pufferfish has deadly skin and organs which contain a toxin called tetrodotoxin that paralyzes your muscles. In case you ate an ill-prepared puffer fish, you’d be dead by asphyxiation and respiratory arrest. You will not be able to breathe and to top that off, your heart will stop!

Cooking doesn’t kill the toxicity and there’s no antidote to this poison which is why “trained” chefs remove its liver, ovaries, and skin before serving it.

Our advice: stick to salmon!

Ackee Fruit

Unripe ackee fruit can cause vomiting or even death after they're consumed.

It’s derived from the ackee tree, a huge tropical evergreen that grows to over 40 feet in height. This red/orange fruit is common in West Africa and Jamaica, and it splits open when it's fully ripe. Eating unripened ackee fruit can cause Jamaican vomiting sickness, which can ultimately lead to a coma or death.

Don't eat it before it splits, because the unripe flesh carries a toxin called hypoglycin, which stops the body from converting food into simple sugar, resulting in dangerously low blood sugar i.e. hypoglycemia. So, the ackee should not be eaten until the ackee’s protective outer pods open naturally and turn red.

Clinically, ackee poisoning has the charming name of "Jamaican vomiting sickness."

The Bitter Truth: Cyanide-Laden Cassava

Native to South America, cassava root is delicious when cooked. But, when eaten uncooked or without fermentation, it releases an enzyme that turns another chemical in the root into cyanide.

Cassava, Tapioca or Manioc is a woody shrub found in the Caribbean and South America and is the third most important source of calories in the tropics. However, cassava’s natural bitterness harbors cyanide. When the roots are properly soaked and dried and the eaters have enough protein in their diet, cassava is fine to consume.

But in poorer countries like Africa where getting enough food is in itself an issue, many people suffer from a chronic and crippling cyanide poisoning called “konzo”. It’s a tragedy of uncommon proportions where hunger, and the need for sustenance, wins over the fear of poisoning and even subsequent death.

Casu Marzu: A Delicacy That’s Just Rotten

Casu Marzu, is a cheese fermented by maggots , isn't for the faint of heart or stomach. The cheese is banned for hygienic reasons. An Italian delicacy, this sheep's-milk cheese is filled with live maggots capable of launching themselves up to 6 inches.

Think of maggots and what comes to mind? Rotting, putrid things that defy definition, right? Well mostly yes, but for Sardinians, maggots mean food. A putrefied sheep’s cheese wriggling with hundreds of live maggots that jump at you when you eat the cheese – and yes, the more the maggots and the smellier the cheese, the more it is valued.

So only the cheese t hat has these jumpy maggots in it is considered to be good, though sometimes the cheese is refrigerated before consumption which kills the maggots. The maggots remain in the cheese but at least they don’t jump 6 inches high and land on your face just when you are about to take a yummy bite!

Can it kill you? Well, rarely it has made people very, very ill but it may make you appreciate that bathroom throne all that much more.

Hot dogs

Believe it or not, hot dogs can be deadly.

Pushing aside the dubious ingredients found inside most brands of hot dogs, hot dogs are notorious as one of the top choking hazards in the kitchen. They're the number one cause of choking-related injuries in children under three, according to John Hopkins Medicine.

So be sure to chew slowly!

Eaten in the barbaric wilderness known as “North America,” the “hot dog” is the top cause of food-related choking deaths in children under three. The problem is the food’s cylindrical shape, perfectly-suited to lodge in a small esophagus.

Apricot Seeds

The apricot is a delicious and healthy fruit , but you have to look out for the seeds. Ironically, many believe that apricot seeds can and have been used to cure cancer. This is because the seeds have high levels of vitamin B17, which is an immune system booster.

As a result, apricot seeds can be purchased in large quantities at your local health food store or online. The easy purchase of apricot seeds has created a cause for alarm because consuming large doses can be fatal. Their deadly nature is the result of cyanide contained within its seeds.

Pangium Edule Fruit

Also known as "the football fruit," the pangium fruit is toxic enough that they have to be boiled and then fermented while buried in ash and banana leaves for forty days.

This little known tropical fruit grows from a large tree and is poisonous to humans because of the levels of hydrogen cyanide contained within it. It’s rightfully earned the name “the fruit that nauseates.” One way the fruit is eaten is by boiling the seeds without their shells, which are then either soaked in water or buried in banana leaves for months. This allows the cyanide to be released, although the cyanide is often harvested to create poison.

Some of the symptoms of pangium edule fruit poisoning include coma, headache, shortness of breath, dizziness, confusion and weakness. Consumption of high levels of pangium edule fruit can result in cardiac arrest or even death.

Strychnine Fruit Plant

The strychnine plant is native to Australia and southern Asia. This plant’s fruit is so deadly that it’s been used to create a poison for centuries throughout the world. The poison is derived from the seeds of the strychnine fruit, and even a tiny amount can cause death.

Dried strychnine seeds can cause severe stomach pain, high blood pressure, and cardiac failure. Less severe symptoms include heightened senses of smell, touch, hearing, and vision, which have caused the seeds to be abused as a recreational drug.

That dish you're devouring is always tastier with the knowledge that it once had the opportunity to eviscerate, sting, and/or poison you to death . With that in mind, the above list is some of Mother Nature's finest killing machines around the world to illustrate food that bites back, and where to find it. Get ready to unhinge your jaws for some tasty, unabashed savagery.

There are some foods in the world that are poison through and through, and yet they are not only eaten by the locals and adventurous foodies but are also highly prized as delicacies. These wildly popular exotic foods have been raved about by gastronomists forever.