I’ll bet you one hundred big ones you can’t name one of the 15 countries with the worst food, unhealthiest cuisines in the world.
Okay, maybe I’m not THAT confident that you can’t give an educated guess as to which country has the worst cuisine. Quora users seem to have a lot to say on the matter and, as far as countries with the worst tasting food are concerned, places like the Netherlands, United States, and England seemed to take the cake. But, apparently, not a very tasty one. I guess it really just depends on who it is tasting the cake. Take, for example, the lonely Quora user who voted Italy — considered to be one of the food capitals of the WORLD — as being the country with the worst cuisine. Reddit members have similar opinions on food from the US, and England. Although, you would think folks were voting on which country has the worst diet, because there seem to be a bit of a dispute about all American food not only being gross but unhealthy, as well. One member states, “America.. fat and cheese for everyone!!”. Clearly, these haters have not bitten into enough American cuisine, because — spoiler alert! — it’s on our list of countries with the best food in the world. And while we have countries with best cuisine in mind, although many opinionated Quora and Reddit users alike seem to agree that Europe, overall, seems to have a lot of bland and tasteless food, there are definitely many countries within it that have some really good eats! 10 Best Food Countries in Europe will surely give you a little taste of what some European countries bring to the table. That’s all this is, anyway right? A matter of taste.
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If you were to think of what the worst food in the world to eat is, what would you picture? Judging by the different opinions on Quora and Reddit alone, the answer to this question varies depending on who it is being asked to. But take, for instance, how my all-time favorite food enthusiast (and renowned chef, and writer AND TV personality!) Anthony Bourdain, described the Icelandic dish “Hakarl” as “the single worst thing I have ever put in my mouth.” Makes sense to me considering it is essentially a fermented shark that reeks of cat piss! Yet Andrew Zimmern said that it had a sweet and nutty flavor and was only slightly fishy tasting in comparison to its horrific smell before he asked for another bite!
However, they shared more similar views on the infamous Scottish dish, “Haggis,” which is generally known as one of the most disgusting foods in the world. It’s no wonder why, as it consists of the heart, liver, and lungs of a sheep mixed with some oats, pepper, and some other spices all mixed up inside of the lining of the sheep’s stomach! I watched Bourdain take a bite on an episode of “A Cook’s Tour” (it was featured again on an episode of “Parts Unknown,” by the way) and surprisingly enough, he liked it! “Boy, that’s good! I like this!” he said, then went on to describe it as a “hardier,” “oatier” sheppard’s pie type of thing. Of course, Haggis was also featured on “Bizarre Foods” where Andrew Zimmern commented on the delightful smell during preparation, although I smelled a hint of sarcasm throughout the scene. He obviously wasn’t joking around when he said it was “awesome” because he made it clear this wasn’t his first rodeo with Haggis. It’s funny, both Zimmern and Bourdain seemed to point out how execrated the particular dish was to the rest of the world. Andrew stating that “only dying has a worse reputation than haggis,” and Bourdain went on to point out after stating that he liked the dish, “keep in mind, this is a punchline to jokes in the states as a thing you definitely don’t want to eat. It sounds terrifying. You know what? It’s good! It’s really good!” Said something about folks missing out, but I dunno… Oats and sheep organs? I think I’ll take my chances and pass on that one!
Since I want to provide a more informative list rather than just to make an assumption based on opinions found on forums alone, and there are too many cultural cuisine-based TV shows to even incorporate them into my ranking, I dug a little deeper into the “unhealthiest cuisines in the world” portion of the list. To find out which country has the worst diet was no easy task! The internet is full of opinions on this matter; so much so that it can be hard to sift through all the different points of view and find cold, hard facts. Generally speaking, the United States is considered to be the unhealthiest country. However, you may have noticed it on our list of 25 Countries with the Best Food Safety in the World which takes the country’s nutrition into consideration.
With all the information the world wide web has to offer, I thought to look at it from a different angle. I don’t want opinions. I want facts! I thought maybe if I started looking into health issues that go hand-in-hand with food. Obesity and diabetes were the two that are most common with a poor diet. I listed the top countries with the highest levels of both obesity and diabetes rates, then found the countries that ranked highest in both to come up with 15 countries with the worst food, unhealthiest cuisines in the world.
It wasn’t until I started looking into what these countries actually eat that I started to scratch my head a bit. Didn’t find a whole lot of junk in their traditional dishes. So, why are these countries so unhealthy? Two words. Fast food! These types of restaurants weren’t always available to them. Fish and coconuts were. I dunno about you, but I would want to venture away from the same basic ingredients found in almost every dish. Not to mention the simple fact that much like everywhere else, fast food is so much more convenient and less costly. Let’s face it, would YOU be eating healthier if you could afford to? Some of these people cannot, and unfortunately suffer for it. But when they’re not filling up on junk, these countries have a lot of good eats to offer! I can’t imagine why they are not all found in 11 Countries with Best Food/Diet in the World for Retirees and Expats! Well… I guess if one is, they all pretty much are, as their cuisines don’t differ too much from one another. So, let’s see our list of countries with the worst food, unhealthiest cuisines in the world, shall we?
15. Antigua and Barbuda
Obesity: 31%
Diabetes: 13.6%
Rank: 22.3
With traditional dishes like “goat water” and “fungie,” you would think the food in Antigua and Barbuda would leave something to be desired. However, the term “water” is often referred to as a soup and although fungie sounds a but funky — it’s nothing like what it sounds like! The cornmeal dish is still an acquired taste, but nothing compared to what it makes you think of! And now, let’s see what else we have on our list of countries with the worst food, unhealthiest cuisines in the world.
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14. Trinidad and Tobago
Obesity: 32.3%
Diabetes: 13.6%
Rank: 22.95
You’re going to notice real quick how many of these countries adopted other country’s dishes and put their own spin on them. Take the national dish of Trinidad and Tobago, “pelau”, for instance. Somewhat of a twist on a rice pilaf with coconut milk and sugar, often cardamom, cumin, coriander and cloves served with a meat of some sort (sometimes even seafood!). And what’ll ya know! They got this stuff called Black Pudding that might sound like an interesting dessert, but it’s actually practically Haggis.
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13. Barbados
Obesity: 33.2%
Diabetes: 13.6%
Rank: 23.4
I’m sure I’ll be the only one to be a little creeped out by the sound of this country’s national dish. No, not because of any bizarre ingredients, but because my uncle used to sporadically turn lights off to rooms I was in before he would monstrously say, “cou cou,” then shut the door behind him after leaving me alone in the now dark room. I know it doesn’t sound that scary, but c’mon! I was, like five! Anyway, Cou Cou is kind of like polenta or grits, and it basically consists of cornmeal and okra served with fish. Doesn’t sound so bad. What does is their “pudding and souse”; which is pickled pork and spiced sweet potatoes. No thanks!
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12. Vanuatu
Obesity: 32.9%
Diabetes: 16.6%
Rank: 24.75
Like many of what are considered to be the countries with the worst food, unhealthiest cuisines in the world, I would definitely try this country’s national dish. Laplap doesn’t really sound like it would be anything too exciting, and it’s really not! But I have to say, I’m intrigued by the simplicity of the dish. It is made by pounding the roots of taro, yam or even breadfruit into something like a dough. It is then cooked in an underground oven (like many tropical island dishes) with coconut cream and a meat of some sort (typically chicken, beef or pork) and wrapped in taro or—less common—spinach leaves.
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11. Fiji
Obesity: 35.9%
Diabetes: 13.8%
Rank: 24.85
You will find that because of the geographical locations of these countries that they use a lot of the same ingredients to make up very similar dishes, taro being one of those ingredients. But Fiji, the number 11 on our list of countries with the worst food, unhealthiest cuisines in the world, loves taro so much that its members celebrate Taro Day on the first full moon in May. While taro is one their staple foods, Fijian cuisine still has a lot to offer without it! Take Kokoda, for example; which is raw fish pickled in some lime juice, tomatoes, onion and coconut cream. Kind of like a ceviche.
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And now, let’s see the top ten countries with the worst food, unhealthiest cuisines in the world.
10. The Bahamas
Obesity: 36.6%
Diabetes: 13.2%
Rank: 24.9
Aside from hunting and eating iguanas, another thing The Bahamas got goin’ for ‘em is their conch! I mean, the tourists and locals alike go nuts over this stuff! Cracked Conch (which is basically a deep fried-conch) is a specific preparation that tourists seem to race over, but the more hardcore conch fans will eat if just about every way you can imagine: in sounds or salads, steamed, stewed, ceviche style, and yes — even just fresh out of the shell!
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9. Bahrain
Obesity: 34.1%
Diabetes: 19.6%
Rank: 26.85
As much as I like saying “machboos”, I’ll try to refrain myself from overkilling it, as this won’t be the last time it is mentioned. As the national dish of Bahrain, Machboos is made of simply chicken and rice with some spices. Come to think of it, a lot of Bahraini cuisines is just a choice of meat prepared with different spices and paired with rice. For instance, Muhammar; which is fish and a sweet rice. There’s Qouzi or Ghoozi which is lamb not only stuffed with rice but served on a bed of it, as well. And come to think of it, the more rice and meat combinations I name off, the more they all start to sound the same. So, yeah… people in Bahrain which ranks 9th on our list of countries with the worst food, unhealthiest cuisines in the world — they love their meat and rice!
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8. Saudi Arabia
Obesity: 33.7%
Diabetes: 20%
Rank: 26.85
The national dish of Saudi Arabia, the number 8 on our list of countries with the worst food, unhealthiest cuisines in the world is Kabsa. It’s a rice dish spiced with cardamom, cinnamon, saffron, bay leaves, nutmeg among other things along with some sort of meat and vegetables. By now you’re probably noticing the pattern I mentioned before: that the countries with the worst food all have a very similar diet based on the types of food these countries have been consuming for thousands of years. What makes them the unhealthiest cuisines in the world is that they’ve strayed from the dishes adopted from other cultures (Saudi Arabian cuisine has a lot of Levantine and Egyptian influence) and all started eating more American food over the years. Of course, Saudi Arabia still has a decent amount of traditional folks who regularly consume the staple foods that the country has been accustomed to for so many years. Foods like fava beans, yogurt, dates, wheat, rice, and chicken.
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7. United Arab Emirates
Obesity: 34.5%
Diabetes: 19.3%
Rank: 26.9
The United Arab Emirates, or UAE ranks 7th on our list of countries with the worst food, unhealthiest cuisines in the world. It has a lot of similarities in their traditional cuisines as most of the countries mentioned on this list. Regularly used ingredients in popular dishes include a variety of meats, rice, wheat, dairy, and ghee; which is a clarified butter thought to have healthier properties than butter. The UAE cuisine has a lot of cinnamon, cardamom, turmeric, and saffron in its dishes, but they also got some unique grub on their menu. For instance, camel is a big hit. It can be prepared a number of different ways, stuffed camel being one that is served on special occasions. And the way the Emirati’s make their camel has evolved over the years, as well. Camel in burger form sounds like a fun new spin on an old staple food.
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6. Tonga
Obesity: 41.1%
Diabetes: 13.7%
Rank: 27.4
By now, I’m probably starting to sound like a broken record when I keep saying that although these are different countries, they use a lot of the same foods to make up very similar dishes. They’ve got their tapioca (or cassava), taro and yams. Yams (or “ufi” as Tongans refer to it) seem to be a favorite ingredient in Tonga, the number 6 on our list of countries with the worst food, unhealthiest cuisines in the world, as there are 8 different kinds. Coconut is another big one that is used many ways. Lo’i Feke, for example, is a simple dish of octopus and coconut cream, but the Tongans have more obvious uses, like Faikakai Tapai; which is also a very basic dish of dumplings in a coconut syrup. And you know the saying “so hungry I could eat a horse”? While suckling pig might be more common, Tongans have some recipes that feature horse meat in the dish. Like, Lo’i Hoosi; which has horse meat seasoned with salt, along with some peppers and onions and, of course, coconut cream.
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5. Tuvalu
Obesity: 39.6%
Diabetes: 17.3%
Rank: 28.45
The number 5 on our list of countries with the worst food, unhealthiest cuisines in the world is not too much different than these other island countries. Seafood and pig are the main meats in Tuvaluan cuisine. They’ve got their taro and pulaka, which is a lot like taro. What island wouldn’t be complete without the use of coconut as many ways possible? Bananas, plantains, and breadfruit are also favorites in Tuvaluan dishes. And speaking of favorites, I hear that tuna is big in Tuvalu. Not just in size, but on their menus, as well. Tuvalu Coconut Tuna is obviously, coconut and tuna, but some garlic, onions, spices and a bit of heat, too. I dunno, what do you think — spicy coconut tuna steaks? Well, I guess ya can’t knock it til ya try it!
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4. Kuwait
Obesity: 38.3%
Diabetes: 20%
Rank: 29.15
Because of the many different culinary influences these isolated island countries have, it can be hard to really experience the authentic flavors these countries have to offer. Kuwait, the number 4 on our list of countries with the worst food, unhealthiest cuisines in the world, like most all of these countries, has their own take on things like Machboos and Harees, but then they have even more traditional dishes such as, Muttabaq Samak; which is a whole fish served over heavily seasoned rice. Although this particular dish can be found in other islands, the Kuwaiti make it their own with Zubaidi—a specific type of fish that just so happens to be the country’s national fish.
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3. Kiribati
Obesity: 40.1%
Diabetes: 18.6%
Rank: 29.35
Two words: fish and rice. I mean, what more do you expect, at this point? Coconuts! That’s right! You also expect coconuts! Tuvalu’s got just that. Some form of coconut in almost every dish with fish and/or rice being the star of that dish. No matter where you are located on the small island which ranks third on our list of countries with the worst food, unhealthiest cuisines in the world (actually, the 4th smallest country in the world) you will find coconuts, however, in Funafuti (Tuvalu’s capital) the most meat and fish is found than anywhere else. The further you venture away from the island’s capital the more you will find that taro becomes more common and is more of a staple food.
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2. Qatar
Obesity: 41%
Diabetes: 20%
Rank: 30.5
Okay, better remind me to add, “try Machboos before I die” to my bucket list, because not only is it a popular dish among most of these countries, many of them like it so much that it happens to be their county’s national dish. Needless to say, the national dish of Qatar, the number two on our list of countries with the worst food, unhealthiest cuisines in the world is Machboos. One interesting dish they have in Qatar is the Balaleet. The Qatari will either eat this dish for breakfast or as a dessert — my kind of dish! But wait! Sweet, savory noodles topped with an omelette and optional nuts? Uh… maybe NOT my kind of dish. Margoog! Now, that’s a dish I can hang with (or… eat, in this case). It’s packed with nutrients, typically zucchini, eggplant, potatoes and tomatoes (some of my favorite veggies!) and what dish isn’t complete without some type of meat? What I’m not crazy about is the dough that gets boiled in the stock of this dish, but hey! I didn’t think a dippy egg belonged on a cheeseburger until I tried it.
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1. Palau
Obesity: 47.1%
Diabetes: 20.9%
Rank: 34
While the cuisines of all of these countries are heavily influenced by surrounding cultures, Palauans seem to take it to the next level. Probably why their obesity and diabetes rates are so much higher than other countries with the worst food, unhealthiest cuisines in the world. A lot of these countries have two or three different cultures that have made an impression on their own cuisine. Palau, on the other hand, has a little bit of it all! With influences from the US, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, you’re sure to find something to tickle your fancy here. And restaurants ranging from sushi and sashimi bars to Italian dining are big here. It is also not uncommon to see BBQ sauce. On everything! Of course, Palauans have pretty much everything that these other countries have: fish, rice, taro, coconut, Fruitbat soup—wait! Fruitbat soup? There’s one I haven’t seen anywhere else! It is exactly what it sounds like: a whole Fruitbat in some broth. What makes up the broth? Coconut, of course!
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