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Copyright © 2025 Foodies Only
Copyright © 2025 Foodies Only
6 Min
16/02/2026
What’s normal for some cultures can be absolute torture for outsiders, especially for their olfactory senses. Pungency in food, even tear-inducing ones, is pretty normal, especially in countries which love their fermented or preserved food. From Swedish preserved fish that makes influencers gag on camera to Taiwanese street snacks banned from public transport, these foods prove that one culture's delicacy can be another's olfactory nightmare.
Across continents and cultures, humans have developed an almost perverse relationship with foods that makes you fight for your life at times. In this case, strong-smelling foods. What begins as a practical solution to store food through harsh winters or monsoon seasons evolves into beloved national treasures, defended fiercely by locals and approached with trepidation by travellers. The science behind the stink is surprisingly universal; for some, it's nature, and for some, it's pure fermentation. What you might be smelling is sulfur-based chemicals, the same smell that once protected human ancestors from spoiled food now defines some of the world's most iconic dishes.
Multiple videos on social media feature influencers with literally tears streaming down their red faces when they take a whiff of this Swedish preserved fish. It comes in a tin and is quite pungent. Nevertheless, Swedes love this fermented fish product, made with a type of herring called strömming, fished from the cold waters of the Baltic Sea in spring. The fish is salted, cleaned, fermented and then canned. Despite canning, it retains its strong fishy odour, which is said to come from the fish’s spine. The locals even have an annual festival called surströmmingsskiva, which is hosted in Alfta, Halsingland, every third Thursday of August.
Native to Southeast Asia, durian is known as the king of fruits, infamous for its unbearable odour that some compare to raw sewage. This is perhaps why it's banned from local hotels and public transport, as once cut, it can be smelled from yards away. This tropical fruit is a cousin of the jackfruit, and on the trees, you can spot this fruit in all its spiky and green glory. Once you get past the strong smell, what awaits inside is sweet and creamy, packed with fibre, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. Some famous foods made with durian are the Filipino turon, Vietnamese chè thái, and pulut durian.
Shutki maachh, Bengal’s infamous dried fish, is as polarising as it is pungent – it reeks when dried and even more when cooked, yet fans swear by its umami-packed punch in fritters (bora) or when mashed with chillies and onions (bhorta). The fish is cleaned, gutted, heavily salted to remove moisture and stop spoilage, then dried in the open sun until preserved. Sometimes it is also simmered in curries by some households. It is made by curing and sun-drying fish like loitya or shrimp; it’s beloved in coastal Bengal and among communities with roots in East Bengal.
The distinctive blue-green veins running through French Roquefort, Italian Gorgonzola, Spanish Cabrales, and English Stilton (blue cheese varieties) aren't just for show. They’re colonies of Penicillium roqueforti mould, the same family as the antibiotic and the pungent aroma comes from methyl ketones, particularly heptan-2-one and nonan-2-one, created when the mould breaks down fats in the cheese. The ageing process intensifies everything, as the longer a blue cheese matures, the more intense its aroma becomes. Despite the off-putting comparisons to foot odour, blue cheeses remain beloved for their complex flavour profiles.
This Japanese staple of fermented soybeans produces a sticky, stringy texture and an ammonia-like smell that divides opinion even within Japan. The fermentation process, which uses Bacillus subtilis bacteria, creates the characteristic ‘neba-neba’ (sticky-slimy) consistency. The smell has been compared to old socks, week-old garbage, and smelly feet, yet the majority of Japanese folks report finding the taste pleasant. Traditional preparation of natto involves wrapping steamed soybeans in rice straw, which naturally contains the necessary bacteria. Current production uses pure starter cultures for consistency. When properly stirred in circular motions, sometimes up to 100 times, the soybeans develop flavour and that signature stringiness.
Scientifically known as asafoetida, this spice earns the nickname ‘devil's dung’ for good reason. A whiff of raw hing from its little container can be acrid, almost like discovering a heap of cabbage at the bottom of your fridge. Mix that smell with sulfur compounds, and you have hing. The dried resin comes from the Ferula plant, primarily grown in Afghanistan and Iran, and undergoes months or even years of fermentation after being mixed with flour and gum arabic. The odour is so penetrating that it requires airtight storage to prevent it from contaminating other spices. Yet when added to hot oil or ghee, something magical happens and the harsh smell mellows.
Walk through any Taiwanese night market, and your nose will find stinky tofu long before your eyes do. The fermented tofu dish, called chou doufu in Mandarin, earns comparisons to rotting garbage, dirty and wet socks, and rotten meat. As per legend, the dish was invented during the Qing Dynasty by a scholar who left unsold tofu to ferment accidentally, only to discover its unexpectedly delicious flavour. Traditional preparation involves soaking tofu in a brine made from fermented milk, vegetables, meat, dried shrimp, bamboo shoots, and Chinese herbs (a process that can take months).
The overwhelming smells that make first-timers recoil rarely translate to equally strong tastes. This paradox reflects the complex chemistry of fermentation and the sophisticated interplay between our senses of smell and taste. What one finds disgusting versus delicious often depends entirely on childhood exposure and cultural conditioning. As for non-locals who are adventurous eaters, these pungent delicacies offer more than shock value or bragging rights.
