The world’s worst food dishes have been revealed — including a UK classic

Depending who you ask, British cuisine is either marvellous or something to make fun of. 

Fish and chips, roast dinners, and sticky toffee pudding might all be top tier options, but we certainly do have a few more… questionable dishes. 

So it’ll likely come as no surprise to some that a UK classic has made it into the top 10 list of the world’s worst food. Hell, it’s even cracked the top five.

Travel and food guide, TasteAtlas, just revealed the 100 worst rated foods in the world according to roughly 600,000 ratings from their audience database, and in at number five is jellied eels.

The traditional Cockney dish dates back to 18th Century London and features chopped eels, boiled in water and vinegar, with various spices like nutmeg or cloves added to create a stock. As it cools, the mixture becomes gelatinous, and the jellied eels can then be eaten hot or cold. 

While it’s less commonly eaten these days, it became an especially popular dish during the second world war. At the time, eels were incredibly common in the Thames, and proved a cheap way to feed hungry people. 

According to TasteAtlas, some might find the dish ‘unpleasant’ but the eels are ‘delicate and soft’ and the flavour is ‘unique, mild, slightly salty like pickled herring, but without the unusual “fishy” scent.’

Jellied eels were once sold in around 100 eel, pie and mash shops across london, but many of these have closed over the years. However, you can still find the dish at various spots in the capital, including Goddards at Greenwich, F Cooke Pie & Mash in Hoxton, and M.Manze at Tower Bridge. It’s often also avaialable from seafood shacks at the seaside, so keep your eyes peeled if you fancy giving it a try.

Other culinary creations from around the world that featured in the listincluded Anulas a la cazuela. At number four, this is a traditional spanish dish made with angulas (baby eels), garlic, chilli flakes, olive oil and salt. 

Number three was Calskrove from Skellefteå in Sweden, a very carb-heavy dish that is possibly what drunken dreams are made of. The meal, created by Tre Kronor restaurant, sees a calzone stuffed with hamburgers (including the bun, toppings and sauce), as well as fries.

It was intended for customers who couldn’t decide between a pizza or burger after a night out, to give them the best of both worlds.

Another Spanish dish, Bocadillo de sardinas was ranked at number two -this time a sandwich served on barra de pan and filled with canned sardines, as well as optional extras like peppers, tomato, lettuce, olives, boiled eggs, mayonnaise, mustard, mushrooms, or olive oil. It sounds a bit like someone just decided to use up everything left in their fridge, consequences be damned. 

But the worst rated dish of all was said to be Blodpals from Lapland, Finland. These are dumplings, made from rye or barley flour as well as animal blood. Traditionally this blood would have been reindeer, but today recipes also use cattle or pig blood.

TasteAtlas adds: ‘They are sometimes filled with a mixture of sautéed onions and diced bacon, and are commonly cooked in flavorful meat broths. Blodpalt dumplings are usually enjoyed as a side dish accompanied by fried bacon or pork, butter, and lingonberry jam.’