Forbidden Fruit

So, I live on a street where the parking situation isn't ideal... parking anywhere near downtown pretty much blows. Plus, the dealership I recently bought my car from is basically screwing me over with my car's stickers and registration, leaving me with a pile of parking tickets I have to try and fight...

Handing them out like fucking candy...

Anyway, inspired by my recent issues with "THE LAW" I was wondering if any food was illegal...

turns out there is a plethora of Forbidden Fruit
So, to get this going...

Mangosteen

Besides looking like an albino orange surrounded by a beet trapped inside a pomegranate it is banned in North America and Europe. Native to Southeast Asia, it is said to have a refreshing balance of sweet and sour flavors. Despite their small size, Asian fruit flies are determined little bastards and will gladly destroy any crop they find and make it impossible for  any export of this crazy frankenfruit.

Durian

If you thought the mangosteen looked weird how in the hell do you explain this oh-so-inviting fruit? Although native to Southeast Asia, bring this monster of a fruit to a public place and see what happens... that's a dare, let me know how it goes! The durian is illegal since it apparently smells like shit, even with the husk intact, and isn't allowed in most public places.

This in no joke... they will fine your ass up to $500

The smell has been described as almonds, rotten onions, turpentine and gym socks.... mmmm, sounds damn delicious. I mean shit, Andrew Zimmern won't even eat it and this guy will eat anything

"MMMMM, live bat. So minerally..."

Foie Gras

So, foie gras... that picture doesn't necessarily convey my opinion of it but I thought it would stir some shit up so I went with it. There are obviously arguments for and against the process and consumption of foie gras but I'm not here to argue either side, it's just a fucking blog, if you feel the need go out research it yourself... form your own opinion...
Anyway... foie gras is fatty liver of duck or goose. It is illegal because the birds are force-fed until their livers are ten times the original size and apparently some people have a problem with this. Chicago, San Diego, Argentina, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Norway, Poland and Israel have banned foie gras.

Fugu liver

Don't be fooled by its size... this bitch will kill you...with cuteness

Also known as the much more adorable and seemingly harmless name of Puffer Fish. Apparently the second most poisonous vertebrate in the world... "What comes in first", you ask??

This adorable killing machine

Though the meat is considered a delicacy in many countries, the liver is not fucking around... it contains the deadly neurotoxin, tetrodoxin. Personally, I don't think death by neurotoxin sounds too appealing and it only takes a few milligrams of it to get your untimely death in the news. Interestingly enough, it is only illegal in Japan... so if you feel the urge to tempt death and you're not in Japan... go right on ahead... me, I'll stick to jumping out of planes to get my kicks.

Casu Marzu

yummmmmmm... maggots!!

Ok, so if you're currently eating I recommend that you stop... this is just slightly barfworthy. Casu Marzu is Sardinian for "rotten cheese". For unknown reasons they inject pecorino cheese with maggot larvae, if that doesn't get you drooling you must be dead... lucky you... maybe they got the maggots larvae from your rotting corpse and now you don't have to worry about them... delicious, right? If the description doesn't scare you off let me tell you why its illegal, ironically only in the place where it is actually eaten. Those fiesty little maggots don't give a shit about your stomach acid, your stomach is like a tasty little jacuzzi for them, and they will gladly eat through your intestinal tract and start chomping on your internal organs. Mmmm, wanna go get lunch??
Alright, last but not least...

Ortolan

awww, so cute... must be delicious

"That bird is endangered" you say? NBD, I didn't hunt it.
Oh, the French... they do love their food... no matter that this bird is highly endangered. Though you can be fined $10,000 for hunting it the French have no problem with eating them. $10,000 thats a lot of money to risk for basically one or two bites of tiny, endangered bird.
I guess you catch these little suckers alive, blind them, fatten them with figs and oats, drown it alive in Brandy and roast it to perfection...

Oh, I can taste the endangerment

There you have it my friends... a small taste of forbidden fruit... enjoy!!