Iowa’s Strangest Food is Said to Make You Throw Up

The website 247Tempo has assembled a list of strange food items found and commonly enjoyed in all 50 states. Don't think of these items as deep-fried Oreos or something quintessential to a county fair. These are truly strange foods, and some don't sound good for the faint of heart.

While the term "strange" is of course subjective, 247Tempo was clear in their approach with this list. They wanted to find food/food items that aren't commonly found on restaurant menus and/or grocery stores, such as pig's intestines, duck tongues, and more. Of course, some of these items might indeed be a part of someone's daily meal planning. Again, it's all subjective and fun.

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To give you an idea of where 247Tempo went with this list, they've included items such as New Mexico's ice cream sundae topped with green chiles, Massachusetts' Chow Mein sandwiches, and Washington's geoduck, to name a few. I decided to do a deep-dive into what they pegged as Iowa's strangest dish:

Iowa's Strangest Dish Might Make You Puke:

Iowa's "strangest dish," according to 247Tempo is known as "Kumla" (pronounced comla). It's essentially the Norwegian version of a dumpling, with ham and potatoes that are a specialty of Story City, just north of Des Moines. Here's a description of the item, per Jett's Kitchen:

[Kumla is] made from russet potatoes that are grated into a paste and held together with flour. Bits of pieces of salt pork or ham are placed in the center of the potato dough and formed into a ball or dumpling. The dumpling is then cooked in a flavorful broth for about 1-hour and viola! Kumla Norwegian Dumplings are served! - per Jett's Kitchen

So what about this is said to make you puke? Well, in polling some people's opinions on Kumla, 247Tempo states the dumplings have been nicknamed "Norwegian stinkers," which is such an affectionate way to describe any cuisine.

One individual, who claims to be able to eat no more than three Kumla in one sitting, said that 10 of them would make competitive eating champion Joey Chestnut vomit.

How Do You Make Kumla?:

If you're brave enough to make Kumla, you will need the following ingredients:

• Water – for a 6-quart Dutch oven and for potatoes
• 3 pound ham (I used this to flavor the water and diced some to add for dumpling filling)
• 1 pound of salt pork diced
• 4 pounds of russet potatoes
• 2 cup all-purpose flour
• butter (lots of butter for serving)
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• chopped green onions for garnish (not traditional so this ingredient is optional)

Apparently, the traditional way to serve Kumla is with copious amounts of butter. Whether or not that makes it more palatable, I'm not sure, but Jett's Kitchen offers some great tips on how to prepare it perfectly (again, if you're brave enough)!

Read more about Kumla on Jett's Kitchen's website, and see more of the strangest foods from the other 49 states on 247Tempo's website.