From boiled heads to pepper noodles: the world's most unpleasant dishes revealed

The food platform TasteAtlas has published its latest ranking of the world's worst-rated dishes according to the opinions of international users, a list that once again shows that tradition and global tastes do not always go hand in hand.

First place goes to svið, a national dish of Iceland made from boiled lamb's head. Before cooking, the head is split and singed over a fire to remove the hair, a process that leaves an appearance and aroma that are difficult to stomach for those who did not grow up with this recipe. Although it is part of Iceland's culinary heritage, outside the country it has met with almost unanimous rejection.

Iceland also takes second place thanks to þorramatur, a winter selection that includes fermented shark meat, smoked lamb, blood sausages and sheep's head, typical of the Þorrablót celebrations between January and February.

Third place goes to northern Spain with trucha a la navarra, a recipe combining fried fish with serrano ham. Although it is highly regarded locally, many users consider the combination heavy and poorly balanced.

Rounding out the top five are Scandinavian blodpalt — a kind of dense dumpling made with flour and blood — and Jerusalem kugel, an unusual baked pasta dish that mixes caramelised sugar with plenty of black pepper.

TasteAtlas points out that rankings of this kind tend to single out dishes born in conditions of scarcity or extreme climates, where fermentation, blood or offal were common resources. For those who created them, they are part of their identity; for the rest of the world, a difficult challenge to overcome on the plate.