Baffling food trend: Eggs cooked in urine of Chinese school boys
We’re not ones to turn our noses up at the delicacies and food traditions of different cultures, but we’re issuing ourselves a pass on this one because of a single, horrifying ingredient: human urine.
In China, there is a dish called “virgin boy eggs.” It requires two types of harvesting — egg harvesting, naturally… and harvesting the urine of boys 10-years-old or younger from school toilets. (We’ve never been so thankful for a regulated health department.)
As Reuters reports, the eggs are soaked, and then cooked, in the boys’ urine before being sold to locals who relish in the seasonal snack in the city of Dongyang. One egg is sold for the equivalent of about 24 cents.
The dish is heralded for its health benefits, believe it or not, though the reason the urine of young boys, specifically, is used seems to be unknown — it’s just been the tradition for centuries. The delicacy is credited with fending off the common cold and preventing joint pain, among other remedies.
“If you eat this, you will not get heat stroke. These eggs cooked in urine are fragrant,” said Ge Yaohua, an owner of a “virgin boy eggs” stalls.
Hey, we live in New York — we’re well versed in the fragrance of urine. But smelling it is enough for us… no need to taste it. 
