Exploring the cultural context of eating fertilized eggs

Independent scholar and folklorist Margaret Magat describes eating balut, an embryonic egg enjoyed across the Philippines. Magat says that the reason she wrote “Balut” was to set the record straight after seeing it as a challenge on Fear Factor in 2002, when there was no attempt to apply a cultural context to it. She says Filipinos eating balut is an exercise in performative identity and connecting to their home country.

Margaret Magat explores the traditional and popular contexts of eating fertilized eggs in her book, “Balut.” Photo courtesy of Bloomsbury.