hangingfire's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
Yaupon Tea
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Drinks

Yaupon Tea

The mellow-buzz brew that once fueled Native Americans is making a comeback.
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’Nduja
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Ingredients & Condiments

’Nduja

The fiery Calabrian meat spread also goes by "red Nutella" and "poor man's Viagra."
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Irn-Bru
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Drinks

Irn-Bru

A citrusy cream soda with a hint of rust outsells Coca-Cola in Scotland.
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Omurice
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Prepared Foods

Omurice

Japanese cooks riff on American diner food with this rice-and-ketchup omelet.
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Eccles Cake
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Sweets

Eccles Cake

The traditional sweet currant cake has an incendiary reputation.
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Ramune
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Drinks

Ramune

The Japanese soda still comes in a marble-stoppered bottle from the 19th century.
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Turkish Coffee
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Drinks

Turkish Coffee

Locals joke that you should be able to “float a horseshoe” on the thick brew.
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Boiled Green Peanuts
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Prepared Foods

Boiled Green Peanuts

Roadside vendors in the Deep South soften fresh goobers with bubbling brine.
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Benne Wafers
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Sweets

Benne Wafers

A crispy cookie from South Carolina, first introduced during the slave trade.
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Marsh Samphire
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Fruits & Vegetables

Marsh Samphire

The briny “asparagus of the sea” grows along coasts around the world.
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Biltong
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Meats & Animal Products

Biltong

This spiced jerky is a beloved snack in South Africa.
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Ruby Chocolate
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Sweets

Ruby Chocolate

The sweet is naturally a bubblegum shade of pink.
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Rakija
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Drinks

Rakija

The fiery fruit brandy of the Balkans.
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Okonomiyaki
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Prepared Foods

Okonomiyaki

A wartime rice scarcity made this versatile pancake a Japanese staple.
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Dinuguan
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Prepared Foods

Dinuguan

A pork blood stew so rich and velvety, it's known as “chocolate meat.”
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Mellow Corn Whiskey
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Drinks

Mellow Corn Whiskey

Long relegated to moonshine jars, aged corn whiskey is finally getting respect outside Kentucky.
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Beef Dripping
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Ingredients & Condiments

Beef Dripping

You can roast your potatoes in this rendered fat, or just spread it on bread and eat it cold.
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Molcajete
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Molcajete

The Mesoamerican mortar and pestle has been made, and used, the same way for thousands of years.
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Bitter Melon
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Fruits & Vegetables

Bitter Melon

This nightmarish-looking fruit has serious healing potential.
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Crumble-In
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Prepared Foods

Crumble-In

This soggy Southern snack combines cornbread and buttermilk in a single glass.
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Rillettes
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Prepared Foods

Rillettes

Spread this fat-poached meat on a crusty French loaf.
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Red-Eye Gravy
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Ingredients & Condiments

Red-Eye Gravy

Once described as a “divine elixir,” this Southern sauce typically gets its spunk from coffee.
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Absinthe Spoon
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Absinthe Spoon

This flat, silver spoon holds an exalted place in the mystery and ritual of absinthe drinking.
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Necco Wafers
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Sweets

Necco Wafers

Produced since 1847, these classic New England candies almost disappeared in 2018.
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