Hepzibah's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Places visited in Alnwick, England
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Yule Log Cake
Gastro Obscura
Story
Sweets

Yule Log Cake

These holiday cakes link Christmas to the Norse god of lightning.
Gastro Obscura
Kendal Mint Cake
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Sweets

Kendal Mint Cake

The original energy bar.
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Mortadella
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Meats & Animal Products

Mortadella

Baloney's predecessor is sweet, delicately spiced, and bigger than your head.
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Lindisfarne Mead
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Drinks

Lindisfarne Mead

The best place to find the “nectar of the gods” is Holy Island.
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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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Rakija
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Drinks

Rakija

The fiery fruit brandy of the Balkans.
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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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Ginjinha
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Drinks

Ginjinha

In Lisbon, tiny, standing-room-only bars specialize in this sour cherry liqueur.
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Carbonnade à la Flamande
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Prepared Foods

Carbonnade à la Flamande

Belgium's stew of beef and abbey-style ale is essentially bourguignon for beer lovers.
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Licorice Root
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Fruits & Vegetables

Licorice Root

The washed and dried root of the licorice plant was once a popular natural “candy.”
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Hot Horse Burger
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Prepared Foods

Hot Horse Burger

A popular Slovenian fast-food joint doesn't specialize in beef.
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Vimto
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Drinks

Vimto

This British temperance tonic is now a Ramadan favorite.
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Kvass
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Drinks

Kvass

You can find authentic versions of this sour Slavic brew at street stalls and monasteries.
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Yorkshire Parkin
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Sweets

Yorkshire Parkin

On November 5, the British celebrate a thwarted assassination attempt with bonfires and deliciously dense, sticky gingerbread.
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Trashing
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Trashing

For some students at the University of Oxford, the end of the year means getting covered with eggs, shaving cream, and champagne.
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Scrumpy
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Drinks

Scrumpy

This rustic cider's name derives from an English term for fruit thievery.
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Spaghetti alla Puttanesca
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Prepared Foods

Spaghetti alla Puttanesca

Historians debate whether this dish actually originated with Italian sex workers.
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Lancashire Hotpot
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Prepared Foods

Lancashire Hotpot

This “hodgepodge” of affordable ingredients fueled local laborers during the Industrial Revolution.
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Eton Mess
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Sweets

Eton Mess

This summery parfait has mingled with British royals and literary elites.
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Christmas Cake and Cheese
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Sweets

Christmas Cake and Cheese

In Yorkshire, the holidays usher in this salty-sweet combo.
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Bakewell Pudding
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Sweets

Bakewell Pudding

A sweet and sticky accident from Derbyshire, England.
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Cornish Pasty
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Prepared Foods

Cornish Pasty

In the 19th century, tin miners ate these handheld pies and left their crusts to appease mischievous, mine-dwelling spirits.
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Jam Roly-Poly
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Sweets

Jam Roly-Poly

Once steamed in shirt sleeves and pant legs, this sweet roll took on the nickname “dead man's leg.”
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Riga Black Balsam
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Drinks

Riga Black Balsam

There's a legend that this Latvian herbal liqueur saved an ailing Catherine the Great.
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