sylvia's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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sylvia's activity rankings
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Places visited in Lucca, Italy
1st
Places visited in Palestrina, Italy
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Places visited in Sirmione, Italy
2nd
Places visited in Cuatrociénegas, Mexico
2nd
Places visited in Portici, Italy
3rd
Places visited in Monterrey, Mexico
4th
Places visited in Cienfuegos, Cuba
Huitlacoche
Gastro Obscura
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Ingredients & Condiments

Huitlacoche

The Mexican fungal delicacy that makes corn taste like a mushroom.
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Cajeta
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Sweets

Cajeta

In the city of Celaya, goat's milk caramel tops everything from ice cream to cereal.
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Mezcal de Pechuga
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Drinks

Mezcal de Pechuga

For a meaty essence, producers dangle raw chicken breast over their stills.
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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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Rompope
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Drinks

Rompope

Not even the 17th-century nuns behind this Mexican eggnog could resist drinking it.
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Oaxacan Mole Blanco
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Ingredients & Condiments

Oaxacan Mole Blanco

The fairest and rarest of them all.
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Guayusa
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Guayusa

The Kichwa begin every day with tea and dream interpretation.
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Ayahuasca
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Ayahuasca

One vine unlocks the powers of a psychedelic shrub.
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Maca
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Maca

The Andean root once fueled Inca warriors.
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Chicha Morada
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Drinks

Chicha Morada

Peru's purple drink made from purple corn.
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Naranjilla
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Fruits & Vegetables

Naranjilla

Relatively unknown outside South America, the tart, tomato-like fruit makes beloved juices and cocktails.
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Cherimoya
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Fruits & Vegetables

Cherimoya

Growing this sweet, tropical fruit sometimes requires careful hand-pollination with a paint brush.
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Maggi Seasoning
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Ingredients & Condiments

Maggi Seasoning

This condiment proves that what the world considers delicious is (nearly) universal.
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Unicum
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Drinks

Unicum

A bitter liqueur that traces the history of a Hungarian-Jewish family.
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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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San Marzano Tomatoes
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Fruits & Vegetables

San Marzano Tomatoes

Grown in the volcanic soil around Mt. Vesuvius, these tomatoes are one of only a couple varieties used in authentic Neapolitan pizza.
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Green Chartreuse
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Drinks

Green Chartreuse

Only two silent monks know all 130 plants that go into this herbal liqueur.
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Kak'ik
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Prepared Foods

Kak'ik

The ancestral soup of the Q’eqchi’ Maya packs heat and history.
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Chile Cobanero
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Ingredients & Condiments

Chile Cobanero

This signature pepper has been a hot commodity since the Maya era.
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Mamajuana
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Drinks

Mamajuana

This alcoholic drink has medicinal properties (and sometimes contains turtle penis).
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Caracoles
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Meats & Animal Products

Caracoles

For a brief seasonal window in Spain, snails go from dreaded pests to coveted tapas.
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Smørrebrød
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Prepared Foods

Smørrebrød

Denmark's open-faced sandwiches are equal parts decadent and decorative.
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Mozartkugel
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Sweets

Mozartkugel

Like the famed composer himself, this Mozart-homage bonbon originated in Salzburg, Austria.
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Escamoles
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Meats & Animal Products

Escamoles

The eggs of "the farty ant" have earned a reputation as the caviar of the desert.
Gastro Obscura