mbender77's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
Cucamelon
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Fruits & Vegetables

Cucamelon

Mexico's “mouse melon” is actually a tiny cucumber.
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White BBQ Sauce
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Ingredients & Condiments

White BBQ Sauce

In Alabama, smoked meat gets dressed up in white.
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Brunost
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Meats & Animal Products

Brunost

This “brown cheese” tastes like caramel.
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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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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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Wassail
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Drinks

Wassail

This spiced, warming drink may have helped broker peace between warring tribes.
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Nanaimo Bar
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Sweets

Nanaimo Bar

From postwar dessert to sweet slice of Canadian identity.
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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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Ruby Chocolate
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Sweets

Ruby Chocolate

The sweet is naturally a bubblegum shade of pink.
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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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Boston Baked Beans
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Sweets

Boston Baked Beans

In the 1920s, confectioners thought the public wanted candy that looked like legumes—and they were right.
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Glögg
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Drinks

Glögg

The aroma of this mulled wine has been compared to “a warmed-up bowl of Froot Loops.”
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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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Cotton Candy Grapes
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Fruits & Vegetables

Cotton Candy Grapes

A crossbred table grape variety that tastes an awful lot like spun sugar.
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Midas Touch Ale
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Drinks

Midas Touch Ale

A brewery consulted drinking vessels found in the ancient king’s tomb to recreate a 2,700-year-old elixir.
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Fried Haggis
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Prepared Foods

Fried Haggis

Scotland's beloved traditional dish is deep-fried and served up fast-food style.
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Colcannon
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Prepared Foods

Colcannon

A hearty Irish staple that can tell your fortune.
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Tomato Wine
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Drinks

Tomato Wine

Who said vineyards have to grow grapes?
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Luxardo Maraschino Cherries
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Ingredients & Condiments

Luxardo Maraschino Cherries

Real maraschinos were born more than a century ago in an Italian distillery.
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Sfogliatella
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Sweets

Sfogliatella

This layered pastry from Italy's Amalfi Coast may have origins in a 17th-century convent.
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The Christmas Pickle
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The Christmas Pickle

The holiday tradition of hiding an ornamental veggie.
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Cranachan
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Sweets

Cranachan

A now-archaic Scottish breakfast paved the way for this popular dessert.
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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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