Sam OBrien's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
K’alapurka
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Prepared Foods

K’alapurka

In the city of Potosí, a steamy soup bubbles from the heat of volcanic rocks.
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Paparajotes
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Sweets

Paparajotes

Impress Murcianos by correctly eating these fried lemon leaves.
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Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony
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Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony

The birthplace of coffee celebrates community with a sensory feast.
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Peanut Butter Fruit
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Fruits & Vegetables

Peanut Butter Fruit

Its pulp tastes just like the creamy spread.
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Stinking Toe Fruit
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Fruits & Vegetables

Stinking Toe Fruit

If you can get past the foot odor, its pulp is great in smoothies.
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Pique a lo Macho
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Prepared Foods

Pique a lo Macho

Can you finish Bolivia's enormous starch-and-protein explosion?
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Blood Pancakes
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Prepared Foods

Blood Pancakes

Scandinavians use blood to make dense, dark, savory flapjacks.
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Dragon's Beard Candy
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Sweets

Dragon's Beard Candy

The ancient confection consists of wispy sugar-strands that look like dragon whiskers.
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Queimada
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Queimada

This Galician punch is set aflame to ward off evil spirits.
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Palolo
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Meats & Animal Products

Palolo

To catch these coral-dwelling, caviar-flavored sea worms, you must wade into their annual mating ritual.
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Suri Grubs
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Meats & Animal Products

Suri Grubs

Palm weevil larvae make succulent street snacks in the Amazon.
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Loggerhead
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Loggerhead

In the Colonial era, a red-hot iron rod warmed drinks, ignited cannons, and cauterized wounds.
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Engkala
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Fruits & Vegetables

Engkala

This creamy, bright pink fruit is known as the "Borneo avocado."
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Hmong Stuffed Chicken Wings
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Prepared Foods

Hmong Stuffed Chicken Wings

Next-level egg rolls are wrapped in an entire chicken wing.
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Strawberry Tree Fruit
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Fruits & Vegetables

Strawberry Tree Fruit

The lychee-looking fruit appears in everything from jam and liqueur to the Aeneid and Madrid's flag.
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Cougnou
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Sweets

Cougnou

This Christmas bread is formed in the shape of the baby Jesus.
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Lampreia de Ovos
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Sweets

Lampreia de Ovos

With this egg-based Christmas dessert, Portuguese pastelarias celebrate a bloodsucking fish.
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Paan
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Prepared Foods

Paan

This chewable Indian digestive soothes stomachs, freshens breath, and might give you cancer.
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Blue-Green Algae
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Ingredients & Condiments

Blue-Green Algae

The Aztecs used it to make protein-rich tortillas; we use it to make unicorn lattes.
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Kala Jamun
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Sweets

Kala Jamun

These dark fried milk balls are flecked with gold and dipped in scented syrup.
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Moose Milk
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Drinks

Moose Milk

Eggnog gone wild, brought to you by the Canadian Military.
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Ice Cream Bean
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Ingredients & Condiments

Ice Cream Bean

The South American bean that looks like cotton candy and tastes like ice cream.
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Tasmanian Leatherwood Honey
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Ingredients & Condiments

Tasmanian Leatherwood Honey

Bees get a lift from helicopters in order to produce this spicy honey.
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Atol de Elote
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Drinks

Atol de Elote

It's delicious, unless a pregnant woman or anyone in a bad mood stirs it.
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