sethcwilson's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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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Brunost
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Meats & Animal Products

Brunost

This “brown cheese” tastes like caramel.
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Salo
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Meats & Animal Products

Salo

Usually, the only heat that gets close to this raw pork fat is a sprinkle of pepper.
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Adjaruli Khachapuri
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Prepared Foods

Adjaruli Khachapuri

Economists use this cheesy bread as a metric for cost of living between Georgian cities.
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Yule Log Cake
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Sweets

Yule Log Cake

These holiday cakes link Christmas to the Norse god of lightning.
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Stinging Nettles
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Fruits & Vegetables

Stinging Nettles

Boil away this plant's poisonous hairs, and you're left with a tasty, spinach-like leaf.
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Churchkhela
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Sweets

Churchkhela

These delicious strands of juice-coated nuts look like colorful candlesticks.
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Kissel
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Sweets

Kissel

The dessert that's also a meal.
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Kali
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Drinks

Kali

Beer meets soda in this refreshing Estonian brew.
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Gematogen
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Gematogen

A bloody good candy bar.
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Sgushyonka
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Sweets

Sgushyonka

This gooey, sweet treat was a Soviet staple.
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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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Karelian Pie
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Prepared Foods

Karelian Pie

Though its home region has been split by war, love for this hearty pastry transcends borders.
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Russian Napoleon Cake
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Sweets

Russian Napoleon Cake

This traditional dessert commemorates the country's sweet taste of victory over the French emperor in 1812.
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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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Kamatahvel
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Sweets

Kamatahvel

Created during a cocoa shortage, the grain-based “chocolate” bar became an Estonian classic.
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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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Anis de Flavigny
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Sweets

Anis de Flavigny

Once made by monks, this candy spends 15 days rolling in sugar syrup to get its pearly-white shell.
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Kohuke
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Sweets

Kohuke

Chocolate-covered cheese curds make sweet Estonian energy bars.
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Bonito Flakes
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Meats & Animal Products

Bonito Flakes

Some fish can dance.
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Umeboshi
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Fruits & Vegetables

Umeboshi

These salted, pickled plums are an ancient Japanese hangover cure.
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Nattō
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Prepared Foods

Nattō

These pungent fermented soybeans are coated in probiotic slime.
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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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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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