jcommerford's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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 Vernors Ginger Soda
Gastro Obscura
Story
Drinks

Vernors Ginger Soda

The Detroit favorite is one of the oldest sodas in the United States.
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Horlicks Malted Milk
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Ingredients & Condiments

Horlicks Malted Milk

This powder proved essential to Arctic exploration, war, and the ice cream parlor.
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Moroccan Snails
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Prepared Foods

Moroccan Snails

The fragrant, intricately spiced street food is a medina specialty.
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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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Long Pepper
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Ingredients & Condiments

Long Pepper

This once-common spice is now almost completely unknown outside India.
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Pu'er
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Drinks

Pu'er

Devoted fans pay thousands for bricks of this fermented tea.
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Yak Cheese
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Meats & Animal Products

Yak Cheese

From hulking plains creatures comes a delicate, nutty cheese.
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Butter Lamps
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Butter Lamps

In Tibetan temples, yak butter burns day and night.
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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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Sturm
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Drinks

Sturm

Fizzy, fruity, and still fermenting, this almost-wine is a celebrated part of Austria's harvest season.
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Bled Cream Cake
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Sweets

Bled Cream Cake

The decadent pastry almost outshines the Slovenian lake it's named for.
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Bao Bing
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Sweets

Bao Bing

This sweet treat has been cool for more than 1,000 years.
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Vimto
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Drinks

Vimto

This British temperance tonic is now a Ramadan favorite.
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Beaujolais Nouveau
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Drinks

Beaujolais Nouveau

When the clock strikes midnight on the third Thursday of November, fans gather to celebrate the release of this fresh, fruity wine.
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Faggots
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Prepared Foods

Faggots

There's much more to these offal-based meatballs than the unfortunate double meaning of their name.
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Real Wasabi
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Ingredients & Condiments

Real Wasabi

Most sushi fans have never tried this rare rhizome.
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Posset
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Drinks

Posset

Consisting of spiced, curdled milk and lots of alcohol, this boozy bedtime drink dates back to the Middle Ages.
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Smoked Puffin
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Prepared Foods

Smoked Puffin

This controversial meat is ingrained in ancient Nordic culture.
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Mechoui
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Prepared Foods

Mechoui

In this Moroccan street specialty, whole-roasted lamb is cooked in underground clay pits and sold by weight.
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Amarula Cream Liqueur
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Drinks

Amarula Cream Liqueur

A sweet and nutty liqueur made with the fruit of the "elephant tree."
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Jucy Lucy
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Prepared Foods

Jucy Lucy

This beef patty oozes cheese from within.
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Steam Beer
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Drinks

Steam Beer

The unique style born out of the California Gold Rush blends the crispness of a lager with the flavor of an ale.
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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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Pineapple Bun With BBQ Pork
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Prepared Foods

Pineapple Bun With BBQ Pork

Two Chinese bakery specialties, combined into one.
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