cryptidcache's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
Corn Knives
Gastro Obscura
Story

Corn Knives

Early American settlers invented new tools to harvest a new crop.
Gastro Obscura
Prairie Oyster Cocktail
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Drinks

Prairie Oyster Cocktail

The hangover cure gets its oyster-like texture from a raw egg.
Gastro Obscura
Celery Vase
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Celery Vase

Remembering a time when designated celery vases were prized centerpieces.
Gastro Obscura
Castoreum
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Ingredients & Condiments

Castoreum

Early 20th-century chefs used beaver musk to give sweets a vanilla-raspberry flavor.
Gastro Obscura
Feast of the Seven Fishes
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Feast of the Seven Fishes

For Italian-Americans, Christmas Eve is all about the seafood.
Gastro Obscura
American Spicebush
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Fruits & Vegetables

American Spicebush

The plant's fruit, leaves, and bark offer a spice rack of flavors.
Gastro Obscura
Hoppin' John
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Prepared Foods

Hoppin' John

This New Year's luck-bringer has a controversial contemporary taste.
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Crumble-In
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Prepared Foods

Crumble-In

This soggy Southern snack combines cornbread and buttermilk in a single glass.
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Sofkee
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Prepared Foods

Sofkee

This Native American sour corn mixture can come as a cool drink or warm porridge.
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Red-Eye Gravy
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Ingredients & Condiments

Red-Eye Gravy

Once described as a “divine elixir,” this Southern sauce typically gets its spunk from coffee.
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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.
Gastro Obscura
Beaver
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Meats & Animal Products

Beaver

Catholics once circumvented meatless fasts by claiming the semi-aquatic rodent was a fish.
Gastro Obscura
Watergate Salad
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Sweets

Watergate Salad

This salad named after a scandal has been traced back to Kraft and Helen Keller.
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Russian Tea
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Drinks

Russian Tea

This Southern church group favorite isn't Slavic at all.
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Pemmican
Gastro Obscura
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Meats & Animal Products

Pemmican

Touted as the original energy bar, the bison-based mixture kept for months.
Gastro Obscura
Root Beer Plant
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Ingredients & Condiments

Root Beer Plant

These sacred leaves taste like peppery soda.
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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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Ozark Pudding
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Sweets

Ozark Pudding

Bess Truman made this dessert for Winston Churchill after his “Iron Curtain” speech.
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Poke Cake
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Sweets

Poke Cake

In the 1970s, housewives stabbed their cakes and filled the holes with Jell-O.
Gastro Obscura
Bean Pie
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Sweets

Bean Pie

This slightly sweet dessert is a staple in some Black American Muslim communities.
Gastro Obscura
Victorian Soda Fountains
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Story

Victorian Soda Fountains

Once upon a time, getting your carbonation fix required a visit to a monstrous machine.
Gastro Obscura
Switchel
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Drinks

Switchel

Colonial Gatorade made from vinegar and molasses is back in style.
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Ingberlach
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Story
Sweets

Ingberlach

Grandmas fashion this near-forgotten Passover treat from ginger and honey.
Gastro Obscura
Saskatoons
Gastro Obscura
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Fruits & Vegetables

Saskatoons

Nutty and sweet, these juicy gems were once a valued trade commodity in the northern United States.
Gastro Obscura