In Catalonia, the fortified wine has its own weekend ritual.

This dessert pays tribute to the snow-covered mountains surrounding Salzburg.

These sweet hands come with stories of triumph and brutality.

Every December, Sinterklaas and his helper throw these little spiced cookies to Dutch children.

A New Year's Eve tradition of scarfing down 12 grapes for good luck.

Fruit soaks in rum for up to a year to make this rich Caribbean Christmas cake.

Pulling gobs of this handmade taffy yields strong arms and a sweet reward.

During Lent in Venezuela, the world's largest rodent becomes a “fish.”

There's nothing tragic about this Brazilian pairing of salty, white cheese and guava paste.

Peru's strikingly beautiful mashed potato casserole.

This sweet, caramelized dessert comes from curdled milk.

This Canary Islands' specialty upgrades coffee with layers of condensed milk and liqueur.

These detailed, dainty confections are made by hand with minimal tools.

At some New Orleans weddings, bridesmaids predict their futures with these hidden charms.

Historians debate whether this dish actually originated with Italian sex workers.

This “hodgepodge” of affordable ingredients fueled local laborers during the Industrial Revolution.

Outdoor festivals in Valencia call for traditional fare made in gargantuan pans.

In Venezuela, traditional Christmas bread marries ham, raisins, and olives.

A sweet and sticky accident from Derbyshire, England.

In the 19th century, tin miners ate these handheld pies and left their crusts to appease mischievous, mine-dwelling spirits.

This retro sandwich filling was once a convenient, comforting funeral food.

This raw meat meze from Lebanon is as fresh as it gets.

Once steamed in shirt sleeves and pant legs, this sweet roll took on the nickname “dead man's leg.”

Five producers in one English seaside town use historic chimneys to cold-smoke salmon and haddock overnight.