MartyFire's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
Takoyaki
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Prepared Foods

Takoyaki

Osaka's most famous dish is an octopus-stuffed fried dough ball.
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Narutomaki
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Meats & Animal Products

Narutomaki

It's a whirlpool, it's an emoji, it's a fishcake!
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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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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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Taiyaki
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Sweets

Taiyaki

This pancake pays tribute to one of Japan's favorite fish.
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Okonomiyaki
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Prepared Foods

Okonomiyaki

A wartime rice scarcity made this versatile pancake a Japanese staple.
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Steamed Piggy Buns
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Sweets

Steamed Piggy Buns

These adorable buns hide savory and sweet surprises.
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Fruit Sando
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Sweets

Fruit Sando

Fresh fruit is the main feature of this sweet sandwich.
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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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Spaghettieis
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Sweets

Spaghettieis

This German sundae masquerades as an Italian dinner.
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Mortadella
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Meats & Animal Products

Mortadella

Baloney's predecessor is sweet, delicately spiced, and bigger than your head.
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Chimney Cake
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Sweets

Chimney Cake

After rotating over hot coals, the Transylvanian treat unravels in a sweet spiral.
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’Nduja
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Ingredients & Condiments

’Nduja

The fiery Calabrian meat spread also goes by "red Nutella" and "poor man's Viagra."
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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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Commandaria
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Drinks

Commandaria

To taste the oldest wine still in production, head to Cyprus.
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Ruby Chocolate
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Sweets

Ruby Chocolate

The sweet is naturally a bubblegum shade of pink.
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Caracoles
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Meats & Animal Products

Caracoles

For a brief seasonal window in Spain, snails go from dreaded pests to coveted tapas.
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Frutta Martorana
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Sweets

Frutta Martorana

Sicilian nuns once hung these sugary "fruits" from tree branches.
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Licorice Root
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Fruits & Vegetables

Licorice Root

The washed and dried root of the licorice plant was once a popular natural “candy.”
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Pizza Fritta
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Prepared Foods

Pizza Fritta

Folding and deep-frying pies is a beloved Neapolitan tradition.
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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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Sfogliatella
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Sweets

Sfogliatella

This layered pastry from Italy's Amalfi Coast may have origins in a 17th-century convent.
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Struffoli
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Sweets

Struffoli

These Neapolitan Christmas sweets double as decorations.
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