mxtallymarks's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
Taro Stems
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Fruits & Vegetables

Taro Stems

These absorbent stalks make perfect flavor sponges in Vietnamese cuisine.
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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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Okonomiyaki
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Prepared Foods

Okonomiyaki

A wartime rice scarcity made this versatile pancake a Japanese staple.
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Mojie Apples
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Mojie Apples

Orchardists use sticky stencils and the power of the sun to turn apples into art.
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Square Watermelons
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Fruits & Vegetables

Square Watermelons

They grow in boxes and can cost more than $100.
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Hoshigaki
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Fruits & Vegetables

Hoshigaki

These exquisite dried persimmons are massaged for weeks.
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Shojin Ryori
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Shojin Ryori

Japan's traditional temple cuisine features meals that are nutritionally and visually balanced.
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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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Okinawa Black Sugar
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Ingredients & Condiments

Okinawa Black Sugar

It's darker, saltier, and healthier than white sugar.
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Buddha's Hand
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Fruits & Vegetables

Buddha's Hand

Smells like lavender, tastes like lemon rind, looks like a gnarled claw fresh from your nightmares. 
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Fujisan Bread
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Prepared Foods

Fujisan Bread

Worlds collide in this braided bread that tastes like brioche and is meant to look like Mount Fuji.
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Wagashi
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Sweets

Wagashi

These Japanese sweets demonstrate the ephemeral beauty of the seasons.
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Japanese Tea Ceremony
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Japanese Tea Ceremony

A ritual that showcases the beauty of the present moment.
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Sea Grapes
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Fruits & Vegetables

Sea Grapes

This "green caviar" is vegetarian friendly.
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Maple Leaf Tempura
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Prepared Foods

Maple Leaf Tempura

Why not fry a year-old leaf?
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Raindrop Cake
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Sweets

Raindrop Cake

The beautiful dessert evaporates in 20 minutes.
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Siwa Oasis Dates
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Fruits & Vegetables

Siwa Oasis Dates

Dates from this desert oasis have been sweetening Egyptian tables since pharaonic times.
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Tutankhamun Ale
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Drinks

Tutankhamun Ale

This beer was popular more than 3,000 years ago.
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Mish
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Meats & Animal Products

Mish

This sharp and salty Egyptian cheese ferments for months in a bath of milk and spices.
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Kottabos
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Kottabos

The ancient game of wine-flicking is as difficult as it is messy.
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Kokoretsi
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Prepared Foods

Kokoretsi

On Easter in Greece, whole lambs roast beside succulent skewers of their offal.
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Fried Octopus Ink Sacs
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Prepared Foods

Fried Octopus Ink Sacs

To track down these delicate, flavorful nuggets, you'll need to ask a local fisherman.
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Chios Mastiha
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Drinks

Chios Mastiha

Residents of this Greek island distill mastic sap, the "tears of Chios," into a piney-sweet liqueur.
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Pigeon Pastilla
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Prepared Foods

Pigeon Pastilla

This sweet-and-savory Moroccan meat pie can be tough to track down.
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