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Twelve Grapes
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Twelve Grapes

A New Year's Eve tradition of scarfing down 12 grapes for good luck.
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Butterfly Pea Flower
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Ingredients & Condiments

Butterfly Pea Flower

With a squeeze of lemon, this plant can turn any drink into a color-changing mood ring.
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Mustache Cups
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Mustache Cups

They helped Victorian men drink tea while protecting their precious facial hair.
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Pie Birds
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Pie Birds

To release steam, Victorian bakers placed whimsical ceramics in their pastries.
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Molcajete
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Molcajete

The Mesoamerican mortar and pestle has been made, and used, the same way for thousands of years.
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Absinthe Spoon
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Absinthe Spoon

This flat, silver spoon holds an exalted place in the mystery and ritual of absinthe drinking.
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Chaga Mushroom
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Chaga Mushroom

This coffee additive and killer of trees has a reputation as a medical marvel.
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Noni
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Noni

A fruit so foul, shamans use it to scare evil spirits.
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Maca
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Maca

The Andean root once fueled Inca warriors.
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The Christmas Pickle
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The Christmas Pickle

The holiday tradition of hiding an ornamental veggie.
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Durian
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Fruits & Vegetables

Durian

The fruit so pungent it's banned from trains, hotels, and public places.
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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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Ackee
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Fruits & Vegetables

Ackee

Jamaica's national fruit is poisonous and resembles scrambled eggs.
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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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Stinging Nettles
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Fruits & Vegetables

Stinging Nettles

Boil away this plant's poisonous hairs, and you're left with a tasty, spinach-like leaf.
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Cucamelon
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Fruits & Vegetables

Cucamelon

Mexico's “mouse melon” is actually a tiny cucumber.
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African Horned Cucumber
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Fruits & Vegetables

African Horned Cucumber

The spiky, fruit cup-flavored orb made an appearance on “Star Trek.”
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Lúcuma
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Fruits & Vegetables

Lúcuma

This butterscotch-flavored fruit has a way with desserts.
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Bitter Melon
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Fruits & Vegetables

Bitter Melon

This nightmarish-looking fruit has serious healing potential.
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Saskatoons
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Fruits & Vegetables

Saskatoons

Nutty and sweet, these juicy gems were once a valued trade commodity in the northern United States.
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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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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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Strawberry Tree Fruit
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Fruits & Vegetables

Strawberry Tree Fruit

The lychee-looking fruit appears in everything from jam and liqueur to the Aeneid and Madrid's flag.
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Tigernut Milk
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Drinks

Tigernut Milk

When soaked and blended with water, the tigernut creates a nutritious nondairy beverage.
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