Susie Armitage's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
Riga Black Balsam
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Drinks

Riga Black Balsam

There's a legend that this Latvian herbal liqueur saved an ailing Catherine the Great.
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Pocari Sweat
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Pocari Sweat

A pharmaceutical company developed this beverage as drinkable IV solution.
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Pine Cone Preserves
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Sweets

Pine Cone Preserves

Soft young cones make a sweet jam believed to have health benefits in Russia and Georgia.
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Lithuanian Acorn Coffee
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Lithuanian Acorn Coffee

Ground nuts provide the base for this warm, caffeine-free drink.
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Postum
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Postum

This wheat-based coffee alternative has a cult following.
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Kvass
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Kvass

You can find authentic versions of this sour Slavic brew at street stalls and monasteries.
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Texas Kolaches
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Sweets

Texas Kolaches

This tasty Czech pastry is now a Texan tradition.
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Tula Pryanik
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Tula Pryanik

These ornately decorated spice cookies developed alongside a Russian city's gun industry.
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Ramune
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Ramune

The Japanese soda still comes in a marble-stoppered bottle from the 19th century.
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T'tu Lavash
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Sweets

T'tu Lavash

Armenians were making these sweet sheets of dried fruit centuries before the Fruit Roll-Up.
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Podstakannik
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Podstakannik

These old-school metal tea-glass holders are a fixture on Russian trains.
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Kartoshka
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Sweets

Kartoshka

Soviet cafeterias whipped up this chocolate “potato” to use leftovers.
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Sgushyonka
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Sweets

Sgushyonka

This gooey, sweet treat was a Soviet staple.
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Kissel
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Sweets

Kissel

The dessert that's also a meal.
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Morkovcha
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Prepared Foods

Morkovcha

The Soviet-Korean carrot salad is a sweet-and-sour testament to a diaspora's resilience.
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Qvevri
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Qvevri

These gigantic clay pots are the secret to Georgia's unusual wine.
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Adjaruli Khachapuri
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Prepared Foods

Adjaruli Khachapuri

Economists use this cheesy bread as a metric for cost of living between Georgian cities.
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Tarkhuna
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Tarkhuna

Tarragon provides the herbal kick to this neon-green Georgian soda.
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Churchkhela
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Sweets

Churchkhela

These delicious strands of juice-coated nuts look like colorful candlesticks.
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Kurt
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Meats & Animal Products

Kurt

These cheese balls have fueled Central Asian nomads for centuries.
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It's It
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Sweets

It's It

This classic San Franciscan ice cream sandwich is it, isn't it?
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