reptilebetty's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
Pie Birds
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Pie Birds

To release steam, Victorian bakers placed whimsical ceramics in their pastries.
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Bristol Milk
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Drinks

Bristol Milk

Teething babies and royalty were fans of this British city's signature sherry.
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Christmas Cake and Cheese
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Sweets

Christmas Cake and Cheese

In Yorkshire, the holidays usher in this salty-sweet combo.
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Kendal Mint Cake
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Sweets

Kendal Mint Cake

The original energy bar.
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Lancashire Hotpot
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Prepared Foods

Lancashire Hotpot

This “hodgepodge” of affordable ingredients fueled local laborers during the Industrial Revolution.
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Cornish Pasty
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Prepared Foods

Cornish Pasty

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

Jam Roly-Poly

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

Eton Mess

This summery parfait has mingled with British royals and literary elites.
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Knickerbocker Glory
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Sweets

Knickerbocker Glory

Not even Harry Potter could resist this whimsical British dessert.
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Staffordshire Oatcakes
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Prepared Foods

Staffordshire Oatcakes

The portable breakfast food might've originated with British soldiers returning from India.
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Clarified Milk Punch
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Drinks

Clarified Milk Punch

Just so we’re clear, there is actually milk in this old English punch.
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Bakewell Pudding
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Sweets

Bakewell Pudding

A sweet and sticky accident from Derbyshire, England.
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Louisiana Russian Cake
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Sweets

Louisiana Russian Cake

Recycling comes to dessert, with delicious outcomes.
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Pashmak
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Sweets

Pashmak

This hand-pulled cotton candy treat from Iran looks like threads of unspun silk.
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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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’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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Unicum
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Drinks

Unicum

A bitter liqueur that traces the history of a Hungarian-Jewish family.
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Eccles Cake
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Sweets

Eccles Cake

The traditional sweet currant cake has an incendiary reputation.
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Turkish Coffee
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Drinks

Turkish Coffee

Locals joke that you should be able to “float a horseshoe” on the thick brew.
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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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Marsh Samphire
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Fruits & Vegetables

Marsh Samphire

The briny “asparagus of the sea” grows along coasts around the world.
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Biltong
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Meats & Animal Products

Biltong

This spiced jerky is a beloved snack in South Africa.
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Absinthe Spoon
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Story

Absinthe Spoon

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