Foods Bookhistorian Has Tried

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

This nightmarish-looking fruit has serious healing potential.

This thick, jet-black soup is an amazingly fragrant and nutty Chinese dessert.

This cotton candy-like garnish is made of dried, candied meat.

Two Chinese bakery specialties, combined into one.

The perfect marriage of coffee and tea.

These beloved Indonesian chips are actually flattened, fried seeds.

This mooncake's flaky exterior gives way to a creamy, sometimes stinky, core.

Devoted fans pay thousands for bricks of this fermented tea.

One of the smallest cities in the world specializes in mistletoe brandy.

Once made by monks, this candy spends 15 days rolling in sugar syrup to get its pearly-white shell.

Historians debate whether this dish actually originated with Italian sex workers.

In Myanmar, fermented tea leaves make a tangy, caffeinated salad.

This British temperance tonic is now a Ramadan favorite.

This Hungarian fried dough can make a rich breakfast or trusty hangover cure.

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