Because to their thick, finger-like trunks and their eerie claw-like feet, the gooseneck barnacles growing on the rocks of Portugal’s most south-western coastline are known as Lucifer’s Fingers. They are sometimes referred to as the truffles of the sea, both because of their rarity and high price, but also because of how hard and risky they are to harvest.

Restaurants in Portugal and Spain charge up to $115 for a plate of Lucifer’s Fingers, which may sound sound outrageously expensive two some people, but is justified by their rarity and the dangers barnacle hunters expose themselves to when harvesting them. Lucifer’s Fingers, or percebes, cannot be farmed and only thrive on the on rocks in the ocean intertidal zone, where crashing waves provide them with plankton. This makes them notoriously dangerous to harvest, with hunters risking getting crushed against the rocks by crashing waves, or being rendered unconscious by the impact and drowning. The lucky ones escape with broken limbs or severe abrasions.

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Chemotherapy has many nasty side effects, and one that patients often find particularly frustrating is dysgeusia. This side effect causes food and drink to taste bland, bitter, or metallic. Now, a Prague based cancer advocacy group has come up with a solution to that problem – a non-alcoholic beer called Mama Beer.

Mamma Beer has been formulated to help breast cancer patients overcome the symptoms of dysgeusia. Its flavor profile has been engineered to make it taste good to those undergoing chemotherapy, but in addition to it’s great taste, the beer also contains a range of vitamins and minerals that have been known to help people deal with cancer treatment. 

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If you’re a vegetarian who is curious about or misses the taste of smoked ham, you’ll be pleased to learn that there’s an interesting substitute you can try.

Will Horowitz, owner of Ducks Eatery in East Village, NYC, has caused an Internet sensation with his new “smoked ham” which actually consists not of meat, but a whole watermelon. At first glance, Will’s creation looks entirely like meat, complete with scoring and charring. And even when you cut into it, the middle has red “flesh”, reminiscent of a rare steak. But the taste is something different; while the initial taste is a salty, meaty one, it quickly transforms into sweetness, especially as you get closer into the center of the faux ham.

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A Chinese restaurant in Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, has gone viral for selling the new world’s most expensive beef noodle soup, priced at a whopping 13,800 yuan ($2,014).

The outrageously expensive “Haozhonghao Beef Noodle Soup” sold at the Niu Gengtian restaurant in Shijiazhuang has been getting a lot of attention on Chinese social media after a photo of the menu showing its price went viral online. Considering that a bowl of the now second most expensive beef noodle soup sold by Taiwan’s Niu Ba Ba restaurant costs “only” $329, it’s easy to see why this 13,800 yuan ($2,014) soup has become the talk of the town.

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A cafe in Taiwan has been getting a lot of attention online for serving puppy-shaped ice-cream that most people describe as adorable and terrifying at the same time.

When you think about food, the first thing that probably comes to mind is taste, but the fact is that eating is a visual experience as well, and sometimes you can be put off by a dish, even though you know it is delicious. That’s kind of the vibe I’m getting from the puppy-shaped ice-cream served at the Sowing the Sweets cafe, in Taiwan. I’m sure it tastes good – it’s ice-cream, after all – but at the same time I find the idea of digging into this realistic puppy with a spoon disturbing and morbid.

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Shaved Ice is a really popular dessert in Japan, so you can find it pretty much everywhere, but if you’re looking for the craziest, most outrageous shaved ice treat in the country, you have to go to Hyakusho Udon, in Miyazaki Prefecture. The only catch is that you’ll probably have to eat it standing up.

No, Hyakusho Udon doesn’t have a standing up policy, it’s just that their famous shaved ice desserts are so incredibly tall that it’s almost impossible to eat them with a spoon while sitting down. Just reaching the top of the colorful, syrup-soaked dessert with the spoon is a huge challenge for most people, and then there’s the risk of causing the tower of refreshing goodness to come tumbling down by mistake. Standing up is definitely the safe way to go, and considering you’re getting a lot more than your money’s worth, it’s a decent compromise.

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Visitors at this past weekend’s Car Free Day Festival in Vancouver, British Columbia, had the chance to buy one of the most unusual health food products ever created – unfiltered hot dog water.

Gluten-free, keto-compatible, rich in sodium and electrolytes, and bottled in a sleek glass bottle, unfiltered hot dog water has all the making of a health food craze. And with a hefty cost of $38 per bottle, it even has the price tag to match. Like similar “raw” or “smart” waters available on the market these days, hot dog water comes with a series of supposed health benefits: it’s rich in sodium, which helps your body increase its water intake, helps the drinker lose weight, increase brain function, look younger and increase vitality, and triggers anti-inflammatory processes, making it the perfect post-workout drink. And the cherry on the cake – every bottle contains an actual hot-dog.

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Alcoholic ice-cream treats have been around for a while, but actually getting drunk, or even a bit tipsy on them is a challenge, because, well, they aren’t very alcoholic. Enter, Buzz Pop Cocktails, a range of gourmet Italian sorbets that pack that punch you’ve been looking for.

Buzz Pop Cocktails are made from fresh fruits and premium liquors, but what really sets them apart from other boozy frozen treats is the alcohol content. While most so-called alcoholic ice-creams have an alcohol content comparable to beer – around 4.5% ABV – Buzz Pop Cocktails are three times stronger, at 15% ABV, which means one is probably enough to get your head buzzing. They come in packs of eight, so you can get yourself hammered on ice-cream, although it will cost you.

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Deep-fried chicken wings aren’t usually considered a fancy gourmet meal, but one restaurant has come up with away to raise the raise the fast-food staple to luxury status. Introducing the world’s first gold-plated chicken wings.

Created by New York City restaurant ‘The Ainsworth’ in collaboration with socialite and reality TV star Jonathan Cheban, the FOODGŌD 24k Gold Buffalo Wings are the definition of flashy fare. After being soaked in a coconut butter, chipotle, and honey batter for 24 hours, they are deep fried and then tossed into a metallic gold sauce that gives them a shiny, gold-plated look. Finally, they are sprinkled with edible gold dust for extra pizazz.

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At just 31 years of age, Elena Gnut, Pastry Chef from Kaliningrad, Russia, is already recognized as one of the world’s most talented cake artists. And looking at her impressive portfolio, it’s easy to see why.

Elena Gnut’s cakes look more like artistic sculptures than treats meant to be eaten. Browsing through her popular Instagram, you often feel like you’ve found the most amazing cake you’ve ever seen, but then you scroll further down and find even more impressive ones. Whether she’s molding the frosting into whimsical shapes or using edible dyes to paint incredible scenes or portraits, the young confectioner is always coming up with new and intriguing ideas that keep her Instagram fans coming back for more.

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Consuming a fluid secreted by cockroaches may not be everyone’s idea of a balanced meal, but scientists believe that the “cockroach milk” produced by a certain species of cockroaches is one of the most nutritious substances on the planet, and could one day become the ultimate superfood.

Unlike most other insects, the Pacific beetle cockroach is viviparous, meaning the female give birth live babies that have developed within their body, instead of laying eggs. But a few years ago, while studying these fascinating insects, scientists discovered something even more remarkable – as the embryos grow inside the female cockroach’s body, she feeds them a pale, yellow liquid “milk” from her brood sack. Research has shown that this “cockroach milk” has three times the energy content of buffalo milk, making it one of the most nutritious substances on Earth.

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Dutch company Vivera claims it has created the holy grail of plant-based protein – a 100% vegan steak that tastes and smell so good that consumers will barely be able to tell that it’s not actual steak.

Made primarily of soy and wheat, the groundbreaking vegan steak is the result of one and a half years of trial and error, with Vivera’s experts working against the clock to ensure that the Dutch company is the first to bring a 100% plant-based steak to market. While getting the taste and smell right was a big challenge, the texture was by far the most difficult to replicate. Making a plant-based product feel like steak when your biting and chewing on it is apparently not the easiest thing in the world.

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A woman  who recently gave birth at a clinic in Miso, Japan, recently posted a series of photos of the food she was served there, and they make it look like she had her baby in a Michelin star restaurant.

When talking about hospital food, most people use phrases like “barely edible” or “tasteless” or “hard to stomach”, but Japan is proof that hospital food doesn’t have to be disgusting. Imgur user jenkinsinjapan, who  was recently checked into a small OB-GYN clinic in Miso for childbirth, shared some photos of the various dishes she had to put up with there and they look mouthwatering.

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Most alcohol-free beers mimic the real deal almost to perfection, minus the buzz and substituent hangover, which makes them a bit problematic to drink in places where alcohol consumption is frowned upon, like the workplace. But thank to Suntory’s new clear beer, people will just think you’re drinking water.

All Free All Time is a zero-alcohol, zero-calorie beer designed to protect consumers from judgmental attention from bosses coworkers and clients at the workplace. It is completely clear and comes packaged in small plastic bottles which make it look more like a bottle of water than beer. You can take a sip at your desk, while working, or in a meeting, without worrying about attracting unwanted attention to yourself.

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Tired of ketchup dripping all over your favorite clothes? Had enough of soggy, ketchup-filled burger buns? Well, one company seems to have come up with the perfect answer to your problems – ketchup slices.

Emily Williams, co-founder of Bo’s Fine Foods, the company behind ketchup slices, came up with the idea for this revolutionary way of enjoying the world’s most popular red sauce while fiddling around with one of her father’s barbecue sauce recipes. It required the braising of large quantities of vegetables that were afterward discarded, but seeing as food waste is currently one of the world’s main economic and environmental problems, she decided to take a different approach. Little did she know it would result in a completely new way to enjoy ketchup.

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