The FastDay Forum

Especially here in Britain, we have so many delicious (and sometimes not so!) specialities, which are local to a particular area.
here in Wales, we have Laver bread (made from seaweed

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laver_(seaweed)

and bara brith ('speckled' or 'spotted' bread) a kind of fruit loaf.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/bara_brith_33441

Also there is delicious Welsh rarebit ('posh' cheese on toast!)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/welsh_rarebit_05821

What is your local speciality and can we build up an international list of them??

In Taiwan, there's Stinky Tofu:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stinky_tofu

Northumberland black face lamb. (My neighbours)
Stilton cheese
Cumbrian air dried ham

In Spain (I spend a lot of time there)
Pata negra/Iberico ham
Suckling pig
Manchego cheese
Membrillo (quince jelly)

Traditional foods from Cornwall include

Pasties
Stargazy Pie - Fish pie with pilchard heads sticking out of the top crust
Clotted cream
Saffron cake
Heavy cake
Cornish cream tea (as opposed to the Devon cream tea which is exactly the same) - a pot of tea with scones, jam and clotted cream

I live in Shropshire and our claim to fame is being the original home of the damson!!! (I only know this because I saw it on Countryfile a couple of weeks ago )

St. Louis, Missouri is known for two specialty foods:
-Toasted Ravioli and
-IMO's pizza..it is very thin crust and uses Provel cheese...you either love it or think it very odd

[carorees]

Worcestershire sauce! The Lea & Perrins factory is in Worcester...quite a pungent smell as you drive by!

[Betsysgr8]

Worcestershire sauce! The Lea & Perrins factory is in Worcester...quite a pungent smell as you drive by!

Thank you for that, I've often wondered if it really was from Worcestershire.

Rocky Mountain Oysters - available in a very limited number of restaurants in Colorado because they are really (close your eyes now if you are squeamish) fried bull testicles. Certainly not my sort of thing.

We are semi-veggies (eat no red meat) but make exceptions now and then for a bison burger. Bison meat is quite low in fat and cholesterol compared to beef, and is tasty.

Stack cake - a variation of the wedding cake where visitors brought the layers and the bride's family used apple preserves or apple butter between the layers. - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stack_cake

Burgoo - a spicy stew made of whatever meat and veggies were available. In the old days this might include squirrel, raccoon, game bird, venison, etc. - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burgoo

Hot Brown - an open faced sandwich with bread on the bottom, turkey and/or ham then a mornay sauce all over, baked til brown on top - not for fast days! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_Brown

Ale 8 One - a local ginger ale with a heavier fruit taste. Say it fast and you can hear another phrase instead!

Some really interesting local delicacies here! Keep 'em coming! I find it fascinating!

Cheshire Cheese and salt!

I have been down the Cheshire salt mines - they are fantastic!

Cheshire Cheese and salt!

Hey, @Merlin, do you happen to know why Lewis Carroll called his cat the Cheshire cat? Just wondering.

Okinawan food is very different from mainland Japanese. It's much more pork based. The specialties:

Goya champuru: a stir fry of goya (bitter melon) and tofu, with bacon or spam (they adore spam here. It's very odd)

Soki soba: a wheat noodle soba (noodle thickness somewhere between udon and Japanese soba), cooked in pork stock with pork knuckles.

Beni'imo: purple sweet potato. The traditional way to eat it is just roasted. There are little food trucks that go around old neighborhoods selling it like this. Also, it's made into sweets and icecream.

Deep fried gurukun: a local reef fish battered lightly and deep fried until crispy.

Mozuku and umi budo. The two local seaweeds. Mozuku is brown and looks like glass noodles. It's served in a vinegary sauce (very yummy) or as tempura. Umi budo is sea grapes. You can eat them straight or on a salad. I heard them described as green roe. They have tiny little pockets of salty liquid. It doesn't taste fishy like some seaweed. Both of these are harvested near my house, so very local specialties.

Goat soup: you know you're at a proper local restaurant if you see this on the menu. It's very tasty.