Phú Quốc fish sauce is named after its island of origin in western Thailand. Made with anchovies fermented in wooden barrels, it is one of the most popular types of fish sauce in the region. There are 94 establishments on Phú Quốc island that can produce the trademarked sauce. The sauce has had a Protected Geographical Indication and Appellation of Origin since 2001.

Regarded as the national cocktail of Brazil, the caipirinha is made with cachaça, lime, and sugar. Cachaça, a distilled spirit made of sugarcane juice, can only be made in Brazil — any other beverage of the same type is simply called rum or sugarcane liquor. Brazil’s Caipirinha Law dictates that a drink can only be labeled as such if it is made the traditional way, adding only lime and sugar to the liquor.

Just as Champagne can only be produced in certain areas of France, tequila can only come from certain Mexican states. This is called an Appellation of Origin (AOC). In total, 181 municipalities in central Mexico can produce tequila, including the entire state of Jalisco. The distilled spirit is made from the Weber blue agave plant. If the same type of agave drink is made outside of this region, it is called mezcal.

Halloumi is a Cypriot cheese similar to mozzarella and typically made from the milk of goats or sheep. Due to its high melting point, the most popular way to prepare halloumi is by grilling or frying it until it becomes a crispy golden brown. To be marketed as halloumi, this cheese must be made in Cyprus, as it is registered as a Protected Designation of Origin food with the European Union.

Italy makes the most products with Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and other EU appellations. That includes dozens of different cheeses and more than 400 wines, as well as balsamic vinegar from Modena. The region of Emilia-Romagna has the highest number of products, but Tuscany has the most land area dedicated to production.

Kalamata olives are named for the city of Kalamata, located in the Peloponnese region of southwestern Greece. They bruise easily, so they must be picked by hand before being cured in brine and red wine vinegar. Castelvetrano olives can only be grown in Sicily’s Valle del Belice, while Nicoise olives are grown near Nice, France. Mission olives are grown in California.

In 2021, South Africa became the first African country to create a product earning a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) from the European Union. Rooibos has grown in the Cederberg region of the Western Cape for hundreds of years. While the rooibos industry is nothing new, the “Rooibos Route” in the region has recently become an international tourism destination.

The key ingredient that has earned Turkish baklava its protected status is the Antep pistachio, which gives the dessert’s filling its signature dark green color. For this reason, the pastry is often called “Antep baklavasi." The pistachio is named after the Anatolian city of Antep, which is called Gaziantep today. Although Greece sometimes disputes the ownership of baklava, the European Commission considers Turkey the birthplace of the pastry.

Clotted cream is essential to cream tea, a staple of British cuisine, served on scones, berries, or desserts. It originated in southwest England in the counties of Cornwall and Devon and gained protected status in 1998. Only clotted cream made in Cornwall can be labeled as Cornish Clotted Cream. This silky, golden cream is traditionally made from the milk of Jersey cows and contains a minimum of 55% butterfat.

Kalix Löjran is an orange caviar nicknamed the “gold of the north,” and it was the first Swedish product to receive a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO). The roe comes from the vendace, a freshwater fish found in Sweden’s Gulf of Bothnia on the north end of the Baltic Sea. The bright orange color sets Kalix Löjran apart from other local roe, as does its mild flavor.

Pizza Napoletana — called Neapolitan pizza in the U.S. — is protected by a Traditional Specialty Guaranteed (TSG) certification in the EU, meaning that it must be made a certain way. Named for the city of Naples, these pizzas are cooked at very high temperatures and feature simple ingredients: a basic dough, tomatoes, fresh mozzarella cheese, basil, and olive oil. The classic Italian dish is also on UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Bavarian Duke Wilhelm IV’s beer purity regulation, also known as Reinheitsgebot, mandated that the ingredients of beer be limited to barley, hops, and water. The goal was to prevent brewers from adding questionable ingredients to their brews, as well as to limit use of wheat to making bread. The regulations have changed only slightly in the centuries since — today, the permitted ingredients are malted grains, hops, water, and yeast.

Discovered during the Great Depression in Toombs County, Georgia, these mild, yellow onions have become a favorite among chefs for their versatility. Per the Vidalia Onion Act of 1986, an onion can only be labeled as a “Vidalia” if it was grown in one of 20 designated counties in southern Georgia. The onion was named after the Vidalia Farmers’ Market where residents were first able to try the hybrid vegetable.

Kobe beef is a type of wagyu beef made from purebred Tajima-gyu cattle raised in the mountainous Hyogo prefecture in Japan. The term “wagyu” is widely interpreted to simply be beef from Japan, but Japanese cattle have been exported, raised, and bred in other countries, including the U.S. Kobe beef, on the other hand, has heavily regulated bloodlines for the cattle, and is relatively rare outside of Japan.

Kielbasa can be translated as “sausage” in Polish. It doesn't necessarily refer to a specific type of sausage, but the most popular kind of kielbasa, called biala kielbasa, is salted pork seasoned with various spices (like marjoram, pepper, and garlic) and served with sauerkraut. Another type of sausage from the Malopolska region of southern Poland, kielbasa piaszczańska, has a Protected Designation of Origin.

The most familiar type of port is a sweet red dessert wine (often called ruby port), but port actually refers to a large category of fortified wines that can be made with 80 different types of grapes. To be labeled as a port, the wine must be made in the Douro Valley of northern Portugal. With its 2,000-year winemaking history, it is one of the oldest designated wine regions in the world.

Jamón ibérico and jamón serrano are just two of many types of Spanish ham. The name “serrano” used to simply refer to ham made in mountainous regions, but since 1990, the term is limited to a group of certified ham producers instead of a specific region. Jamón ibérico (Iberian ham) is made from Iberian pigs, which are raised in an area of southwestern Spain and southeastern Portugal.

You may have heard that “if it’s not from the Champagne region of France, it’s just sparkling wine.” That is just one of many Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) classifications for wine in France, which also include Bordeaux from the Bordeaux region and Burgundy from the Burgundy region. Chianti, meanwhile, is an Italian wine that is produced exclusively in the Chianti region of Tuscany.

The U.S. Congress declared bourbon “America’s Native Spirit” in 1964, meaning it must be made in the U.S. About 95% of bourbon today is made in Kentucky. To earn the name “straight bourbon whiskey,” the liquor must be made from at least 51% corn and aged for at least two years in a brand-new charred white oak barrel. Nothing but water can be added during the distilling process, ensuring the oaky flavor comes through in the final product.

According to European Union law, feta cheese has a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), meaning that it can only be called feta if it's actually made in Greece. Certified feta is only made with milk from native Greek ewes and goats and must have a fat content of at least 6%. There are also special regulations regarding each phase of the cheese ripening process.

Under Italian law and the EU’s Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) classification, the name Parmigiano-Reggiano may only be applied to cheese produced in the area around the towns of Parma, Modena, Mantua, and Bologna. Other regulations include the diet of the cattle (grasses and hay only) and the length of aging (at least two years). “Parmesan” is the English translation of “parmigiano,” used for anything produced outside of this region.