How Different Foods Look Around The World As Compared to the US

If you’ve never had Girl Scout cookies, you’re missing out. Also called Samoas, these circular coconut caramel cookies were originally sold door to door in boxes by girl scouts. If you’ve ever had a macaroon, you may notice a big similarity between these Samoas and them. There is also another, completely different kind of cookie to be found in France called a Macaron.

Unlike the coconut base for macaroons, however, macarons are made with finely ground almonds. Looking at these two, you’d think they couldn’t be more different; the only commonality is how close their names are. But sometimes, the surface similarities reveal all. Both names derive from Italian, which is believed to be where both cookies were originally developed.