100 Photos Of Household Items That Are Unique To Specific Countries And Cultures

Every culture has something that makes it special. It could be ingredients distinctive to a specific region that create a trademark dish, a unique practice, or a household item you won’t find anywhere else, which is what this list is all about. 

In a recent Reddit thread, people from different countries shared the one object they had seen in their homes their entire lives. Responses ranged from pieces of furniture to cooking utensils and bathroom implements that raised questions. 

If you feel like this list is missing something from your country, feel free to add it in the comments!

#1 We Call It A Flessenlikker, Or Freely Translated Bottle Licker. It Is Used To Completely Scrape Bottles And Jars Empty. Netherlands

© Photo: CharmedWoo

#2 Saunas In Apartments/Flats. Finland

© Photo: Downtown-Bumblebee91

#3 Those Tiles. Portugal

© Photo: sacadeaparas

#4 Tortillero, Which Is Used To Keep Tortillas Warm While You Eat. Mexico

© Photo: Mapache_villa

#5 A Fondue Caquelon. Switzerland

© Photo: Salt-Appeal-1288

#6 Clay Water Filter. Brazil

© Photo: Qudpb

#7 In The Yucatan Peninsula, We Use Something Called Lek’. It’s Made From Carved And Dried Out Fruit, And It Has A Crazyyy Insulating Power And It Dates Back All The Way To The Mayans

© Photo: Sad_Wealth6100

#8 “It's A Clay Pot Used To Hold Water, And It Keeps It Very Cool And Cold. I Think Most Mexicans Have One Of These. It's Called A Xīcālli Īhuān Ātl

© Photo: Broad_Grape2575

#9 I'd Say Probably A Chocolatera, It's Used For Hot Chocolate And Agua De Panela. Colombia

© Photo: Consistent_Golf6905

#10 For Korea, Probably A Kimchi Fridge

© Photo: Awkward-Tip7248

#11 A Baguette Box! My Parents Used To Have One Right In Front Of The Main Door; The Baker Was Delivering A Fresh One Every Morning. France

© Photo: Remote_Sugar_3237

#12 Chicken Salt For Chips. Australia

© Photo: 1TBone

#13 A Jar Of Lingonberry Jam (Preferably Rårörda Lingon, A Variant That Hasn't Been Boiled). The Staple Condiment For, Like, Half Of All Swedish Recipes

© Photo: chjacobsen

#14 A Poffertjespan To Make.....poffertjes. Tiny Dutch Pancakes That Are Consumed With Butter And Powdered Sugar

© Photo: NorthOfTheBigRivers

#15 Separate Hot And Cold Taps In The Bathroom. UK

© Photo: ElvishMystical

#16 Drying Rack Above The Sink. Apparently Not That Common Outside The Nordics

© Photo: Downtown-Bumblebee91

#17 This To Cook Cuscuz. Brazil

© Photo: Calm_Biscotti6025

#18 Frozen Dill Or Parsley In A Plastic Ice Cream Container. Poland

© Photo: bachus_PL

#19 A Coconut Grater! Every Household In Southern India Where Coconut Is A Staple Has One

© Photo: imlieeee

#20 Copper Coffee Pot. Turkey

© Photo: Regular_Resist8018

#21 They're A Bit Fancy, But An Aga Cooker. It's Like A Range Cooker But You Don't Turn It Off. It's Always On And It Acts As Heating For Your Home. England

© Photo: The-Nimbus

#22 Oh! I Actually Have Something For This! This Is An "Ulu" Or "Uluaq", Which Is Part Of Our Alaskan Eskimo Cultural Tradition. USA

© Photo: chillyhellion

#23 Going Out On A Limb Here, But Bush Pie Makers In Canada

© Photo: Kumanshu

#24 Jamonero, For Cutting Iberic Ham. Most Houses Have One. Spain

© Photo: Nyami-L

#25 Passapomodoro ... For When You Make Passata. Italy

© Photo: ipinfloi

#26 Kitchen Bin Has To Be Underneath The Sink, It's A Law. If Your Bin Isn't Under The Sink, Consider Yourself A Foreign Spy. Poland

© Photo: Peterkragger

#27 Kotatsu! I Live Up North And It’s Absolutely A Must For Winter Months. Also We Live In An Older House So We Use Kerosene Heaters To Warm A Room Up. Japan

© Photo: coffeecatmint

#28 Charcoal Grill On A High Rise Apartment Balcony. Brazil

© Photo: Qudpb

#29 Pickeled Flour. Poland

© Photo: Szary_Tygrys

#30 I’ve Only Ever Seen Dish Washer Drawers In New Zealand

© Photo: fitful_head

#31 In Japan, Most Houses Comes With A Grill Just For Fish

© Photo: snakesphysically

#32 Tajeen, Pronounced Ta-J-Een. Popular In Morocco, Algeria, Maybe Tunis And Libya I’m Not Sure. Traditionally, It’s Made Of Clay And Used For Cooking

© Photo: catlady_MD

#33 Royal Portraits In The Outhouse/Privy, If You Have One. Sweden

© Photo: Comprehensive_Car590

#34 Moka Pots Maybe. Italy

© Photo: Andrello01

#35 I Guess It’s Teak Furniture. I Know It’s Not Really Exclusive, But Here Almost Every House Has It, And Sometimes It Becomes An Heirloom Since It Can Easily Last 100 Years. Indonesia

© Photo: ChaseMeIfin

#36 Mango Pickle Jar.. It Is Very Common In India.. Especially In Maharashtra!. India

© Photo: viyaa_1501

#37 In The South Of France (Provence More Precisely) We Have Decorative Ceramic Or Cast Iron Cicadas On The Walls

© Photo: LordSarkastic

#38 Not Sure How Unique To Turkey This Is, But This Two Part Teapot

© Photo: oguz279

#39 Every Household Contains A Spice Box, And Each Family's Mix Is Unique, Depending On Their Preference. Germany

© Photo: IndependentTune3994

#40 Three Legged, Falkirk Cast Iron Potjie Pot. South Africa

© Photo: TopIndependent2344

#41 Shared With The Neighbours: Electric Kettle With Set Temperature For Mate. Argentina

© Photo: lolo_00_lina

#42 Storm Cellars - Especially In The Midwest/Tornado Alley. USA

© Photo: Groundbreaking_Cup30

#43 I Guess It Would Have To Be A Central Vacuum System. It Is Built Into The House. Canada

© Photo: amazingclrbear

#44 Garbage Disposal. USA

© Photo: bowl_of_scrotmeal

#45 Chushkopek, Literally “Pepper-Roaster". It’s A Uniquely Bulgarian Kitchen

© Photo: Positive-Prompt-1900

#46 Ashtray. Australia

© Photo: strawbery_milkshake

#47 St Brigid's Cross. Ireland

© Photo: Lemmy-In

#48 Termo Y Mate. Argentina

© Photo: Malavero

#49 Cheese Box. France

© Photo: crazy_rocker78

#50 One For Sweeping Outdoor Areas And The Other One For Indoors. Philippines

© Photo: alloftheabove-

#51 Egg Cutters. Not Sure If Theyre Special Anywhere Else, Have Not Seen Them Yet Outside Of My Country. Germany

© Photo: Hunter_Vertigo

#52 Grew Up In East Asia And We Always Had A Rice Dispenser

© Photo: RepresentativeNo2224

#53 Rice Washers. Brazil

© Photo: AdFun9507

#54 Tostonera. It’s For Smashing Fried Plantains Before The Second Fry To Make Tostones. USA

© Photo: EnvironmentalBat9384

#55 I Would Be Really Surprised To Find A Finnish Household Without At Least One Of Those Bad Boys. Finland

© Photo: hannssoni

#56 Bagged Milk

© Photo: Hot_Sherbet2066

#57 It's Called "Molcajete" And It's Used To Prepare Salsas And, As You Can See, Guacamole. Mexico

© Photo: Odd_Tea4945

#58 Don't Have One At Home, But In My Grandmother's Apartment It Does, These Are Антресоли (Mezzanines), Usually Used For Storing All Kinds Of Jams, Pickled Cucumbers And Tomatoes. Russia

© Photo: jstrglrbrnghomeboy

#59 We Have These Switches Above All Of Our Outlets To Cut The Power To Anything Plugged In. I Grew Up In The Us And Never Seen Anything Like This Until I Moved To Aus

© Photo: FoxForceFive_

#60 The Raclette Machine, That Usually Allows To Also Make Crepes On The Up Side Of It (And Plancha). France

© Photo: Foloreille

#61 A Spianatoia, Used Either To Make Pasta Or Eat Polenta With The Whole Family. Italy

© Photo: scrutator_tenebrarum

#62 More Of A German Thing, But Not Unheard Of In Austria

© Photo: ingmar_

#63 Botijo (In The Left), To Get Some Cold Water When The Sun Is Strong And Porrón (In The Right), A Wine Decanter. Spain

© Photo: JeshuaMorbus

#64 A Coal Scuttle / Decorative Reminder Of Coal – Even In Houses That Haven’t Seen Coal In Decades. Or At Least Something Nodding To The Mining Past. Wales

© Photo: WelshRaider86

#65 Some Kind Of Biltong Maker (Not Necessarily This One, Some People Have Very Rudimentary Contraptions). South Africa

© Photo: zookuki

#66 A Chocolate Spread Container Filled With Lard. Serbia

© Photo: markoblag

#67 Pleated Christmas Hearts. We All Made A Ton Of These As Kids To Decorate The Christmas Tree. Denmark

© Photo: Lawless-SEA

#68 Swedish Dish Cloth. It Can Absorb Liquids 15 Times Its Own Weight

© Photo: Drejan74

#69 In Lao Households (Even Outside Of Lao!), You Will Always Find A Thip Khao/Rice Basket. Most Families Have A Massive One To Communal Dig Your Rice Balls Out From. Canada

© Photo: heteroerotic

#70 Mantovarka (Manti Cooker)- Metal Steamer For Making Manti, Most Often A Beaten One Made Of Aluminium Passed On For Generations From Ussr

© Photo: zondzondzond

#71 This Style Of Can Opener. Denmark

© Photo: Ra1d_danois

#72 Ostehøvel! It's For Slicing Cheese. Norway

© Photo: Fragrant_Proof

#73 Danbo Cheese Is A Staple Food In All Danish Households

© Photo: Vegetable_Pay_5431

#74 Not Sure If It Is Just German, But A Dedicated Egg Boiler Complete With A Little Water Measuring Thing Is Very Common So You Can Make Your Perfect Dippy Breakfast Egg

© Photo: lovepeacefakepiano

#75 I Didn't Know How Common The Kartoffelharfe Is In Other Countries. You Use It To Cut Cooked Potatoes Into Thin Slices For Potato Salad Oder Roasted Potatoes. Germany

© Photo: Garagenfund

#76 Raclette Grill. Germany

© Photo: grumpy__g

#77 Coconut Grater. To Scrape The White Flesh Of Coconut

© Photo: amirulirfin

#78 Chilean Toaster!

© Photo: 11_16

#79 Most Filipino Households Have A Water Bucket And A Dipper In The Bathroom. Even With Hand Bidets, The Timba And Tabo Are Still Commonly Used

© Photo: Herefordlol

#80 Bag With Bags. Russia

© Photo: NoSection8719

#81 Little Squeegees Over Our Sinks So We Can Dry It Off After Doing Dishes. Apparently Not Something That Is Really Common Outside Of Here. Brazil

© Photo: tiekanashiro

#82 That Jar Of Morta Sitting Next To The White Cheese. Egypt

© Photo: Neutral-Gal-00

#83 Was Almost Forgetting: For When You Make Pasta, And This Is Really Common. Italy

© Photo: ipinfloi

#84 The Daawe, It’s Used For Making Laxoox. Denmark

© Photo: ayassin02

#85 A Budare To Cook Arepas. Venezuela

© Photo: givethebliss

#86 Flowery Blankets! Every Household In India (And Probably The Entire Subcontinent) Has One Of These. India

© Photo: Traditional-Chair-39

#87 The Egg Holder (Eierbecher). Germany

© Photo: ViftieStuff

#88 Any Filipino Household Has A Dipper. Maybe Other Countries Like In The Sea Has One Or A Dipper Of A Different Variation

© Photo: Rad_Mint17

#89 A Bidet. But Separated From The Actual Toilet. Argentina

© Photo: grrizo

#90 Probably Speaking For The Entire German Speaking Region Here. Austria

© Photo: TheOtherDezzmotion

#91 A Home Deep-Fryer. Belgium

© Photo: Mediumtim

#92 Basically Every Household In Taiwan Has One Of These Rice/Multicookers

© Photo: mungbeans4

#93 Thses Bowls. Yes, I Know, They're Gorgeous. Portugal

© Photo: internalerrorr

#94 Marrow Separator, Because Only Heathens Eat Bone With The Marrow. Haven’t Seen Anyone Else Has This Outside Of Canada

© Photo: mickmaddydog

#95 This Kind Of Washing Line. Australia

© Photo: Ratty-Toohey

#96 These Specific Corningware Dishes Are In Every House In The Us

© Photo: alienratfiend

#97 Pebble Dash Everywhere! Ireland

© Photo: jonschaff

#98 The Icelandic Pancake Pan. It May Look Like Any Other Pan But Its Only Ever Supposed To Be Used For Pancakes And Nothing Else

© Photo: Foldfish

#99 Washandje, A Washing Hand, I Have Only Seen These In The Benelux Countries. It Is A Washcloth You Can Stick Your Hand In Like A Mitten But Without The Thumb. Netherlands

© Photo: Willempie74NW

#100 In Argentina

© Photo: danibuyy