Food plays a vital role in our lives–from providing sustenance and energy to giving us refreshment and opportunities to socialize, food is a basic necessity of our existence. There are communities and whole countries famous for food items, either for exporting or consuming in large quantities. Food is an integral part of most cultures and every region on Earth has its own unique delicacies.

Guacamole, for instance, is one historic dish that is of great pride to Mexicans. It was first introduced by the Aztecs in the 16th century and due to historical cuisines like this, food museums are a popular destination for both tourists and the locals. If you’re curious to learn about some of the world’s strangest food museums, keep reading.

Sandycuckss/Instagram | The Butter Museum, Cork

The Butter Museum, Cork, County Cork, Ireland

As the name suggests, this food museum is dedicated to all things butter, which is also one of Ireland’s major exports. It is located on the site of the Cork Butter Exchange, one of the world’s largest butter markets. The exhibits on display at this museum educate people on the genesis of the dairy industry in Ireland, and how butter has contributed to Cork and Ireland as a whole. This museum features lots of great exhibits, even featuring a keg containing butter that is close to a thousand years old!

Pizza Brain’s Museum of Pizza Culture, Philadelphia, USA.

Located in Pennsylvania, this food museum has the world’s largest collection of pizza-related items, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. This museum also doubles as a restaurant and contains memorabilia from its co-founder Brian Dwyer’s personal collections.

Sallylunnsbath/Instagram | Sally Lunn’s Kitchen Museum, Bath

Sally Lunn’s Kitchen Museum, Bath, Somerset, England, UK

Located in one of the oldest houses in the spa city of Bath, Sally Lunn’s Kitchen museum is unique for its small size, which in basic terms, is a basement set-up. It lies beneath Sally Lunn’s historic eating house where she is also said to have created the famous Bath Bun. The museum offers people the opportunity to buy some of Sally Lunn’s famous Bath Buns made using the original recipe from hundreds of years ago. The museum is Sally Lunn’s original kitchen and bakery, dating back to 1622 so if you’re a history buff, you’ll feel right at home here–even then oven in the kitchen dates back to the 11th century.