How well do you know pepper?

March 15, 2025 by
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When most people in the West talk about pepper, they are referring to ground black peppercorns, but that is only one in a range of spices referred to around the world as pepper. Gastro Obscura takes a closer look at the various peppers found across the globe, which share a few characteristics but have their own unique flavors and sensations.… read more

Pi day is finally here!

March 14, 2025 by
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National Pie Day may be officially recognized on January 23, but I prefer Pi Day (3.14) because I'm a science nerd/geek and because pi has a logical affinity for pie-shaped objects. I think pie is better than cake (don't @ me) because pies are more versatile. Even the pickiest eater can find something that pleases her in the pie family… read more

The ins and outs of pasteurized eggs

March 12, 2025 by
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carton of eggs
Eggs are in short supply in many areas due to outbreaks of avian influenza, commonly known as 'bird flu'. In addition to worrying about the availability of eggs, consumers are also concerned with their food safety aspects as well. Scientists and food safety experts believe there is minimal to no risk of exposure to avian influenza from eating eggs, so… read more

Comfort levels

March 12, 2025 by
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For various reasons I have been craving comfort food in recent days. I have also come to realize that there are different types of comfort food depending on the situation that necessitates the comforting. If I am sick, I seek foods that I associate with being nursed back to health: brothy soups, bland dishes from my childhood, and simple things… read more

Food news antipasto

March 10, 2025 by
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The IACP is offering a free webinar on March 18 featuring J.M. Hirsch and Deb Broide of Christopher Kimball's Milk Street. The topics will include everything from book and magazine planning to travel, reporting, and recipe development. Hirsch, a James Beard and IACP Award-winning writer and Milk Street’s editorial director, and Broide, the company’s media relations director, will share insights they have… read more

Loss of bees is causing a buzz

March 8, 2025 by
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Honeybees do a lot more than make delicious honey - they are responsible for pollinating crops for about a third of the food eaten in the US. Beekeepers truck entire colonies around the country to be there at the exact time crops need, but this year when they checked on the hives before readying for the almond crop, they received… read more

Rum’s dark and stormy history

March 6, 2025 by
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In modern society, rum is associated with parties, revelry, and generally good times. However, the spirit has a dark past, as Douglas Blyde of The Standard explains. Rum didn't start out with daiquiris, mojitos, and pina coladas. Instead, its history involves slavery, the British navy, colonization, and profiteering. Blyde's recounting of the sugar cane spirit is lively and gets right… read more

This problem stinks (literally)

March 5, 2025 by
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For the first time in my adult life, I have long(ish) hair, down past my shoulders. A couple of years ago I abandoned short cuts like pixies and French bobs, allowing my mane to grow with abandon. Part of the reason for this transformation is that since I entered menopause, my formerly stick-straight hair has developed into gorgeous (according to… read more

How king cake inspires community

March 4, 2025 by
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Today Mardi Gras ended in New Orleans with the Fat Tuesday parade. One of the parade's most well-known features is that participants throw items to the crowds along the parade route. These range from strings of purple, gold, and green beads to stuffed animals to (inexplicably) toilet plungers, and this year, a new item: a cookbook. A dance group called… read more

Food news antipasto

March 3, 2025 by
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stack of three pancakes topped with slices of banana and syrup on a white plate
It's been a while since I shared a post from Vittles, which is hosting some of the best short- and medium-form food writing around. This week a post caught my eye about the intersection of autism and cooking. Charlie Benjamin writes about the struggles he had with chopping onions, and how the seemingly simple task would sometimes drive him to… read more

Making bread the star of dessert

March 1, 2025 by
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Using stale bread in desserts is nothing new; bread pudding is centuries old. Different cultures have put their own spins on it, from France's pain perdu to India's shahi tukra. Today, pastry chefs are finding creative new ways to use leftover bread, using it as a critical ingredient in sweet treats like ice cream (gift link to NYT article). Bread… read more

Finding joy in the dishes

February 27, 2025 by
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dirty dishes after dinner lie in the sink, cleaning the table in the kitchen
There are two types of people in the world: those who hate doing the dishes and those who are happy to take on the task. I am the former, and often decide what to make for dinner based on how many items will need to be washed afterward, and whether those pans and dishes can be washed in the dishwasher.… read more

Who invented pizza bagels?

February 26, 2025 by
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four pepperoni pizza bagels are shown on a dark baking sheet. Basil leaves sit to the left of the image, and a small metal measuring cup placed next to the bagels holds grated cheese.
I recently stumbled across a fun blog called Snack Stack, which touts itself as "an agreeably nerdy newsletter about the cultural history of snacks and other foods around the world." Snack Stack is a one-man operation, where food and travel writer Doug Mack takes deep dives into the history of foods from candies to drinks to ready-to-eat items like Spaghetti-Os.… read more

160-year-old cookbook gets a brand new edition

February 25, 2025 by
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Back in 2019, we wrote about the work of Juli McLoonen and Jan Longone, the University of Michigan Special Collections Curator and Adjunct Curator, to boost interest in the oldest known cookbook authored by a black woman. Longone found a copy of A Domestic Cookbook by Malinda Russell, published in 1866, at the bottom of a collection of donated books. For years, a digital… read more

Food news antipasto

February 23, 2025 by
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We'll start off this week's edition with some relatable news (at least I was able to relate to it): an opossum ended up at an animal rescue facility after it devoured an entire Costco chocolate cake. Luckily, the critter was able to make a full recovery and return to the wild after arriving in some distress. The Nebraska wildlife center… read more

How to fix a broken emulsion

February 23, 2025 by
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Time may mend a broken heart, but it's not going to fix a broken emulsion. However, there are other ways to bring your sauce back together if it separates, as Chowhound's Nikita Ephanov explains. If it's been a while since you learned what an emulsion is in science class, here is a quick refresher: an emulsion is a mixture of two or… read more

How cookbooks can help build resilience

February 20, 2025 by
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I am an eternal optimist: no matter how bleak things look I always look for the silver lining or imagine a way the situation can turn out for the better. With all of the negative news out these days, this philosophy is becoming more difficult to maintain. Today's article from The Independent doesn't help; it provides another pessimistic forecast for… read more

What foods do you look forward to the most for each season?

February 19, 2025 by
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Since the advent of refrigeration and air transport of foods across the globe, you can pretty much get any fruit or vegetable you desire any time of the year here in the US. However, there is a vast difference between commercially grown strawberries, plucked before they are actually ripe and shipped halfway around the world, and the first berry from… read more

Why is this Australian cookbook selling for $250?

February 18, 2025 by
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Back in 2015, Australian blogger Belle Gibson rocketed to fame after claiming that she beat brain cancer not through modern medicine but rather by changing her diet. She published a cookbook, The Whole Pantry, and developed an app of the same name, promising to contribute a portion of the proceeds from both to charity. After charities claimed they had received… read more

Food news antipasto

February 16, 2025 by
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With Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. appointed as the US Secretary of Health and Human Services, raw milk advocates believe there is potential for increased availability of raw milk products. Currently, regulations vary from state to state with some allowing raw milk sales and others banning the practice. The Bittman Project recently posted a lengthy piece about the pros and cons… read more

Sweet and salty contraband

February 14, 2025 by
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white bowl on a white background with red Swedish fish candy and black licorice jelly beans
Many food additives that are allowed in in other countries are banned by the EU and UK: ingredients such as brominated vegetable oil and bleached flour and additives including certain food colorings. These ingredients have been linked to a variety of health issues including cancer. Normally this isn’t something that would cause a stir, but demand for US snacks and… read more

How the ‘Shirley Temple King’ is changing restaurants

February 12, 2025 by
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When I was a young girl, my grandfather would occasionally pick me up to take me to my grandparents' farm for the weekend. On the way home we would stop at a local bar, where he would have a beer with his buddies while I nursed a Shirley Temple. At five years old, I thought that was the height of… read more

The pursuit of the perfect boiled egg

February 12, 2025 by
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In a quest for perfection, people can fall down some interesting rabbit holes. They will go to lengths that makes the average person scratch their head in puzzlement. This is true of nearly any human endeavor, and perhaps especially so for cooking. There are bakers who weigh the most minute quantities of ingredients in tenths of a gram, espresso connoisseurs… read more

Food news antipasto

February 9, 2025 by
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five glass bowls containing scoops of sorbet. Some have two or three scoops of varying shades of pink and purple.
Celebrity Chef Gordon Ramsay opened the doors earlier this week on his "most ambitious project yet" in the tallest building in the City of London. The chef has launched two restaurants, a bar and a cookery school at 22 Bishopsgate on February 3. Netflix is producing a documentary series about the project that follows Ramsay in the run up to… read more

Ketchup is a category, not a sauce

February 8, 2025 by
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a single bottle of ketchup with wire bail lid on a pure white background
When most of us think of ketchup, we envision the tomato-vinegar-sugar sauce that is often served alongside burgers and fries. However, as explained at Gastro Obscura, ketchup is actually a catch-all category rather than a single sauce. It has a long and interesting history that spans the globe and includes all manner of ingredients including fruits, vegetables, fungi. What most… read more
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