Food

Carleton E. Watkins, “Interior Chinese Restaurant, S.F.,” (ca. 1880)

Was Chop Suey the Greatest Culinary Joke Ever Played?

Have you heard the one about the crowd of hungry miners looking for a meal in Chinatown?

A thermal infrared image of orchard water levels

Drones: The Citrus Industry’s New Beauty Secret

In the future, farmers will use unmanned drones to improve the appearance of their crops

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Underwood’s Deviled Ham: The Oldest Trademark Still in Use

The 1870 trademark was for "Deviled Entremets"—"Intended for Sandwiches, Luncheons, and Traveler's Repasts"

Black Lobster and the Birth of Canning

The canning innovation left another lasting impression: Foods are safe only when sterilized

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Why We Have Sliced Bread

"Here is a refinement that will receive a hearty and permanent welcome," a reporter wrote of the best thing to hit grocery store shelves

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Who Is Linda Tatersmith?

If flashy package design lure people into eating factory-extruded chemical slurries, why shouldn’t it work to trick food addicts into eating vegetables?

That’s Disgusting

While disgust originally protected us from potential poisons, it eventually gave rise to culturally defining flavors and odors, all tied to local microbes

Airships and Oranges: The Commercial Art of the Second Gold Rush

How citrus crate label design fueled a boom that caused the art form's own demise

Diagram of Grado ship relic

How a Ship Full of Fish Helped Recreate an Ancient Fish Sauce

A 2,000-year-old shipwreck held ceramic vessels full of fish sauce, as well as a giant tank for transporting live fish

Simone Simon in Cat People, one of the 85 films cited by Martin Scorsese in a recent interview.

Martin Scorsese’s Film School vs. Roger Ebert’s Parakeets

Compiling and comparing movie lists

Organic red lentils

Five Ways to Eat Lentils

Tired of soup? Use them in cookies, pies or puddings—no, really

Fish Sauce, Ketchup and the Rewilding of Our Food

Fermented fish sauce has been a culinary staple since at least the 7th century B.C. What makes this seemingly disgusting condiment so popular?

Testing the Tango at the University of California Citrus Breeding Program

Design Specs for a Genetically Ideal Snack

How plant geneticists are growing convenience food on trees

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Peeling Open the 1947 Chiquita Banana Cookbook

What do ham banana rolls with cheese sauce and salmon salad tropical have to say about politics?

Visualization of California's statewide citrus production volumes.

Designing the Perfect Fruit

How a tiny, seedless fruit becomes the iPhone of the produce aisle

Washington, D.C.

The 20 Best Food Trucks in the United States

The food truck revolution is in full force as mobile restaurants around the country dish out tacos, BBQ and other great eats

Blueberry endocarp

Fruits and Vegetables Like You’ve Never Seen Them Before

Microscopy artist Robert Rock Belliveau says, "I couldn't believe the things I found on the things we eat every day"

Billy Collins is a two-time poet laureate of the United States and Smithsonian's poetry consultant.

The Unfortunate Traveler by Billy Collins

Smithsonian's poetry consultant writes a poem specially for the photography issue

The Canary Islands are known for their potatoes.

The Best and Worst of Canarian Food

There are two delicacies unique to the Canary Islands that every visitor should try at least once—and in the case of one of them, once is quite enough

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Nothing Out of the Ordinary: Squirrel Stewed, 1878

A collection of old community cookbooks reflects a changing ecology and a cultural shift: the decline of hunting, chitlins and pig's feet

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