Food History

Is the Croissant Really French?

A brief history of the croissant – from kipfel to Cronut

Successes were matched by failures like the McLean Deluxe, made with seaweed to save calories.

Taking Stock of 75 Years of McDonald's

Has the original fast-food restaurant finally reached the end of its success?

Filipino Cuisine Was Asian Fusion Before "Asian Fusion" Existed

A wave of Filipino families in Las Vegas is putting a Pacific spin on fried chicken, hot dogs and Sin City itself

A modern-day bottle of Veuve Clicquot "Grand Dame" champagne.

170-Year-Old Champagne Recovered (and Tasted) From a Baltic Shipwreck

The uncorked bubbly goes from notes of wet hair and cheese to something spicy and smoky, enologists report

How the India Pale Ale Got Its Name

A look to the hoppy brew’s past brings us to the revolution in craft beer today

Here’s What the Apostles Ate at the Last Supper

Beans, charoset, and unleavened bread

That Time an Astronaut Smuggled a Corned Beef Sandwich To Space

The sandwich was a joke but its crumbs proved to be too much — for politicians, not for the mission

You Can Thank the Ancient Maya for Your Grocery Store’s Papaya

New research suggests the Mesoamerican civilization was responsible for first cultivating the hermaphrodite version of the plant favored by growers

A vineyard in Pomerol, Aquitaine, France

American Bugs Almost Wiped Out France’s Wine Industry

When the Great French Wine Blight hit in the mid 1800s, the culprit turned out to be a pest from the New World that would forever alter wine production

People Ate Pork in the Middle East Until 1,000 B.C.—What Changed?

A new study investigates the historical factors leading up to the emergence of pork prohibition

Bartender making mint julep cocktail.

Are We Re-Entering a Golden Age of American Bartending?

At the turn of the century, America was a hotbed of cocktail innovation—then Prohibition happened. Now, bartenders are trying to reclaim the golden age.

A chocolate pot from Yokohama, Japan, ca. 1904. Porcelain with clear glaze and overglaze enamels

A Brief History of the Chocolate Pot

How humans have consumed chocolate sheds lights on its significance to cultures and eras

In some parts of the country, this is what duck sauce looks like. In others, not so much.

What Exactly Is Duck Sauce?

Trying to get to the bottom of this Chinese food mystery sends our writer on a wild goose chase

Mostly the Old And Ill Ate Breakfast Until the Rise of the Working Man

Romans disdained the meal, few ate it in the Middle Ages, but most eat breakfast now

Harvey W. Wiley and his Poison Squad in 1902

Early Food Safety Workers Tested Poisons by Eating Them

They were hailed as heroes and even had a song

This Hoppin’ John dish is all wrong

Don’t Make Hoppin’ John for New Year's Without Heirloom Beans

The original dish didn’t use black-eyed peas, plus the rice and bacon you have is probably wrong

The French often make a bûche de Noël, a chocolate cake baked to look like a Yule log, at Christmastime.

A Christmas Feast, Experienced With Dishes From Around the World

Experience an international Christmas without any travel by preparing these traditional foods

The Oldest Olive Oil Ever Found Is 8,000 Years Old

Chemical analyses unveil traces of olive oil in ancient Israeli pottery

The world's favorite edible bird.

Chinese Chickens May Have Been Domesticated 10,000 Years Ago

Bones found in ancient farming sites are lending insight into the origins of our favorite fowl

Get Past the Vile Smell: Ginkgo Nuts Are Delicious

People have been feasting on these tasty little morsels since at least the 11th century

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