Ocean
Extreme Jellyfish
There are some 2,000 species of jellyfish. Some are tasty, others will kill you with the tap of a tentacle. Here are nine varieties that really stand out
August 01, 2010 |
By Abigail Tucker
A Taste of Jellyfish
I'm no Andrew Zimmern, but I like to think I'm a slightly adventurous eater, or at least a curious one. And I'm especially curious about foods whose production or harvesting doesn't harm—and might even help—our environment. Invasive species like lionfish, for example. So I was intrigued when the la...
July 15, 2010 |
By Amanda Bensen
Clam Chowder: Thick or Thin?
I spent a glorious 4th of July weekend on Martha's Vineyard, where I set a personal record for the amount of fresh seafood eaten in four days. This being our honeymoon, my husband and I splurged on a couple of very nice dinners. But my favorite meal was probably the lunch we had on our second day: ...
July 13, 2010 |
By Lisa Bramen
Guess Who's Hopping to Dinner
Let’s be clear here. I hate bugs. I loathe bugs.I was surprised by feeling excited at the prospect of chowing down on some creepy crawlies, but the occasion still called for a stiff drink. I sat down at the bar at Oyamel, one of Jose Andres’ hip D.C. restaurants, and promptly ordered a gin and toni...
July 09, 2010 |
By admin
Eat Fish, Save Our Ocean? Lionfish as Sustainable Seafood
It sounds a bit counterintuitive to eat as much of a species as possible, doesn't it? But as I was reminded at the recent Sustainable Seafood program organized by the Smithsonian Resident Associates, sustainability is all about balance. And although many of our ocean's tastiest species are being ha...
June 30, 2010 |
By Amanda Bensen
Nourishing the Planet: Encouraging News from Africa
I've been getting weekly e-mails lately from someone named Danielle Nierenberg about a project called Nourishing the Planet. To be honest, I tend to ignore most of the newsletters and unsolicited press releases that find their way to my inbox, so I didn't pay much attention at first. But now that I...
June 08, 2010 |
By Amanda Bensen
Coming to Grips With Lobster
I ate my first lobster last night, and I have a lot of questions, people.For one: Who decided these things were not only edible, but a delicacy? I mean, the bits of meat I clumsily extracted tasted pretty good. But take a good look at a lobster: If you'd never seen one before, how would you guess s...
June 03, 2010 |
By Amanda Bensen
Inviting Writing: Scary Shellfish and Other Food Fears
Welcome to round 2 of Inviting Writing! This month's theme is "food and fear," kicked off by Lisa with a tale of childhood angst & Egg McMuffins.Our first reader-written story comes from Deb Terrill in Kankakee, Illinois.Fear of Fish
By Deb TerrillMost people would call me an adventurous eater....
May 24, 2010 |
By Amanda Bensen
What Does the Oil Spill Mean for Seafood?
As the fish vendor at the farmer's market wrapped up my purchase last week, I started to ask: "So, are you worried...?" but didn't even get a chance to add "...about the oil spill?" before she emphatically replied: "YES."Making a living from fishing is hard enough already, she explained grimly, so ...
May 13, 2010 |
By Amanda Bensen
Saving the World's Most Endangered Sea Turtle
Stranded on Cape Cod beaches, these Kemp's ridley turtles are getting a helping hand from volunteers and researchers
May 2010 |
By Amy Sutherland
Give Sardines a Chance
As you may have heard, America's last sardine cannery closed down last week in Maine (though it may get a second life as a processing plant for other seafood).I was startled and a little confused by this news, because sardines seem to be so trendy these days, showing up on menus at both fine and ca...
April 20, 2010 |
By Amanda Bensen
Q and A: Jane Lubchenco
The marine ecologist and administrator of NOAA discusses restoring the bounty of the world's oceans
April 2010 |
By Erica R. Hendry
Gumbo: The Superest Bowl of All?
On the list of things that I find exciting, football probably ranks somewhere between infomercials and the molecular structure of dust bunnies. But this year's Super Bowl has increased my interest level by a couple of smidgens, if only because the New Orleans Saints are competing. The team has neve...
February 03, 2010 |
By Lisa Bramen
Salmon Farming Can Be Sustainable
Smithsonian magazine staff writer Abigail Tucker is our guest blogger today.I have avoided eating salmon since the spring of 2008, when I reported on a die-off of West Coast chinooks that shut down much of the California fishery. Unfortunately for me, salmon was the only fish I knew how to cook (in...
January 22, 2010 |
By admin
The Oyster's Ouster From Our World
The world is my oyster, or so a Shakespearean character once said. That old saying, still alive in modern English, makes oysters a metaphor for "something from which a person may extract or derive advantage."And oh, how true that turns out to be in a literal sense.Humans have been extracting advant...
January 19, 2010 |
By Amanda Bensen
A Coral Reef's Mass Spawning
Understanding how corals reproduce is critical to their survival; Smithsonian's Nancy Knowlton investigates the annual event
December 2009 |
By Megan Gambino
Making Sense of Sustainable Seafood
"Sustainable seafood" is a buzzword these days, but as I've said before, it can be confusing for consumers. Even if you carry around a list of which species to avoid buying—like the handy pocket guides published by Monterey Bay Aquarium—it's difficult to keep track of all the details, caveats and a...
November 16, 2009 |
By Amanda Bensen
Nan Madol: The City Built on Coral Reefs
One of the oldest archaeological sites not on a heritage list, this Pacific state, like Easter Island, is an engineering marvel
November 03, 2009 |
By Christopher Pala
A Swim Through the Ocean's Future
Can a remote, geologically weird island in the South Pacific forecast the fate of coral reefs?
September 17, 2009 |
By Christopher Pala
Cracking into Crabs
I don't think I can claim to be "semi-vegetarian" anymore. Sure, my veggie bin is always well-stocked, I never buy red meat, and I love tempeh and tofu. But last Saturday, my dinner was downright barbaric: I literally tore a creature apart with my bare hands and a mallet. I got guts on my fingers a...
August 11, 2009 |
By Amanda Bensen
