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Arts & Culture / Food

Taste testers involved in a recent study preferred chocolate that shattered in their mouth.

Innovation for Good

Have Scientists Designed the Perfect Chocolate?

Part of a burgeoning field of ‘edible metamaterials,’ Dutch physicists found that 3-D printed spiral-shaped candies give the ideal eating experience

Puerto Rico's unofficial national dish usually consists of fried green plantains mashed with garlic, chicharrón (deep-fried pork skin) and cilantro.

Puerto Rico

A Brief History of Puerto Rico’s Beloved Mofongo

And how you can make the hearty, ‘crunchy-soft’ meal

Sugary breakfast flavors have expanded beyond the cereal aisle.

Why Your Favorite Sugary Breakfast Cereal Is Suddenly Everywhere

Nostalgia for childhood has led to new, fanciful flavors of maple syrup, snacks and even legal marijuana

Close up of plate of Matzah.

A Gentile’s Guide to Keeping Kosher for Passover

Pizza and pasta are pretty obviously out, but what are the other no-nos?

Burger or baked good?

‘Is It Cake?’ Builds on a Lengthy Tradition of Visual Deception

The ‘fool the eye’ desserts hearken back to paintings from a period in American history when there was anxiety over fakes, fraudsters and misinformation

Chinchorrear, or the act of hopping between multiple chinchorros to eat, drink and dance, has become an essential part of Puerto Rican culture.

Puerto Rico

The Lure of Puerto Rico’s Chinchorros

Eating, drinking and dancing between food stalls has become a popular way to experience the island

Italian truffles, known for a robust earthy and slightly garlicky taste, are a delicacy, and guests at the Casa di Langa in Piedmont, Italy, can hunt for their own.

Want to Forage for Your Own Food? Join the Pros at These Five Spots

The pandemic has caused a surge in interest in wild foods, and resorts worldwide have taken notice, creating tasty excursions for guests to indulge in

Grown in central Uganda, kayinja bananas are used to make juices and beers.

Ten of the World’s Rarest Foods, and Where to Find Them

Journalist Dan Saladino’s new book is a plea to save the planet’s most endangered crops and culinary traditions

Some say the dish can be traced back to logging camps at the beginning of the 20th century, but others cite chili and cinnamon rolls as a once-essential part of their school lunch programs. 

What’s Up With the Pairing of Chili and Cinnamon Rolls?

Why kids across the western United States came to find the unlikely combination in their school lunches

Harry Hall, Campbell's chief agricultural expert, inspects tomatoes in his office at Campbell's research farm in Cinnaminson, New Jersey sometime in the 1920s.

How Campbell Soup Turned New Jersey Into a Tomato-Growing State

The canned food company’s tomato breeding program was responsible for developing several important varieties

Jørgen Botolfsen, pictured in 2020 outside Ballstad Fisk AS, where he helps process cod. “Bigger kids are stronger and faster,” he says.

In Norway, Kids Slice Out Cod Tongues for Serious Money

In the remote Lofoten Islands, youngsters are happy to embrace tradition by collecting the local delicacy and selling their wares

The science behind bubbles in champagne is an active field of research. Here, a red spotlight highlights bubbles growing at the bottom of a goblet, where they stick thanks to surface tension.

The Science Behind Champagne Bubbles

As you uncork that bottle and raise your glass, take time to toast the physics and chemistry along with the New Year

Learn about Gullah Geechee staples, incredible festivals around the world and the future of food in our top picks of the year.

The Best Books of 2021

The Ten Best Books About Food of 2021

From cookbooks to a memoir to a guide to hundreds of food adventures across the globe, these new titles will leave you satisfied

The original Japanese packaging emphasized English characters over Japanese ones.

How Cup Noodles Became the Instant Ramen for Americans

Released in Japan 50 years ago, the portable meal proved to be one of the biggest transpacific business success stories of all time

Indian buffets invite a range of eaters—from the timid to the adventurous—to explore and experiment without intimidation.

Searching for Curry and Enlightenment on the Indian Buffet Line

A return to trays of glistening tandoori and hand-rolled naan for the first time since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic is a return to normalcy

To make true Roquefort cheese, the law requires that it must be produced from local ingredients and ripen for months in a cave in southern France. 

How Much Longer Will Roquefort Reign as the King of Cheese?

In France, makers of the odorous food are singing the blues

A woman smiles as she reaches for a container of Betty Crocker pizza dough mix, in the dairy section of a grocery store.

The Real Betty Crocker May Never Have Existed, but She Still Became a Symbol for American Women

Created as a customer service tool 100 years ago, the fictional character marks the evolution of domesticity in the United States

Top Spanish chefs have endorsed garum as a fishy sauce with deep roots in Spanish and Roman history.

Culinary Detectives Try to Recover the Formula for a Deliciously Fishy Roman Condiment

From Pompeii to modern laboratories, scholars are working to recreate garum, a sauce made from decaying fish that delighted ancient Rome

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The Sake Master Who Bucks Ancient Tradition—in America

The ancient Japanese art of brewing a fragrant alcoholic drink from rice is being reinterpreted by Atsuo Sakurai in an unlikely setting

Both beer and wine are thought to predate distilled spirits.

Ask Smithsonian

‘Which Came First: Beer or Wine?’ and More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts

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