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Food and Think

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?

Thermodynamics holds the answers to your wildest campfire dreams.

The Scientific Quest For the Perfect S’more

A trial by fire

Delightful or despicable? Your response could help neuroscientists understand the brain's basis for disgust.

New Research

What Stinky Cheese Tells Us About the Science of Disgust

Why does this pungent delicacy give some the munchies, but send others reeling to the toilet?

To develop the next big mass-market wine, winemakers first hone flavor using focus groups, then add approved flavoring and coloring additives to make the drink match up with what consumers want.

The Science Behind Your Cheap Wine

How advances in bottling, fermenting and taste-testing are democratizing a once-opaque liquid

Vanilla has risen to become one the most popular and costly spices in existence.

The Bittersweet Story of Vanilla

Today, less than 1 percent of vanilla flavoring comes from the vanilla flower. Is that a good thing?

Inauguration History

Quiz: How Much Do You Know About Presidential Food?

In honor of Inauguration Day, here’s a little quiz to see how much you know about presidential food history

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How Waffle House Uses Twitter to Help Recovery Efforts

FEMA themselves admit that they look to the omnipresent chain to see where the damage is the worst

This Man Made the First Canned Cranberry Sauce

How Marcus Urann’s idea revolutionized the cranberry industry

Beautiful art on the menu for Thanksgiving Day, 1916, at the Greyhound Inn.

When Thanksgiving Meant a Fancy Meal Out on the Town

From the Gilded Age to the Great Depression, the menu had a lot more than turkey and stuffing

Rene Redzepi, chef/owner of Noma in Copenhagen, is one of the world’s most influential chefs.

Noma Chef Rene Redzepi on Creativity, Diversity in the Kitchen, and that Time Magazine Story

Before he talks at the Smithsonian about his new book, the famed chef identifies who he sees as the goddesses of food

Would you use these crystals in your kitchen if they were called “super delicious umami crystals?”

It’s the Umami, Stupid. Why the Truth About MSG is So Easy to Swallow

Few remember that the food pariah and hot trend are so closely connected

A portrait of Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot and her granddaughter

The Widow Who Created the Champagne Industry

Love champagne? Thank a French widow

Franken Berry cereal was originally released in 1971 by General Mills with his monster-buddy Count Chocula.

Franken Berry, the Beloved Halloween Cereal, Was Once Medically Found to Cause Pink Poop

The red dye used in the popular breakfast cereal resulted in several cases of the benign condition

Pumpkins and beer make for golden photo ops and marketing gags–but the theme is beginning to feel old.

Pumpkin Beers Don’t Have to Be the Worst Thing to Drink This Fall

In 1984, there was one pumpkin beer in America. This October, there are more than 500. We find the best ones from the patch

Why the Avocado Should Have Gone the Way of the Dodo

Its large pit and fleshy deliciousness are all a result of its status as an evolutionary anachronism

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Horrific Tales of Potatoes That Caused Mass Sickness and Even Death

A greened potato indicates the presence of a toxin that can cause gastrointestinal distress, induce coma or even death within 24 hours of consumption

You probably wouldn’t eat this meal for breakfast—but why?

Why Do We Eat Cereal For Breakfast? And Other Questions About American Meals Answered

In her new book, food historian Abigail Carroll traces the evolution of American eating from colonial times to present-day

Crab leg and imperial fungus dim sum

How to Make (and Where to Eat) the Best Dim Sum

One woman’s love of dim sum takes her to Hong Kong, where she tries her hand at making the bite-size cuisine

Why do we associate popcorn with the movies?

Ask Smithsonian 2017

Why Do We Eat Popcorn at the Movies?

The movie theater’s most popular concession wasn’t always associated with the movies—in fact, it used to be explicitly banned

Oto Gillen, “untitled, (Vanitas),” 2007, traditional chromogenic print, mat board, UV glass, mahogany, screws

Snack on This: One Curator Has Devoted a Whole Show to Pizza Art

What is it about that slice of cheesy goodness that makes it such an appealing subject for these artists?

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