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Arts & Culture / Food

Taken by ship to North America and Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries, the tiny fruit gave rise to all the many tomato varieties enjoyed today.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Inca Road

Why Is This Wild, Pea-Sized Tomato So Important?

Native to northern Peru and southern Ecuador, this tiny and rapidly vanishing tomato boasts outsized influence on world gastronomy

The Foods Americans Once Loved to Eat

Turtles, beavers and eel were once beloved staples of the continental diet. What happened?

Ask Smithsonian 2017

Does Dieting Actually Make Your Stomach Shrink?

Not exactly, says science—stretchiness and psychology seem to play bigger roles than size in determining how much a person can eat

Pyrex celebrates its 100th anniversary this year.

How Pyrex Reinvented Glass For a New Age

One hundred years after the birth of the brand, the Corning Museum of Glass pays homage to America’s favorite dish

Texas longhorn cattle.

How “Meat Banks” Are Helping Farmers Preserve Precious Livestock

Frozen sperm and tissue are being stored to protect commercial animals and help save rare heritage breeds

A champagne toast for all leads into a gourmet meal.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Paris

Eat Like a Parisian in a Parisian Apartment

An Internet-based service allows visitors an authentic taste of food, friendship and culture

Still from Coca-Cola advertisement

American History Museum Scholar on the History of the “I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke” Advertisement

The commercial that closed out the series finale of “Mad Men,” explained

How Food Truck Parks Are Making America More Like Southeast Asia

Pushing for nutritious options, as public officials in Singapore are doing, could boost the health of cities and their residents

A display of Jim Beam bourbons at a Kentucky distillery.

What Makes Bourbon Uniquely American?

A new book examines everything that makes the spirit special to the United States

Dancers perform during a Cinco de Mayo celebration in Los Angeles.

Is There a Proper Way to Celebrate Cinco de Mayo?

In one California town, the holiday co-opted by beer companies takes on a flavor of its own

The location of the first McDonald's, now home to the unofficial McDonald's Museum and Juan Pollo Corporate Offices.

Seven of the Most Unusual McDonald’s Around the World

From Roswell to Norway, the quirkiest spots to get a Big Mac

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Paris

Is the Croissant Really French?

A brief history of the croissant – from kipfel to Cronut

How Farms Became the New Hot Suburb

A new real estate trend has developments planted around working farms. But are these communities sustainable?

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

How will you celebrate National Beer Day?

Urban Explorations

Where to Go to Visit the Oldest Breweries in America

To commemorate National Beer Day, throw back a cold one for history

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

Scientists looked for the black-and-white colubus monkey in protected areas across the Ivory Coast but only found one population of the animals still living in a sacred grove.

Anthropocene

Illegal Cocoa Farms Are Driving Out Primates In Ivory Coast

Thirteen national parks and reserves have lost all their primates as people move in to protected regions to farm cacao

Farmers use the machine and provide feedback.

Farmers Can Shell Coffee in a Fraction of the Time With This Bike-Powered Machine

A team at an MIT International Development Design Summit is making coffee production a little easier for small-scale farmers in Tanzania

The Amazing Results of Putting a Light Inside Fruits and Vegetables

Romanian photographer Radu Zaciu makes these farmers’ market foods glow from within

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