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Arts & Culture / Food

Consider food—and food-themed gifts—this holiday season.

Last Minute Food-Themed Gift Ideas

Food, jewelry, toys and books for those hard-to-shop-for people on your gift list

Gestational diabetes is a risk for older pregnant women.

The Gestational Diabetes Diet: Taking Carbs from a Pregnant Lady

The last thing a pasta-loving pregnant lady with a sweet tooth wants to hear is that she should cut out carbs

The foamy head of a Ramos gin fizz

Raise a Glass to Cocktail Science

Harvard scientists examine the science behind mixology and may help you build a better cocktail

A bakery in Puglia

Inviting Writing: What Do You Call That Cookie?

It is nearly impossible to find anything on the Internet when you have only a phonetic spelling from a foreign language

Political cookbooks come from all sides of the spectrum.

The Edible Is Political: Cookbooks from Both Sides of the Aisle

The cookbook has been a campaign tool for the women’s suffrage movement, John F. Kennedy and now Ron Paul

Gingerbread men

The Gingerbread Man and Other Runaway Foods

The tale of the gingerbread man is part of a genre of folklore about goodies gone wild, specifically “The Fleeing Pancake” stories

Only in Quebec, the tourtiere -- a holiday meat pie.

Tourtière: Québecois for Christmas

For French-Canadians, the must-have holiday food is a spiced meat pie

Shrimp and rice grits.

Rice Grits: Southern Comfort Food From Flaws

Nearly all of the intact grains were exported, but Carolinians developed a fondness for the faulty brokens, or middlins, that stayed at home

A plate of pizzelle

Inviting Writing: Must-Have Holiday Foods

Tell us, by Friday, December 9, what lengths you’ve gone to for your favorite celebratory dishes

Fuyu persimmons

Five Ways to Eat Persimmons

Both fuyu and hachiya persimmons are usually available in late fall and early winter. Here are a few ways to use either variety

Burning fat

Cooking May Have Driven Human Evolution

Why have humans and our ancestors been cooking for all this time? A first-of-its-kind study suggests cooked food gives the body a “pick-me-up”

Mocktails

Mocktails for Expectant Moms and Hangover-Free Holidays

Going beyond the usual soft drinks, some bars and restaurants are starting to get creative with their nonalcoholic beverages

Pumpkin pies

Thanksgiving in Literature

Holiday readings from Louisa May Alcott, Mark Twain, Philip Roth and contemporary novels that use Thanksgiving as the backdrop for family dysfunction

Nobody wants to eat a dry turkey.

Why Does Meat Dry Out During Cooking?

What was the secret to Grandma's turnips?

Inviting Writing: Thankful for Traditional Recipes

Nothing fancy, just warm and tasty and filled with tradition

Lisa's vintage stove is a little too vintage.

Cooking Through the Ages: A Timeline of Oven Inventions

How much has technology really changed since the first ovens, wood-fired hearths?

Artisanal baker Eli Rogosa

Q&A With a Back-to-the-Roots Grain Grower

Baker Eli Rogosa talks about how supermarket flour differs from flour made from heritage grains such as einkorn

Boiling the wort

Brewing Beer is More Fun With Company

There has probably never been a better time to take up home brewing; supplies and information are readily available at bricks-and-mortar stores and online

Paella from Valencia

Paella: Rice With Everything

The subtleties of preparation, the exact timing of when to add water and for how long it should lie before being served are the subject of fierce debate

Vegetarian bacon tastes good, the author promises.

Inviting Writing: Thankful for a Tolerant Spouse

“The veggie bacon definitely smells the worst. And the corn dogs taste the worst.”

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