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Food History

A Louisiana staple, boudin can be bought at grocery stores, roadside stands and homegrown shops like Bayou Boudin and Cracklins in Breaux Bridge.

Find Out Why Boudin Is Louisiana’s Most Famous Sausage

The state is studded with shrines to the rice-filled pork treat

A 3,000-year-old clay pot with cheese residue found burnt to the bottom

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Find Ancient Pot With Traces of 3,000-Year-Old Burnt Cheese

This ancient mishap gives researchers a peek into Bronze Age life

Sugar companies have gotten themselves in a sticky situation.

New Research

Sugar Study Draws Attention to Food Industry’s Sour Secret

Food industries have long opened their wallets to snag a piece of the science pie

How did this double 'r' become so prevalent?

It’s Sherbet, Not Sherbert, You Dilettantes

The frozen treat has been mispronounced by generations of Americans

One of 5,200 wine labels from Maynard Amerine's collection

Cool Finds

Help Crowdsource the History of Wine

The University of California, Davis, is looking for online volunteers to help catalog and describe 5,200 wine labels

From unsavory beginnings to a refreshing treat, pink lemonade has remained a summer staple.

The Unusual Origins of Pink Lemonade

It’s a pretty scary story. It does involve clowns, after all

An ancient stone tool used to butcher a rhinoceros.

New Research

Ancient Hominids Used These 250,000-Year-Old Tools for Butchery

Traces of blood on the prehistoric tools, suggest our ancestors had a much more varied diet than once thought

Sample of Niku Udon.

Japan’s Most Mouthwatering Dishes Are Made of Plastic

Discover sampuru, the art of mind-blowingly realistic fake food

What Does a Beer Historian Do?

The American History museum’s latest job opening made headlines. But what does the job actually entail?

A tin jar containing what may be 340-year-old cheese recovered from the Kronan shipwreck.

Cool Finds

Gouda Find: Divers Discover 340-Year-Old Dairy Product in Shipwreck

One researcher compared the scent to a mixture of yeast and a type of unpasteurized cheese called Roquefort

Japanese-style katsu curry

New Research

Sadly, Eating Curry Probably Won’t Keep You From Going Bald

A new survey sponsored by wigmakers equates correlation with causation

Indigenous cultures of Alaska have enjoyed the frozen treat known as akutuq for many centuries. An Inupiaq word meaning “to stir,” akutuq traditionally consists of animal fat mixed with seal oil, whipped together with handfuls of berries and freshly fallen snow to make a frothy, frozen concoction.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Alaska

What Is Eskimo Ice Cream?

Answer: Not your typical summer dessert

Right: Photograph during excavation exhibiting excellent dry preservation of plant remains Left: A well-preserved, desiccated barley grain found at Yoram Cave.

New Research

After 6,000 Years of Farming, Barley Is Still (More or Less) the Same

Talk about an ancient grain

One of the ingredients of the ancient Roman burger? Ground pistachios.

Taste-Testing the History of the Hamburger

One intrepid reporter cooked three different versions of the burger to uncover just when, exactly, the sandwich was invented

The Brain-Freezing Science of the Slurpee

More than 60 years ago, a broken soda fountain led to this cool invention

Cool Finds

The KGB’s Favorite Restaurant Reopens in Moscow

Aragvi, the haunt of Soviet-era celebrities and spies opens after a 13-year absence and $20 million renovation

Cool Finds

Why the Humble Sweet Potato Won the World Food Prize

Researchers are helping to fight malnutrion and childhood blindness in Africa with new varieties of starchy, orange-fleshed sweet potatoes

A Coney Island hot dog

The Origin of the Coney Island Hot Dog Is a Uniquely American Story

They also have very little to do with the New York City amusement park

A squash seedling (though not one of the ancient squash)

Cool Finds

An Ancient Squash Dodges Extinction Thanks to the Efforts of Native Americans

Indigenous people carefully tended an ancient squash for thousands of years and now the seeds are seeing a resurgence in popularity

Screwworm Fly larva

Cool Finds

Researchers Studying “Teen Sex” and Flesh-Eating Maggots Win 2016 Golden Goose Awards

Both quirky and important, these studies went against the grain

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