Articles tagged as Food History | Smithsonian Magazine

Specialty serveware from the collection of Charles "Chuck" Williams, founder of Williams-Sonoma.

Cool Finds

Williams-Sonoma’s Founder Is Getting His Own Museum

The museum will feature the 4,000-plus pieces of cookware that the kitchenware impresario donated upon his death

January 29, 2016

The towering Saguaro is native to Arizona's Sonoran Desert and its juicy red fruit, which locals use to make jams and syrups, ripens in June.

What Makes Tucson Deserving of the Title of the United States’ First Capital of Gastronomy

The Arizona city joins Unesco’s growing list of “Creative Cities”

January 13, 2016

New Research

Archaeologists Find World’s Oldest Tea in the Tomb of a Han Dynasty Emperor

No word on how it tastes, though it probably made a good cup 2,150 years ago

January 13, 2016

Wheels, pyramids and plates—dietary recommendations have come a long way in the last century

January 7, 2016

A women harvests millet in Arunachal Pradesh, India

New Research

This Ancient Grain May Have Helped Humans Become Farmers

Millet’s short growing season and low water needs might also benefit a modern world stressed by climate change

January 7, 2016

Does Altitude Affect Animals the Same Way it Affects Humans and More Questions From Our Readers

You asked, we answered

January 2016

Cool Finds

A Brief History of Figgy Pudding

The dense, spicy dish has been giving good cheer for centuries

December 21, 2015

A spread of Russian zakuski or small dishes

Cool Finds

Dine Behind the Iron Curtain With Soviet Era Recipes

A new cookbook explores a time of food shortages and standardization, colored with some nostalgia

December 16, 2015

This 1789 illustration by W.D. Cooper recreates the protest of December 16, 1773.

Drink up, patriots!

December 15, 2015

Cool Finds

Here’s What Happens When You Age Whisky

Hint: The barrel really does matter

December 3, 2015

New Research

Europeans Only Started Digesting Dairy 4,000 Years Ago

They can enjoy that cheese thanks to ancient nomadic herders

December 2, 2015

Cool Finds

Why a Yam Is Not a Sweet Potato

Despite grocery store labels, these tubers aren’t at all the same

November 25, 2015

Trending Today

A Brief History of Cranberries

Pucker up: Thanksgiving (and plenty of cranberry sauce) is almost here

November 25, 2015

Cool Finds

Check Out These Gluten-Free Versions of Famous Paintings

The Gluten-Free Museum pokes fun at the popular diet trend

November 23, 2015

To this day, the shapely glass bottle defines the classic drink

November 16, 2015

Trending Today

Soon, Guinness Will Be Vegan

The Irish brewery will no longer use fish bladders to make its beer

November 5, 2015

The Stockholm Guild, which runs the market, was founded in 1914 to bring the tradition of a Christmas market back to Stockholm (there was a Christmas market here as early as 1523).

Europe

Christmas Markets Might Be the Best Reason to Spend the Holidays in Europe

From mulled wine to intricate ornaments, Europe’s Christmas markets are a mix of food, goods and holiday cheer

November 3, 2015

Scores of different spices, including these colorful peppercorns, are available at the Drogheria Mascari, a family-owned store that opened on the Ruga dei Spezieri (“street of the spice merchants”) in Venice in 1948.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Venice

The Spice That Built Venice

The story of an import so prized, royals were literally rolling in it

November 2, 2015

Cool Finds

Candy Corn Hasn’t Changed Since the 19th Century

The Halloween sweet was invented in the 1880s

October 30, 2015

Craft beer sales grew by 17.6 percent last year compared to a rate of just 0.5 percent in overall beer sales.

There’s No Stopping The Craft Beer Craze

How innovations in the craft brewing industry have changed (and improved) our taste in beer

October 23, 2015