Food

This inverted cross was likely carved on the inn's hearth stone in hopes of discouraging witches from flying down the chimney

Archaeologists Find Shot Glass Shards, Anti-Witch Carving at Centuries-Old Scottish Pub

At the time of its construction, the Wilkhouse Inn was considered a "statement of modernity and affluence"

The Smithsonian's American Food History Project seeks to understand the history of the U.S. through the multi-faceted lens of food.

How Food Brought Success to a Chef, a Cookbook Author and a Restaurateur

Historian Ashley Rose Young shares research from the Smithsonian’s 23-year-long ‘American Food History Project’

Deer bone marrow after six weeks of storage.

Prehistoric Deer Bones May Offer the Earliest Evidence of Ancient Food Storage

The inhabitants of Qesem Cave in Israel seem to have been saving bone marrow for a later date

Let the battle of the bulge commence

Holly Cow! Fattest Bear of Them All Claims Coveted Title

For #FatBearWeek2019, the furever fabulous 435 Holly reigns triumphant

Scientists at the University of Central Florida have modeled a path toward self-sufficiency for one million settlers of Mars over the course of 100 Earth years.

What Will Humans Eat on Mars?

Planetary scientist Kevin Cannon talks about the logistics of feeding a population of one million on the Red Planet

That's the tea.

Your Soothing Cup of Tea May Contain Billions of Microplastics

That’s ‘several orders of magnitude higher than plastic loads previously reported in other foods,’ according to a new study

In Northern California, purple sea urchins are decimating kelp forests. Though the species of urchin causing problems may vary by region, the damage is the same.

Could Eating Sea Urchins Help Revive Kelp Forests?

A Norwegian 'urchin ranching' company wants to take the echinoderms from the wild, fatten them up and sell them to restaurants

The Smithsonian has launched the first national-scale, scholarly research and collecting project to gather and preserve the artifacts, documents and voices associated with the beer industry’s craft revolution (above: label, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company).

Here’s What’s Brewing in the New Smithsonian Beer Collections

After two years of documenting the nation’s craft brewing industry, curator Theresa McCulla makes ready for a public debut

Archaeologists found traces of a milk protein in seven prehistoric Britons' calcified dental plaque

Prehistoric Farmers' Teeth Show Humans Were Drinking Animal Milk 6,000 Years Ago

A new study suggests Neolithic Britons processed raw milk to reduce its lactose content

Fishless filets are on the rise.

Move Over Fake Meat, It's Time for Veggie Seafood

Here are six companies bringing you animal-free fish products, from tomato-based sushi to "Fysh Sauce"

Artist Rudolf Bleschka created the diseased fruit models between 1924 and 1932

Glass Models of Decaying Fruit Set to Go on View After Two Decades in Storage

Designed to serve as teaching tools, the delicate glassware reveals the ravages of such diseases as peach leaf curl, pear scab and gray mold

A vintage illustration of a wide-eyed housewife with a waffle in a waffle iron, 1946.

A Brief History of the Waffle Iron

Cornelius Swartwout’s invention, patented more than 150 years ago, helped feed America’s passion for waffles

Humble lettuce, according to John Evelyn, “may safely be eaten raw in Fevers; for it allays Heat, bridles Choler, extinguishes Thirst, excites Appetite, kindly Nourishes, and above all reprelles Vapours, conciliates Sleep, mitigates Pain.”

A 17th-Century Ode to Salads Is Heading to Auction

'Acetaria' celebrates the healthful benefits of meatless dining

Julia Child and her husband Paul Child at their home in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Remembering Julia Child

Smithsonian curator Paula Johnson addresses many of the questions visitors ask about America’s beloved cooking teacher and her kitchen

A previous strain of the TR4 fungus led banana producers to switch from the Gros Michel strain to the now-dominant Cavendish variety

A Banana-Destroying Fungus Has Arrived in the Americas

The so-called Panama disease targets bananas’ vascular systems to prevent fruit from growing

Nom, nom, nom.

Researchers Think They Know Why Cats Eat Grass

Contrary to popular belief, grass only occasionally makes cats vomit

Bureau of Home Economics employees blindfold their taste testers so the sight of the turkey doesn't bias any responses, 1930s.

The Government Taste Testers Who Reshaped America’s Diet

In the 1930s, a forgotten federal bureau experimented with ways to make soy and other products more popular in the U.S.

The Scientists Who Stared at Gulls

A new study suggests that watching the birds as they approach will slow them down or scare them off

Would you drink it?

Why Scientists Are Making Vodka in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

It’s perfectly safe to drink, according to a new report

The result. On Twitter, Samus Blackley describes it as "much sweeter and more rich than the sourdough we are used to."

This Bread Was Made Using 4,500-Year-Old Egyptian Yeast

After extracting the dormant yeast from cooking vessels, an amateur gastroegyptologist used ancient grains to recreate an Old Kingdom loaf

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