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Food

A worker lowers a pump system into the water. The tube sucks in the berries and pulls them into a machine that separates the fruit from water, stems and debris. 

These Photos of Harvesting Cranberries Transform the Annual Ritual Into a Shimmering Spectacle

In eastern Massachusetts, flooded wetlands cover the landscape as farmers collect the crop that features on Thanksgiving tables nationwide

The production of knives flourished in Sakai due to the rich history of traditional metal processing techniques.

The Japanese City Known for Making Knives That Are a Cut Above

Ninety percent of professional chefs in Japan buy their knives in Sakai. TikTok users are spreading the word, and demand is skyrocketing, as international tourists want in on the action

Revelers throw tomatoes during the annual Tomatina festival in Buñol on August 27, 2025.

How a Spontaneous Food Fight Became La Tomatina, Spain’s Annual Tomato-Throwing Festival

Thousands of people gathered in a small Spanish town this week for the event, which is celebrating its 80th anniversary

The Iowa State Fair butter cow has been carved annually since 1911.

How Life-Size Cows Made of Butter Became an Iconic Symbol of the Midwest

The Iowa State Fair has featured a bovine butter sculpture for more than 100 years. Now, the tradition is part of the “State Fairs” exhibition at the Renwick Gallery

Oyster farming off the coast of New Jersey

Oysters Tell a Surprising Story of New Jersey’s Past—and a Perfect Way to Experience its Present

These remarkable bivalves have long connected New Jersey’s people to its waters—today, they offer a delicious gateway into the state’s maritime past and sustainable future.

Apps like the newly launched Runmates provide links to running clubs worldwide.

Third Places Are Being Reimagined—and Welcoming Travelers in the Process

Outside of home and work, spaces like parks, food halls and libraries are stepping up with social offerings

Colorful umbrellas protect beachgoers from the glaring sun on a day when most seemingly opted to stay somewhere cooler.

Get a Dose of Sun, Sand and Sea With These 20 Scenes From the Beach

These highlights from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest are sure to remind you of everything you love about the shore

Throughout time, women and children have processed food on a daily basis, playing a central role in the story of human survival and evolution.

Through Much of Human History, Women Have Shaped Evolution Through Food Processing

An anthropologist highlights the revolutionary role of the practice, which was often led by women, and was just as crucial to surviving and thriving as hunting

New research suggests Neanderthals ate rotten flesh and maggots, explaining why the levels of nitrogen-15 found in their remains are so high.

Neanderthals Might Have Eaten Maggot-Infested, Putrefying Meat, Explaining a Mysterious Chemical Signature in Their Remains

Maggots might have helped our long-extinct relatives avoid protein poisoning by providing a nutritious source of fat, a new study suggests

A fateful meeting between ancestors of tomatoes and potatoes allowed for the growth of tubers, the edible part of potatoes today, according to a new study.

The Potato May Have Evolved From a Tomato Ancestor Nine Million Years Ago, Genetic Study Suggests

A genome analysis indicates wild tomatoes and a potato-like plant called Etuberosum hybridized to create the modern potato

In the 1950s, archaeologists found bronze jars in an underground shrine (left). They contained a mysterious sticky residue (right).

Scientists Found Sticky Goo Inside a 2,500-Year-Old Jar. Seventy Years Later, They Finally Know What It Is

By studying the mysterious substance’s chemical makeup, scientists determined the pot was once full of honey

Entrepreneurs are remaking these 16th to 18th century farmhouses into intimate retreats and luxury hotels.

The Centuries-Old Abandoned Farmhouses of Puglia Are Having a Renaissance Moment

Supporting sustainability and local economies, these out-of-the-way structures known as masserie are offering a new type of rustic luxury

Comedian, Maurizio Cattelan, 2019

These Bananas Duct-Taped to the Wall Are Worth Millions. Hungry Museumgoers Keep Eating Them

A visitor recently ate the banana from Maurizio Cattelan’s “Comedian,” which was on view at the Center Pompidou-Metz. The artwork, which sold for $6.2 million last year, has met this fate before

The population of golden oyster mushrooms has particularly exploded in the Midwest and Great Lakes region.

Invasive Golden Oyster Mushrooms Are Crowding Out Native Fungi and Could Slash Biodiversity in Forests, Study Suggests

Researchers found that trees in Wisconsin that had become hosts to the eye-catching species hosted only half the fungal biodiversity of trees that had not been invaded

The bones were discovered at two caves in the 1990s, but scientists recently revisited them to take a closer look at the cut marks.

Cut Marks on Animal Bones Suggest Neanderthal Groups Had Their Own Unique Culinary Traditions

Neanderthals in two nearby caves used different techniques when butchering animal carcasses in what is now Israel, according to a new paper

A western gull like this one surprised researchers by riding on an 18-wheeler to an outdoor composting facility in California.

A California Gull Hitched a Ride on a Garbage Truck and Took an 80-Mile Journey to a Compost Facility. Then It Happened Again

GPS tracking data showed the bird zooming across bridges and interstates at 60 miles per hour on two occasions in 2018

At the Neumark-Nord site in central Germany, researchers found the remains of at least 172 individual animals, including foxes, horses, big cats and an extinct species of rhinoceros.

New Research

Neanderthals May Have Been Running a Sophisticated ‘Fat Factory’ in Germany 125,000 Years Ago

New research suggests that they smashed animal bones into tiny pieces before boiling them to extract the high-calorie grease inside

Scientists are investigating the production of ancestral alkaloids by tomatoes in the Galápagos Islands.

Something Strange Is Happening to Tomatoes Growing on the Galápagos Islands

Scientists say wild tomato plants on the archipelago’s western islands are experiencing “reverse evolution” and reverting back to ancestral traits

Jewish communities in Poland originated foods like the bialy, the knish and the bagel.

Jewish Food Is Making a Comeback in Poland

Bagels, knishes, bialys and more are popping up in bakeries as the country reckons with historical trauma

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There's More to That

Why You Should Love Durian, the World’s Smelliest Fruit

The southeast Asian crop is a complex and layered one-of-a-kind fruit that consumes the lives of the devoted

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