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Why These Animals?
In the West, when it comes to which meat is for dinner, we nearly always choose beef, pork, or chicken. Yet cows and pigs are only two of more than f…
7 years, 8 months ago
Mango Mania: How the American Mango Lost its Flavor—and How it Might Just Get it Back
Mangoes inspire passion, particularly in India, which is home to hundreds of varieties of the fruit. They are celebrated in Indian music, poetry, and…
7 years, 9 months ago
Keeping it Fresh: Preservatives and The Poison Squad
More than a century ago, enterprising manufacturers added brand-new chemical preservatives into food to keep it fresh as it traveled from the farm in…
7 years, 9 months ago
Watch It Wiggle: The Jell-O Story
It’s been described as the ultimate status symbol for the wealthy, as the perfect solution for dieters and the sick, and, confusingly, as a liquid tr…
7 years, 10 months ago
Out of the Fire, Into the Frying Pan
From rainbow-hued enameled stew pots to lightweight nonstick frying pans, the metal and ceramic vessels we use to heat our food are such an everyday …
8 years ago
Hotbox: The Oven From Turnspit Dogs to Microwaves
Humans are the only animals that cook their food, an innovation that changed the course of our evolution and the trajectory of the planet. But how di…
8 years ago
Feed the World: How the U.S. Became the World’s Biggest Food Aid Donor—And Why That Might Not be Such a Great Thing
The United States is, by far, the world’s largest international food aid donor. Almost every year since the 1950s, it has been responsible for more t…
8 years ago
Ripe for Global Domination: The Story of the Avocado
Avocados are on a roll. More precisely, they’re on toast—a lot of toast. Last summer, British Vogue reported that more than three million new photos …
8 years, 1 month ago
Meet the Man Who Found, Finagled, and Ferried Home the Foods We Eat Today
You’ve probably never heard of David Fairchild. But if you’ve savored kale, mango, peaches, dates, grapes, a Meyer lemon, or a glass of craft beer la…
8 years, 1 month ago
Who Faked My Cheese?
Cheeeeese: that one word alone causes our stomachs to rumble and mouths to water. The sheer variety of flavors and textures created by only a few ing…
8 years, 2 months ago