81 Items Tagged

Food History

Clockwise from top left: white, black, long, cubeb, grains of paradise, red Sichuan, and green Sichuan peppers.

A Guide to the Peppers of the World

Which came first: the pepper, or the pepper?

Andrew Coletti March 10, 2025

Tomb paintings can tell us a lot about the Ancient Egyptian diet because they often depict food offerings, hunting, and agriculture.

What Did the Ancient Egyptians Eat? AO Wants to Know.

Egyptian archaeologist Mennat-Allah El Dorry digs deep into the diets of the past.

Andrew Coletti February 20, 2025

10 Places to Taste Catalonia’s Gastronomic Treasures

Uncover the secret culinary traditions of this rich, fertile region in Spain

Sponsored by Catalunya

Like some political issues, Watergate salad can be polarizing.

7 Candidates for Your Election Day Menu

Election season means fundraiser foods, satirical sweets, and campaign trail cuisine.

Andrew Coletti November 1, 2024

Brands of all sorts used recipes to sell products in the post-war era.

American Food Traditions That Started as Marketing Ploys

Your grandma didn't invent that recipe.

Diana Hubbell September 30, 2024

This 1882 engraving of Ragnarok, the Viking doomsday, shows Odin mounted on a horse and fighting the wolf Fenrir.

7 Stories That Show Just How Metal the Nordics Are

From Viking werewolves to snacking on pickled ram's testicles, Europe's northernmost countries are badass.

Roxanne Hoorn September 27, 2024

Nineteenth-century illustrator George Cruikshank depicted indigestion as torment by imps.

Does Our Stomach Define Who We Are?

In her new book, Elsa Richardson explores how the gut has been viewed across history.

Andrew Coletti September 20, 2024

The blood Voltaire drank came from a bull on his country estate in Ferney, France, now called Ferney-Voltaire.

Why Voltaire Drank Bull’s Blood

Bull’s blood isn’t poisonous; so why did people think it was for centuries?

Andrew Coletti September 5, 2024

The Strange Allure of Blue Food

When nature’s rarest color shows up in food, it elicits a range of reactions.

Andrew Coletti August 26, 2024

This embroidered wedding bread fed 130 party guests.

The Beautiful Art of Greece's 'Embroidered' Bread

A museum outside of Athens preserves this fading custom.

Yana Frigelis August 22, 2024

This unusual ice cream has a long history.

The Unlikely Popularity of Grape-Nuts Ice Cream

This simple flavor has a cross-cultural and cross-generational appeal.

Anne Ewbank August 21, 2024

100% farm to table fresh brunch – burrata, pesto and heirloom tomatoes on toast.

A Gastro Obscura Guide to Los Cabos

If you’re looking for an abundance of farm-to-table dining and a culinary scene committed to sustainability, Los Cabos delivers.

Sponsored by Los Cabos Tourism

<em>Approaching Storm</em> by German landscape painter Julius Bergmann shows a cowherd bringing his animals to shelter.

Can Thunderstorms Spoil Milk?

The answer eluded scientists for centuries.

Andrew Coletti July 30, 2024

The world's first cold-storage banquet was held in the Hotel Sherman, considered at the time to be Chicago's swankiest hotel.

Remembering the World’s First ‘Cold-Storage Banquet’

At the turn of the 20th century, the concept of a refrigerated feast was terrifying.

Diana Hubbell July 12, 2024

Coriander <em>or cilantro</em> has a long history in Italy.

Why Italy Fell Out of Love With Cilantro

Coriander went from ancient staple to persona non grata.

Andrew Coletti July 1, 2024

A display at the Global Conference of Millets in 2023 featured a millet map of India.

In India, Music Helps Spread the Message of Millets

New and ancient songs show that there’s more to reviving a crop than planting seeds.

Andrew Coletti June 17, 2024

<em>A Midnight Modern Conversation</em> by William Hogarth depicts punch-drinkers in an 18th-century coffeehouse.

Tea Punch Was the First Cocktail

This boozy brew used to be the British and American drink of choice.

Andrew Coletti June 10, 2024

This Swedish school lunch features potatoes and other vegetables, juice, and a <em>knäckebröd</em> cracker.

School Lunch Around the World

Not every country has the same recipe for brain food.

Andrew Coletti May 27, 2024