Food Spotlight
Food history for curious eaters, exploring how food sparked trade, rituals, identity, and innovation.
Southern Comfort Food: A Rich Culinary History of Odds and Ends
Alabama’s mysterious Jubilee to Mississippi’s Kool-Aid pickles and slugburgers, Southern comfort food is full of fascinating stories. Explore traditions, celebrations, and culinary oddities that shaped the South’s food culture.
Why Do We Celebrate with Sweets?
Why do we celebrate with sweets? Discover the intriguing history and cultural meaning behind sugar, from Mexican sugar skulls and Chinese tang yuan to Indian mithai, baklava, and Japanese wagashi.
Once Peasant Food: How Six Humble Staples Became Trendy
There was a time when peasant food like polenta, oats, or offal wasn't trendy. Today? That polenta is served with black truffles, heirloom beans are a gourmet ingredient, and bone marrow is served on tiny pieces of toast. Let's go on a journey through poverty, migration, tradition, and a wee bit of culinary snobbery.
What Did Pirates Really Eat?
What did pirates really eat? Not a Hollywood feasts. Life at sea meant hardtack, salted meat, and whatever fresh food a crew could catch, trade for, or steal. Archaeology from Blackbeard’s ship reveals surprising clues about the real pirate pantry.
Food Aphrodisiacs: The Foods of Love
Did ancient cultures believe figs symbolized fertility? Why did chocolate become a romantic food? And why have humans spent thousands of years searching for love through food aphrodisiacs?
Corn: One Name, Many Cultures
Corn is so much more than the yellow kernels we know. Indigenous peoples domesticated maize, shaped thousands of varieties, and transformed it into countless international foods. Follow corn’s extraordinary journey across cultures.
Your Menu Is a Map of Food Migration
What's on the menu? Take a closer look at a list of dishes and you'll find a map of food migration. Discover the surprising journeys hiding in the foods we think we know.
The First Meal of the Day: A History of Breakfast
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Who decided that? For centuries, people skipped it or delayed it. How and when did breakfast become something we were told we absolutely needed?
The 200-Year History of “Health Food”
Health Food has a 200-year history, from Sylvester Graham and the graham cracker to organic foods and today’s wellness trends.