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U.S. National Library of Medicine The 'Poison Squad' That Shook America’s Faith in Preservatives
In the U.S., chemicals like borax were common in foods from bacon to margarine, until a shocking series of experiments revealed their toxic effects.
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DircinhaSW / Getty / Angela He / The ... How Jell-O Got Its Bounce
The dessert was once as high status as it is squishy.
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Tina Stallard / Getty How Pots and Pans Turned Us Into Creative Cooks
After harnessing fire, kitchenware is the most important invention to food as we know it.
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Bettmann / Getty How the Gas Oven Changed Humans’ Relationship With Fire
The ability to turn flames on and off at will was “one of the single greatest contributors to human happiness in the kitchen.”
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Eric Lafforgue / Art in All of Us ... How the U.S. Became the World’s Largest Food-Aid Donor
For its first 150 years, the nation was reluctant to feed the hungry overseas.
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Maggie Marsek / Getty / Katie Martin / ... Peak Avocado Is Yet to Come
How the fatty green fruit went from near-extinction to a worldwide boom
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Yuri Cortez / AFP / Getty How the ‘Golden Age’ of Travel Transformed American Cuisine
At the turn of the 20th century, one adventurous botanist brought kale, mangoes, and thousands of other plants to the U.S.
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Michaela Rehle / Reuters The Wonder Protein That Makes Cheese So Stretchy
Casein’s unique structure is the key to smooth brie and melting mozzarella.
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Alain Nogues / Getty How the Military Changed What America Eats
The same technology that keeps soldiers' meals edible for weeks now lines your pantry shelves.
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PeopleImages / Getty The Enduring Fantasies of Cookbooks
For millennia, collecting recipes has been driven more by aspiration than the reality of what’s for dinner.
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Sean Gallup / Getty How Prehistoric Humans Spiced Up Their Dinner
Mustard has been popular for 6,000 years.
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Stefano Rellandini / Reuters From the Origins of Spaghetti to the Shape-Shifting Pasta of Tomorrow
How will new technology change the Italian staple?
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Umit Bektas / Reuters The Ancient Origins of Dieting
Weight-loss fads existed centuries before Oprah and Kim Kardashian.
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Stefanie Loos / Reuters The Spice That Hooked Medieval Nuns
Saffron has been altering people’s moods for hundreds of years.
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Eric Risberg / AP Do the Bacteria That Raise Sourdough Come From Bakers' Hands?
A scientific investigation into the mysterious microbes behind tasty bread
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Marcelo del Pozo / Reuters How Olive Oil Became Green Gold
In the United States, profits from fraudulent oil can be more lucrative than dealing cocaine.
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David J. Phillip / AP The Women Who Used Food to Fight Historical Stereotypes
Cooking has often been a tool for protest and resistance, even when it resulted in gross meals served at the White House.
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Brian Snyder / Reuters How Cranberries Went Out of Style
The sour little berries, once a year-round staple, have been relegated to a Thanksgiving side dish. Can they make a comeback?
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Rich Pedroncelli / AP How Cannibalism Became Taboo
A brief history of a surprisingly common tendency among animals, ancient humans included
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Alessandro Garofalo / Reuters A Glimpse Into the World's First Italian-Food Theme Park
Italy’s chain of grocery megastores might be the future of American supermarkets.
