Food

Born in Cameroon, Ada Anagho Brown moved to the United States as a child and now plans trips to Central and West African countries based on her clients’ DNA.

Tracing a Lost Ancestry

A Journey to Discover an African Homeland

New generations of Black Americans are taking intimate tours that connect them with the lands and cultures their ancestors were forced to leave behind

Plov is a dish made of rice, beef or lamb, oil or animal fat, carrots (usually cut into matchsticks), and onions, cooked with cumin and salt in a large pot.

Rich or Poor, Uzbeks Eat Plov

The beloved medley of rice and meat is the national dish of Uzbekistan

Stark-Star grapes—native to North America, and considered a “champion cultivar” by Jerry Eisterhold, founder of TerraVox Winery.

The Man Who’s Saving America’s Forgotten Grapes

Bordeaux. Napa Valley. Missouri? This vintner wants to put this once-booming wine region back on the map

A glass of homemade eggnog dusted with cinnamon is a mouthwatering prospect to some—and an abomination to others.

The Uniquely American History of Eggnog, Everyone's Favorite—or Least Favorite—Holiday Quaff

This Yuletide mainstay continues to warm cockles and ventricles everywhere

Smithsonian's picks for the best books about food of 2023 include Invitation to a Banquet, For the Culture: Black Women and Femmes in Food and More Than Cake.

The Best Books of 2023

The Ten Best Books About Food of 2023

Travel to Rome, Alaska, West Africa and beyond with this year’s best cookbooks, memoirs and historic deep dives

A pod of ancient Nacional cacao offers hope for reforesting Ecuador’s Pacific coast, which by some estimates has lost 98 percent of its original forest cover over the past century.

Planet Positive

The Quest to Save the World’s Most Coveted Chocolate

For these ambitious scientists in the rainforests of Ecuador, helping the environment has never tasted so sweet

Left, a few of the ingredients used to build flavor throughout the mead making process at Charm City Meadworks in Baltimore, including honey, hops, comapeño peppers, oak chips, cinnamon sticks and juniper berries. Right, Lynn Pronobis, head mead maker at Charm City, must carefully oversee every step of the production process.

The Nectar of the Gods Is Coming to a Bar Near You

How mead, one of the world’s oldest alcoholic beverages, could become the drink of the future

Baklava consists of fine layers of pastry dough, often filled with nuts and sweetened with syrup or honey.

The Sticky History of Baklava

The sweet dessert is an important part of the culinary identity of so many places that people sometimes dispute claims to its origins

Some 30 million cups of spaghettieis are sold in Germany each year.

How Germany's Spaghetti Ice Cream Came to Be

Italian German ice cream maker Dario Fontanella invented "spaghettieis," a clever dish that has captured the hearts of many

Rüdesheim am Rhein in Germany

Eight Delicious Wine Regions You May Have Never Heard Of

With less tourist traffic, these UNESCO World Heritage Sites include vineyards that rival France’s Champagne or Burgundy

Kakadu peaches, like these harvested in Murdudjurl country in Kakadu National Park, are earthy with botanical notes.

The Next Superfoods May Come From Australia

But Indigenous people—who stand to benefit the most from the commercialization of “bush tucker”—represent only 1 percent of the industry

The curious snack has definitely joined the ranks of food-on-a-stick favorites, including corn dogs, candied apples and deep-fried Snickers.

The Most Surprising Carnival Treat Might Just Be Pickle on a Stick

Pickles are having a moment, even at small-town fairs, where vendors are serving them up like popsicles

The pop-top is a patently American invention.

How Popping Open a Can Became the Sound of Summer

More than 60 years ago, an unfortunate picnic set Ohioan Ermal C. Fraze on a path to inventing the first pop-top tab opener for canned beverages

A Southern Barbecue, a wood engraving from a sketch by Horace Bradley, published in Harper’s Weekly, July 1887.

The Evolution of American Barbecue

How America's meaty tradition grew from Caribbean roots to the four distinct styles we know today

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Can American Craft Sodas Save the Soft Drink Industry?

The sector is one of the few in the industry that are forecast to grow

Spam musubi, a Japanese-American dish created in Hawaii, is made of Spam, rice and seaweed.

How Spam Became a Staple of Asian Cuisine

When American G.I.s fought abroad in wars in the 20th century, they left behind an unlikely legacy: canned meat

Edna Lewis gathers ingredients in the garden behind Ellerslie Plantation west of Charlottesville, Virginia, 1975.

Women Who Shaped History

What Made Edna Lewis the Mother of Soul Food

The Virginia-born chef did more than anyone to elevate Southern food to haute cuisine

The Luxury Picnic Company in London launched in April 2020 to a rush of orders over social media, and the enthusiasm for the luxury picnic continued to rise.

Picnics Are Back

Gen-Z is spurning restaurants to enjoy hot dates outdoors—echoing the picnic's racy beginnings

A candlelit dinner in Scandinavia

Mimi Sheraton’s 10 Most Memorable Meals

From dinner by candlelight in Denmark to Peking duck in China, the celebrated food critic reveals her most memorable culinary experiences

Salmon spread is a common snack across Alaska.

Alaska

Salmon Spread Might Just Be the Most Alaskan Food

The smoky snack captures the state’s love for both salmon and preserved foods

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