Gastropod

At its most basic, a menu is simply a way for a restaurant to communicate its offerings and their prices to its customer... Read more

The earliest humans favored juicy, meaty mammoth at mealtimes. Ancient Romans loved their favorite herb, silphium, so mu... Read more

Today, it’s a breakfast staple, but, as recently as 1960, The New York Times had to define it for readers—as “an unsweet... Read more

Breakfast: the most important meal of the day. Or is it? In this episode of Gastropod, we explore the science and histor... Read more

Cheese is the chameleon of the food world, as well as one of its greatest delights. Fresh and light or funky and earthy,... Read more

A tablespoon of it will kill you, but most of us feel like death without it: we’re talking about caffeine this episode. ... Read more

With flexitarianism on the rise throughout the developed world, and everyone from Bill Clinton to Beyoncé endorsing the ... Read more

Diet dreams are splashed across magazine covers and blare from the T.V., offering tips and tricks, that will, readers an... Read more

Today, you can find a huge variety of breads on supermarket shelves, only a few of which are called “sourdough.” For mos... Read more

Curry is, supposedly, Indian. But there is no such word in any of the country’s many official languages—and no Indian wo... Read more

Shoestring, waffle, curly, or thick-cut: however you slice it, nearly everyone loves a deep-fried, golden brown piece of... Read more

Avocados are on a roll. More precisely, they’re on toast—a lot of toast. Last summer, British Vogue reported that more t... Read more

What does it mean when your stomach rumbles? How do our bodies extract nutrients and vitamins from food? Does what you e... Read more

If you haven’t tasted kombucha yet, you probably will soon. The sour-sweet, fizzy, fermented tea is becoming ubiquitous ... Read more

Based on all the hype, you’d be forgiven for believing that the fish oils known as omega-3s are solution to every proble... Read more

Olive oil is not what you think it is. According to Tom Mueller, author of Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous W... Read more

On the surface, it’s just a leafy green herb. Its feathery fronds add a decorative note and a distinctive flavor to dish... Read more

From rainbow-hued enameled stew pots to lightweight nonstick frying pans, the metal and ceramic vessels we use to heat o... Read more

It’s one of the most complex food products you’ll ever consume: a thermodynamic miracle that contains all three states o... Read more

Salt is a magical substance. It reduces bitterness, enhances sweetness, boosts flavor, and preserves perishable foods. W... Read more