Food Science

Itty-bitty insects have an outsized impact on human culture.

From Silk Moths to Fruit Flies, These Five Insects Have Changed the World

It’s easy to write bugs off as pests, but consider the ways in which they have positively impacted our lives

The chunks of cheese were found alongside ancient mummies in China in 2003.

The World's Oldest Cheese Was Buried in a Chinese Tomb 3,600 Years Ago. Now, Scientists Have Sequenced Its DNA

New research has revealed that the mysterious white substance found alongside three ancient mummies was once a soft cheese called kefir

Human flesh might resemble this nice beef fillet.

What Does Human Flesh Taste Like? The Answer Depends on Who You Ask

Cannibals have weighed in with different opinions. Some say it tastes like pork, while others say like veal—and still others say like nothing else

Percebes are generally under two inches long, with a fleshy body and pieces of shell that lead to a point on one end. Let's be honest, they look like dinosaur toes.

Why Are Fishermen Braving Dangerous Waters to Harvest Bizarre-Looking Sea Creatures? They're Delicious

Gooseneck barnacles are tasty, but expensive, given the skill and guts it takes to gather them from slick rocks slammed by waves

Microwaves need to be cleaned regularly, just like other kitchen surfaces.

Your Microwave Is Teeming With Bacteria, Study Suggests

Researchers found thriving communities of microbes in microwave ovens used in home kitchens, shared spaces and laboratories

Museum officials hope to pass along cheesemaking traditions to younger generations.

You Can Now Visit France's First-Ever Cheese Museum

The Musée du Fromage in Paris hosts tastings and teaches visitors about traditional cheesemaking practices

Crickets, beetles and moths are just some of the insects recently approved for human consumption by the Singapore government.

Singapore Approves 16 Insect Species for Human Consumption

The move comes amid broader efforts to improve food security and diversify food sources

The grape family had a complex, tumultuous history of extinction and dispersal in Central and South America.

Did the Extinction of the Dinosaurs Pave the Way for Grapes?

Newly discovered fossils in South America hint at the evolution and proliferation of grapes around the world

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Keeping the Spirit of Maine’s Wild Blueberry Harvest Alive

In the far reaches of New England, an unusual convergence of farmworkers renews an ancient and increasingly threatened agricultural practice

McDonnell's "Sinai Sour" (not pictured) is similar to a gose, a German beer style with a tart, slightly salty taste.

This Man Brewed Beer Using 3,000-Year-Old Yeast and a Recipe From an Ancient Egyptian Papyrus

Utah homebrewer Dylan McDonnell created his 'Sinai Sour' in his backyard

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How Americans Got Hooked on Counting Calories More Than a Century Ago

A food history writer and an influential podcast host tell us how our thinking about health and body weight has—and hasn’t—evolved ever since Dr. Lulu Hunt Peters took the nation by storm

Laboratory testing found live Trichinella larvae in black bear meat that had been frozen for 110 days.

Family Members Infected With Parasitic Worms After Eating Undercooked Bear Meat at Reunion

Six people developed symptoms of roundworm infection after consuming grilled black bear meat and vegetables in July 2022, and all have since recovered

A mother Siphonops annulatus with newborn babies.

Inside the Wild Ways Many Creatures Make Milk

Mammals aren’t the only animals that provide nutritious secretions for their young

Archaeologists discovered 300 sealed pottery jugs in the wreckage.

Roman-Era Ship Was Carrying Jugs Full of Fish Sauce When It Sank 1,700 Years Ago

Discovered in the summer of 2019, the Ses Fontanelles wreck likely ran aground sometime during the fourth century

Scientists experimented with planting tomatoes, peas and carrots together and separately in several types of soil.

An Ancient Maya Practice Could Be the Key to Growing Vegetables on Mars

Researchers are exploring whether intercropping—a technique of growing different types of plants in close proximity to one another—could be the secret to agriculture on the Red Planet

A number of people deserve credit for the birth of the Pop-Tart.

The Contentious History of the Pop-Tart

In the 1960s, two cereal giants raced to develop a toaster pastry

Farmer Robert Tomlinson harvests forced rhubarb by candlelight on his farm in Pudsey, near Leeds in northern England, in January 2022. 

The English Farmers Who Harvest Rhubarb by Candlelight

The secret to the world’s sweetest rhubarb? Sealed sheds, total darkness and a little old-fashioned flair

A bright spot for sake is in America. In 2022, according to the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association, the U.S. was the No. 1 export market in terms of volume and second market in value for sake. 

An American-Made Sake Movement Is Underway

In the last decade, a truly homegrown effort has bubbled up in the United States

A new machine learning model may be able to help brewers save time and money on consumer trials, make more consistent products and improve their recipes, scientists say.

Can A.I. Make Beer Taste Better? Scientists Test a Model That Recommends New Flavors

Researchers spent three years developing a machine learning model that can predict how good beer will taste based on its chemical composition—and make suggestions for how to improve it

The scientists studied more than 4,600 Burmese and reticulated pythons on farms in Vietnam and Thailand.

Python Meat Could Be a Sustainable, Nutritious Food Source, Scientists Say

The snakes may be some of the most resource-efficient animals to farm on the planet, a new study suggests

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