Food Science

It took thousands of years, but the pumpkin went from one squash among many to American icon.

How the Formerly Ubiquitous Pumpkin Became a Thanksgiving Treat

The history of Cucurbita pepo has a surprising connection to the abolitionist cause

The Ten Best Books About Food of 2018

These ten titles should satisfy readers hungry to learn more about the history and science of food

When in Rome...

The Physics of a Perfect Pizza

It takes just the right amount of heat and conduction to turn dough into the perfect Roman Margherita pizza

Does the Same Goose Always Lead the Flying V and More Questions From Our Readers

You asked, we answered

Inside the Enoteca Regionale Emilia Romagna.

Taste Your Way Through Italy, One Ingredient-Specific Museum at a Time

The Emilia Romagna region has 25 food museums, each dedicated to a beloved food item – ranging from balsamic vinegar to Parmesan cheese

Rice terraces in Yunnan, China.

136,000 Varieties of Rice Are Now Protected in Perpetuity

An annual $1.4 million funding grant will allow the International Rice Research Institute to help develop drought, heat- and flood-resistant rice varieties

How Fish Farms Can Use Facial Recognition to Survey Sick Salmon

A Norwegian aquaculture company plans to combat sea lice and other problems by monitoring individual salmon in a high-tech fish farms

In the late 1800s, milk and dairy products could be teeming with dangerous bacteria, contaminated by worms, hair and even manure.

The 19th-Century Fight Against Bacteria-Ridden Milk Preserved With Embalming Fluid

In an unpublished excerpt from her new book <i>The Poison Squad</i>, Deborah Blum chronicles the public health campaign against tainted dairy products

The hand dryer-sized device can detect E. coli, salmonella, norovirus, hepatitis A, and listeria.

This Device Tracks How Well You Wash Your Hands

Biomedical engineers have developed a wall-mounted scanner that can detect microbes that cause foodborne illness

Bompas & Parr say the prototype pops last “hours longer” than regular popsicles under the same temperature.

Inventing a Longer-Lasting Popsicle

A British design firm has used a half-forgotten World War II technique to create ice pops that don't melt as fast as the ordinary ones

These deficiencies are just the starting point for much bigger problems.

Climate Change Could Lead to Nutrient Deficiency for Hundreds of Millions

Carbon dioxide decreases zinc, iron and protein in food crops, which could add millions of people to the billions who don't get enough nutrition

If you stick to a diet of kale, brussels sprouts and similarly leafy greens, your salivary proteins will eventually adapt to their bitter taste

There’s a Scientific Explanation for Why Adults Are More Likely to Tolerate Leafy Greens

Just eat your veggies: Salivary proteins adapt to bitter tastes, making them more palatable over time

Egyptian Papyrus Reveals This Old Wives' Tale Is Very Old Indeed

The "Wheat and Barley" pregnancy test described in a recently translated medical text has been practiced for thousands of years

Emmer wheat

Sequencing of Wheat Genome Could Lead to a Breadier Future

It took 200 scientists 13 years to finally figure out the complex genome of the important grain

The world's oldest cheese has been found in an ancient Egyptian tomb, but after 3200 years of entombment, it probably looked way worse off than this moldy modern sample.

Oldest Cheese Ever Found in Egyptian Tomb

Italian researchers also found traces of disease-causing bacteria in what they believe is probably extremely aged cheese.

Science

Physics Reveals How to Break Spaghetti Cleanly In Two

Our collective culinary nightmare is over

These electrode-embedded chopsticks can simulate saltiness.

Using Electric Currents to Fool Ourselves Into Tasting Something We're Not

Nimesha Ranasinghe is bringing a new dimension to virtual reality, embedding electric taste simulation technology into utensils

A photograph of Yamei Kin in 1912

The Chinese-Born Doctor Who Brought Tofu to America

Yamei Kin was a scientific prodigy who promoted the Chinese art of living to U.S. audiences

This science is poppin’

Popcorn-Powered Robots? Get 'Em While They’re Hot!

In an attempt to harness the power of pop, researchers went against the grain to push the boundaries of this staple starch

Fears materialized when a series of deadly botulism cases struck unassuming consumers throughout the country.

The Botulism Outbreak That Gave Rise to America’s Food Safety System

In late 1919 and early 1920, scientists and canners worked with the government to protect the public from the deadly toxin

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