Feature What Is Cincinnati Chili? How a Greek meat sauce became an Ohio specialty. Unlike most God-fearing forms of chili, Cincinnati chili doesn’t get eaten with a … Story: Max Falkowitz
Feature Why Do Apples Float? It’s not because witches dig them. Come fall, children across Europe and North America tie their hands across their backs, dunk their … Story: Max Falkowitz
Feature How Does the Scoville Scale Work? What a 1 million Scoville unit pepper really means. In these high times of capsicum cultivation, plant breeders are racing to raise … Story: Max Falkowitz
Feature What Is Cream Cheese Exactly? Here’s how to make a batch of the bagel’s best friend. Story: Max Falkowitz
Feature Can You Cook an Egg in the Microwave? How to make the world’s most versatile food even more adaptable. Here’s a fun way to dispose of an old microwave: Place … Story: Max Falkowitz
Feature Is It Really OK to Eat Raw Cookie Dough? It’s not always the raw eggs that get you. Because nothing is sacred in the year 2019, there are now several dessert … Story: Max Falkowitz
Feature Can You Really Get High Off Nutmeg? Malcolm X tea will mess you up. It may have been an urban legend from your teen years, and it’s true: Nutmeg … Story: Max Falkowitz
Feature Does Celery Really Have Negative Calories? An urban legend says that you burn more calories eating celery than the vegetable contains. And it might be true! Kinda. The … Story: Max Falkowitz
Feature What Is Tahini? A brief history of one of the world’s oldest condiments. Tahini only arrived in the United States in the mid-20th century, and … Story: Max Falkowitz
Feature What’s a Pimm’s Cup? Get to know the quintessential English summer cocktail. A Pimm’s cup is one of those things, like pasta or rice, that refers … Story: Max Falkowitz
Feature What Is Alabama White Barbecue Sauce? Test your regional barbecue knowledge here. In most regions of the country, the term “barbecue chicken” is the kind of thing that … Story: Max Falkowitz
Feature What Is Liquid Smoke? You can distill anything. Even trees. Liquid smoke sounds like a cheat, too good to be true, or at the very least, … Story: Max Falkowitz
Feature What Is Couscous Exactly? This sneaky grain is really closer to pasta. Many of us think of couscous as a grain, like millet or fine bulgur. … Story: Max Falkowitz
Feature What Does “Prime Beef” Mean, Exactly? And is it worth the extra cost? Maybe not. Steakhouses and high-end butcher shops love to tout their prime beef, a grade … Story: Max Falkowitz
Feature Why Is the Brigade System Essential in Restaurant Kitchens? How a kitchen organizes itself is essential to its function. “Chef de cuisine” is one of those French terms, like laissez-faire and … Story: Max Falkowitz
Feature How Does a Pressure Cooker Work? And why they don’t explode anymore. The rise of the Instant Pot has us all talking about a kitchen tool once considered … Story: Max Falkowitz
Feature Who Invented the Oreo? A brief history of America’s favorite cookie. Before there was the Oreo, there was the Hydrox. Neither a cleaning product nor a … Story: Max Falkowitz
Feature Who Invented the Martini? This classic cocktail has a muddled history. “I’ve never tasted anything so cool and clean…. They make me feel civilized.” The liquor … Story: Max Falkowitz
Feature What Is a Vampiro Taco? Imagine the three-way lovechild of a taco, a tostada, and a quesadilla. Tacos, tostadas, and quesadillas are all part of one crowded, … Story: Max Falkowitz
Feature Why Do We Add Vodka to Vodka Sauce? A quick guide to the chemistry of alcohol-soluble flavors. Few pastas are as comforting as penne à la vodka, but have you … Story: Max Falkowitz
Feature Who Invented the Frozen Margarita? The original machine is now in the Smithsonian. Most edible inventions are lost to history; we’ll never know for certain who flipped … Story: Max Falkowitz
