food

Emily Meggett, Preserver of Gullah Geechee Foodways of the Coastal South, Dies at 90

Mrs. Meggett cooked for decades for her family and church, and as a domestic worker for white families in South Carolina. Her book represents the work of many women who preserved food traditions passed from Africa through slavery and Jim Crow. 

Black New Orleans Chefs Rewrite a Whitewashed, Tourist-Driven Culinary Narrative

A group of chefs is working to highlight the role of African-descended people, including enslaved Black people, creoles, and Haitian migrants, in creating the city's cuisine; food scholar Zella Palmer emphasizes that culinary ability and knowledge was among the skills targeted by traffickers who brought west Africans to New Orleans. 

Food Has Long Been a Culture War Weapon

The likes of Newt Gingrich and Pat Buchanan were eager to use the symbolism of food to characterize Democrats as scolds, busybodies, and elitists. What Americans eat has been difficult to untangle from politics ever since. 

How Gael Greene Reinvented the Restaurant Critic

Greene wrote about restaurants as arenas for the display of status and a part of the city's culture, the way that the dining public did. 

New Archaeology of Lost Crops Shows the Reign of Corn Wasn't Inevitable

The establishment of corn as the center of indigenous American agriculture was slow; researchers are considering how other crops could have come to dominate the American food system.

Marcus Weaver-Hightower on the Politics of School Lunch

The scholar discusses researching school lunch policies in the U.S., U.K., and Australia – and in his own household—and how nutrition policy relates to inequality, health, and learning. 

Janice Longone, Chronicler of American Food Traditions

Longone's recovery of cookbooks from immigrant and ethnic communities highlighted both diversity in American food culture and the labor of women in organizing it. 

Don’t Make Meat Cheaper. Make It Much More Expensive

by Jan Dutkiewicz and Gabriel N. Rosenberg

The Biden administration hopes to score political points by making the meat industry more competitive and lowering prices. This is ignoring the horrible costs of cheap meat. 

The Media Needs to Acknowledge the African American History in Barbecue

by Adrian Miller

As industry has reduced the labor intensity of barbecue and the media has made culinary celebrities, contemporary white chefs have supplanted the African American pitmasters who were once considered indispensable to the art.

Food Network Says it’s Dedicated to Teaching. But it Never Let Me Say ‘Slavery’ on Air

"You will not be shocked to learn that the reasons foods travel are often unsavory: enslavement, conquest, climate change and war."

Tracing the African Diaspora in Food

Jessica B. Harris's book "High on the Hog: A Culinary Journey from Africa to America" traces the African diaspora through food cultures. It will debut as a Netflix series next week. 

Junk: Mark Bittman’s History of Why We Eat Bad Food

Environmental writer Bill McKibben reviews Mark Bittman's critical look at the rise of industrial food and its human, social and environmental consquences.

Rice is a 'Frequent Visitor' at Tables in the South, A New Cookbook Digs Up the Complicated Way it Got There

Food historian and chef Michael Twitty examines the cross-cultural and transatlantic history of rice in Southern cooking and culture. 

It's not Tex-Mex: New Documentary Digs Deep into Texas Mexican Food, History

Adán Medrano's new streaming documentary focuses on the influence of indigenous culture and the labor of women and immigrants in the food culture of Texas. 

How to Recreate Your Lost Family Recipes, According to Historians and Chefs

Chefs and historians of food cultures are working to build public understanding of the history of immigration and the African diaspora through knowledge of cooking and eating practices.

Ukraine Seeks UN Cultural Status for Beloved Borscht. A Culinary Spat with Russia Could be Brewing

The latest battle between Russia and Ukraine is over which nation can claim the beet soup as its emblematic food. So far, no shots have been fired. 

5 Books About Black Food History You Should Read

In honor of Juneteenth, these five exemplary novels explore the evolution of African American cuisine.

Ben’s Chili Bowl Founder on Civil Unrest—In 1968 and Today

The iconic DC restaurant "became a safe and neutral space for people to meet when things were really hot elsewhere in the city,” says co-founder Virginia Ali.

A Rich (Very Rich) History of the Jewish Dairy Restaurant

In a new book, the writer and illustrator Ben Katchor celebrates the places that have fed New York’s craving for blintzes, matzo brei and other delicacies.

The Surprising History of the Wildlife Trade That May Have Sparked the Coronavirus

For the past 40 years, the Chinese government has promoted the wild animal trade as a form of rural economic development.