Inventing Pad Thai
A government campaign transformed a Chinese-inspired noodle dish into a symbol of Thailand's national identity.
How the Himalayan Blackberry Took Over the Pacific Northwest
The tangled history of an invasive plant and a scientist’s troubling quest to engineer a more efficient natural world.
Cucumber: The Plant That Moves More than You Think
Be it with its curling tendrils or because of its desirable properties, the cucumber is defined by motion: vertical, horizontal, geographical, and digital.
![A Chelsea Pensioner, wearing a sprig of orange blossom [?] in his buttonhole, sipping a dish of tea. Engraving by J. Jenkins after M. W. Sharp, 1840](https://daily.jstor.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/consuming_the_empire_alt_1050x700-600x400.jpg)
Consuming the Empire
Sugar, tea, and tobacco tied British daily life to empire, turning global exploitation into ordinary habits of consumption.
Potluck Nation
Food in America is a living archive of exchange and adaptation, where “ethnic” cuisines blend and redefine what national identity tastes like.
Thanksgiving Stories
Turkey or Tofurkey? Stuffing or dressing? Whatever the controversy, these Thanksgiving stories will slake your appetite!
Shucking the Past: Can Oysters Thrive Again?
Dredging and pollution devastated the once-bountiful reefs. Careful science may help bring them back.
The Macronutrients of the Three Sisters System
If the intercropping of beans, squash, and corn produces smaller yields, why did the the Haudenosaunee prefer the Three Sisters system?
The Pomegranate in History and Myth
Used heavily in early medicine and at times for opposing aims, the pomegranate shows a marked versatility in its cultural connotations and connections.
Creating a Bengali Cuisine
A rising middle class built up the notion of a distinct Bengali way of eating that claimed ancient origins while also incorporating European cooking styles.