Agnolotti, bucatini and the innovative new ‘cascatelli’ – a brief history of pasta shapes
The world’s newest ‘little waterfall’ shape is designed to hold a lot of sauce and be easily stabbed with a fork.
Author Archives: Jeffrey Miller
The rise and fall of Tab – after surviving the sweetener scares, the iconic diet soda gets canned
While it never regained its lofty status as the top diet soda, loyal Tab fans kept the brand alive.
Love avocados? Thank the toxodon
The avocado survived ecological and cultural close calls that could have relegated it to extinction, but it persevered and prospered.
An ode to mac and cheese, the poster child for processed food
We love to bad-mouth processed foods – usually while our mouths are full of it. It’s also played an important role in kitchen science, wars and women’s liberation.
What every new baker should know about the yeast around us
With people confined to their homes, there is more interest in home-baked bread than ever before. And that means a lot of people are making friends with yeast for the first time.
Why does pizza taste so good?
There’s a reason why pizza is so popular. Humans are drawn to foods that are fatty and sweet and rich and complex. Pizza has all of these components.
3 questions about vodka, answered
Between 1950 and 1975, vodka went from being a statistical blip to America’s best selling spirit.
The Prohibition-era origins of the modern craft cocktail movement
One hundred years ago, on Jan. 16, 1919, Nebraska became the 36th of the country’s 48 states to ratify the 18th Amendment. Prohibition may be long dead, but the speakeasies and cocktails it spawned are still with us.
Three questions about tequila, answered
Debunking some myths and exploring some little-known aspects of the Mexican spirit that’s become a global phenomenon
A brief history of the s’more, America’s favorite campfire snack
Huddling around a campfire and eating gooey marshmallows and warm chocolate sandwiched between two graham crackers may feel like primeval traditions. But every part of the process is a product of the Industrial Revolution.