Food Science

Stanleya pinnata, or "prince's plume," takes up large amounts of selenium from the soil.

About One Billion People Are Deficient in Selenium. Genetic Engineering Could Change That

Hoping to stave off a global health crisis, scientists are breeding a new generation of crops that suck the mineral, which helps the thyroid and immune system, from soil

Current experiments are focused on tomatoes, lettuce and other small-scale crops, with hopes to extend to high-calorie crops like grains and sweet potatoes in the future. 

Can Electro-Agriculture Revolutionize the Way We Grow Food?

A new technology is pushing the boundaries of farming by using electricity to grow crops without photosynthesis

Researchers say they found a way to perfectly boil eggs that accounts for the different temperature needs of the white and the yolk.

Scientists Say They've Found the Perfect Way to Boil an Egg. It Takes 32 Minutes and Lots of Attention

The team used computer models of computational fluid dynamics, then tested out the painstaking—yet reportedly delicious—recipe for themselves

SATED can cook a perfectly crisp pizza in a low- to no-gravity environment.

Could This Space Oven Allow Astronauts to Finally Cook in Space?

An aerospace engineer has invented an appliance that can whip up quiches, pizzas and more in a zero-gravity environment

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How to Use Renaissance Paintings to Improve the Farming of Tomorrow

An arboreal archaeologist roots around the Italian countryside and in centuries-old frescoes for a cornucopia of fruits long forgotten—but still viable to grow and consume

The U.S. surgeon general wants updated warning labels on alcoholic beverages that highlight the increased risk of cancer tied to drinking alcohol.

Alcohol Consumption Raises the Risk of Seven Cancers, Says U.S. Surgeon General in a New Health Advisory

The "Nation's Doctor" has called for a cancer warning label on alcoholic beverages and suggests the recommended limits for alcohol consumption should be reassessed

A 1951 ad. The FDA informed Kraft in 2002 it could no longer market Velveeta as a cheese. 

The Gooey Goodness of Velveeta Was a Smash Hit From Its Very Cheesy Start

How Emil Frey whipped up a smooth dairy sensation after two years of tinkering

The plant-based egg substitutes available today are less than perfect. Food scientists are working hard to improve them — and, maybe, make them better tasting and more nutritious than the real thing.

Scientists Are Trying to Crack the Recipe for the Perfect Plant-Based Eggs

With new ingredients and processes, the next generation of substitutes will be not just more egg-like, but potentially more nutritious

Divers recovered rye seeds from the James R. Bentley shipwreck in Lake Huron.

Scientists Are Trying to Make Whiskey Using Rye Seeds That Were Submerged in a Lake Huron Shipwreck for Nearly 150 Years

Divers, distillers and researchers recently recovered grain from the "James R. Bentley," a wooden schooner that sank during a storm in 1878

Itty-bitty insects have an outsized impact on human culture.

From Silk Moths to Fruit Flies, These Five Insects Have Changed the World

It’s easy to write bugs off as pests, but consider the ways in which they have positively impacted our lives

The chunks of cheese were found alongside ancient mummies in China in 2003.

The World's Oldest Cheese Was Buried in a Chinese Tomb 3,600 Years Ago. Now, Scientists Have Sequenced Its DNA

New research has revealed that the mysterious white substance found alongside three ancient mummies was once a soft cheese called kefir

Human flesh might resemble this nice beef fillet.

What Does Human Flesh Taste Like? The Answer Depends on Who You Ask

Cannibals have weighed in with different opinions. Some say it tastes like pork, while others say like veal—and still others say like nothing else

Percebes are generally under two inches long, with a fleshy body and pieces of shell that lead to a point on one end. Let's be honest, they look like dinosaur toes.

Why Are Fishermen Braving Dangerous Waters to Harvest Bizarre-Looking Sea Creatures? They're Delicious

Gooseneck barnacles are tasty, but expensive, given the skill and guts it takes to gather them from slick rocks slammed by waves

Microwaves need to be cleaned regularly, just like other kitchen surfaces.

Your Microwave Is Teeming With Bacteria, Study Suggests

Researchers found thriving communities of microbes in microwave ovens used in home kitchens, shared spaces and laboratories

Museum officials hope to pass along cheesemaking traditions to younger generations.

You Can Now Visit France's First-Ever Cheese Museum

The Musée du Fromage in Paris hosts tastings and teaches visitors about traditional cheesemaking practices

Crickets, beetles and moths are just some of the insects recently approved for human consumption by the Singapore government.

Singapore Approves 16 Insect Species for Human Consumption

The move comes amid broader efforts to improve food security and diversify food sources

The grape family had a complex, tumultuous history of extinction and dispersal in Central and South America.

Did the Extinction of the Dinosaurs Pave the Way for Grapes?

Newly discovered fossils in South America hint at the evolution and proliferation of grapes around the world

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Keeping the Spirit of Maine’s Wild Blueberry Harvest Alive

In the far reaches of New England, an unusual convergence of farmworkers renews an ancient and increasingly threatened agricultural practice

McDonnell's "Sinai Sour" (not pictured) is similar to a gose, a German beer style with a tart, slightly salty taste.

This Man Brewed Beer Using 3,000-Year-Old Yeast and a Recipe From an Ancient Egyptian Papyrus

Utah homebrewer Dylan McDonnell created his 'Sinai Sour' in his backyard

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How Americans Got Hooked on Counting Calories More Than a Century Ago

A food history writer and an influential podcast host tell us how our thinking about health and body weight has—and hasn’t—evolved ever since Dr. Lulu Hunt Peters took the nation by storm

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