Portside

Za’atar’s cultivation, funded by the Israeli government, attempts to use the herb to control the movements of the Palestinian population and the plant itself. The herb shapes, narrates, and anchors identity and political dynamics of the region.

When food culture became pop culture, a new national persona was born. We regret to inform you, it’s probably you.

The rise of cafés and tea houses in post-French Revolution Paris popularized the concept of single-portioned desserts as did France's powerful influence on culinary customs.

Historian William H. McNeill contends that the potato fundamentally changed world history. European armies marched on what they foraged locally even if it meant peasants starved to death as a result.

The story of boiled peanuts is as complex, fraught, and global as the South itself. To acknowledge the complexity, and challenges, of their history is to acknowledge the ingenuity of the people who worked to preserve their culinary heritage.

Lemonade became an emblem of the temperance movement. Lucy Webb Hayes, First Lady from 1877 to 1881, bore the nickname “Lemonade Lucy” for her refusal to serve alcohol in the White House.

The etymologies of food words are a path through the history of how we eat and cook.

Thomas Downing’s Oyster House opened in 1825 in the heart of the financial district. Not only did Downing turn oysters into a delicacy, but he was also the first to dish out fine dining.

Food was a weapon of control by slaveholders, most often used as a mechanism for domination and exploitation. The story of African American food has also been a story about self-determination and ownership.

Food is complicated. That creation you love from “The Great British Baking Show? It’s been the subject of arguments over culture, identity and copyright.