57 Items Tagged

Food AS Medicine

Fish mint is a cherished herb in some parts of the world, but a damaging invasive species in others.

Open Your Mind to This Polarizing Invasive Herb

Fish mint’s culinary applications are vast; which is good, because it’s taking over North America.

Andrew Coletti July 22, 2024

Jambú, also known as the "buzz button," adds a numbing note to soup and liquor in the Brazilian Amazon.

A Tongue-Tingling Tour of Mouth-Numbing Spices

Is "electrifying" the sixth human taste?

Sam Lin-Sommer January 9, 2023

An herbal hotpot with black chicken and turtle.

Qin Shan Zhai

Every dish at this restaurant claims to have a health benefit.

Belgrade, Serbia

Gavez Klub

Tucked in an urban forest, this restaurant specializes in homemade, healing rakijas.

Chios Mastiha

Residents of this Greek island distill mastic sap, the "tears of Chios," into a piney-sweet liqueur.

Polkagris

A small town is home to a beloved candy invented by one of Sweden's first female entrepreneurs.

Riga Black Balsam

There's a legend that this Latvian herbal liqueur saved an ailing Catherine the Great.

Pine Cone Preserves

Soft young cones make a sweet jam believed to have health benefits in Russia and Georgia.

Picking the Mohammadi rose in Qamsar.

Kashan Rose Water Festival

Iran’s annual celebration of its signature flower makes this desert region fragrant.

Canarian Palm “Honey”

On one small island, this golden liquid is both a local delicacy and traditional medicine.

Vernors Ginger Soda

The Detroit favorite is one of the oldest sodas in the United States.

Duck Blood and Vermicelli Soup

Congealed and sliced, the ferric addition is known for its purported health benefits.

Moroccan Snails

The fragrant, intricately spiced street food is a medina specialty.

This sticky residue is used by Belizeans as an adhesive, and is often compared to glue.

Cojones de Caballo

Belizeans use this bulbous fruit to kill mosquito-borne parasites.

A bowl of sweet soup, with hasma.

Hasma

This pricey dessert is made from frogs' fallopian tubes.

Posset pot, London, England, probably 1661.

Posset

Consisting of spiced, curdled milk and lots of alcohol, this boozy bedtime drink dates back to the Middle Ages.

Licorice root for sale at a Spanish market.

Licorice Root

The washed and dried root of the licorice plant was once a popular natural “candy.”

An array of licorice allsorts, including Pontefract cakes, at the festival.

Pontefract Liquorice Festival

At this annual event, the bitter sweet enhances everything from sausages to pies to clothing.