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Gastro Obscura
A feral pig messes with the nest of a white-capped albatross on Auckland Island.

The Livestock Living at the End of the World

Things get hairy when you plop pigs on a subantarctic island.

BY Abbey Perreault
A man with a pack camel in central Australia, 1926.

Australia's Growing Camel Meat Trade Reveals a Hidden History of Early Muslim Migrants

Afghan cameleers helped settle Australia's interior.

BY Reina Gattuso

The Coolest Coffee Maker of the 19th Century Was a Tabletop Train

These Dairy Devils Are Making Cheese From Celebrities' Bacteria

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Food & More

Ingredients & Condiments

Brisbane Customs House Mushrooms

The basement of a 19th-century government building provides peak conditions for delicious fungi.
Place

Fruit and Spice Park

Found: Garden of Eden in Miami-Dade County, Florida.
Prepared Foods

Mosbolletjies

These buns from South Africa's Cape Winelands are traditionally leavened with the must used to make wine.
Place

Lhasa Fast Food

A hidey-hole sandwiched between cellphone, DVD, and jewelry stores features Tibetan delights.
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Stories

Dr. Katja Rebolj and Peter Zajc pick invasive Himalayan balsam, which can only be eaten in small quantities, and which they use only occasionally.

The Intrepid Herb Hunters Who Scour Alpine Mountains and Meadows for Top Chefs

Slovenia's most celebrated restaurants rely on their foraging.
BY Noah Charney
The torchlight turns the village of Novacella into a storybook scene.

Italian Vineyards Are Glowing From the Light of Hundreds of Torches

It's a beautiful, if imperfect, antidote to crop-damaging cold.
BY Matthew Taub
In the 1790 painting <em>Bhang Eaters Before Two Huts</em>, by Pemji, a group of men mix and consume bhang.

This British Colonial Report Offers a Rare Glimpse Into India's Historic Cannabis Cuisine

And a description of some very stoned canines.
BY Reina Gattuso
The new Brown Betty is much more stackable.

Britain's Iconic Brown Betty Teapot Gets a Redesign

A new version of the humble teapot reintroduces features from the past.
BY Frances Ambler
Kōlam festivals are one of the few remaining opportunities to showcase this slowly fading tradition.

How an Ancient Indian Art Utilizes Mathematics, Mythology, and Rice

Computer scientists have studied these “pictorial prayers.”
BY Rohini Chaki
A section of the Great Wall, in Yanqing County, contains mortar made with blood.

Ancient Chinese Buildings Are Held Together With Rice, Sugar, and Blood

Edible additives in mortar served both practical and philosophical purposes.
BY Claire Voon
Strawberries, illustrated by Deborah G. Passmore.
Why the USDA Hired Artists to Paint Thousands of Fruits

Researchers and a Twitter bot use them today.

BY Rohini Chaki