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A girl receives groceries—including upscale cheese and Tuscan pasta—from a Caritas volunteer in Chianciano, Italy.

With Restaurants Closed, Tuscany’s Finest Fare Is Going to Food Banks

Families in need are receiving prosciutto and Pecorino di Pienza.

BY Federico Formica

Scientists Need Your Sourdough to Solve a Microbial Mystery

For North Carolina researchers, every starter is more data.

BY Hannah Thomasy

7 Spectacular Breads to Make Once You’ve Mastered the Frog Loaf

How the Influenza Pandemic Popularized Lemons

The Gastro Obscura Newsletter

Updates from Gastro Obscura, delivered twice a week.

Food & More

Come on in!
Place

Sister Louisa's Church of the Living Room & Ping Pong Emporium

A local dive where religious kitsch, Southern identity, and queer culture collide.
A canning machine.
Place

Norwegian Canning Museum

A former factory now pays tribute to a local industry fueled by sardines.
A bowl of chitlins.
Prepared Foods

Chitlins

These entrails identified safe venues for African-American performers during the Jim Crow era.
Prepared Foods

Hoppin' John

This New Year's luck-bringer has a controversial contemporary taste.
See All Food & Drink

Stories

Lavada Nahon cooking a historical dinner using a jambless fireplace, a Dutch-style hearth prominent in the 17th century.

Meet the New York State Parks Interpreter Who Cooks to Uncover the Past

As a culinary historian, Lavada Nahon is working to bring the state's African American history to light.
BY Vonnie Williams
The debate over which is Britain’s oldest pub is fueled by the impossibility of a definitive ruling.

How the Black Death Gave Rise to British Pub Culture

For centuries-old bars, a pandemic is nothing new.
BY Richard Collett
The dawa is Kenya's answer to the caipirinha.

11 Cocktails From Around the World That You Can Make at Home

You can't travel, but you could probably use a drink.
BY Luke Fater
Plastic bottles are a must to avoid potentially dangerous explosions.

Under Pandemic Prohibition, South Africans Resort to Pineapples

A strict lockdown has meant a spike in homebrewing.
BY Nick Dall
Activists, farmers, and indigenous groups around the world have jointed together to protest corporate seed patents.

How to Plant a Home Garden and 'Free the Seed'

By saving and swapping seeds, you can preserve agricultural heritage.
BY Reina Gattuso
Gods and spirits are offered flowers, food, and Fanta.

Thailand’s Spirits Have a Taste for Red Fanta

The ruby-red drink is a mainstay at spirit houses and shrines.
BY Chawadee Nualkhair
Green America estimates that over the next 10 years, their 2,500 registered climate victory gardens will have a massive greenhouse gas off-setting effect.
These 7 Companies Ship Unique Seeds for Your Quarantine Garden

Beat the rush by turning to small, local suppliers—and your neighbors.

BY Reina Gattuso