Food Tales

To understand food and its cultural and social significance, it is often necessary to go beyond recipes and cooking tips. This section includes a comprehensive guide on ramen broth, a history of mac and cheese, a dive into the (mostly Western) misconception that sate / satay is peanut sauce and how chocolate evolved to become the (second?) most popular Valentine's Day gift.

How do you prefer your trail mix: more nuts, seeds or fruits?

I prefer more fruit — so much more fruit that my daughter, Sam, says my trail mix looks like fruit salad. I like the sweetness laced with tang. I like saltiness too so I …

What’s in your salad bowl today?

If the main dish is all-meat or all-seafood, we try to prepare a vegetable side dish for a more balanced meal. We’re not a hundred per cent successful. There are …

Microgreens and a side dish of green beans

El Niño. Long hot and dry season; delayed and short rainy season. We’ve been through it so many times that one would think we should be used to it by now. But it gets …

A tale about rice and rice cookers

In episode two of "A Nation of Broth", a Korean documentary on Netflix, the hosts went in search of soups that go well with rice. Two of the three hosts mixed rice into …

Iced rose “tea” is the perfect summer drink

An infusion made with dried flower buds, rose “tea” is a delightfully refreshing herbal brew with an unmistakable floral scent and flavor. It’s good hot or cold, and it’s …

Was Caesar salad named after the Roman dictator?

Where did the salad and the dressing get its name? Does Caesar salad contain anchovies? How to you make Caesar salad dressing? Read on for the iconic salad's history and …