Food and Recipes

A female chicken lays eggs, regardless of whether they're fertilized by a rooster. If egg-laying doesn't harm the animal, why don't vegans fry up a few?

By Jesslyn Shields

You've been warned: Five separate studies showed that people prefer to receive gifts they specifically requested rather than being surprised.

By Melanie Radzicki McManus

Thanksgiving Day is No. 1 for cooking fire accidents, and turkey fryers are a big part of the problem. Here's why, scientifically speaking.

By Kathryn Whitbourne

You may love the burn of food that's triple Thai hot, but do your poor taste buds?

By John Donovan

It's not just in your mind – a study showed that pairing cheese with wine made wine taste better. Here's why.

By Karen Kirkpatrick

Because that's how much these exclusive Swedish crisps cost. At more than $11 each, they're the world's most expensive. The money's going to charity, but still …

By Laurie L. Dove

Pre-Columbian civilizations perfected a way of processing corn that's still important.

By Sarah Gleim

The American Civil War was a time of horror, loss and division. Plus many soldiers had to endure a vile, evaporated coffee sludge known as "The Essence of Coffee."

By Robert Lamb

We revisit the idea that a genetic variation may affect how quickly the body breaks down caffeine, affecting the frequency of a certain craving.

By Christopher Hassiotis

Come again? Here's what's really inside the typical restaurant 'wasabi'.

By Kathryn Whitbourne

That loaf of bread could help to reduce the overall cost of space travel. Really.

By Jonathan Strickland

Or is the famous flavor simply made up?

By Sarah Gleim

A new study says eating pasta may help you lose weight. We were skeptical too — until we looked at the evidence.

By Kathryn Whitbourne

Scientists have discovered a delicious way to use ultrasound to determine the best chocolate.

By Dave Roos

Where did America's love affair with 'hand-made' food come from, and where is it going?

By Melanie Radzicki McManus

A study showed that people are heavily influenced by the picture on the cake mix box when it came to guessing serving size and calories.

By Kathryn Whitbourne

How does a kudzu salad sound? Or maybe a roasted guinea pig? Both are plentiful, and both don't often appear on U.S. restaurant menus. Should they?

By Sarah Gleim

Were dozens of restaurant owners in China wasting time trying to get diners to ride General Tso's white horse ? What would really happen if you ate opium-laced food?

By Chris Opfer

Bootlegging alcohol? Sure, we've heard of that, but butter substitutes?

By Candace Gibson

Pass the cellulose! A Norwegian company is using renewable logging waste to replace saturated fat in hot dogs. It could help your health and the planet.

By Maria Trimarchi

Is determining it as simple as adding up the calories in the ingredients and dividing them by the number of servings? Or does the cooking (or even the digestive process) change the final calorie count?

By Melanie Radzicki McManus

Egg in your coffee? It may sound odd, but it’s part of an old but enduring method of brewing that devotees say yields a better cup of joe.

By Maria Trimarchi

What happens when you substitute a blender and a molecular gastronomy ingredient for dairy and steam?

By Sarah Gleim

Many diet and health trends today focus on wheat — how much, how little, what kind. Are there really differences between different types of wheat? Gluten, protein — what does it all mean?

By Bambi Turner

They take leftovers from frigid to sizzling in minutes. But is the microwave oven too good to be true? Some say it takes more than the flavor out of your food.

By Colleen Cancio