Food and Recipes

Here is a place for you to play with your food -- literally: enjoy, have fun with and celebrate food -- but don't worry, we'll still help you get dinner on the table every night.

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People have always had a thing for sparkling water, but it wasn't easy to reproduce the effervescence found naturally in some springs. Why was it so hard to create carbonated water and how did the product gave birth to the soda fountain?

By Dave Roos

With its extended expiration date and super portability, it's no wonder people have been relying on dehydrated food for centuries. But is it any healthier for us?

By Clint Pumphrey

Stuffed full of vitamins and minerals — not to mention fats, carbs and proteins — Soylent can replace all those meals you're tired of making. But would you want it to?

By Jeff Harder

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Junk food is a miracle of edible engineering. Food scientists have figured out how to trick our brains into eating all that salt, sugar and fat without thinking about the calories. How do they do it? While you're learning, I'll get some Ding Dongs.

By Dave Roos

Salt and MSG don't just make things taste saltier – they brighten the flavors of almost any food. But how can the same ingredient make chocolate taste sweeter, take the bitterness out of grapefruit and make cream soup taste thicker?

By Dave Roos

If you'd love to eat ice cream all day, maybe you can put that desire to work as a food taster. Or maybe not. The job requires more than a love of eating, and could involve sampling dog food.

By Melanie Radzicki McManus

Figuring out how many people a farmer's work feeds is more complicated than you may think. Agriculture has many variables that affect farm output – what are they?

By Maria Trimarchi

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Some foods are naturally antibiotic; others have antibiotics thrust upon them. Why is one good and the other bad – and what are some alternatives?

By Alia Hoyt

Cancer has a lot of myths about potential food cures and causes. Learn more about cancer food myths in this video from HowStuffWorks.

Americans tend to think of their Puritan forebears as abstemious killjoys. But the truth is, they drank far more liquor than Americans of today. What other alcohol-related fact bubbles can we burst for you?

By Patrick J. Kiger

We're used to looking at the expiration date for milk but what about beer? While some brands proudly display their beers' "date of birth," others hide it with some cryptic codes. Does the date affect the taste?

By Laurie L. Dove

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If bananas are your favorite fruit, you may soon pick up a bunch that just seems ... different somehow. The culprit: a fungus that's killing the Cavendish.

By Laurie L. Dove

As the old saying goes, appearances can be deceiving. Most of us use price, the label on the bottle and vintage to prejudge a wine's quality. But do expensive wines actually taste better, or is it all just sour grapes?

By Laurie L. Dove

If beer commercials are accurate, you can knock back plenty of brewskis without worrying about weight gain. Yet the existence of beer bellies proves otherwise.

By Laurie L. Dove

Wine lovers are sometimes called snobby, in part because they seem to speak a language of their own. Yet, their beloved beverage likely had some humble beginnings.

By Laurie L. Dove

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If fears of botulism have scared you away from home canning, you may also be hesitant to whip up your own fermented cabbage. Is it worth the worry?

By Debra Ronca

When it comes to certain foods, self-control is a near impossibility. You can eat and eat (and eat) without ever feeling full. And you have your brain to blame.

By Debra Ronca

When a food gets the sweet-to-salty ratio just right, it's quite the recipe for pleasure. Salted caramel is one flavor that hits all the right taste buds. Leave it to a Frenchman to create the perfect sweet.

By Debra Ronca

The marriage of salty and sweet is one that shouldn't work but magically does. Our tongues recognize flavors for a reason -- and when it comes to sweet and salty, biology is hard at work.

By Debra Ronca

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Healthy food fads come and go. Smoothies, however, stand the test of time. The latest variation for 2014? One you don't sip with a straw.

By Debra Ronca

The next time you find yourself on the couch with your hand in an empty bag of chips, blame science. Researchers study exactly what it takes to keep you munching.

By Debra Ronca

From intense craving to shame over loss of control — this is the life of the chocoholic. Is the term chocoholic just a joke, or does science say there's something to it?

By Debra Ronca

If you can get over the blobby skin of bacteria on top of it, many people say that kombucha does the body good. Does home-brewed versus store-bought make a difference?

By Debra Ronca

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Kids are more likely to eat food they've helped to prepare. And they love pizza and pasta. With that in mind, we've come up with five Italian-inspired dishes that even the littlest ones can have a hand in making.

By Laurie L. Dove

Panna cotta may seem like a fancy dessert, but it's actually quite simple to make. And with these five tips, your Italian desserts will come out just right -- every time.

By Maria Trimarchi