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Food & Kitchen Secrets

108 curious, true stories.

Illustration of a jar of golden honey with a wooden honey dipperFood & Kitchen SecretsThat Old Jar of Honey in Your Pantry Is Probably Still Fine. Bees Made Sure of ItIllustration of popcorn kernels bursting out of a vintage metal pot on a stoveFood & Kitchen SecretsEvery Popcorn Kernel Is a Tiny Pressure Cooker, and the Leftover Duds Have a Funny NameIllustration of bananas and fresh strawberries on a rustic wooden tableFood & Kitchen SecretsBotanically, a Banana Is a Berry and a Strawberry Isn't. The Rule Behind It Is SimpleIllustration of a baking tray of fresh chocolate chip cookies cooling on a kitchen counterFood & Kitchen SecretsChocolate Chip Cookies Are Called a Happy Accident. Their Inventor Told a Different Story
Illustration of a bright red watermelon slice sprinkled with salt on a checkered picnic tableFood & Kitchen SecretsSalt on a Sweet Watermelon Sounds Odd. There's Real Science Behind the HabitIllustration of a loaf of bread on a wooden cutting boardFood & Kitchen SecretsStale Bread Isn't Just Dried Out. And the Fridge Makes It Worse, Not Better
A classic roast beef sandwich on a plate on a wooden table in an old English tavernFood & Kitchen SecretsThe Sandwich Is Named After a Real Man, and the Story Behind It Is Still DebatedIllustration of a vintage glass ketchup bottle on a classic diner counterFood & Kitchen SecretsThe First Ketchups Had No Tomatoes. They Were Made With Mushrooms, Oysters, and Walnuts
Illustration of apples bobbing in a tub of waterFood & Kitchen SecretsDrop an Apple in a Tub of Water and It Bobs Right Back Up. Here's the ReasonIllustration of a jar of peanut butter on a vintage pantry shelfFood & Kitchen SecretsPeanut Butter Was Once a Fancy Health Food. Its First Fans Weren't KidsIllustration of a steaming cup of coffee on a kitchen table with morning sunlight coming through the windowFood & Kitchen SecretsMorning Coffee Sends Some People Running Within Minutes. Caffeine May Not Be WhyIllustration of ripe red tomatoes hanging on a green vine in summer sunFood & Kitchen SecretsThe Tomato Was Never Banned. But It Did End Up in Front of the Supreme Court
Illustration of a wheel of Swiss cheese with large round holesFood & Kitchen SecretsSwiss Cheese Holes Have Been Getting Smaller. Researchers Traced It to a Barnyard ClueA basket of golden, crispy potato chips on a wooden tableFood & Kitchen SecretsThe Famous Story Says a Fed-Up Cook Invented Potato Chips. The Recipe Is OlderIllustration of a fresh pineapple sliced into golden rings on a white plateFood & Kitchen SecretsFresh Pineapple Leaves Your Mouth Tingling. The Fruit Is Doing Something SneakyIllustration of a vintage glass bowl of vanilla ice cream on an old wooden tableFood & Kitchen SecretsGeorge Washington Spent About $200 on Ice Cream in One Summer. Here's Why It Cost So Much
Illustration of purple, yellow, and orange carrots laid side by side on a wooden tableFood & Kitchen SecretsEarly Carrots Came in Purple and Yellow. The Orange Ones Have a Surprisingly Dutch StoryIllustration of a fortune cookie with a paper slipFood & Kitchen SecretsThe Fortune Cookie Is a Staple of Chinese Restaurants. Its Roots Lead Somewhere ElseA steaming bowl of chicken noodle soup on a wooden table beside a rainy windowFood & Kitchen SecretsThe First Restaurants in Paris Didn't Serve Fancy Meals. They Served SoupIllustration of a vintage can of luncheon meat with soldiersFood & Kitchen SecretsSoviet Leader Khrushchev Said His Army Couldn't Have Been Fed Without One American Can
Illustration of a golden roasted turkey on a festive holiday tableFood & Kitchen SecretsThe Pilgrims' 1621 Feast Was Probably Very Different From Your Thanksgiving TableIllustration of a bowl of golden corn flakes with milk on a breakfast tableFood & Kitchen SecretsCorn Flakes Began With a Batch of Dough Someone Forgot About, and Two Brothers Who FeudedIllustration of a bowl full of bright red chili peppersFood & Kitchen SecretsYour Nose Runs After a Spicy Bite Even Though It Never Touched the FoodIllustration of red saffron threads piled in a small ceramic bowlFood & Kitchen SecretsIt Takes About 150,000 Flowers to Make Just Over 2 Pounds of This Spice
Illustration of an open carton holding a dozen brown and white eggs on a kitchen counterFood & Kitchen SecretsWe Count Almost Everything by Tens. So Why Do Eggs Still Come in Twelves?Illustration of a vintage microwave oven on a kitchen counterFood & Kitchen SecretsAn Engineer Found a Gooey Mess in His Pocket in 1945. It Changed Kitchens ForeverA fresh bunch of green cilantro on a wooden cutting boardFood & Kitchen SecretsSome People Love Cilantro and Others Say It Tastes Like Soap. Both May Be RightIllustration of a hot dog stand at a busy ballparkFood & Kitchen SecretsThe Hot Dog Bun May Have Been Invented Because Customers Kept Walking Off With Gloves
Illustration of ripe bananas with brown spotsFood & Kitchen SecretsYour Bananas Go From Green to Spotted in Days. A Gas They Make Themselves Is Behind ItIllustration of a colorful molded Jell-O dessert on a plateFood & Kitchen SecretsJell-O Was a Hard Sell at First. Then Its Owner Tried a Bold New Sales TrickIllustration of a ball of bread dough rising in a ceramic bowl under a checkered kitchen clothFood & Kitchen SecretsEvery Loaf of Bread Is Puffed Up by Billions of Tiny Living HelpersIllustration of a golden lattice-top apple pie cooling on a sunny windowsillFood & Kitchen Secrets"As American as Apple Pie" Has a Funny Twist. The Recipe Is Centuries Older Than America
Illustration of a sprig of fresh mint in a glass of waterFood & Kitchen SecretsMint Makes Your Mouth Feel Icy, but Its Temperature Never Changes. Your Nerves Are FooledA pile of peanuts in their shells on a rustic surfaceFood & Kitchen SecretsPeanuts Have Nut in the Name, but Botanists Put Them in the Pea FamilyIllustration of a brown paper bag holding avocados and a ripe yellow bananaFood & Kitchen SecretsPut a Banana Next to a Hard Avocado and Something Invisible Starts WorkingIllustration of a Caesar salad of romaine and croutons being tossed tableside in a vintage restaurantFood & Kitchen SecretsThe Caesar Salad Has Nothing to Do With Rome. It Was Born on a Busy Fourth of July
Illustration of a pantry shelf neatly stocked with rows of canned goodsFood & Kitchen SecretsCans From an 1865 Shipwreck Were Opened 109 Years Later. Testers Were SurprisedIllustration of a vintage Coca-Cola bottleFood & Kitchen SecretsCoca-Cola's Secret Formula Sits in a Vault in Atlanta, and Its Guardians Are Secret TooA rich slice of chocolate layer cake on a plate with a fork beside itFood & Kitchen SecretsYou're Too Full for Another Bite of Dinner, Yet There's Always Room for Cake. Here's WhyIllustration of a plate of glazed doughnutsFood & Kitchen SecretsA 16-Year-Old Sailor Claimed He Invented the Doughnut Hole With a Pepper Box at Sea
Illustration of a hand sprinkling a pinch of salt over a plated dishFood & Kitchen SecretsYour Tongue Has a Built-In Salt Detector. A Little Feels Delicious, Too Much Does NotIllustration of a plate of spaghetti with tomato sauce on a checkered tableclothFood & Kitchen SecretsA Founding Father Served Macaroni at the White House, and One Guest Wasn't ImpressedIllustration of a tall glass of milk on a wooden farm tableFood & Kitchen SecretsMilk Is Mostly Water, So Why Isn't It Clear? Skim Milk Holds a Colorful ClueIllustration of a rustic cheese platter with bread and wine on a wooden tableFood & Kitchen SecretsThis Italian Cheese Is Banned in the U.S. Its Secret Ingredient Is Still Wriggling
Illustration of a slice of buttered toast tumbling through the air above a kitchen floorFood & Kitchen SecretsDropped Toast Seems to Land Butter-Side Down Every Time. A Physicist CheckedIllustration of a soft pretzel on a bakery shelfFood & Kitchen SecretsThe Pretzel's Famous Twist May Be a Pair of Folded Arms. The Legend Goes Back CenturiesWorkers in waders harvesting a flooded cranberry bog covered with floating red berriesFood & Kitchen SecretsCranberries Don't Grow Underwater. So Why Are Their Fields Flooded at Harvest?Illustration of a grilled deli sandwich stacked with corned beef and melted cheeseFood & Kitchen SecretsTwo Cities Claim the Reuben Sandwich, and One Story Starts at a Late-Night Poker Game
Illustration of garlic bulbs on a kitchen counterFood & Kitchen SecretsGarlic Was Hailed as a Cure-All for Centuries. Modern Studies Tell a Humbler StoryIllustration of a Margherita pizza with tomato, mozzarella and fresh basilFood & Kitchen SecretsThe Famous Story of a Pizza Made for an Italian Queen Has a Few Holes in ItIllustration of metal buckets hanging on maple tree trunks in a snowy winter forestFood & Kitchen SecretsIt Can Take About 40 Gallons of Tree Sap to Make Just One Gallon of Maple SyrupIllustration of a tall glass of chocolate milk on a kitchen tableFood & Kitchen SecretsA Famous Doctor Gets Credit for Inventing Chocolate Milk. The Real Story Starts Elsewhere
Illustration of a dark fruitcake wrapped in paper and tied with stringFood & Kitchen SecretsA Fruitcake Found in Antarctica Was 106 Years Old and Still Looked Almost EdibleA stack of chocolate sandwich cookies next to a glass of milkFood & Kitchen SecretsThe Oreo Feels Like It Never Changes. Its Name, Design, and Filling Say OtherwiseIllustration of a woven basket overflowing with shiny red applesFood & Kitchen SecretsThe Original Apple-a-Day Saying Was About Bedtime, and It Was Rather CheekyIllustration of a china teapot beside a cup with tea bags and their paper tagsFood & Kitchen SecretsThe Famous Tale Says Tea Bags Were a Happy Accident. Two Milwaukee Women Got There First
Illustration of a beekeeper holding up a wooden frame dripping with golden honeycombFood & Kitchen SecretsHoney Is Famous as the Only Food Insects Make for Us. The List Is Actually LongerIllustration of a classic diner hamburgerFood & Kitchen SecretsSeveral Americans Swore They Invented the Hamburger. The Truth Is Still Up for GrabsAn airline meal tray with a covered entree and small sides on a seat-back table beside a windowFood & Kitchen SecretsAirline Food Isn't Always the Problem. At 35,000 Feet, Your Taste Buds ChangeIllustration of a vintage sauce bottleFood & Kitchen SecretsLegend Says the First Batch of Worcestershire Sauce Was Abandoned in a Basement
Illustration of a red-and-white bucket of popcorn at a movie theaterFood & Kitchen SecretsMovie Theaters Once Wanted Nothing to Do With Popcorn. Then Hard Times HitIllustration of golden cream-filled snack cakes arranged on a white plateFood & Kitchen SecretsThe Original Twinkie Had a Different Filling, and World War II Changed It for GoodIllustration of a bunch of firm green bananas on a kitchen counterFood & Kitchen SecretsA Slightly Green Banana Isn't Just Unripe. Its Starch Takes a Detour Through Your BodyIllustration of red-and-white candy canes hanging on a decorated Christmas treeFood & Kitchen SecretsStriped Peppermint Candy Showed Up Before the Candy Cane Did. Here's How They Met
Illustration of a frosted layer birthday cake with lit candles glowing on a kitchen tableFood & Kitchen SecretsIn 1746, a German Count Had a Birthday Cake as Big as an Oven. It Started SomethingIllustration of a vintage refrigerator in a 1950s kitchenFood & Kitchen SecretsIce Cream Was Once a Treat You Had to Travel For. Then the Fridge Came HomeNeat stacks of white sugar cubes arranged on an antique silver trayFood & Kitchen SecretsThe Sugar in Your Pantry Was Once a Luxury So Valuable It Reshaped the WorldIllustration of grilled ears of corn on a plate at a summer picnicFood & Kitchen SecretsCorn on the Cob Began as a Scrawny Wild Grass That Looked Nothing Like Corn
Illustration of a pumpkin patch in autumnFood & Kitchen SecretsYour Jack-o'-Lantern Is Technically a Fruit. A Very Specific Kind, TooIllustration of a loaf of sliced bread in vintage wax paper packagingFood & Kitchen SecretsSliced Bread Was So Beloved That a Wartime Ban Lasted Less Than Two MonthsIllustration of a cup of coffee on a wooden table inside a dimly lit old-fashioned coffeehouseFood & Kitchen SecretsKings, Sultans, and Religious Courts All Tried to Ban Coffee. None of Them WonIllustration of a bubbling green bean casserole with crispy onions on a holiday tableFood & Kitchen SecretsMillions of Families Serve It Every Thanksgiving. It Started as a Quick Assignment in 1955
Illustration of bright yellow lemon slices on a wooden cutting boardFood & Kitchen SecretsOne Bite of Lemon Scrunches Your Whole Face. Two Separate Tricks Are at WorkMarshmallows toasting on sticks over a glowing campfire at nightFood & Kitchen SecretsThe S'more Got Its Name From What Kids Kept Asking For Around the CampfireIllustration of scattered rice grains on old stone church steps after a weddingFood & Kitchen SecretsGuests Showered Newlyweds With Rice for Generations. Then a Bird Myth Changed EverythingIllustration of a vintage red and white soup can label on a kitchen shelfFood & Kitchen SecretsCanned Soup Sailed to the Arctic Long Before Your Pantry. Opening It Took a Hammer
Illustration of a white bowl filled with fresh blueberries with a frosty coatingFood & Kitchen SecretsBlueberries Look Blue in the Bowl. Squish One and the Color ChangesIllustration of a plate of chicken wings with sauceFood & Kitchen SecretsChicken Wings Were Once Leftovers for Soup. Then a Buffalo Bar Changed EverythingA steaming pot on the stove in a warm, cozy kitchen with sunlight through the windowFood & Kitchen SecretsBacon Smell Reaches the Bedroom in Minutes. The Cook Is Often the Last to Notice ItIllustration of a chocolate bar wrapped in foilFood & Kitchen SecretsHershey Bar's Creator Quit School After Fourth Grade and Nearly Sailed on the Titanic
Illustration of golden roasted Brussels sprouts in a cast-iron panFood & Kitchen SecretsIf You Hated Brussels Sprouts as a Kid, You May Have Been Eating a Different VegetableIllustration of a frosty glass mug of root beer with a thick foamy headFood & Kitchen SecretsRoot Beer Was Once Brewed From Tree Bark, and Its Famous Promoter Wanted a Different NameIllustration of a steaming baked potato split open on a plateFood & Kitchen SecretsYour Baked Potato Stays Hot Long After Dinner Cools. Galileo Described Part of the ReasonIllustration of a golden baked dish of macaroni and cheese fresh from the ovenFood & Kitchen SecretsMac and Cheese Was Once Fancy Enough for a President's State Dinner
Illustration of a brown egg floating near the top of a clear glass of water on a kitchen counterFood & Kitchen SecretsDrop an Egg in a Glass of Water and It Reveals Something Hidden Inside the ShellIllustration of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on a plateFood & Kitchen SecretsThe PB&J Started Out as a Fancy Tea Sandwich for Wealthy Americans. Then Things ChangedA glass jar packed with green dill pickles, garlic, and sprigs of dillFood & Kitchen SecretsPickles Get Their Green From the Cucumber. In the 1800s, Some Got It From Something ToxicIllustration of a stacked club sandwich cut into triangles held with toothpicksFood & Kitchen SecretsThe Club Sandwich Got Its Name From an Exclusive Place Most of Us Could Never Enter
Illustration of marshmallows in a glass jarFood & Kitchen SecretsLong Before S'mores, Marshmallows Came From a Swamp Plant and Were Used for Sore ThroatsIllustration of an ice cream sundae dripping with hot fudge sauceFood & Kitchen SecretsSeveral American Towns Claim the Sundae. The Hot Fudge Story Is Just as TangledIllustration of roasted coffee beans scattered beside a steaming cup of black coffeeFood & Kitchen SecretsFresh Coffee Smells Like Heaven, Then the First Sip Tastes Bitter. Your Nose Explains ItIllustration of a green potato field with freshly dug potatoes in the soilFood & Kitchen SecretsThe Potato Comes From the Americas, Yet It Reached the U.S. by Way of Ireland
Illustration of cinnamon sticks and a small bowl of ground cinnamon on a tableFood & Kitchen SecretsThat Cinnamon Stick in Your Cider Is a Curl of Tree Bark Thinner Than a FingernailA glass pitcher of bright red fruit drink with ice on a sunny tableFood & Kitchen SecretsKool-Aid Started as a Bottled Drink in Nebraska. Shipping Costs Turned It Into PowderIllustration of a pumpkin pie with a swirl of whipped cream on a holiday tableFood & Kitchen SecretsThe Pilgrims Probably Never Ate Pumpkin Pie. So How Did It Become a Thanksgiving Must?Illustration of a chocolate chip cookie lying on a clean kitchen floorFood & Kitchen SecretsScientists Put the Five-Second Rule to the Test. The Floor Wasn't the Only Surprise
Illustration of a tall glass of buttermilk beside a plate of golden biscuitsFood & Kitchen SecretsButtermilk Sounds Rich and Buttery. The Name Actually Comes From What Was Left BehindIllustration of colorful lollipops in a jarFood & Kitchen SecretsA Famous Story Says the Lollipop Was Named After a Racehorse. The Word Is Much OlderIllustration of a mug of spiced latte with cinnamon sticksFood & Kitchen SecretsPumpkin Spice Takes Over Every Fall, Yet the Classic Blend Contains Zero PumpkinA classic ice cream sandwich with chocolate wafers and vanilla ice cream on a plateFood & Kitchen SecretsNew York Vendors Made Ice Cream Sandwiches Famous. The First Recipe Came From Abroad
Illustration of a skillet of golden cornbreadFood & Kitchen SecretsSouthern Cornbread Started Out of Necessity. Wheat Just Couldn't Take the HeatIllustration of a golden Bundt cake on a glass cake standFood & Kitchen SecretsTwo Minneapolis Women Asked for a Better Cake Pan. It Became America's Best-Selling PanIllustration of glistening barbecue ribs and brisket smoking on an outdoor grillFood & Kitchen SecretsOrder Barbecue in Memphis, Texas, or Carolina, and You'll Get Three Very Different MealsIllustration of a pile of chewy chocolate candies in twisted wrappersFood & Kitchen SecretsA Penny Candy Named for a Little Girl Went to War With American Soldiers
Illustration of a glass jug of apple cider surrounded by red and green applesFood & Kitchen SecretsAsk for Cider in England and You'll Get Something Very Different From America's Fall DrinkIllustration of a vintage red, white, and blue box of caramel popcorn spilling onto a table beside a tiny toy prizeFood & Kitchen SecretsFor Over a Century, Kids Dug to the Bottom of the Box. Then the Prize DisappearedHomemade popcorn balls wrapped in clear cellophane and tied with orange ribbonFood & Kitchen SecretsPopcorn Balls Were a Huge Hit Around 1900. Now They're a Halloween ThrowbackIllustration of a large white turkey standing on the White House lawn in autumnFood & Kitchen SecretsThe White House Turkey Pardon Didn't Start With Lincoln. It Began as a Joke in 1987