Food Stories

Britain’s favorite curry has a disputed origin, with claims from Glasgow to the Indian subcontinent.

It is hard to imagine Indian cooking without chili, but chilies only arrived about five centuries ago.

A legend about goats and a shepherd is only part of how coffee became a global drink.

Chai feels ancient, yet the tea habit across India took shape in the last two centuries.

Sushi did not begin as a delicacy of raw fish on rice. Its history starts with preservation.

Chocolate began as a bitter drink in Mesoamerica. Here is how it became the sweet treat we know.

For centuries, spices drove trade, wars and voyages. Here is how black pepper helped shape the world.

Pad Thai is loved worldwide, but its popularity at home is tied to a 1930s and 1940s campaign to promote Thai identity.

A famous tale says Naples named a pizza after a queen in 1889. Here is what is known, and what is probably legend.

The tomato began in the Americas, arrived in Europe with suspicion, and became the heart of Italian cooking.