Food
Lockdown changed the grocery cart, but it didn’t last
American households moved toward less processed food during pandemic lockdowns. Once restrictions were lifted, ultra-processed food spending climbed back and kept climbing, settling above where it stood before 2020.
How to make the Prohibition-era classic Cider Cup cocktail
This spin on the Cider Cup is from my cocktail book "Good Spirits"; the original drink has roots going back to the early 20th century.
Inside Malaysia’s gambit to make its pungent durian the most wanted
Malaysia is pushing to take durian, whose powerful smell delights its lovers and repels its haters, beyond its roadside stalls and family orchards to convince fans of the spiky fruit that its varieties are worth seeking out.
Coca-Cola, PepsiCo trim snack and juice lineups for 2026
Grocery aisles are thinning out this year as two of the country's largest food and beverage companies pare back their lineups in response to softening sales and shifting consumer habits.
Home bakers trim recipes to match shrinking households
As cooler weather arrives and baking season begins, many home bakers are taking a different approach in the kitchen. Instead of filling the counter with oversized cakes, dozens of cookies or large pans of brownies, they're choosing recipes that make just enough to enjoy without days of leftovers.
EVOO: Extra virgin olive oil can do more than you think
From sauteing vegetables and frying eggs to baking cakes and finishing a bowl of soup, extra virgin olive oil can take on far more roles than its usual place in a salad dressing.
The more Americans use AI for recipes, the less they trust it
Home cooks are three times more likely to turn to food blogs and websites than AI, which suggests that even as chatbots become increasingly woven into everyday life, people still want something bots cannot easily provide: trust and confidence in a real person who actually made the food.
California farmers are struggling to sell grapes as demand for wine drops
It's harvest time in California wine country, but many growers are struggling to sell their grapes as changing drinking habits have caused demand to plunge. The decline is forcing some growers to tear out vineyards that their families have grown for generations.
There’s no strict recipe for Stef Ferrari’s seasonal fruit crostini with ricotta
Like so many preparations in this cookbook, "Stuzzichini," and in Italian food in general, it's almost impossible to call this a recipe. Instead, it's an act of trust: You must trust that whatever fruit you choose for this crostini will pair perfectly with fresh ricotta, good-quality honey, and your choice of crunchy bits and/or herbs and/or spices, as long as it's done with intention and care.
Federal task force busts 13 in $250,000 Memphis chicken heist
A federal-local task force arrested 13 people after catching them unloading a stolen $250,000 shipment of chicken from a tractor-trailer behind a Memphis hotel, uncovering guns and drugs in the process. The Memphis Safe Task Force was serving an aggravated robbery warrant on Javunte Johnson, 33, when officers found him and 12 others pulling pallets of poultry off an 18-wheeler in the parking lot of an Economy Inn.
Halloween Horror Nights 35 food guide: The best bites at Universal Orlando
Universal Orlando chefs bring HHN 35 stories to the table with food inspired by "Hellraiser," "Sinners," "Stranger Things 5" and the late rocker Ozzy Osbourne.
Friendly’s shrinks from 850 restaurants to 87, but expert sees hope
Friendly's casual-dining chain has shrunk from roughly 850 restaurants at its 1990s peak to just 87 locations across 11 Eastern states.
Scientists hope deeper-rooted soybeans can withstand climate extremes and store more carbon
Research scientist Ashish Rajurkar kneels in the dirt, lifting a large clod of soil tangled around a soybean plant. He knocks away pieces of earth from the plant's roots, which slope straight down instead of out to the side like typical soybean plants.
Celebrating chai: Bringing centuries of spice and tradition to the table
The world celebrates National Chai Day every Sept. 21, a drink with centuries of history behind every cup. While the global appetite for tea continues to rise, chai keeps attracting new audiences.
New Jersey man’s pizza comeback after 25-day Sweetgreen diet leaves him feeling sick, he says
A Hoboken, NJ, man who ate nothing but Sweetgreen for 25 straight days said his celebratory return to normal food didn't go as planned, leaving him nauseated after just one slice of pizza.
Chef David Chang hits the road across the U.S. in new food-centric CNN travel series
In an episode of his new CNN travel series, chef David Chang is cruising down the highway on his way to Las Vegas when he stops at a humble truck stop off Interstate 15.
Buenos Aires steakhouse tops Tripadvisor’s 2026 best restaurants list
Fogon Asado, an intimate Buenos Aires steakhouse built around a communal bar and an open-fire grill, has been named the world's best fine-dining restaurant for the second consecutive year in Tripadvisor's 2026 Travelers' Choice Awards: Best of the Best Restaurants. Two restaurants from the U.S. also made the list.
‘Appetizing’ stores are the quieter, less famous sibling of the Jewish deli
In traditional Jewish American food culture, a "deli" was where you went for a towering pastrami sandwich. You went somewhere else entirely to buy lox and a schmear: an " appetizing store."
Stingy tippers, steep taxes: California and Washington state anchor the bottom of the tipping charts
Restaurant-goers in California, Washington state and D.C. are tipping less than almost anyone else in the country, and the pattern is showing up right alongside a wave of newly enacted and proposed taxes on high earners in two of those jurisdictions.
‘Flat is Back’ campaign hopes to put flounder back on people’s plates
Aperol spritzes. Dubai chocolate. Dill pickle, well, everything. Thanks to Instagram and TikTok, food trends have never been more of-the-moment, with even seemingly mundane ingredients like cottage cheese enjoying a sudden resurgence.
