People in many cultures love to eat special foods that usher in good luck, longevity, abundance and hoped-for wealth in the new year. Among many such is the pomegranate.

Mustard is one of the more ancient of food flavorings. Photo by Marco Verch on flickr

It’s astounding to note the history of the popularity of oysters in this country between the War of Independence and the heyday of the Western Expansion.

Little else adds so much flavor to so many foods or preparations than the simple dried ‘shroom.

Learn much more about eating tinned fish than its place in the tuna salad sandwich.

We eat anchovies all the time without knowing it, mainly because we don’t see them coming.

Lamb Stew with Four Heads of Garlic and Beets Glazed with Orange and Honey

Clockwise from top left: Black and white peppercorns; red “peppercorns” (a seed from a member of the cashew family); green peppercorns and, at center, Sichuan “peppercorns,” seeds from the prickly ash tree.

A smidge of science helps immeasurably to get cooking with The Egg. Photo by Armando Arauz on unsplash.com

Citrus is a large and influential family of fruits indeed.

For years, you’ve had a taste for something but didn’t know its name. It’s umami.

Legumes have what’s known as “incomplete” proteins and, in cooking and eating diets, come begging for completion from something else, by and large a grain.

Fat. Oh, fat.

Salt is as good for cooking as in it.

“Herb bombs” are my go-to when preserving fresh herbs.

They’re drupes, so you gotta pit them. All of them.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil is more a condiment than anything else.

What a wonder of a fat butter is!

Close to 8,000 varieties of apples grow in orchards around the globe.

This member of the pea family (the Fabaceae, also Leguminosae) sports tall spikes of flowers in a stunning depth of the colors mauve, blue, pink, even white. . . .