All hail the queen! Of Italian cheese, that is: Burrata di Andria. A kind of cream-filled mozzarella, it rules a plate like no other cheese. Gary Allen explains.

Chicken fingers—that favorite meal of kids—have an interesting history, filled with thrift and greed. Who knew a kids’ snack could be so profitable?

Victory cakes, also known as celebration cakes, were popular after World War II and were centerpieces of U.S. and U.K. parties. Gary Allen reports.

Absinthe, also known as the green fairy due to its hallucinogenic properties, is basking in the glow of a revival of interest among discerning drinkers.

Food history editor Gary Allen delves into the culinary world of Virginia Woolf, the Bloomsbury set, and foods of the Edwardian era.

Gary Allen dissects the classic dishes Salisbury Steak and Beeksteak Stanley and finds what may have been the 20th century’s original low-carb diet.

For Valentine’s Day, food history editor Gary Allen takes a look at comestible aphrodisiacs and unravels their magic, myth, and mayhem.

Food history editor Gary Allen looks at the food traditions of the merriest of holidays and finds interesting ties to the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.

Food history editor, Gay Allen, discovers the root of manchup, Cape Verde’s beloved dish. Manchup is a rustic dish filled with meats, beans, and grains.

Although food-crazed bloggers and over-ambitious chefs have turned out every conceivable variation of turkey, on Thanksgiving the familiar is what we want. Food history editor Gary Allen explains.

Food history editor Gary Allen, who has a bent for all things food science, delves into the mystery of a batch of ghastly blue-grey blackberry ice cream.

Our food history editor, and sometime science guy, Gary Allen, helps a reader understand how to keep and care for salt cod.

Gary Allen reads his essays about the pleasures of eating bananas while on vacation and the unusually delicious burritos of a rotund, not-exactly-clean cook.

A frustrating search for the origins of Red Velvet Cake leads a stymied reader to our food history editor, Gary Allen.

Food history editor Gary Allen tracks down the classic icebox cake. The recipe for the original icebox cake is on the Nabisco chocolate wafer box.

Grainy chocolate sorbet was one readers problem, so Gary Allen put on his food science hat and found out the the solution: chocolate syrup.

Gary Allen, Leite’s Culinaria’s food history editor (and all-around answer guy), takes on questions about butter and raw cream.

Gary Allen, our food history editor, answers a reader’s question about the origins of Pacific Rim cuisine and related culinary trends.

Chips and dip are a natural match–and a natural accompaniment to the big game. But has that always been so? Food history editor Gary Allen checks it out.

Food history editor Gary Allen takes on the task of defending the superiority of his native New York cheesecake and finds it’s a cheesecake that stands alone.