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.

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

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.

Our food history editor, Gary Allen, explains why brown sugar can get hard as a rock and offers a recipe to make brown sugar at home.

The food of ancient Rome–with all its intensity of flavor, spicing, reliance on sauces, and ingredients–are discussed by our food history editor.

Sort through a century of American history, decade by decade, and explore the ginormous shift in how we think about food.