Alfajores are a family staple in Ana Schwartzman’s home. No wonder: alfajores are shortbread cookies filled with dulce de leche and covered in chocolate.

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.