The real origin of blue raspberry is the subject of a lot of misinformation. Every kid who grew up eating sour blue raspberry candies or drinking Blue Raspberry Slurpees eventually hit the same wall of childhood skepticism. “Wait a minute, raspberries aren’t blue.” It’s one of the few culinary fictions that almost everyone notices, yet … Read more
If you have driven the turnpikes of the Northeast or Midwest, you’ve probably repeated the same routine many times. You pull off the highway into a big service plaza, fill your tank, grab a burger from a fast-food court, pick up a coffee, and merge back onto the road without ever crossing an intersection or … Read more
Determining who “invented” the hard-shell taco is more complicated than it appears, largely because the answer depends on what is being asked. Are we asking who first fried a corn tortilla into a crisp, folded shape? Are we asking who first mass-produced pre-fried shells for fast-food assembly? Or are we asking who first packaged and … Read more
“Southern food is Black food.” For anyone who has spent time studying the agricultural and social history of the American South, this statement is not controversial, but foundational. With enslaved West Africans came staples like okra, black-eyed peas, benne seeds, and sorghum. With these and regional ingredients, the generational labor of enslaved women who ran … Read more
If you grew up in North America, the name “Hungry Jack” conjures images of pancake mix, bottles of syrup, and canned refrigerator biscuits with the Pillsbury doughboy smiling from the label. It has nothing to do with a flame-broiled Whopper. Things are a bit different in Australia. There, in Sydney, Melbourne, or Perth, there are … Read more
If you grew up anywhere between the Mississippi Delta and the Appalachians during the mid-to-late 20th century, the lunch meat in your refrigerator was almost certainly made by Bryan. For Southern families, it was the go-to brand for hickory-smoked bacon, bologna, hot dogs, ham, souse, and even canned Vienna sausages and potted meat. I particularly … Read more