foodways

Finding bread alternatives may seem like a thoroughly modern obsession. But during both world wars, consumers were urged to give up their white bread habit for the national good.

We all have comfort foods — even Pope Francis and the men who guard him. The Vatican Cookbook is a tour of life and food in the world's smallest country, as told by members of the Swiss Guard.

Hongeo is skate fermented in its own urine and served sashimi-style. Despite its powerful ammonia smell, it's a beloved delicacy in parts of South Korea, and a vital part of the local fishing economy.

In the 1700s, steep taxes made tea too pricey for most. Smugglers like the notorious Hawkhurst Gang helped feed England's growing taste for tea, operating with a mix of popular support and fear.

With sanctions lifting, Iran is open for trade again. You might not realize we've been consuming the fruits of trade with Persians for centuries — in the names used for many common foods.

La caja China is a device inspired by Chinese rail workers in Cuba. And in Miami, it has become the de rigueur way to cook the traditional Noche Buena pig roast. Only in America.

"What the Grand Ole Opry did for country music, she has done for Southern food," one writer says of Hach, host of the South's first TV cooking show and a cookbook author and caterer for world leaders.

Set in 1960s New Orleans, A Confederacy of Dunces centers around Ignatius J. Reilly, a glutton in a city known for its cuisine. A new cookbook looks at the food central to the heralded comedic novel.

The classic Midwestern casserole, which turns 60 this year, has come to mean more than just a mashup of processed food. Even those who grew up with it but can't abide it admit: It tastes like home.

Kolkata now has its first food truck: Agdum Bagdum, which hawks Indian fusion food. It was inspired by American food trucks — which were originally inspired by street food in places like Kolkata.

Women seeking the right to vote published the cookbooks both to raise funds for their cause — and as a strategic rebuttal to those who painted them as neglectful mothers and kitchen-hating harridans.

From the 1920s on, women broadcasters offered recipes, life hacks and insights for the farmer's wife. Like podcasts, their shows were often personal, off-the-cuff and right from the kitchen table.