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Gastro Obscura

Read 1970 Gastro Stories

Four Shocking Recipes From the Tables of Past U.S. Presidents

Concoctions of raw eggs, gelatin, and whipped cream often graced White House menus.

February 19, 2024

In Defense of Eating Brains

While some in the West are squeamish, globally, it's more common than not.

February 16, 2024

The Obscure Presidential Cocktail That Made You Pick Sides

In 1912, the way you drank a "Teddy Hat" signaled support for Roosevelt or Taft.

February 15, 2024

native american cuisine

Podcast: Owamni

Visit a restaurant dedicated to decolonizing food and honoring Indigenous meal traditions, with its award-winning chef Sean Sherman.

February 14, 2024

Unusual and Fascinating Herbs to Plant This Spring

Sow some wonder in your garden beds.

February 12, 2024

Podcast: Robert Is Here

How a humble Florida roadside stand became a tropical fruit destination.

February 12, 2024

5 Recipes to Make for Lunar New Year

Welcome the Year of the Dragon with fortune-telling soups, lucky goldfish dumplings, and more.

February 9, 2024

Why Kava Laws Choose Tradition Over Commercialization

New Zealand regulations prevent the sacred beverage of the Pacific Islands from being watered down.

February 8, 2024

Sweet Potato Salad Might Be the Optimal Space Food

A new study produced the ideal "space salad" for long-term astronauts, and it's surprisingly delicious.

February 1, 2024

Vienna's Vegetable Orchestra Is a Feast for Your Ears

Inside a group that's spent 25 years turning beets into beats.

January 30, 2024

Have a Trophy? Mix This Victorian Drink in It

Long before the Stanley cup craze, people were showing off with trendy drinking vessels.

January 29, 2024

Ancient Gum Reveals Stone-Age Teens Chewed on Bones and Made Poison

And had some pretty bad oral health.

January 24, 2024

A Longed-For Taste of Home in ‘The Exile’s Cookbook’

A 13th-century Arabic cookbook reveals the culinary life of al-Andalus.

January 23, 2024

The Confusing Truth About Arrowroot

What's in a name?

January 22, 2024

These Tiny Baroque Prints Once Served as Edible Prayers

The sacred scraps were meant to be ingested.

January 18, 2024

forgotten foods

Is This Mexico's Oldest Spirit?

In the state of Colima, one man is reviving vino de cocos, a distillate that disappeared in the 1700s.

January 16, 2024

Fight Food Waste With Unusual Flours

Add something extra to your baking.

January 15, 2024

Gastro Obscura's 13 Essential Places to Visit While in Paris

From Algerian sweets to Tunisian snacks to a mind-altering ham sandwich, go beyond the tropes and the tourist traps on this itinerary.

January 12, 2024