Accessibility links
Food Stories on food, nutrition, recipes, cooking, cookbook reviews, and health. Download Food and Hidden Kitchen podcasts and subscribe to RSS feeds.

Food

Epicurious Ditches Beef In A Move It Calls 'Pro-Planet'

Digital food magazine Epicurious has announced it will stop publishing new recipes featuring beef in an effort to promote more sustainable cooking. Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images

Epicurious Ditches Beef In A Move It Calls 'Pro-Planet'

The digital food magazine announced the change on Monday, citing the carbon footprint of cattle and a desire to help home cooks become more environmentally friendly.

USDA Moves To Feed Millions Of Children Over The Summer

Students carry sack lunches at Elk Ridge Elementary School in Buckley, Wash. On Monday, USDA unveiled a new program that would feed millions of children over the summer, when many schools are closed. Ted S. Warren/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Ted S. Warren/AP

The Coronavirus Crisis

USDA Moves To Feed Millions Of Children Over The Summer

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it's expanding a pandemic program into the summer to help families pay for meals their children won't get in school.

USDA Moves To Feed Millions Of Children Over The Summer

Listen · 4:49
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/990860172/990980268" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Cheap, Legal And Everywhere: How Food Companies Get Us 'Hooked' On Junk

Hooked author Michael Moss says processed food companies appeal to our childhood nostalgia: "What we eat is all about memory." Grace Cary/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Grace Cary/Getty Images

Shots - Health News

Cheap, Legal And Everywhere: How Food Companies Get Us 'Hooked' On Junk

Fresh Air

Reporter Michael Moss says processed foods can be as alluring in some ways as cocaine or cigarettes. His new book explains how companies keep us snacking by appealing to nostalgia and brain chemistry.

Cheap, Legal And Everywhere: How Food Companies Get Us 'Hooked' On Junk

Listen · 34:50
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/990821079/990982248" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Boba Shortage Could Stretch Into Summer, Leave Businesses In A Bind

A lack of dockworkers at shipping ports and a shortage of drivers are creating a boba backlog in the U.S., according to a nationwide supplier of bubble tea products. Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Business

Boba Shortage Could Stretch Into Summer, Leave Businesses In A Bind

What's bubble tea without boba? Americans are starting to find out. A backlog at shipping docks is stalling the arrival of the popular chewy pearls at tea shops across the country.

Boba Shortage Could Stretch Into Summer, Leave Businesses In A Bind

Listen · 2:34
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/990353928/990374992" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Health

Pastry Shop In Hungary Has A Selection Of Vaccine-Theme Desserts

The shop sells mousse with brightly colored jelly toppings. A different topping for each vaccine available there: yellow for AstraZeneca and green for Pfizer. Each has a decorative syringe on top.

Pastry Shop In Hungary Has A Selection Of Vaccine-Theme Desserts

Listen · 0:28
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/990088401/990088402" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Author Interviews

Nigella Lawson On How To Find Peace While Cooking

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with cookbook writer Nigella Lawson about her latest book Cook, Eat, Repeat and how to stop viewing cooking as tedious and, instead, find peace in the kitchen.

Nigella Lawson On How To Find Peace While Cooking

Listen · 7:56
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/989234440/989593477" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Missing Travel? This 'Irreverent Guide' Visits Anthony Bourdain's Favorite Places
Ecco

Missing Travel? This 'Irreverent Guide' Visits Anthony Bourdain's Favorite Places

"He always made people feel like they belonged," says a former Bourdain producer. World Travel: An Irreverent Guide is based on the TV chef's writings and an interview conducted just before his death.

Missing Travel? This 'Irreverent Guide' Visits Anthony Bourdain's Favorite Places

Listen · 3:55
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/988549801/989015684" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

National

Bubble Tea Without Boba: Shortage Leaves Many Wondering When Tapioca Will Return

Without enough workers to unload shipping containers, the pandemic has caused another shortage of products: boba pearls used to make bubble tea.

Bubble Tea Without Boba: Shortage Leaves Many Wondering When Tapioca Will Return

Listen · 2:34
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/988837568/988837569" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

National

Michelin Guide Returns To Celebrate Resilience In The Restaurant World

The Michelin Guide is returning after a pandemic hiatus. They aim to celebrate resilience in restaurants and restaurateurs.

Michelin Guide Returns To Celebrate Resilience In The Restaurant World

Listen · 2:30
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/987787735/987787736" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Cookbook Aims To Help COVID-19 Victims Who Lost Their Taste Or Smell

Chef Ryan Riley and Kimberley Duke's cookbook combines culinary science and medical research. It is designed to help people recovering from the coronavirus unlock more noticeable flavors.

Cookbook Aims To Help COVID-19 Victims Who Lost Their Taste Or Smell

Listen · 0:29
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/986365922/986365923" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Heinz Promises To Catch Up To Americans' Demand Amid Ketchup Packet Shortage

Heinz, the country's largest ketchup supplier, promised to up ketchup production by 25% to make up for the shortage. Smith Collection/Gado/Gado via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Smith Collection/Gado/Gado via Getty Images

Business

Heinz Promises To Catch Up To Americans' Demand Amid Ketchup Packet Shortage

The pandemic is causing another new, yet uniquely American, shortage — ketchup. Heinz says it has to up its production by 25% to meet the demand for the popular condiment.

Heinz Promises To Catch Up To Americans' Demand Amid Ketchup Packet Shortage

Listen · 2:23
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/985774345/986056322" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Restaurants In A Pickle Relish The Days They Had Ketchup As It May — Oh No — Run Out

After more than a year of takeout orders, the country is facing a new shortage: ketchup. Restaurants are scrambling to replenish the popular condiment.

Restaurants In A Pickle Relish The Days They Had Ketchup As It May — Oh No — Run Out

Listen · 2:23
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/985128528/985128529" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
For This Palestinian Cook, The Kitchen Is A 'Powerful Place' — Not A 'Life Sentence'

Cookbook author Reem Kassis says that many foods that are considered Middle Eastern or Israeli actually originated as Palestinian dishes. Dan Perez/Phaidon Press hide caption

toggle caption
Dan Perez/Phaidon Press

For This Palestinian Cook, The Kitchen Is A 'Powerful Place' — Not A 'Life Sentence'

Fresh Air

Reem Kassis began gathering family recipes after the birth of her first child. The recipes, she says, "could be the story of any and every Palestinian family." Her new book is The Arabesque Table.

For This Palestinian Cook, The Kitchen Is A 'Powerful Place' — Not A 'Life Sentence'

Listen · 43:21
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/984991700/985087988" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript