Events

Soft, chewy and slightly sweet, mochi seems almost otherworldly. Bite into it and the texture resists before yielding, a pleasurable contrast to the creamy ice cream or red bean paste […]

Walk into a convenience store in Honolulu and you’ll see neat rectangles of rice topped with a slice of Spam, wrapped snugly in a band of nori. This is SPAM […]

Close your eyes and imagine the perfume of a perfectly ripe melon: sweet, heady and slightly floral, it fills a market stall with the scent of summer. Slice through the […]

Apples are so ingrained in our culture that they have inspired proverbs, fairy tales and national symbols. National Apple Week celebrates the fruit during the second full week of August, […]

There’s something inherently comforting about rice pudding. Perhaps it’s because its ingredients are so modest — rice, milk, sugar, sometimes eggs or cream and spices — yet when simmered slowly […]

A crackling campfire, the smell of pine and smoke, and a circle of friends and family passing a bag of marshmallows and a bar of chocolate — these are the […]

Afternoon tea is a ritual of pause and pleasure. National Afternoon Tea Week, held during the second full week of August, celebrates the tradition of sitting down mid‑afternoon to sip […]

Close your eyes and imagine the perfume of a perfectly ripe melon: sweet, heady and slightly floral, it fills a market stall with the scent of summer. Slice through the green-striped rind and the flesh glows apricot‑orange, dripping with juice. In Turkmenistan, melons are not just a fruit but a national treasure. The Central Asian […]

A bombe glacée is a showstopper dessert: layers of ice cream, sherbet or custard frozen in a domed mold and unmolded to reveal concentric bands of color and flavor. The dessert originated in France in the late nineteenth century, when molded frozen desserts were the height of culinary fashion and elaborate molds filled with ice […]

A tart is the essence of simplicity and precision: a crisp pastry shell baked until golden and filled with something delicious. In the case of a raspberry tart, the filling showcases the berry’s pure flavor. Tarts have deep roots in European pastry tradition. Medieval cooks made open‑faced pies filled with savory meat and later sweet […]

Panini is the Italian plural for panino, a small bread roll or sandwich. In Italy, a panino can be as simple as prosciutto and cheese between slices of ciabatta. The concept of grilling or pressing a sandwich, however, has long roots. In cafés in Milan and Florence in the mid‑twentieth century, bars served pressed sandwiches […]