Curated category
Types of food
- FruitA strawberry is not a berry. A banana is. The tomato hiding in a savory salad is, botanically, a fruit and a berry both, while the strawberry that crowns a…
- RiceIn the Yangtze River valley, people began cultivating rice between 13,500 and 8,200 years ago. This ancient process created a single domestication event for…
- PorkArchaeologists have uncovered evidence of pig husbandry in Mesopotamia dating back to 13,000 BC. This timeline places the domestication of pigs among the…
- Chicken as foodBabylonian carvings from around 600 BC depict chicken as a meat source. The modern chicken descends from red junglefowl hybrids raised thousands of years ago…
- MeatMeat is animal tissue, mostly muscle, eaten as food, and three species alone supply nearly all of it. Between 2000 and 2023, chicken, pig, and cattle…
- Eggs as foodHumans and other hominids have consumed eggs for millions of years. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especially chickens.
- CheeseCheese is a dairy product made by coaxing the milk protein casein to clump together. Squeeze the curds, drain the watery whey, press the result, and you have…
- VegetableThe word vegetable first appeared in English during the early 15th century. It arrived from Old French and originally described all plants collectively.
- Ice creamIn 550 BC, Persian nobility consumed sweetened drinks chilled with ice. A Roman cookbook from the 1st century AD describes recipes for desserts sprinkled…
- BreadEvidence from 30,000 years ago in Europe and Australia revealed starch residue on rocks used for pounding plants. Archaeologists found that during this time…
- BiscuitThe word biscuit arrives from the Old French term bescuit, which itself traces back to two Latin roots. The prefix bis means twice, and coctus means cooked…