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Food

Friday

For Rosh Hashana, A Matzo Ball Soup By Way Of Mexico

Matzo ball soup is a classic recipe straight from Eastern Europe. But not all Jews from the region came to the New World via Ellis Island, as reflected in this jalapeño-inflected family recipe from chef Pati Jinich. Copyright Ellen Silverman hide caption

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Copyright Ellen Silverman

The Salt

For Rosh Hashana, A Matzo Ball Soup By Way Of Mexico

Matzo ball soup is a classic straight from Eastern Europe. But not all Jews from the region came to the New World via Ellis Island, as this jalapeño-inflected recipe reflects.

For Rosh Hashana, A Matzo Ball Soup By Way Of Mexico

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The Sweet Success Of Bananas Foster Has An Unsavory Past

Workers unload bananas in New Orleans. Bananas Foster, one of New Orleans' favorite desserts, is a lasting legacy of an oft-forgotten chapter in the city's history: the banana trade, which spawned banana republics. Arnold Genthe/Library of Congress hide caption

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Arnold Genthe/Library of Congress

The Salt

The Sweet Success Of Bananas Foster Has An Unsavory Past

One of New Orleans' favorite desserts is a lasting legacy of an oft-forgotten chapter in the city's history: the banana trade, and its infamous practices.

Thursday

Our Robot Overlords Are Now Delivering Pizza, And Cooking It On The Go

Mobile ovens inside the delivery truck cook the pie right before it reaches its destination. Zume Pizza hide caption

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Zume Pizza

The Salt

Our Robot Overlords Are Now Delivering Pizza, And Cooking It On The Go

A Silicon Valley startup wants to use technology to solve the pizza paradox. It's a food that's meant to be delivered but never tastes quite as good upon arrival.

Our Robot Overlords Are Now Delivering Pizza, And Cooking It On The Go

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'Cup Noodles' Turns 45: A Closer Look At The Revolutionary Ramen Creation

Customers crowd the museum gift shop. Elise Hu/NPR hide caption

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Elise Hu/NPR

The Salt

'Cup Noodles' Turns 45: A Closer Look At The Revolutionary Ramen Creation

Today instant ramen is consumed in at least 80 countries — with culturally specific adaptations. The U.S., for instance, gets shorter noodles, because Americans don't slurp them up like the Japanese.

'Cup Noodles' Turns 45: A Closer Look At The Revolutionary Ramen Creation

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Wednesday

Whales, Sea Turtles, Seals: The Unintended Catch Of Abandoned Fishing Gear

Rescuers untangle a gray whale from ghost net off the coast of California. Bob Talbot/Marine Photobank/Courtesy of World Animal Protection hide caption

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Bob Talbot/Marine Photobank/Courtesy of World Animal Protection

The Salt

Whales, Sea Turtles, Seals: The Unintended Catch Of Abandoned Fishing Gear

An endangered whale was found dead over the weekend, entangled in derelict fishing gear. Such incidents have been on the rise in recent years. A new California law aims to combat the problem.

Beekeepers Benefit From The Hive Mind In Community Apiaries

Beekeepers inspect bee frames at the Hudson Gardens community apiary near Littleton, Colo. Modeled after community gardens, community apiaries allow beekeepers to maintain hives in public spaces — and offer each tips and support. Courtesy of Hudson Gardens hide caption

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Courtesy of Hudson Gardens

The Salt

Beekeepers Benefit From The Hive Mind In Community Apiaries

Modeled after community gardens, the sweet setups allow beekeepers to maintain hives in public spaces. Beekeepers harvest not just honey but the collective knowledge of their colleagues.

Tuesday

Long Absent In China, Tipping Makes A Comeback At A Few Trendy Restaurants

Beijing-based restaurateur Song Ji (right) demonstrates his system, which allows customers to tip waitstaff. Diners use smartphones to scan QR codes that the waitstaff wear on their sleeves. This generates a tip of 4.56 yuan, or about 70 cents. Waitress Liu Enhui (left), the top tip-getter at the restaurant, says she can earn up to $30 a day in tips. Anthony Kuhn/NPR hide caption

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Anthony Kuhn/NPR

Parallels

Long Absent In China, Tipping Makes A Comeback At A Few Trendy Restaurants

Viewed for decades as capitalist exploitation, tipping is now encouraged at some upscale urban restaurants catering to wealthy young customers. Restaurateurs insist it's strictly voluntary.

Long Absent In China, Tipping Makes A Comeback At A Few Trendy Restaurants

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Monday

Arts And Craft Beers: Brewers Draw Drinkers' Eyes With Snazzy Tap Handles

AJS made these cone-headed taps for Stevens Point Brewery in Wisconsin. Courtesy of Olivia Locascio Film and Photo hide caption

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Courtesy of Olivia Locascio Film and Photo

The Salt

Arts And Craft Beers: Brewers Draw Drinkers' Eyes With Snazzy Tap Handles

As craft brewers try to make their brews stand out in an increasingly crowded field, they're driving the expansion of a singular business: custom-made beer taps.

Arts And Craft Beers: Brewers Draw Drinkers' Eyes With Snazzy Tap Handles

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They Dreamed Of Sheep (Farming): Peek Inside An Alabama Dairy

While feasting on a breakfast of hearty grains, the ewes at Dayspring Dairy are milked in two aisles with 12 ewes per aisle. Some have names like Valentine, Fuzzy Nibbleton, July, Cannonball and Latte. Meg McKinney for NPR hide caption

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Meg McKinney for NPR

The Salt

They Dreamed Of Sheep (Farming): Peek Inside An Alabama Dairy

Greg Kelly wanted out of corporate America for a lifestyle better suited to raising a family. So he and his wife launched Alabama's only sheep dairy. "We feel like we're really living now," she says.

Saturday

While Everyone Was Partying At Woodstock, I Was Stuck At Schrafft's

Schrafft's was a chain of restaurants, with a candy store attached, that catered to ladies who lunch. To NPR's Lynn Neary, who used to waitress there, Schrafft's "always felt like the epicenter of the comfort zone." MCNY/Gottscho-Schleisner/Getty Images hide caption

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MCNY/Gottscho-Schleisner/Getty Images

Opinion

The Salt

While Everyone Was Partying At Woodstock, I Was Stuck At Schrafft's

The chain restaurant that catered to women helped redefine how Americans eat, according to a new book. For NPR's Lynn Neary, it also defined how she did and didn't fit with the counterculture.

Thursday

As a GMO Pillar Wobbles, Biotech Companies Promise New Insect-Killing Genes

Corn rootworm beetle larvae feed on maize root and seed. Nigel Cattlin/Science Source hide caption

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Nigel Cattlin/Science Source

The Salt

As a GMO Pillar Wobbles, Biotech Companies Promise New Insect-Killing Genes

Scientists have discovered a soil microbe with a gene that kills the corn rootworm, an insect that farmers spend $1 billion each year trying to control.

As a GMO Pillar Wobbles, Biotech Companies Promise New Insect-Killing Genes

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What Happens When Yelp Restaurant Reviews Turn Political?

The First American Fried Chicken restaurant in Elizabeth, N.J., saw its Yelp reviews plummet after the owner's son Ahmad Khan Rahami was arrested as a suspect in last weekend's bombings in New York and New Jersey. Mel Evans/AP hide caption

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Mel Evans/AP

The Salt

What Happens When Yelp Restaurant Reviews Turn Political?

First American Fried Chicken, owned by the family of the suspect in the Manhattan bombings, is the latest eatery to see reviews plummet based on more than food. Some attacks can cross into real life.