THE SATURDAY PROFILE
‘Super Taster’ Who Lost Sense of Smell Is Helping Italians Regain It
A celebrated epicure in Italy was devastated when Covid-19 first stole, then warped his sense of taste. Through training, Michele Crippa has recaptured some of it and is now on a quest to aid others.
By EMMA BUBOLA

THE WELL NEWSLETTER
The Dos and Don’ts of Fermented Foods
Is all yogurt created equal? Does it matter if the kimchi is spicy? And what if my kombucha has sugar? Your questions answered.
By TARA PARKER-POPE

Sea Scallops Farmed in Maine Aren’t Just Sustainable. They’re Helping Their Habitat.
There are only a handful of these farms in the United States, most run by fishing families in Maine. But their number is growing.
By MELISSA CLARK

Some Assembly Required
An expertly curated platter makes for ideal late-summer eating.
By TEJAL RAO

This Fish Is Sustainable, Cheap and Delicious on the Grill
Porgies deserve more attention. Chefs love them and you will, too.

At Shuka in SoHo, porgy is offered grilled whole and stuffed with lemon and herbs.
By Florence Fabricant

EAT
My Auntie Taught Me the Secret to a Perfect Breakfast: Improvise
Upma is a simple, delicious South Indian breakfast dish that you can make differently every time.

By TEJAL RAO

These Tricks.
Treat the fruit like a cucumber (they’re related), and add it to a Greek salad or turn it into a soup, to name just a few ideas.

By Florence Fabricant

LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION
Raw Onions Are the Best Food. Let Me Explain.
There’s no greater pleasure than biting into a slice of a raw red onion and tasting its stinging sharpness.
By IVA DIXIT

Get That Corn
Eat it in a salad with halloumi, over fish or tofu, in a pasta, or on its own with tartar butter.

By EMILY WEINSTEIN
By Emily Weinstein

A Delicate Dessert That Puts the Whole Lemon to Use
These lemon-labneh possets make the most of peels, egg whites and any extra yogurt you may have on hand, Yotam Ottolenghi writes.

These lemon-labneh possets are finished with meringue shards and a burnt lemon powder.
By Yotam Ottolenghi

How to Make Dinner Without Cooking Anything
Follow a simple formula for colorful, satisfying dishes that don’t require turning on the oven or stove.

Prepared proteins, such as rotisserie chicken, help hearty salads come together quickly.
By ALI SLAGLE

Tomato

Lemonade

Angel Cake

Gattafin

20 Wines Under $20: For When the Weather Is Sultry
The needs are different when it’s hot and sticky: Lighter-bodied wines, more whites and rosés than reds, refreshment rather than solidity.

By Eric Asimov

Biden Administration Prompts Largest Permanent Increase in Food Stamps
The jump in benefits, the biggest in the program’s history, comes after a revision of the initiative’s nutrition standards that supporters say will reduce hunger and better reflect how Americans eat.
By JASON DEPARLE

What We Think We Know About Metabolism May Be Wrong
A new study challenges assumptions about energy expenditure by people, including the idea that metabolism slows at middle age.
By GINA KOLATA

TRILOBITES
How Peppers Proliferated Around the Planet
In the world’s plant gene banks, scientists studied how so many varieties of the humble capsicum worked their way onto our plates.

Threading red peppers to make paprika in Serbia. The plant, Capsicum annuum, is the most widely consumed species of pepper, and its varieties include bell peppers, chiles, jalapeños and cayenne.
By VERONIQUE GREENWOOD

Record Salmon in One Place. Barely Any in Another. Alarm All Around.
Historically low runs on the Yukon River have devastating impacts for Alaskans relying on the fish for sustenance and tradition, but Bristol Bay is seeing more sockeye than ever before.
By Victoria Petersen

A GOOD APPETITE
Celebrating Peak Summer
A quick weeknight sauté of ripe corn, tomatoes and seared halloumi is exactly what we love about summer.

Savory halloumi complements the bright flavors of ripe tomatoes and sweet corn in this easy weeknight meal.
By Melissa Clark

For a Better Pizza, Light Up the Grill
J. Kenji López-Alt makes the case for grilled pizza, one of the easiest ways (really!) to get restaurant-quality pizza at home.

Why grilled pizza? It all has to do with high heat and speed.
By J. KENJI LÓPEZ-ALT

TIMES INSIDER
Cooking With a Dash of Science
For the Times food columnist J. Kenji López-Alt, the kitchen is also a lab, where an understanding of a few basics at the molecular level can make a difference in your next dish.
By KATIE VAN SYCKLE

Chilled Dinners for Crazy-Hot Days
Silken tofu with tomatoes and peaches, caprese salad and more satisfying meals for the tail end of summer.
By EMILY WEINSTEIN

EAT
The Best Coffee Break Is an Affogato
Made with cold gelato and warm espresso, this treat merges two sublime pleasures in one glass.

By ERIC KIM

How to Stretch Saffron, Without Sacrificing Flavor
Nothing compares to saffron’s unique fragrance and flavor. With this time-honored method, the world’s priciest spice can play a role in daily cooking.

Harvesting saffron, which is derived from the stigma of the crocus flower, is extremely laborious.
By Naz Deravian

EAT
Cooking Without an Oven, the Southern Italian Way
Drying zucchini outdoors is ideal, but this agrodolce can be made even without a Mediterranean balcony.

By Gabrielle Hamilton

THE POUR
A Tale of Two Vineyards
Two sites near Paso Robles farm conscientiously, and both make excellent wines. But in the climate change era, one gets enough rain, the other doesn’t.
AmByth Estate, near Paso Robles, does not irrigate. The owners hope it has enough ground water to get through the growing season.
By Eric Asimov

Why Do American Grocery Stores Still Have an Ethnic Aisle?
This international hodgepodge strikes many shoppers and food purveyors as antiquated. But doing away with it isn’t as easy as it might sound.
By PRIYA KRISHNA

The Endless Pleasures of Vegetarian Cooking
The world of vegetarian cooking is vast and diverse, and our new newsletter celebrates exactly that.

When Tejal Rao cooks vegetarian food at home, it can look like a big pile of lettuce leaves filled with sweet and spicy tofu larb.
By TEJAL RAO

13 Vegetarian Recipes That Give Pasta and Beans a Break
Cooking ruts are real. Get out of them with these fresh, vegetable-forward dishes.

Grilled mushroom skewers from Jocelyn Ramirez
By TANYA SICHYNSKY

The Joy of Plantains
The versatile fruit is as delicious in a skillet with tomatoes and eggs as it is alone, so why not make both?
By SAM SIFTON

The Gloriously Versatile Plantain
Every starch has its secrets. Here’s what makes plantains so exceptional.

Once you know how to harness plantains’ charms, you can use them in all manner of applications.
By Yewande Komolafe

Tomato Time!
Whether you toss them with chickpeas, feta and a beautifully crunchy topping, or grate them for paneer con tomate, these recipes will put them to good use.
By TEJAL RAO

13 Grilled Chicken Recipes That Aren’t Boring or Dry
It’s easy to overdo chicken on the grill, but these recipes promise tender, flavorful results.

Alana Kysar’s huli huli chicken.
By MARGAUX LASKEY

EAT
These Strawberry Mini-Cakes Are Perfect Party Food
A first birthday calls for these small tender confections, just right for chubby baby hands.

By DORIE GREENSPAN

A GOOD APPETITE
A Remarkable Almond Cake Made Even Better
Whipping up your own almond paste adds just a few minutes, but smartly innovates on a classic recipe.

This almond cake walks the line between dense and light, with a plush crumb and heady marzipan flavor.
By Melissa Clark

Cherry Jelly

Way! Way! Way Over the Top Fish and Chips

Four Simple Pasta Sauces

Pasta Grannies

The Man in the Green Hat

FRONT BURNER
Champagne Wishes and Climate Change Dreams
A new documentary on Champagne explores its roots in France, but also how sparkling wines have flourished across the English Channel thanks to global warming.

Domaine Evremond Vineyard in Kent, England, makes sparkling wines.
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

WINE SCHOOL
A Rosé by Any Other Color
By Eric Asimov

Nach Waxman, Founder of a Bookstore Where Foodies Flock, Dies at 84
A “kitchen anthropologist,” he created a mecca in Manhattan for chefs, writers, scholars, everyday cooks and anyone else who is, well, hungry for culinary knowledge.

Nach Waxman in 2018 at his Manhattan bookstore, Kitchen Arts & Letters, which he called “a repository of books that are not only what you can’t get elsewhere, but beyond what you knew existed.”
By SAM ROBERTS

With Chop Suey and Loyal Fans, a Montana Kitchen Keeps the Flame Burning
Pekin Noodle Parlor, one of the nation’s oldest Chinese restaurants, says goodbye to its longtime owner but holds tight to its colorful past and city.

By Brett Anderson Photographs by Louise Johns

Camarones Embarazados, the Grilled Shrimp Recipe That Brings the Beach to You
With their cheeky name and rich adobo, these skewered “pregnant shrimp” rule the beaches of Puerto Vallarta and are perfect for grilling at home.

Camarones embarazados translates to pregnant shrimp in Spanish, but it’s a play on words.
By Pati Jinich

This Shrimp Recipe Will Bring You Joy
Millie Peartree’s sheet-pan shrimp boil is as festive as it is delicious.
By Emily Weinstein

THE POUR
California Wine Country Rebuilds as Threats Persist
The drought in Northern California is severe, and the risk of fires remains high. But winemakers are trying to adapt to climate change.

Andrew Holve, the head of winemaking at Newton Vineyards in Napa Valley, examining dead vines in a vineyard block lost to the 2020 fires.
By Eric Asimov