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