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

FHome & Garden
Shopping experts share their best advice for saving on groceries
By Laura Daily

How to clean your refrigerator and keep it that way
By Becky Krystal

$600,000 Sexual Harassment Settlement Reached in Batali & Bastianich Case
An investigation by the New York State attorney general describes a culture of widespread sexual harassment and retaliation at the Batali & Bastianich Hospitality Group.

The chef Mario Batali has signed an agreement with the New York State attorney general to compensate workers who were sexually harassed at his former restaurants.
Kim Severson

The Right Sandwich for Right Now
Flavored with garlic mayonnaise, chiles, cilantro and lime, Kay Chun’s salt and pepper shrimp roll screams summer.

By EMILY WEINSTEIN

A GOOD APPETITE
How to Make Fast, Easy Skewers on the Grill
Grilling season is in full swing. What better time to perfect this often-tricky technique?

This speedy recipe for fish skewers makes the most out of thick, dense steaks — and doesn’t need much to shine..
By Melissa Clark

Bulgogi, Any Way You Slice It
From its origins in ancient Korea to kitchens across the diaspora today, this staple of Korean barbecue means something different to everyone.

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This skirt steak bulgogi tastes best with char from a grill, but a hot skillet on the stovetop would work in a pinch.
By ERIC KIM

EAT
The Best Thing to Eat When It’s Hot
In paneer con tomate, bright and juicy acidity finds a perfect partner with bites of fried cheese.

By TEJAL RAO

15 Easy Recipes for Ripe, In-Season Tomatoes
Let the indisputable star of the summer shine in any one of these delicious dishes.

Ali Slagle’s tomato bruschetta.
By Tanya Sichynsky

Great Zukes!
You have all the summer squash, and we have loads of recipes.

By SAM SIFTON

FRONT BURNER
Cooking With the Abundance of Maine
“The Maine Farm Table Cookbook” includes recipes from restaurants, farms, dairies and more across the state.

“The Maine Farm Table Cookbook: 125 Homegrown Recipes from the Pine Tree State” by Kate Shaffer (Countryman Press, $24.95).
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

Guac

Pasta Grannies

CRITIC’S NOTEBOOK
The Best Onigiri Are All About the Rice
At these Los Angeles spots, creative Japanese rice balls inspired by home cooking are made to order.

By TEJAL RAO

No-Roll Pie Crusts for Simple Summer Desserts
The perfect pies for lazy days combine buttery press-in crumb shells with no-bake fillings and piles of fresh fruit.

Crumb crusts and chilled fillings make for easy summer desserts.
By Dawn Perry

Investors Bet on Foie Gras Grown From Cells in a Lab
Gourmey, a start-up based in Paris, received an additional $10 million in seed funding this week. The company hopes to find a market in the United States amid growing concerns about animal cruelty.

A start-up company called Gourmey is trying to produce foie gras from cultivated cells, rather than the fattened livers of ducks or geese.
By Jenny Gross

Organizing a Union in the Disorganized World of Small Restaurants
The stresses of the pandemic and the demands for equity have moved many independent-restaurant workers to start labor-union drives. Will they get results?

The employees of Tattersall Distilling in Minneapolis successfully unionized last August, and have inspired other workers to do the same.
By Priya Krishna

Learning to Love G.M.O.s
Overblown fears have turned the public against genetically modified food. But the potential benefits have never been greater.
By Jennifer Kahn

Coca-Cola Is Changing the Flavor of a Soda. Again.
The company promised “an even more iconic Coke taste” for its new version of Coke Zero. But some anxious consumers remember the New Coke debacle of 1985.
By Maria Cramer

CRITIC’S NOTEBOOK
In Search of the California Barbecue Tradition
From storied Santa Maria tri-tip on the Central Coast, to barbacoa in Los Angeles, to hot links in West Oakland, the rules for slow-and-low are constantly rewritten here.
A’s BBQ, eastlossoulbarbecue.com

Barba Kush, instagram.com/barbakush

Bludso’s Bar & Que, 609 North La Brea Avenue, Los Angeles; 323-931-2583; barandque.com

Horn Barbecue, 2534 Mandela Parkway, Oakland; 510-225-6101; hornbarbecue.com

Moo’s Craft Barbecue, 2118 N Broadway, Los Angeles; 323-379-3635; mooscraftbarbecue.com

Smoke Queen, smokequeenbbq.com

The Hitching Post, 3325 Point Sal Road, Casmalia; 805-937-6151; hitchingpost1.com
By TEJAL RAO

A GOOD APPETITE
Crispy, Cheesy Arepas You Won’t Soon Forget
A snap to make, these tender, sweet corn arepas de choclo from the food stylist Mariana Velásquez make an excellent summer meal.

Sweet and moist in the center, arepas de choclo are usually filled with cheese.
Melissa Clark
By Melissa Clark

16 No-Bake Desserts for Blazing Summer Days
When it’s too hot to turn on the oven, these treats will satisfy your sweet tooth.

Melissa Clark’s no-bake lemon custards with strawberries.
By Margaux Laskey

FRONT BURNER
It’s Herring Time in Midtown
Aquavit celebrates herring with a summer festival that had to be skipped last year because of the pandemic.

Aquavit Herring Festival, $65 per person, and herring kit for two, $125, aquavit.org.
By Florence Fabricant

Saffron

Crawfish

Cabbage Island Clambake

Trofie Pasta

Exploring Seattle’s Booming Beer Scene
This northwestern city makes some of the most creative craft beers around. The best place to try them is in the Ballard Brewery District.

Obec Brewing is one of a dense cluster of beer breweries in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood.
By Christopher Solomon

THE POUR
A Wine Worth Waiting For
The 2005 Bordeaux vintage will require decades to evolve and develop. Is that better than wines that are terrific sooner, but not as majestic?

In Bordeaux, winemakers like Pontet-Canet make powerful wines that can endure for decades, long enough to develop complex secondary and tertiary aromas and flavors.
By Eric Asimov

For the First Time, an American Will Run the American Bar in London
The storied cocktail bar, which opened in the 1890s at the Savoy Hotel, has named Shannon Tebay of Death & Co. in New York as its new head bartender.

Shannon Tebay at Death & Co. in New York, where she worked for seven years before being named head bartender at the American Bar at the Savoy Hotel in London.
By ROBERT SIMONSON

Restaurant Shuts Down for a ‘Day of Kindness’ After Customers Make Its Staff Cry
The owners of Apt Cape Cod, a farm-to-table restaurant in Brewster, Mass., drew a line in the sand against customers’ rude behavior since being allowed to fully reopen.
By NEIL VIGDOR

PepsiCo reports stronger sales as consumers eat out more, but warns of rising prices.
The food and beverage giant said its net revenue surged 20.5 percent to $19.2 billion from a year earlier.
By JULIE CRESWELL

TRILOBITES
Cauliflower and Chaos, Fractals in Every Floret
Scientists take a crack at recreating the hypnotic fractal spirals of the Romanesco cauliflower.

By SABRINA IMBLER

Summer’s Must-Make Chilled Soup
This classic Persian dish is the no-cook meal you need in your life.

By GENEVIEVE KO

Ottolenghi’s Formula for Easy, Delicious Dishes
If you have something fresh, something flavorful and something in need of using up, you’re most of the way to a meal, Yotam Ottolenghi writes.

Turmeric and chiles give these eggs their lively appearance.
By YOTAM OTTOLENGHI

18 Vegetarian Grilling Recipes for Your Next Cookout
Enliven your repertoire with these deeply flavorful vegetarian options.

Jocelyn Ramirez’s grilled mushroom skewers.
By ALEXA WEIBEL

Nigel Slater’s recipe for sautéed peppers and potatoes
A tasty, herby, juicy veggie treat

‘Keep the ingredients partially covered as they cook so that they partly fry, partly steam’: sautéed peppers, potatoes.
By Nigel Slater

Lobster Rolls in New England

Edo Era Noodles

Minnesotan’s Best Ever Food Review Show at Crossroads

The world’s greatest dessert: 10 superb pavlovas – from peach melba to beautiful banoffee

The colourful variant … Kim-Joy’s rainbow pavlova.
By Stuart Heritage

THE POUR
From Savoie, White Wines That Refresh Like Mountain Air
This Alpine region in eastern France was little known until recently. Its gorgeous wines are distinctive and immediately appealing.

By Eric Asimov

No Soil. No Growing Seasons. Just Add Water and Technology.
A new breed of hydroponic farm, huge and high-tech, is popping up in indoor spaces all over America, drawing celebrity investors and critics.
By KIM SEVERSON

This Sheet-Pan Chicken Recipe May Just Make You Forget About Grilling
Zucchini and basil lend big flavor to this savory, summery weeknight dinner.

You can double this bright and tangy meal to serve a small gathering.
By Melissa Clark

EAT
The Egg Dish So Good They Have a Society in France to ‘Safeguard’ It
The recipe for oeuf mayo is strikingly simple, which means the details really matter.

By DORIE GREENSPAN

Shane Smith’s Raspberry Cheesecake Choux Buns

A double helping of cavatelli and tagliolini pasta from Calabria! | Pasta Grannies

The Talking Cows of Ancient Rome

TIMES INSIDER
Inside Our Subway Tuna Sandwich Test
Sending samples to a lab was just the beginning. The reporter behind the recent investigation talks about getting deep into the science of seafood.
By SARAH BAHR

ASK WELL
Do I Always Need to Wash Fruits and Vegetables? Do I Need a Special Soap?
A food safety specialist offers tips on helping to keep your food safe.
By SOPHIE EGAN

A GOOD APPETITE
This Bean Salad Is Ready to Go Places
Whether you take it to a picnic or toss it together for dinner, this three-bean salad couldn’t be fresher, faster or tastier.

You can have this three-bean salad on the table — or ready for the potluck — in just 20 minutes.
By Melissa Clark

EAT
The Best Way to Cook Vegetables: Low and Slow
Crisp vegetables are often prized, but long-cooking them into tenderness can bring out their deepest flavors.

By TEJAL RAO

Ditch Marinating for Delicious (and Faster) Summer Grilling
Quickly cook main ingredients over direct heat, then flavor them with bright, fresh seasonings.

Halloumi is grilled over high heat, then served over fresh tomatoes seasoned with coriander and cumin for a simple yet exciting summer meal.
By Ali Slagle

The Best Party Dessert Comes From Hawaii
What’s not to love about butter mochi? It’s simple to make, fun to eat and easy to customize.

Add a little food coloring to a passion fruit glaze, and you can make a beautiful ombré pattern on your butter mochi.
By Genevieve Ko

Buttermilk Scones

A History of Ice Cream | A Recipe from 1789

Shane Smith’s Guinness Bread with Pickled Cucumber

How Chef Ed Szymanski Perfected Fish & Chips at NYC’s Dame — Eater New Guard

Enjoy Bianca’s basil pesto lasagna with beans and potatoes | Pasta Grannies

Cutting Taters

Perfect Cakes for Youngins and Summer

FRONT BURNER
Gin from Cachaça Country
Amázzoni makes use of the Brazil nut and cocoa in its London dry-style spirit.

Amázzoni, $35 plus shipping for 750 milliliters, amazzoni.us.
By Florence Fabricant

THE POUR
Pastis, a Perfect Aperitif for the Lazy Days of Summer
It’s no more than a blend of water and spirit, but for a relaxed afternoon, it can’t be beat.

When water blends with the oils in the pastis, the liquid turns milky, a process called the louche.
By Eric Asimov

WINE, BEER & COCKTAILS
The Best Cocktail Is the One You Know by Heart
Committing just a few key ratios to memory can make at-home mixology a breeze.

Cocktails like the Negroni, which features equal parts Campari, gin and sweet vermouth, are easy to adapt and make on the fly.
By Rebekah Peppler

Romulo Yanes, Whose Photographs Captured the Beauty of Food, Dies at 62
Best known for his long tenure at Gourmet magazine, he brought a sense of elegant realism to his job and let his delectable subjects take center stage.

“Romulo Yanes, who in his 26 years as the staff photographer helped define Gourmet magazine’s striking visual identity by capturing the natural beauty of food without relying solely on the embellishments of ornamental props or elaborate styling, died on June 16 at his home in Tampa, Fla. He was 62.

His husband, Robert Schaublin-Yanes, said the cause was peritoneal cancer.’

The food photographer Romulo Yanes in an undated photo. “I want the dish to be the star,” he once said. “Everything else is secondary to that.”
By Alex Vadukul

Your Steak Is More Expensive, but Cattle Ranchers Are Missing Out
Demand for beef is spiking as people dine out and grill, but the profits aren’t being evenly distributed. Ranchers blame the big meatpacking companies.
By JULIE CRESWELL

Smithfield Foods is sued by an advocacy group claiming it stoked fears of meat shortages.
The group claims there were ample supplies of meat in cold storage even as Smithfield warned that the country was in danger of running out of meat.
By MICHAEL CORKERY

Grocery-to-Table Is a Challenge for Restaurants in the Pandemic
Looking for new ways to get their food to customers, chefs are reinventing their dishes as retail offerings — and it can be tricky.
By Jane Black

A GOOD APPETITE
It’s Time for Spinach Dip
That retro party staple gets a fresh, garlicky upgrade just in time for your summer barbecues, or your breeziest weeknight dinners.

Full of minced herbs and Greek yogurt, this dip runs through with deep, bright flavors.
By Melissa Clark

More Than ‘Just Takeout’
A new generation of Chinese American chefs is celebrating the inventiveness, resourcefulness and deliciousness of American Chinese food with menus dedicated to the classics.
By Cathy Erway

Pasta Grannies

Wolfgang Puck Answers a Few Questions

The Understated Splendor of Grilled Oysters
J. Kenji López-Alt makes a compelling case for throwing your oysters on the grill this summer, and offers three vibrant ways to finish them.

Flavored butters give these grilled oysters added appeal.
By J. Kenji López-Alt

Sponge Cakes You’ll Make Again and Again
Claire Saffitz has tips and recipes for a perfectly fluffy dessert that’s as good alone as it is paired with supple summer fruit.

Sponge cake gets a bad rap for being dry, but when properly made, it is tender, bouncy and soaks up whatever flavors it’s paired with.
By Claire Saffitz

SQUARE FEET
Craft Distilleries Aim to Make Whiskey an Experience
Despite the financial pain wreaked by the pandemic, the industry grew in 2020 as businesses moved tastings and other activities outdoors.
By KEITH SCHNEIDER

Mark Peel, Who Helped Forge a New Culinary Path, Dies at 66
A pillar of California’s pioneering food scene, he worked at Spago and was a founder of the renowned Campanile and La Brea Bakery.

Mark Peel in 2006 at Campanile in Los Angeles, his signature restaurant. One food critic wrote, “It is hard to overstate Campanile’s contributions to American cooking.”
By Kim Severson

British Restaurants Are Battling a Staff Crisis, Worsened by Brexit
A shortage of workers is forcing restaurants to turn away eager customers and confront a bigger problem: how to make hospitality an industry where people want to work.
By ESHE NELSON

Acclaimed Seattle Chef’s Staff Quits After Sexual Misconduct Allegations
Multiple women have accused Edouardo Jordan, known for running the restaurants Salare and JuneBaby, of unwanted touching or kissing. Almost all of the restaurants’ employees have resigned.

Chef Edouardo Jordan preparing chitlins and hog maw stew with okra and tomatoes at JuneBaby in Seattle in 2019.Credit…Kyle Johnson for The New York Times
By Daniel Victor and Jacey Fortin

Starbucks, Flush With Customers, Is Running Low on Ingredients
At locations across the country, there have been complaints about shortages of key ingredients for popular drinks, breakfast foods and even cups, lids and straws.
By JULIE CRESWELL

Oyster Farmers Who Feared Going Broke Brace for a ‘Bonkers’ Summer
When restaurants closed to slow the spread of the coronavirus, the nationwide market for oysters cratered. That’s not the end of the story.

By TRACEY TULLY

Four Decades on, Martin Yan Faces a New Audience and a New World
The man who used television to help many North Americans start cooking Chinese food at home is as cheery as ever, but aware of some harsher truths.

Martin Yan at home in the San Francisco Bay Area. Since he started cooking on TV in 1982, he has taught millions of people how to cook various Asian cuisines.
By PRIYA KRISHNA

How to Grill Just About Any Vegetable
Two grilling methods are all you need to cook summer’s bounty, from broccoli to asparagus, cauliflower to tomatoes. Even leafy greens benefit from a brief turn on the grill.
By STEVEN RAICHLEN

Consider the $34 Lobster Roll
The pandemic has exacerbated a price spike in the iconic New England summer sandwich.

A lobster roll piled high at Red’s Eats in Wiscasset, Maine. The motto at Red’s is “We don’t measure… we pile it high.”
By STEVEN KURUTZ

Out of the Pandemic, a New Marketplace for Native Ingredients
The owners of Tocabe Indigenous Marketplace aim to build one of the most comprehensive shops of its kind.

Matthew Chandra, left, and Ben Jacobs have created an online shop for Native and Indigenous ingredients called Tocabe Indigenous Marketplace. It’s an offshoot of their American Indian restaurant, Tocabe, in Denver.
By Priya Krishna

Crawfish