Wondrous food to explore and enjoy

Gastro Obscura

Read 2013 Gastro Stories

Make Italy’s Christmas Snake Cake

In Umbria, the holidays mean a piece of sweet, almondy serpentone.

December 15, 2023

The Woman Putting a West-Coast Spin on Japan’s Traditional Tea Sweets

Wagashi is a way to celebrate the beauty of the seasons.

December 11, 2023

Before Drinking Coffee, People Washed Their Hands With It

This mysterious ingredient was often found in medieval Arabic books of medicine and botany.

December 11, 2023

Try These West African Spices in Your Holiday Baking

Have some fun with fusion.

December 11, 2023

holidays with a twist

The Weird, Wonderful World of Collecting French Cake Figurines

Porcelain or plastic, Harry Potter or copulating couple, fèves come in all shapes and sizes.

December 8, 2023

Make Thailand’s Golden Threads Dessert

A recipe from the countess who ran the royal kitchens of Siam.

December 8, 2023

historical recipes

How a Midnight Feast Became a Month-Long Dining Extravaganza in New Orleans

Revel in Réveillon all December long in the Crescent City.

Gastro Obscura's 10 Essential Places to Eat in Vietnam

Feast on broken rice, late-night noodles, and whipped egg coffee.

December 4, 2023

Eat This Filipino Feast with Your Hands

The kamayan, also known as a boodle fight, has a long, curious history.

December 4, 2023

The Ultimate Gastro Obscura Gift Guide

Our favorite food gifts your loved ones don’t already have.

November 30, 2023

The Tragic and Inspiring Story of the 'Queen of Thai Desserts'

From countess to political prisoner to palace chef, Maria Guyomar de Pinha lived a life fit for the screen.

November 30, 2023

Podcast: Nue

Street food is a global phenomenon these days, and here's a place in Seattle that really embraces it.

November 27, 2023

Why We Couldn’t Describe a Flavor We Taste Every Day

The human tongue detected it long before it could say it.

November 24, 2023

Before Thanksgiving, There Were the Feasts of 'The Order of the Good Cheer'

North America's first culinary social club was born in the 17th-century Canadian frontier.

November 21, 2023

I Bought an Ostrich Egg, and Here's What I Made With It

First step: Grab a hammer.

November 20, 2023

Do Colder or Warmer Places Eat More Spicy or Bland Food?

The correlation between temperature and flavor is obvious across the U.S., Europe, and Asia.

November 17, 2023

The Fantastical Feasts of England's First Celebrity Chef

Pastry warships, frogs hopping out of pies, and other spectacles devised by Robert May.

November 17, 2023

Make Ancient Roman Brain and Rose Soufflé

Somebody in the fifth century combined these ingredients into one recipe, and probably no one has since.

November 14, 2023