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December 4, 2012 Many Jewish families celebrate with foods such as latkes and donuts that are fried in oil, to honor a holiday miracle. But some Jews also eat dishes like blintzes and kugels that are made with cheese. How did cheese make it onto the menu? The story starts with a beautiful widow.

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December 4, 2012 Europeans and American colonists believed one's personality, temperament and physical health depended on balancing "humors" of hot, cold, moist and dry with foods. Of course, that worked for the wealthy, who could afford a variety of foods, and it kept them in power.

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December 4, 2012 In his new book, author and oenophile Paul Lukacs traces the 8,000-year history of our original alcoholic beverage — from ancient times, when wine was believed to be of divine origin, to the sauvignon blanc you find in your supermarket today.

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On Fresh Air from WHYYPlaylist

December 3, 2012 Two top food policy experts square off on the role the food industry should play in the global battle against obesity recently, and the answers are as complex, interconnected and political as ever.

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December 3, 2012 For this week's Sandwich Monday, we try McDonald's new CBO sandwich. CBO stands for "Cheddar, Bacon, Onion," but they have to put an asterisk after "Cheddar," because it's not really cheese. We don't know why they don't have to put an asterisk after "food."

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December 3, 2012 Gotcha! An underwater camera caught large Maine lobsters gobbling up their younger brethren along the coastline. Biologists think this turn to cannibalism may be due to a recent spike in the Maine's lobster population, combined with a decrease in the numbers of their natural predators.

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November 30, 2012 The country's ultra-Orthodox Jews control kosher certification, but some restaurants are raising objections and forming their own rival certification association. The dispute is part of a wider debate over how Israel should manage the relationship between church and state.

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On All Things ConsideredPlaylist

November 30, 2012 KBIAIt's not just Twinkie hoarders and Ding Dong lovers that feel the pain of the Hostess factory closings. For the first time in about 40 years, Booches Billiard Hall in Columbia, Mo. has to go elsewhere to source the buns for its famous burgers. Regulars say they are adapting to the change.

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November 30, 2012 Troubled artist Mark Rothko famously hated the rich and glamorous. These were the same people who were expected to see his art in New York's Four Seasons restaurant in a project commissioned back in the 1950s; he never completed the work. Recently, two modern artists decided to interpret these Rothko works in colored rice for the rest of us.

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November 29, 2012 Just because it's cold doesn't mean we should have to give up delicious tomatoes. The "buy-local" movement has spurred a boom in greenhouse grown winter tomatoes in cold climates from Jackson Hole, Wyo., to Madison, Maine. And it uses less water and less land than conventional methods.

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On All Things ConsideredPlaylist

November 29, 2012 A North American quinoa boom may be just over the horizon, plant breeders say, as the Rocky Mountains, much of Canada, and the Pacific Northwest all have potential as production regions. Right now, almost all of the world's supply of the ancient superfood comes from a few suitable growing places in South America.

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November 29, 2012 A new way to clean spinach combines an old technique and a new one to get the disease-causing bacteria. But there aren't any commercial orders for the ultrasonic spinach spa just yet.

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