Our museum is temporarily closed to support the effort to contain the spread of COVID-19. Read a message from our director, and check our website and social media for updates.
When Watchmen were Klansmen
Note: While history shouldn’t require a spoiler alert, this blog does contain some minor ones regarding the HBO series Watchmen.“You know...
How picturing the Boston Massacre matters
Maybe this painting looks familiar. A long row of red-coated soldiers. A cloud of gun smoke engulfing the street. Falling bodies.Detail of...
The most radical thing about Stonewall wasn’t the uprising
The Stonewall uprising began June 28, 1969, in response to a police raid at The Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York, and has since...

Blog Posts in "Food History"

Lobster on a plate
Inside the Demonstration Kitchen: A new way of exploring food history
Our American Food History Project recently introduced Food Fridays, a new cooking demonstration series on the Wallace H...
Orange juice cans
Connecting objects with place: 5 stories of innovation from "Object Project"
The Patrick F. Taylor Foundation Object Project is a new interactive learning space opening on July 1. Here, we're highlighting...
Kubla Khan Chicken Chop Suey
From the wok to the frozen food aisle
In honor of Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month, archivist Cathy Keen explores how a Chinese-American entrepreneur helped introduce new...
Supermarket sushi bar
5 big questions behind American sushi
Where can you find the sushi capital of Japanese America?In downtown Los Angeles, the five-block-wide neighborhood known as "Little Tokyo"...
Victorian trade card advertising Tabasco sauce, 1900
Tabasco and the war against bland military meals
Object Project new media assistant Caitlin Kearney explores the history behind how American soldiers have used Tabasco sauce to spice...
1920s icebox
Keeping your (food) cool: From ice harvesting to electric refrigeration
If you haven't done your spring cleaning yet, think about starting with the fridge. Thanks to electric refrigeration, we're able to store...
Photo of Pat Murphy's Chicken House by Ansel Adams
Chickens, eggs, and the changing American diet
In getting ready for our next American History After Hours event, we've been looking at the history behind America's love of...
Cartoon shows a large group of men and women from of various races, ethnicities, and cultural backgrounds gathered around a table for a meal. At the head of the table, Uncle Sam carves a turkey; the table's center is dominated by the model of a temple with the words "Universal Suffrage."
Inclusion and exclusion in two historic Thanksgiving cartoons
Thanksgiving is often imagined as a time of gathering and inclusion. We frequently picture our quintessentially American holiday as when we...
Peter Pan brand by the Northwest District Fruit Sales Company Inc. of Wenatchee, Washington
Washington state: As American as apple...
125 years ago this November (November 11, 1889, to be exact), President Benjamin Harrison signed a proclamation admitting Washington as the...
Suzy Homemaker children's toy from 1950s-1960s, turquoise, with fake food inside
Suzy Homemaker, a slice of life from the 1960s
It was like Christmas morning in 1968 when our Suzy Homemaker toy refrigerator arrived at the museum (new in box, with original staples!)....
Julia Child's home kitchen, with its hundreds of tools, appliances, and furnishings
Chatting about food history with food leader Lynne Breaux
From the 2012 opening of the exhibition FOOD: Transforming the American Table, 1950–2000 to its upcoming FOOD in the Garden...
Sourcing food, sourcing food history: Researching FOOD in the Garden 2014
This September, we join Smithsonian Gardens in hosting our annual FOOD in the Garden series. We'll explore four maritime regions impacted...
A group of chefs in the kitchen
Cooking in D.C. with Julia Child
Fans and friends of Julia Child will pause today, as they do every year on August 15, to remember the beloved icon of American culinary...
Mr. Peanut and Antonio Gentile: A trademark that defined a life
Packaging designer Walter Landor once said, "Products are made in the factory, but brands are created in the mind." One of the most iconic...
An April Fool's "assalt" on history
If you're offended by that first pun, the rest of this post about our high sodium "Conference on Stuff" by Curator Katherine Ott may rub...
Percy Medicine, 1996-1999. "For the relief of diarrhea, sour stomach, acid indigestion, heartburn, and upset stomach associated with overindulgence of food and drink." Orange packaging with a child's face.
How do you cure a historic hangover?
On this first day of 2014, many of us will be looking forward to the New Year. Others will just be looking forward to recovering from the...
Empty bakery, black and white photo, with bread and bread slicing machines
The best loan since sliced bread
The "home of sliced bread" welcomes its bread-slicing machine back, thanks to a loan from our museum. Development intern Christina Ross...
The mysterious can of fortune
In her non-fiction exploration of the Chinese food industry in America, Fortune Cookie Chronicles, Jennifer 8. Lee finds a mystery in...
Young female intern with the remnants of a crab feast, including containers of butter, napkins, crabs, in an outdoor setting
Crab feast: From the Chesapeake Bay to Julia Child's kitchen
"If you can't eat that, then you ain't hungry!" These are the words I heard from my internship supervisor (in a Maryland accent, mind you)...
White button that says "I'd rather be farming" in black text with the image of a tractor
From dirt to dinner: How agriculture history influences American lives
Soil is more than just dirt; it affects all of the foods we eat. But why is this really a conversation about history and why are we talking...
Container of Abuelita hot chocolate on colorful fabric
Sniffs of cinnamon-scented hot chocolate draw visitors into immigration history
Spotting a familiar artifact at the Smithsonian can be an exciting moment for visitors—and, in this case, a moment of cultural connection....
When bringing the farm to the school, a key ingredient is community support
This Thursday's Food in the Garden program asks a challenging question: "Can gardening change the world?" Intern Heather Olsen...
A thin man holds a yellow-colored pie in a kitchen
Meet the foragers: Finding food at their feet
"Edible weeds," "forest gardens," and "garden pharmacy" may not be phrases you expect us to throw around in a history museum. But out in...
Four people standing among plants in a garden, trees in the background
Food in the Garden kicks off with focus on heirlooms
Missed last week's Food in the Garden 2013 Summer Series event? New Media intern Hannah Ostroff recaps the discussion on growing local,...
Jefferson's small wooden desk
You asked, we answered: How did soldiers commemorate the first Fourth of July?
Museum staff Hannah Ostroff and Marko Zlatich have an answer, and it's not barbeques and fireworks.In the Revolutionary War era, news did...
Family photo with over 30 members, black and white
Smithsonian Secretary has agricultural roots
American agriculture has changed dramatically since World War II, affecting many aspects of American life. Curator Peter Liebhold has been...
George Washington's well-appointed personal camp chest, or "mess kit," enabled him to dine in a manner reflecting his position as commander of the Continental Army.
You asked, we answered: What did soldiers eat during the Revolutionary War?
After answering a question about what may have been in the pockets of Revolutionary War soldiers, another Revolutionary War...
A woman in a photograph drives a red farm machine on a hill in the countryside. She looks at the camera, wearing a baseball cap and denim shirt. Strapped to her back is a baby who looks at the camera suspiciously.
Personal stories are key in telling the story of agricultural innovation
American agriculture has changed dramatically since World War II, impacting many aspects of American life. Curator Peter Liebhold has been...
What’s your favorite Chinese restaurant?
Share a photo of your favorite Chinese restaurant and we may include it in a traveling exhibition. Curator Cedric Yeh shares the story of...
Giant grasshoppers plague Kansas!
Sorry. Just an April Fool's Day gag—and there's more where that came from. Curator Shannon Perich shares historic exaggeration photos in...
Telling the story of agricultural change in America, with your help
The way Americans grow food and other agricultural products has changed a lot in the last 70 years. Curator Peter Liebhold answered...
Cross-country collecting for the "FOOD" exhibition
To uncover the secret lives of museum objects, our curators hit the road. History Explorer staffer Sarah Coffee interviewed Curator Rayna...
Saying so long to "Sweet & Sour"
Curator's note: The following post is the latest from our Sweet & Sour series, part of a project to explore the culture...
Feeding America: The people and politics that bring food to our table
Latino and food history expert Steve Velazquez looks beyond the plate to discover the people, technology, and systems that bring food to...
An aspiring Top Chef talks about "The French Chef"
The first episode of The French Chef aired on WGBH on February 11, 1963, starring Julia Child. To celebrate the show’s...
Copper bowl
Celebrating the 50th anniversary of Julia Child's "The French Chef"
The first episode of The French Chef aired on WGBH on February 11, 1963, starring Julia Child. To celebrate the show's 50th anniversary,...
Mexican Kitchen Cookware Set was manufactured by Nordic Ware in 1982
Let's Talk Taco: How did Mexican-American food conquer the world?
Curator Rayna Green shares artifacts relating to an upcoming program on Mexican-American food. View the archived video of the program on...
Green tall bowl with jazzy designs in black
Our "super" bowls
What if the stories of historic artifacts were told by the play-by-play announcers who explain football games on television? That's the...
The quest for Grandmere’s cookies
On your next visit to the museum, take a look at our new exhibition FOOD: Transforming the American Table, 1950-2000, which...
A dozen cool things in our online collection for 12-12-12
In honor of today's date of December 12, 2012, we searched our collection database for artifacts that relate to the number 12. We were a...
Last-minute holiday gifts for history lovers, nostalgic baby boomers, and the French chef
The best gifts come with a story. One holiday, my mom gave my sister and I homemade cookbooks with our favorite recipes in them. Each dish...
What was in colonial cups besides tea? Cider, water, milk, and whiskey!
Editor's note: Yesterday, museum fellow Melissa Swindell gave us a peek into colonial cups in her blog post about hot chocolate. Today she...
George Washington drank hot chocolate…
...but, so did everyone else. Turns out, hot chocolate was a pretty common beverage in colonial America—before and after the Revolution....
Chef holding a tray of apple pies
As American as apple pie
Editor's note: If you're planning a visit to the museum after Thanksgiving, save room for dessert—and check the hours of our cafés. In...
Cranberries in a pot, set on dried leaves
5 questions with a colonial culinarian
It's not everyday that you get to meet an expert on colonial foodways—especially not one dressed in a historically accurate pilgrim outfit....
Chris Kimball remembers eating and cooking with Julia Child
Chris Kimball of the cooking show "America's Test Kitchen" shares memories of cooking in Julia Child's kitchen with museum curators.Peering...
Tomatillo
The tomatillo (tohm-ah-TEE-oh)
Editor’s note: The Smithsonian’s kickoff celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month takes place on September 15, 2012 here at the...
I’ll take that drink to go!
Editor's Note: Re-posted from Bright Ideas, the blog of the Smithsonian's Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation...

Pages