Food & Cooking

Bridget Lancaster and Jack Bishop advise using ripe fruit, extra-firm tofu and poking your hamburgers so they don't puff up like tennis balls.

Our modern fruits, grains and vegetables aren't nearly as nutrition-packed as their wild counterparts were thousands of years ago, says health writer Jo Robinson.

Novelist Kate Christensen makes a plot line of her own life in a memoir that describes her struggles to come to terms with her family, her relationships and her sometimes violent father. A passionate lover of food, Christensen weaves recipes into a story of survival.

From food scientists who study the human palate to maximize consumer bliss, to marketing campaigns that target teens to hook them for life on a brand, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Michael Moss' new books goes inside the world of processed, packaged foods.

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

America's Test Kitchen experts Jack Bishop and Bridget Lancaster join Fresh Air to explain what makes a great marinade — and why you might want to add an anchovy or two to your next beef stew.

Jack Bishop and Bridget Lancaster highlight some of their favorite grilling techniques and summer recipes -- everything from meat to vegetables to, yes, even desserts.

Fermentation guru Sandor Katz returns to Fresh Air for a lively discussion about cured meats, cheeses — and some fermented beverages (notably wine and beer).

Self-described "fermentation revivalist" Sandor Katz says "the creative space" between fresh and rotten is the root of most of humanity's prized delicacies. His new book, The Art of Fermentation, explores the ancient culinary art form.

One-third of American today are obese, and another third are overweight. A new HBO documentary series, The Weight of the Nation, explores how our country got this way and what can be done to tackle the growing national health crisis.

In his book Extra Virginity, Tom Mueller explains why you can't believe everything you read on olive oil labels. Much of the "extra-virgin" olive oil sold in the U.S. has actually been mixed with lower-priced, lower-grade oils and artificial coloring, he says.

From perfect pie crusts to poached salmon, Christopher Kimball and Bridget Lancaster share cooking tips and secret shortcuts from America's Test Kitchen. The biggest challenge is getting home chefs to faithfully follow recipes, Kimball says: "They will substitute ingredients with great abandon."

In his new book, Tomatoland, food writer Barry Estabrook details the life of the mass-produced tomato — and the environmental and human costs of the tomato industry. Today's tomatoes, he says, are bred for shipping and not for taste.

Would you eat a steak grown in a laboratory? Science writer Michael Specter examines the progress scientists have made in developing test-tube meat. "Depending on what your definition of any sort of life is, this is as fundamental as any animal is," he says.

The world's rapidly expanding population has created elevated demand for food, but changes in climate and irrigation have made it increasingly difficult to boost production accordingly. Environmentalist Lester Brown explains why he believes "food is the new oil" and may lead to political upheaval.

Physician Kevin Patterson has treated patients in the Arctic, in Kandahar and on remote Pacific Islands. He says that Western ideas and effects of urbanization are making people everywhere in the world both fatter and sicker.

Twenty years ago, Italian food was regarded as cheap, peasant food. Now it's served on menus worldwide and considered to be one of the healthiest cuisines. Esquire Magazine's food critic John Mariani chronicles the story of pizza, macaroni and red sauce in How Italian Food Conquered the World.