It’s an inexpensive snack food! It’s low-fat, cholesterol-free, protein-rich, and high in fiber! It’s also used in wearable fashion and home décor! What is it?

 

Popcorn, of course…the official state snack of Illinois.

“Animals are my friends…and I don’t eat my friends.” — George Bernard Shaw

“Ich wäre lieber betrunken und lustig als nüchtern und dumm.” (I’d rather be drunk and funny than sober and stupid.) —Bavarian proverb, often heard at Oktoberfest

 

 

The official end of summer may be sad for some, but for many, it heralds the arrival of a welcome tradition more than 200 years in the making: Oktoberfest, an annual celebration considered the world’s largest beer festival. In Munich, Germany, where it originated, Oktoberfest is already underway and runs through October 3. You will also find it going strong in many cities with large German communities, including, of course, Chicago.

Vietnamese food is a compendium of culinary contrasts: sweet and sour, mild and spicy, cold and hot — a true example, if you will, of yin and yang. If your idea of good eating is a little bit of everything (with a generous amount of fish sauce!), you should definitely give this cuisine a try.

“Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack…” — “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” (Norworth/Von Tilzer, 1908)

Here at The World of Food, we’re enjoying National Potato Month, a great time to celebrate one of the world’s perfect foods.

Invite the neighbors, heat up your charcoal briquettes, toss your burgers, brats, vegetables, and what-have-you on the grill, serve it all up with a bottle of grocery-store sauce and deli side dishes, and voilà! You have yourself a barbecue. Easy-peasy.

Heat. High humidity. Sunburn and sand between your toes. Deep-fried everything. Yes, those dog days of summer are upon us again.

 

So perhaps it would be a good time for a refreshing change of pace — a journey to someplace far away, invigorating, and entirely different.  Someplace like…

 

…Iceland.

Did you know that Americans collectively consume approximately 100 acres of pizza per day, which translates to 350 slices every second?

“If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.” — Carl Sagan

Located in western South America and bordering five other countries and the Pacific Ocean, Peru is truly a land of extreme contrasts.

July is National Ice Cream Month, so designated by President Ronald Reagan back in 1984. At the same time, he also declared that the third Sunday in July would thereafter be known as National Ice Cream Day.

In anticipation of the national premiere of WTTW’s new special and website, Weekend in Havana with Geoffrey Baer, we thought we would provide a quick overview of Cuba’s mouthwatering cuisine, which goes perfectly with a generous side of salsa music, a refreshing cocktail, and (of course) a good cigar.

“Any month whose name contains the letters A, E, or U is the proper time for chocolate.” — Sandra Boynton

You have surely heard the phrase “as American as apple pie.” Well, that’s a misnomer, as it turns out that this quintessentially American dessert really originated in Great Britain. Hamburgers and hot dogs? Germany – or to be more specific, Hamburg and Frankfurt, respectively. Mac 'n' Cheese? Italy (or France). French fries? Not France at all, but Belgium.

Beginning with the first sighting of the crescent moon this past Saturday evening, Muslims all over the world celebrated the end of the holy month of Ramadan and commence the month of Shawwal in this Islamic year of 1438 by embarking on the three-day Eid al-Fitr, or “Festival of Breaking of the Fast.” After a month of forgoing all food and drink each day between the early morning meal (Sahoor) and the evening repast (Iftar), the elaborate feast that is central to this important religious observance is a welcome and happy event that signifies “the mercy of God.” (In addition to sharing a delicious meal of halal foods, Muslims are encouraged to “forgive and forget” any differences they may have had with others during the previous year.)

Chef, TV personality, and author Anthony Bourdain has traveled all over the world, sampling with gusto the cuisine wherever he goes. When asked by The Guardian to choose “the final meal of his dreams,” Bourdain didn’t hesitate: “A sushi blowout,” he replied, with lots of “rare and expensive sakes.” After that, he continued, “he could die satisfied.

Russia, in terms of sheer area, is the largest country in the world — it stretches across 11 time zones and borders 14 countries (many of

Unless you’re lactose-intolerant, the chances are that you like cheese.

“[The] man who invented the hamburger was smart; [the] man who invented the cheeseburger was a genius.” –Matthew McConaughey, actor