Prologue: Pieces of History

“What’s Cooking, Uncle Sam?,” our current special exhibition in Washington, DC, examines the Government’s effect on what Americans eat. Government influence was especially visible during wartime, when many food products were reserved for feeding the troops and our Allies. During World War I, the U.S. Food Administration, headed by Herbert Hoover, urged the American people [...]

These Iowa spuds were decades ahead of the “Freedom Fries” idea! To help the war effort during First World War, U.S. citizens were encouraged to eat more potatoes while wheat was being sent to the soldiers overseas. This World War I store window display showed potatoes dressed as soldiers, encouraging both children and adults to [...]

Today on “What’s Cooking Wednesday,” we are excited to share a special guest post and recipe from food writer Joan Nathan, who will be speaking at the National Archives on May 25 with Chef Spike Mendelsohn about Jewish holiday traditions and cooking.  In all the years I have been writing about food, I thought that [...]

Our new exhibit “What’s Cooking, Uncle Sam?” opens on June 10 and has over 100 original records about food. But what if you could do more than just look at the records? What if you could taste them—and taste history? Chef Jose Andres—the 2011 Outstanding Chef at the James Beard Foundation Awards, host and executive producer [...]

“What’s Cooking Wednesday” continues with this post from our colleagues at the National Archives at Denver. These Wednesday features celebrate our new exhibit “What’s Cooking, Uncle Sam?” which opens on June 10 in Washington, DC, and looks at the role that the Federal Government has taken in food production, safety, advertising, and nutrition. It’s hard to [...]