Food

Emer wheat is one of the world's oldest cultivated grains. What about plant diversity in this species and thousands of others? How can we hold onto the past for our future? We need a world seed vault.

Butter has been missing from Israeli markets for well over a year. Why isn't supply meeting the demand?

A sumptuous Persian vegetarian recipe with eggplant, rice, and mushrooms.

There’s a wide variety of olives to enjoy. Learn more about the different types, their nutrition, health benefits along with a tasty recipe to go with them.

In Afghanistan, 3.6 million people are reported to be in "emergency" (IPC Phase 4) levels of food insecurity, with another 10 million at "crisis" (IPC Phase 3) levels. In South Sudan, about 6.35 million people, or 54 percent of the total population, are estimated to be severely food insecure.

Climate change is a reality. New research shows that drought-tolerant crops like sesame (the main ingredient in tehina!) is an ideal alternative in regions that have relied on cotton or sorghum.

The history and legends of the noble olive.

If you look to what was brewing before the Syrian civil war, it was clear that people there were suffering from the effects of climate change. Environmentalists warned that extended droughts there would cause hunger, poverty and unrest. The conditions were right about a decade ago for the poor conditions to foment to a very unfavourable civil war with millions of Syrians displaced to Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon, Europe and even Canada.

Light, creamy panna cotta is a perfect way to finish off a summer meal. Garnish the pudding with berries or sliced fruit.

Khirret is still made in southern Iraq and other parts of the Middle East, but it's appreciated for its rarity, rather than a sweet that stands in competition with commercial candies.

A curious physicist revived 5000-year-old yeast and baked delicious bread from it.

My basil plant now wants to reproduce, flowering almost from one day to the next. To keep it from going leggy, I pinch off the flowering tops and harvest yet more leaves. My answer to the basil overflow problem is to bake green bread.

Use up the pods left over from shelling peas and beans to make - wine!

Whether you’re struggling with a stuck jar lid, find your eyes watering while chopping onions or trying to fish pieces of egg shells out of your dish, our list of the kitchen experts’ top kitchen hacks will be useful. 

It’s not a book for beginning cooks, but no recipe is really difficult to manage. For example, baklava might seem intimidating to make, but with filo pastry from the supermarket, a careful cook can easily produce a trayful of that exotic sweet from this book.