Q. Do not put those vegetables on my plate. Please. Do not put those vegetables on my plate. As a childhood ‘supertaster’, few things were as terrifying as a host with a cold-hearted smile, a giant serving spoon, and an insistence on sharing all the food equally between all the

Q. The best strawberries are uncommonly sweet, juicy, big enough to savour. The worst are nothing but tasteless, mealy, off-season imposters. All power to the real royal reds just waiting to be eaten fresh, or dipped in icing sugar and chocolate. What are some interesting ways in which strawberries have

Q. Sizzle, fizz, pop, crunch. Does the sound of food – while we’re preparing it, while we’re eating it – affect our perceptions of its taste? And how about the ambient sounds that surround us while we eat? Can playing this piece versus that song affect the degree to which

Q. Indonesia, Mexico, India, The West Indies – places known for the heat in their sun, and the heat on their plates. If I’m feeling adventurous in Jamaica, I’ll go for spice with my breakfast omelette. I mean: I’m half-Jamaican. I can handle it, right? ‘Spice’ is scooped out of

Q. Some days call for piping hot tea, and a three-tiered tower of tasty treats. What’s your favourite –  the wee lemon tarts, the butter-cut scones, or the mini egg-swirl sandwiches? Whom can we thank for this mid-day delight, and should we be calling it ‘high tea’ or ‘afternoon tea?’

Q. ‘Each kind of spoon is used for a specific purpose, and should never be used except for that one.’ So wrote Lady Constance Howard in her 1885 Etiquette : What to do, and how to do it. ‘A grave error would be committed,’ Lady Constance continued, ‘by using a dessert

Q. . Trick or Treat! Your smile is big; your Super Spy costume is on point. Now, bring on the candy. “George!” The third Weird Barbie to answer your knocking is now hollering over her right shoulder. “We’re out of candy! George!” George is bashing about the back room, banging

Q. What is it about the smell of coffee? . A. If you close your eyes, can you summon up the smell of coffee? The talented Haruki Murakami writes about that glorious coffee aroma in Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage. ‘Haida was very particular about coffee, always

Q. Amaretto – ‘a little bitter’ – is the almond-soaked liqueur you might know from the Amaretto Sour, The Godfather, Blueberry Tea. We know it’s a deeply historic potion with Italian roots, but who can claim inventor credits? . A.  With a name like ‘a little bitter’ are we surprised

Q. Chocolate, sour cherries, sponge cake, kirsch, whipping cream, dark chocolate curls. What’s not to like? What inspired this deliciousness? . A. Black Forest cake – or Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte –   gets its name from Schwarzwälder Kirsch, a sour cherry liqueur distilled in Germany. Some say that the inspiration for this 16th