Italian cuisine has a deceptive virtue: it seems easy to understand. Pasta, tomato, cheese, rice, a few familiar sauces and the impression of being in familiar territory. But it is enough to open an ...

A new book exploring the origins of common food terms — from bialy to lima bean to bibimbap — is a fascinating history of how we eat and cook. By Kim Severson Used judiciously, the snappy tidbits of ...