fact or fiction

Is it a fact or is it merely fiction? Fact or Fiction explores the lesser known truths in the food universe.

I Raised Chickens for Three Years. The “Free-Range” Egg Label Is Not What You Think.
On the New Year trip home, a relative set a bowl of steamed egg custard in front of the pregnant woman. “These are free-range eggs,” she said. “They’re nutritious. I saved them for you.” I took a bite and said nothing. After three years of raising chickens, I knew half of that sentence was right. The other half never got said.
By Jina day ago in Feast
The Bowl That Had No Name
The most memorable thing I ever ate was a bowl of noodles with almost nothing in it. It was in my grandmother’s kitchen, on a cold evening when the windows had turned cloudy with steam. No one was visiting. No one had spent the afternoon preparing a feast. My grandmother was hungry enough to cook, and I was hungry enough to eat.
By Jin2 days ago in Feast
The Hungry Shark
It was only a 2-star Michelin grade restaurant. Only ? Truth be told, any star from this tire company was a big deal, for its awarded and coveted polygon represented a much-coveted grade assigned to restaurants; and two stars meant excellent cooking that was, as they say, “worth a detour.” Presumably on Michelin tires.
By Gerard DiLeo3 days ago in Feast
Why Your Mushroom Soup Tastes Thin, and the Pairing That Fixes It
Once I made chicken soup with shiitake mushrooms. The chicken was tender and the broth had flavor, but the umami sat on the surface. You tasted it at the front, and it disappeared as you swallowed. Later I threw two slices of kelp and half a tomato into the same pot. Twenty minutes later, the thickness was completely different. The soup suddenly stood up.
By Jin4 days ago in Feast
The Garlic Luffa I Make When I Want Dinner to Stay Simple
Two luffas sat on the bottom shelf of the fridge inside a plastic bag tied loosely at the top. I bought them two days earlier from a street stall near the bus stop. The vendor had a folding table, a small scale, and a few piles of vegetables. She said the luffas came from her own garden. I picked two that felt heavy for their size. The bag went into the fridge when I got home. Yesterday I took them out. One had a shallow brown pressure mark near the middle. I trimmed that spot with the tip of a paring knife. The flesh under the skin was still pale green, so I left the rest of the skin alone. The other luffa looked clean. I put it back in the fridge for another day.
By Jin5 days ago in Feast
"ℙ𝕒𝕤𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕜𝕖𝕥𝕔𝕙𝕦𝕡"
My parents got divorced when I was in my early teens, I honestly don't remember the year. Most years back then were chaotic and put in files in the back of my mind so that they weren't easily remembered. I was in survival mode. I lived with my Mom for a few years in the apartment she rented and when she moved to a different town, I didn't follow her, but instead rented the same apartment for a while with her financial help.
By Colleen Walters7 days ago in Feast
KFC Just Ended a 40-Year Pepsi Habit. The Fight Isn’t About Soda.
On October 15, 2026, KFC in the United States said it would move its beverage business to Coca-Cola. The switch begins January 2027 and finishes by spring, covering 3,718 U.S. stores.
By Jin7 days ago in Feast
I Thought French Food Was Fancy. Then I Saw What People Actually Eat
I used to think French food meant white tablecloths and tiny portions. Then I went to a bakery in Lyon at 7:30 on a Tuesday. A man in a gray coat bought two baguettes. He tucked one under his arm, tore the end off the other, and ate it while walking. That was breakfast. No plate. No waiter. Just bread, steam, and a paper bag turning translucent with butter.
By Jin9 days ago in Feast
Blue Plate Special. Content Warning.
The neon sign outside the diner window was a buzzing, broken arrow that couldn’t decide whether to stay red or die completely. It was 3:00 AM on a slick, freezing October Tuesday, and the rain was hitting the asphalt outside with a steady, metallic hiss. This place didn't have a hostess, a dress code, or a line out the door. It sat right at the intersection where the highway gave up and turned into dirt, surrounded by thousands of acres of empty wood and black sky.
By Syl De'Vil9 days ago in Feast
Louis Vuitton Won the Lawsuit. Chinese Shoppers Made It Pay.
On October 12, 2026, LVMH held its third-quarter earnings call. CFO Cécile Cabanis answered a question about the lawsuit in China. She said it was hard to measure the impact. Then she said the incident hurt the company at the start of the quarter.
By Jin10 days ago in Feast
I Froze Dumplings Outside in Minus 11 Degrees and Asked My Mom About Fillings
Dumplings Freezing Outside the Window It is minus eleven degrees Celsius in Harbin today. Frost clings to the iron railing outside the balcony. Mom carries the bamboo tray out and lines dumplings in rows. They look like small white geese sitting in snow. After a while she turns them. They freeze a little longer, then go into bags. The outdoor air works as a freezer. No electricity. No space inside. Open a window and use it.
By Jin10 days ago in Feast
I Broke Every Fish I Pan-Fried Until I Fixed Four Things
The fish hits the pan. It sizzles. You touch it with a spatula. The skin stays stuck. The flesh breaks. The pan gets a black layer. You scrub for ten minutes. Next time you dry the fish, rub ginger on the pan, and salt the oil. The skin still tears.
By Jin10 days ago in Feast