N.C. Food News and In-Depth Reporting

Miso Made the Masterful Way–But in North Carolina

Cooked soy beans are mixed with koji, water and salt to begin the aging and fermentation period. (Mike Belleme for The Assembly)

Rutherfordton-based Miso Master has become the world’s largest organic producer of a Japanese culinary staple.

Holly Silvers’ tomatoes. (Photo courtesy of Silvers)

For some people weathering Hurricane Helene, food was hard to come by. Those with experience canning looked to their own larders.

Beaufort County health inspector Vera McConnell on the job. (Photo by Jimmy Ryals)

As counties struggle to hire and retain health inspectors, lawmakers, regulators, and scientists look to ease caseloads and develop new talent.

Dried okra pods at the Princeton Seed Farm. (Photos courtesy of Tessa Desmond)

Okra seeds yield a liquid comparable to extra-virgin olive oil, but the crop isn’t ready for commercial production.

Chapel Hill's Southern Season store decorated for the 2014 holiday season. (Credit Mx. Granger via Wikimedia Commons)

It’s been nearly five years since the demise of the beloved food emporium. Many who loved it still wonder what went wrong.

Big Fat Philly Sandwich Shop's food truck at a Quiltmaker Cafe pop-up in downtown Pittsboro. (Photos by Hanna Raskin)

The pay-what-you-will cafe format flourishes in the South.

Angel Louis of Boozie Bakes labels her wares. (Photo by Susannah Skiver Barton)

Raleigh-based Boozie Bakes is taking alcohol-infused treats to a dreamy new level.

People wait to buy groceries outside an Asheville Ingles grocery store in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

In Western North Carolina, Ingles is the flagship supermarket. But Helene has dealt the brand a major blow.

Sarah and James Doss, owners of Rx Chicken and Oysters, speared a lionfish during one of their Atlantic dives.

Wilmington restaurateurs take to the sea to spear lionfish, a voracious predator—and now a signature dish.

Soldiers eat lunch at Spears Ready Warrior Restaurant at Fort Liberty. (Andrew Craft for The Assembly)

Nearly one out of three Fort Liberty soldiers and their family members are food insecure. Can efforts to address it fill the gap?