Best Of MetaFilter

Dumplings, Steamed by iamNigelMorris (cc by)

"Map showing the spread of dumplings," "Stuffed boiled dumplings and the Mongol Empire, 1200–1350," "In the Beginning, There Were ... Dumplings?" and more in kliuless's delicious dumplingfest.

Cooking authentic Pad Thai in Bangkok by ToastyKen (cc by)

People think they want authentic Thai food until they're eating unrefrigerated squirrel gristle salad made with partially rotted paddy crabs and fermented fish sauce. All of a sudden the gentrified stuff seems pretty appetizing. Eat what you enjoy!

Fascinating insights from telf on Thai nationalism, Pad Thai, the question of authenticity and "the concept of Thainess" in smoke's interesting post about the history of Pad Thai.

Plate with sliced peaches by wuestenigel (cc by)

Pull up a chair and sit down, as EmpressCallipygos 'splains what to do with millions of peaches (or other produce)

Elsewhere on our plate:

Salad Fight! | 1,500 year old New Mexican beans | An Alphabet of international bread recipes | Reclaiming Canadian indigenous cuisine | As Muslim-American as bean pie | We all scream for ... mayo ice cream? | Sugartime by Ruby Tandoh | Forgotten Southern Recipes | An illustrated compendium of Chinese baos | Verbing the taco | The story of Chop Ayam

And finally, for those of us less culinarily evolved, have we even been opening our cans the wrong way?

Spices from Gujarat by Sudhamshu (cc by-nc)

I grew up in an ethnically North Indian household and a lot of that cooking involved the same basic curry structure: sauté onions with cumin seeds, then add in sliced ginger and garlic, then turmeric powder, then your main item (e.g., chicken, cauliflower), then tomato paste, then salt & pepper. My mom talked about how the combination of ginger, garlic, tomato, and onion provided a simple contrast of tangy and sweet that made dishes dynamic and pleasing. – mrmanvir

Mumimor asks for simple tricks or methods from cooking styles across the World.