Editorial Profile
Mehdi Iarab
Publisher and editor of The Foods That Shaped Us
Mehdi Iarab is the publisher and editor of The Foods That Shaped Us. He oversees editorial direction, source standards, corrections, and publication accountability for a food-history publication focused on culture, trade, migration, preservation, agriculture, and memory.
Credential: BBA in International Business, LAB University of Applied Sciences
Named people are credited only when they are real, consenting, and relevant to the page. Legacy and collaboratively maintained articles use the publication byline.
Read our Editorial Standards126 reviewed pages
Reviewed Pages
Source and factual review: Pimenta botany, Indigenous Caribbean context, colonial naming, Jamaican trade, and jerk-history caution.
Source and factual review: Southern African fermented-milk terminology, vessel culture, historical disruption, and source quality.
Source and factual review: Koji-rice and sake-lees distinctions, enzymatic sweetness, alcohol boundaries, and historical wording.
Source and factual review: Coastal rice fermentation, toddy and coconut distinctions, Kerala and Sri Lankan food context.
Source and factual review: Yogurt-drink terminology, pastoral context, regional comparisons, and source quality.
Source and factual review: Fish and shrimp category distinctions, patis relationship, Filipino regional context, and source quality.
Source and factual review: Fertile Crescent domestication chronology, malt-beer links, and hulled-versus-pearl distinctions.
Source and factual review: La Vina chronology, Santiago Rivera attribution, baking-process claims, and source quality.
Source and factual review: Old World pulse versus New World Phaseolus split, Three Sisters context, and non-medical fiber framing.
Source and factual review: Rendered animal-fat terminology, cooking-fat history, and non-medical claim boundaries.
Source and factual review: Jalisco stew terminology, goat versus beef variants, and regional Mexican source caution.
Source and factual review: Sesame taxonomy, seed-color terminology, cultivation history, and East Asian food-culture sources.
Source and factual review: Fact-checking the 14,400-year-old archaeological remains in Jordan.
Source and factual review: Burrata di Andria PGI specifications, pasta-filata terminology, regional origin claims, and refrigeration history.
Source and factual review: Verifying Neolithic dairy residue evidence and chemical mechanics of churning.
Source and factual review: Murgh makhani Delhi restaurant claims, Partition-era context, and tomato-butter gravy boundaries.
Source and factual review: Citrus hybrid terminology, Philippine culinary context, diaspora framing, and botanical sources.
Source and factual review: Sturgeon terminology, CITES traceability, conservation framing, and luxury-trade source quality.
Source and factual review: Pidan terminology, alkaline-curing chemistry, historical claims, and lead-free safety context.
Source and factual review: Cantonese siu mei terminology, glaze chemistry claims, and diaspora BBQ shop context.
Source and factual review: Earliest cheese evidence, dairy-residue interpretation, coagulation terminology, and the distinction between early milk processing and confirmed cheesemaking.
Source and factual review: Bacillus fermentation, doenjang and natto distinctions, name-origin caution, and Korean sources.
Source and factual review: Reviewing capsaicinoid biology and TRPV1 pain receptor context.
Source and factual review: Chinese-Korean migration context, paste composition, jajangmyeon chronology, and source quality.
Source and factual review: Clove botany, Maluku trade, VOC monopoly violence, transplantation, and source quality.
Source and factual review: Indo-Pacific palm use, coconut-milk versus dairy distinctions, and Kerala/SE Asian cooking context.
Source and factual review: Auditing early coffeehouse bans, political debate, and public-sphere source context.
Source and factual review: Borden process chronology, sweetened versus evaporated distinctions, and dessert-source quality.
Source and factual review: Coriander taxonomy, archaeobotanical evidence, cilantro naming, migration, and sensory-science boundaries.
Source and factual review: Verifying the biochemistry of nixtamalization and alkaline steeping.
Source and factual review: Cultured-cream terminology, French dairy geography, cooking-stability claims, and source quality.
Source and factual review: Traditional churn-liquid and cultured-product distinctions, baking chemistry, and dairy sources.
Source and factual review: Cumin taxonomy, archaeobotanical evidence, trade chronology, and cautious origin framing.
Source and factual review: Kombu, katsuobushi, maritime trade, extraction science, and Japanese stock terminology.
Source and factual review: South Indian textual evidence, batter fermentation, griddle technique, and masala-dosa chronology.
Source and factual review: Ancient fermented-soy evidence, processing terminology, black-bean distinctions, and Chinese sources.
Source and factual review: French confit terminology, rendered poultry fat, and non-medical prestige-fryer framing.
Source and factual review: Swedish cultured-milk terminology, mesophilic culture claims, dairy history, and source quality.
Source and factual review: Salt-fermented fish terminology, regional Southeast Asian histories, fermentation science, and source quality.
Source and factual review: Japanese senbei ancestry, California commercialization claims, and wartime restaurant-handoff chronology.
Source and factual review: Japanese rice-seasoning history, preserved ingredients, and careful treatment of modern origin claims.
Source and factual review: Auditing ancient medicinal use in Egyptian records and therapeutic chemistry.
Source and factual review: Peng Chang-kuei Taiwan chronology, NYC sweetening claims, and Zuo Zongtang naming boundaries.
Source and factual review: Checking biological gingerol biochemistry and Han dynasty botanical records.
Source and factual review: Capsicum exchange history, Korean chili terminology, kimchi and gochujang context, and source quality.
Source and factual review: Mesona terminology, herbal gel processing, regional cincau distinctions, and source quality.
Source and factual review: Japanese tea processing, roasting chemistry, Kaga bocha context, and modern-origin claims.
Source and factual review: Auditing chemical preservation mechanics including low moisture and osmotic pressure.
Source and factual review: Medieval textual evidence, rice-and-urad fermentation, steaming technology, and contested-origin wording.
Source and factual review: Teff history, fermentation terminology, Ethiopian and Eritrean context, and cautious origin claims.
Source and factual review: Ando 1958/1971 chronology, steam-fry process claims, and ramen-versus-instant distinctions.
Source and factual review: Parkia botany, Yoruba condiment terminology, alkaline fermentation, and women’s market labor.
Source and factual review: Aspergillus oryzae terminology, enzyme function, seed-koji history, and fermentation-source quality.
Source and factual review: Rye and malt fermentation, alcohol-level boundaries, Eastern European regional context, and source quality.
Source and factual review: Strained-yogurt terminology, Levantine regional scope, preservation claims, and dairy sources.
Source and factual review: Leaf-lard pastry terminology, pig-fat rendering, and shortening-displacement chronology.
Source and factual review: Dahi and churning history, salted and sweet variation, mango-lassi framing, and non-medical boundaries.
Source and factual review: Near Eastern domestication, dal terminology, and Mediterranean stew source quality.
Source and factual review: Mace and nutmeg botany, Banda history, VOC violence, colonial transfer, and source quality.
Source and factual review: Nuruk terminology, Korean grain fermentation, regulatory history, and comparison with sake.
Source and factual review: Mangifera indica geography, pickle versus ripe-fruit uses, and Portuguese name-path caution.
Source and factual review: Verifying genetic timelines of lactase persistence and pasteurization.
Source and factual review: Auditing Neolithic Chinese dryland agricultural remains, West African Sahelian domestications, and C14 dating.
Source and factual review: Korean grain-drink terminology, powdered-food history, blend variation, and non-medical boundaries.
Source and factual review: Ikeda 1908 glutamate isolation, umami terminology, kombu dashi context, and non-medical myth boundaries.
Source and factual review: Fish-and-rice lactic fermentation, rice-use nuance, namanare transition, and Japanese sources.
Source and factual review: Rice-bran fermentation, nukadoko care, Edo-period milling context, and Japanese sources.
Source and factual review: Seed-specific condiment terminology, alkaline fermentation, Nigerian regional context, and source quality.
Source and factual review: Auditing ancient Roman maritime tax records, olive oil purity metrics, and modern agricultural fraud.
Source and factual review: Auditing citrus hybrid genetics, ancient Chinese agricultural tributes, and the spread of Citrus sinensis.
Source and factual review: Salting, acid pickling and fermentation distinctions, Baltic trade, and regional foodways.
Source and factual review: Vinegar-pickling versus fermentation, Haitian food context, crop-movement claims, and source quality.
Source and factual review: Kalo terminology, Native Hawaiian foodways, fermentation boundaries, and sovereignty-sensitive sources.
Source and factual review: Debunking the Namur frozen-river legend and auditing 18th-century Parisian Pont-Neuf street vendor records.
Source and factual review: Plantago seed-husk terminology, mucilage behavior, fibermaxxing context, and non-medical source boundaries.
Source and factual review: Acid-set curd classification, regional name distinctions, household dairying, and modern marketing context.
Source and factual review: Norwegian fermented-fish terminology, cool maturation, regional history, and food-safety boundaries.
Source and factual review: Azuki terminology, anko textures, sugar-history framing, and East Asian confectionery sources.
Source and factual review: Koji and yeast roles, multiple parallel fermentation, temple brewing, and UNESCO heritage context.
Source and factual review: Salt-curing mechanics, duck-egg history, regional uses, and fermentation-boundary wording.
Source and factual review: Coastal preservation, canning history, and preserved-fish source context.
Source and factual review: Ashkenazi rendered-fat terminology, kosher meat-dairy constraints, and gribenes context.
Source and factual review: Perilla botany, green and red shiso uses, umeboshi preservation, and East Asian food context.
Source and factual review: Georgian bread terminology, tone-oven evidence, wheat culture, and cautious treatment of ancient-origin claims.
Source and factual review: Regional paste names, coastal preservation, fermentation terminology, and Southeast Asian sources.
Source and factual review: Zanthoxylum versus Piper distinctions, mala chronology with chili, and Sichuan source quality.
Source and factual review: Cultured-curd classification, Icelandic farm history, whey use, and modern marketing boundaries.
Source and factual review: Néré seed processing, Sahelian regional naming, alkaline fermentation, and producer context.
Source and factual review: Ancient bread evidence, sourdough terminology, natural leavening claims, and fermentation-source quality.
Source and factual review: Burrata-filling definitions, hand-shredded curd technique, Apulian context, and name distinctions.
Source and factual review: Fermented-tofu terminology, mold and brine stages, red yeast rice, and Chinese food-history sources.
Source and factual review: Edible Rhus identification, ancient and medieval souring, za’atar distinctions, and source quality.
Source and factual review: Baltic herring fermentation, Swedish salt-history claims, canning, and viral-context correction.
Source and factual review: Auditing ancient narezushi fermentation chemistry, Yōrō Code tax records, and the 1923 Kanto earthquake migration.
Source and factual review: Tamarindus indica trade geography, pulp souring uses, and Indian Ocean cultivation caution.
Source and factual review: Glutinous-rice terminology, Lantern Festival context, regional methods, and cautious origin claims.
Source and factual review: Grain-and-dairy fermentation, regional naming, drying and preservation, and origin caution.
Source and factual review: Indonesian fermentation terminology, Rhizopus biology, regional tempeh evidence, and source quality.
Source and factual review: Maize-to-pineapple chronology, spontaneous fermentation, alcohol boundaries, and Mexican beverage context.
Source and factual review: Verifying pharmacological curcuminoid chemistry and Ayurvedic medical references.
Source and factual review: Finnish ropy-culture terminology, exopolysaccharide claims, household starters, and dairy sources.
Source and factual review: Auditing acetobacter biological mechanics and archaeological evidence of ancient pickling.
Source and factual review: Verifying ancient botanical lineages including emmer, einkorn, and Green Revolution yields.
Source and factual review: Cheesemaking whey terminology, filtration-source quality, and non-medical protein-culture boundaries.
Source and factual review: Yuzu, chili, salt, Kyushu regional foodways, and cautious treatment of local origin traditions.
Source and factual review: Peanut butter patent history, George Washington Carver claims, and peanut agriculture context.
Source and factual review: Neolithic archaeology, archaeobotanical stomach audits, and Alpine mummy records.
Source and factual review: Sandwich naming history, older bread-and-filling traditions, and eighteenth-century source reliability.
Source and factual review: Auditing ancient Roman maritime tax records, olive oil purity metrics, and modern agricultural fraud.
Source and factual review: MSG safety-source wording, Chinese Restaurant Syndrome history, glutamate context, and non-medical framing.
Source and factual review: Ancient bread evidence, sourdough terminology, natural leavening claims, and fermentation-source quality.
Source and factual review: Auditing ancient fermentation timelines, Yoro Code tax entries, and modern culinary definition audits.
Source and factual review: Austrian kipferl archives, Ottoman siege folklore, and 20th-century French yeast-dough lamination chemistry.
Scientific and Botanical Source Review: Auditing Renaissance herbals, early modern taxonomy, pewter metallurgy chemistry, and the 20th-century historiography of food myths.
Source and factual review: Saratoga chip folklore, early fried potato recipes, George Crum claims, and snack-industry history.
Source and factual review: Byzantine bread reports, Christian ritual context, archaeology-source wording, and viral-caption limits.
Source and factual review: Belgian, French, and Spanish potato-frying claims, WWI naming evidence, and source-led origin disputes.
Source and factual review: Peng Chang-kuei chronology, NYC adaptation claims, Zuo Zongtang naming, and non-recipe authenticity boundaries.
Source and factual review: Hamburger claimant timelines, newspaper evidence, Hamburg steak context, and origin-story reliability.
Source and factual review: Frozen dessert origins, dairy history, refrigeration claims, and the Marco Polo myth.
Source and factual review: Plantago seed-husk terminology, mucilage behavior, fibermaxxing context, and non-medical source boundaries.
Source and factual review: Debunking the Namur frozen-river legend and auditing 18th-century Parisian Pont-Neuf street vendor records.
Source and factual review: Early coffeehouse bans, political debate, public-sphere claims, and source context.
Source and factual review: Ikeda chronology, umami terminology, and non-medical myth boundaries for MSG.