Since we launched in March 1999, The Food Timeline's scope has grown from a single page with a sprinkling of links to 70 web pages offering a wealth of historic information, primary documents, and original research. As of March, 2014 we served 35 million readers and answered 25 thousand questions. Compare today's site with the original Food Timeline, circa 1999. Our notes on the art of culinary research with a side order of popular requests. The Food Timeline was awarded Saveur 100 (2004). It is recognized by the American Library Association as a Great Website for Kids and was reviewed in ALA's academic publication Choice, July 2009.

The recipes featured on our site are selected from a variety of sources including old cook books, newspapers, magazines, National Historic Parks, government agencies, universities, cultural organizations, culinary historians, and company/restaurant web sites. We have not cooked them in our own kitchens and cannot vouch for their results in yours. If you have any questions regarding the ingredients, instructions or safety of these recipes please forward them directly to the webmaster of the site hosting that recipe. Recipes from primary documents are linked for historical purposes only. If you plan to cook one of these, they need to be examined very carefully for unsafe practices (such as the eating of raw eggs)."