Gary Allen's Blog, page 2
January 20, 2025
Food & Writing Sites for February 2025
Not having my morning coffee in the garden today...
February is a generally unpleasant month (around here, anyway—folks in the tropics don’t have much to complain about, this time of year). Limiting the month to just 28 (or 29) days somewhat mitigates its nastiness, but really only shares it with its neighboring months.
It's all smoke and mirrors—just as Daylight Savings Time doesn’t actually save any time.
However, January’s been cold enough to make us stay inside… which means it’s been a productive month. We edited, designed, and published a book of poems—for someone else: (The Skewered Horse, by Philip Depinto). We also wrote a new story, and added it to an existing book of stories (Prophet Amidst Losses), and posted several new Substack pages:
“Notes from a Latter-day Scrooge,” anti-Holiday, pro-fruitcake;
“Not Only the Stockings Were Stuffed...” pasta etymology, folk and otherwise;
“Shameless in Gaza,” ain’t nature grand?
“Birthday Rites (or Rights),” on Newton and respecting the work of others;
“Bookstores (and booklife),” remembering old books and their influence;
“What’s the Good Word?” introductions, forewords, and prefaces, O my!;
“Adding On…” another short story (mentioned above);
“The Cheese Stands Alone... ” on finding a new friend;
...and a somewhat larger-than-usual edition of this newsletter.
You can, should you choose to, follow us on Facebook (where, among other things, we post a lot of photographs) and Twitter. Still more of our online scribbles can be found at A Quiet Little Table in the Corner and other Substack pages. There’s even an Amazon author’s page, that includes food writing and anything else we manage to get into print.
As is our wont, we include some seasonal quotations (found in On the Table’s culinary quote collection).
There is nothing better on a cold wintry day than a properly made pot pie. Craig Claiborne
It is not necessary to advertise food to hungry people, fuel to cold people, or houses to the homeless. John Kenneth Galbraith
Skiing consists of wearing $3,000 worth of clothes and equipment and driving 200 miles in the snow in order to stand around at a bar and drink. P.G. Wodehouse
Out of snow, you can’t make cheesecake. Jewish Proverb
Gary
February 2025
PS: If you encounter broken links, changed URLs—or know of wonderful sites we’ve missed—please drop us a line. It helps to keep this resource as useful as possible for all of us. To those who have pointed out corrections or tasty sites (this month we’re tipping our virtual hat to Natalie Maclean—thanks, and keep them coming!
PPS: If you wish to change the e-mail address at which you receive these newsletters, or otherwise modify the way you receive our postings or—if you’ve received this newsletter by mistake, and/or don’t wish to receive future issues—you have our sincere apology and can have your e-mail address deleted from the list immediately. We’re happy (and continuously amazed) that so few people have decided to leave the list but, should you choose to be one of them, let us know and we’ll see that your in-box is never afflicted by these updates again.
— the new sites —
(encyclopedia entry by Krishnendu Ray)
(advice from Chef John Ash)
Are Traditional Wine Pairings a Thing of the Past?
(Eric Asimov asks, and answers, at Swurl)
Debunking the Biggest Myths about Scotch Whisky
(The Manual’s Christopher Osburn clears the air)
Focaccia: A Neolithic Culinary Tradition Dating Back 9,000 Years Ago
(archaeological evidence from Late Neolithic Syria and Turkey, published by the Autonomous University of Barcelona)
History Behind Canned Deviled Ham Spread, The
(Lindsey Reynolds lifts the lid at Takeout)
Missing Piece, The: How Non-Alcoholic Brands are Trying to Capture Booze’s Most Elusive Elements
(Wayne Curtis, at VinePair, on the science behind booze-free booze)
Non-Judgmental Guide to Getting Seriously Into Tea, The
(Max Falkowitz has something brewing at Serious Eats)
(Cynthia Bertelsen on Abelmoschus esculentus)
Processed Red Meat May Increase the Risk for Dementia
(Susan Fitzgerald’s article in Neurology Today)
Randall Grahm: From Rhône Ranger to Terroir Hunter
(Anthony Rose’s article in The World of Fine Wine)
Unbearable Whiteness of Milk, The: Food Oppression and the USDA
(Andrea Freeman’s article in the UC Irvine Law Review)
What Does It Mean to Let Wine “Breathe?”
(Angie Seibold’s answer, in The Takeout)
What Grapes are Actually Used to Make Champagne?
(Joe Hoeffner’s effervescent article, in The Takeout)
What’s the Difference Between an American Pale Ale and an IPA?
(Carla Vaisman, in The Takeout, serves a flight to explain)
Why Military Chocolate Was Deliberately Made to Taste Bad
(William Tecumseh Sherman said, “War is hell”—even though he never had to eat a Ration D bar)
Why the Black American Origins of Mac and Cheese Are So Hotly Debated
(Nneka M. Okona goes old school in The Guardian)
You Are What Your Ancestors Didn’t Eat
(Katharine Gammon on the long term—very long term—effects of a limited diet; in Nautilus)
— inspirational (or otherwise useful) sites for writers/bloggers —
100 Most Legendary Restaurants
Are You What You Eat? How Food Shapes Self-Image
Brief History of Scientific Eating, A
Can Eating a Really Hot Pepper Kill You?
Cook with Spice to Improve Your Health, and Discover a Whole New Bunch of Flavours
Could Old Cookbooks Be the Secret to Surviving the Cost-Of-Living Crisis?
Diet Culture History: From Ancient Greece to Ozempic
Ethnic Food: The Other in Ourselves
Fascinating Olive Oil Museum Designed by Philippe Starck
Feminist Story that Explains Why We Eat Cannelloni in Sant Esteve, The
Food as a Social Symbol and Exploring Its Cultural Role: View from Sociology of Food
Food: Identity of Culture and Religion
Great New York State Hot Dogs: Zweigle’s Red & Whites
Have We Officially Ruined the Martini?
How Pie and Mash Killed Itself
How Tortillas Lost Their Magic
How Will Immigration Crackdowns Affect Restaurants?
Inside the Japanese-American Farm Preserving Endangered Fruit
International Museum of Dinnerware Design, The
Is Aquaculture the New Factory Farming?
ISSUE 93, REFLECTIONS, Part 3: Lowcountry Cuisine, an Overview
Part 8: The Perfection Industrial Food
Let’s Stop Using the Term “Food Desert”
Much of the World Considers This to Be a Rude Dining Habit. Are You Guilty?
please give yourself permission
Taking the Scary Edge Off Sending Work to Publishers
Torpedo Juice: The Legendary, Illegal WWII Liquor Drunk in Alaska and Around the World
Who Are the Ten Most Important People in the History of Food?
Why Ultraprocessed Foods Aren’t Always Bad
Why You Might Want to Drink More Coffee
You Might Just Have to Be Bored
You’ll Never Get Off the Dinner Treadmill
— podcasts, etcetera —
7 of the Most Faked Seafoods in the World
Dom Perignon, Grand Cru Champagnes and Marketing Myths with Chris Ruhland
Golden Age of American Bakeries Is Upon Us, The. Here’s Why.
Guacamole Is Like the Banana Bread of Avocados
How Lobsters Went from Prison Food to the Most Expensive Meal
Ina Garten and the Age of Abundance
Nutmeg: The Horrible History Behind the Popular Spice
What’s the Point of Cookbooks?
— that’s all for now —
Except, of course, for the usual legalistic mumbo-jumbo and commercial flim-flam:
As an Amazon Associate, this newsletter earns from qualifying purchases made through it. These include our own books (listed below), and occasional books mentioned in the entries above. If you order anything via those links, the price you pay is not increased by our commission.
Occasionally, URLs we provide may take you to commercial sites (that is, they’ll cost you money to take full advantage of them), or publications that have paywalls. We do not receive any compensation for listing them here and are providing them without any form of recommendation—other than the fact that they looked interesting to us.
Your privacy is important to us. We will not give, sell or share your e-mail address with anyone, for any purpose. Ever. Nonetheless, we will expose you to the following irredeemably brazen plugs for our own books:
The Resource Guide for Food Writers
(Hardcover)
(Paper)
(Kindle)
(newsletters like this merely update the contents of the book; what doesn’t appear here is already in the book)
The Herbalist in the Kitchen
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
The Business of Food: Encyclopedia of the Food And Drink Industries
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
Herbs: A Global History
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
Sausage: A Global History
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
Can It! The Perils and Pleasures of Preserving Foods
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
Sauces Reconsidered: Après Escoffier
Terms of Vegery
(Paper)
(Kindle)
How to Serve Man:
On Cannibalism, Sex, Sacrifice, & the Nature of Eating
(Paper)
(Kindle)
How to Write a Great Book
The Digressions of Dr Sanscravat: Gastronomical Ramblings & Other Diversions
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Ephemera: a short collection of short stories
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Prophet Amidst Losses
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Future Tense: Remembrance of Things Not Yet Past
(Paper)
(Kindle)
The Backstories: As retold by Gary Allen
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Tabula Rasa, Baby: (Not Written in Stone)
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Unbelievable: A Modern Novella (the Extended Edition)
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Noirvella: The Extended Edition
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Hot Hot Hot/Risky Business
(Paper)
(Kindle)
The Long & Short of It: A Miscellany
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Beer Taste & Other Disorders
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Galloping Gourmand: A Culinary Collection
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Substack Lightnin’: Volume One, The First Year
Substack Lightnin’: Volume Two, Second Year
Here endeth the sales pitch(es)...
...for the moment, anyway.
______________
The Resource Guide for Food Writers, Update #292 is protected by copyright and is provided at no cost, for your personal use only. It may not be copied or retransmitted unless this notice remains affixed. Any other form of republication—unless with the author’s prior written permission—is strictly prohibited.
As the author of this page—being a real living person—I have not used AI for any purpose (beyond routine spellcheck). Nor do I permit the use of any of its content for training of AI systems, or in the generation of AI content.
Copyright ©2025 by Gary Allen.
December 19, 2024
Food & Writing Sites for January 2025
Writers are reputed to take the occasional nip... but, relatively speaking, how much IS a nip?
Every year, as we replace the calendar, certain rituals are re-enacted: we’re not talking about not the New Year’s Resolution (about which the less said, the less embarrassment results from our failures to live up), nor the annual recap of the passing year’s events. We’ll also skip over the morbid lists of departed movie stars.
You’re welcome.
The format of stories that strike us, at this time of year are listicles (a delightful word that has only been around since 2007)—preferably about food and drink. You know: “top 100 snack foods,” or “10 favorite condiments you MUST have in your fridge,” or “52 essential pantry items, one for each week.”
Never one to risk bucking tradition (at least when it’s so easy to comply), we’re including a few listicles in this New Year’s edition. As a public service, there’s also a link to one website that might be especially à propos for the first morning of January,
Since this newsletter began, over twenty years ago, we’ve called it “food sites.” Because it was meant for food writers, we added various writing resources—because they seemed useful. So many of them have been added, especially lately, that it’s only reasonable to change the title to “food & writing sites.”
While procrastinating (avoiding work on our own books-in-progress—and editing another for someone else), we’ve somehow been able to post several new Substack pages:
“The Golden Years”—when the spirit, but not the flesh, is willing;
“Italianate”—on being Italian, without any Italian blood;
“Holiday Angst”—an attempt to add levity to a stress-filled occasion;
“Embarrassment,” a tale of teenage wasteland (or waistline);
“Is ‘Risque’ just French for Risky Business?”—one way to find oneself married…;
“Effluent in at Least One Language,” on the unexpected connection between literary and renal production;
and
“On Unlikability,” some relief from excessive holiday bonhomie.
Candy cane season has arrived, which probably explains why we were briefly interviewed for an episode of Gastropod (on “The Curiously Strong Story of Mint”).
You can, should you choose to, follow us on Facebook (where, among other things, we post a lot of photographs) and Twitter. Still more of our online scribbles can be found at A Quiet Little Table in the Corner and other Substack pages. There’s even an Amazon author’s page, that includes food writing and anything else we manage to get into print.
As is our wont, we include some seasonal quotations (Found in On the Table’s culinary quote collection):
Alcohol is the prince of liquids and carries the palate to its highest pitch of exaltation. Brillat-Savarin
All animals are strictly dry,
They sinless live and swiftly die.
But sinful, ginful, rum-soaked men
Survive three score years and ten.
And some of us—though mighty few—
Survive until we’re ninety-two. Anonymous
Alcohol is a misunderstood vitamin. P.G. Wodehouse
Gary
January 2025
PS: If you encounter broken links, changed URLs—or know of wonderful sites we’ve missed—please drop us a line. It helps to keep this resource as useful as possible for all of us. To those who have pointed out corrections or tasty sites (this month we’re tipping our virtual hat to Cynthia D. Bertelsen—thanks, and keep them coming!
PPS: If you wish to change the e-mail address at which you receive these newsletters, or otherwise modify the way you receive our postings or—if you’ve received this newsletter by mistake, and/or don’t wish to receive future issues—you have our sincere apology and can have your e-mail address deleted from the list immediately. We’re happy (and continuously amazed) that so few people have decided to leave the list but, should you choose to be one of them, let us know and we’ll see that your in-box is never afflicted by these updates again.
— the new sites —
Do Ancient Hangover Cures Still Stand Up?
(Benjamin Taub reports, in IFLScience, on efforts by Alcohol Hangover Research Group to find answer)
Here’s What Bologna Actually Is (and Other Facts that Might Surprise You)
(Jacob Smith reveals the mystery meat in The Daily Meal)
History of Eleanor Roosevelt's Pecan Pie, A
(from Sarah Wassberg Johnson’s blog, The Food Historian)
How Fish and Chips Migrated to Great Britain
(Abbey Perreault wraps in newspaper—virtual newspaper, AKA Gastro Obscura)
In 1814, London Was Terrorized by a 320,000-Gallon Tsunami of Beer
(Rachel Funnell reports, in IFLSCIENCE, on an incident that sounds like a frat party gone amok)
Most Important People in Nightlife & Dining, The
(The Observer’s list of the most influential restaurant creators: investors, architects, and even some chefs)
Secret History of Risotto, The
(Anthony Lane’s New Yorker article warns, “culinary writing threatens to become a branch of moral philosophy, and a severe one at that…”)
Should You Avoid Alcohol If You’re Taking Antibiotics?
(according to Laura Simmons, at IFLScience, the answer is mostly “yes”)
(everything on the genus Cucurbita, c/o The Botanist in the Kitchen)
Strange Thing That Is Lutefisk, The
(and no, it’s not a Lutheran joke)
(answers from Martha Stewart)
What Sets a Farmhouse Ale Apart From Regular Beer?
(Takeout’s Carla Vaisman explains the difference… and it’s wild)
— inspirational (or otherwise useful) sites for writers/bloggers —
6 Best Apps to Find Bars and Restaurants While Traveling, The
25 Most Important Recipes of the Past 100 Years
Baked Alaska Has New York Roots
Brief Meditation on Written Recipes, A
“First Catch Your Hare”: Part I
“To the Queen’s Taste”: Part III
Did the Real General Tso Have Anything to Do with the Beloved Chicken Dish?
Does Cheese Really Give You Bad or More Vivid Dreams?
How Do I Become a Food Historian?
I’m a Waiter and I Say It’s Totally Fine to Order a Few Appetizers as Your Entrée
Is the Five-second Rule True? Don’t Push Your Luck.
ISSUE 93, REFLECTIONS, Part 2: Taste
Part 6: Practical Thoughts upon the Revival of Landrace Grains and Heirloom Vegetables.
Ladies of the Pen and the Cookpot: Isabella Beeton
Part I
Part II
Learning to Make the World’s Rarest Pasta
Michèle Roberts: The Art of Writing a Cookbook
Most Diners Want to Keep Tech Out of Restaurants, Report Finds
On Claiming My Identity as a Writer
On Turning Down the Volume to Hear Your Own Voice
Preserving and Sharing Food Stories
Today’s Poem: Recipe for a Salad
What’s Wrong With White Bread?
Why Has My Chocolate Turned White, and Is It Still OK to Eat?
World’s First Soda Brand Is Still Around Today, The
— podcasts, etcetera —•
100 Proof: Journey of the American Cocktail
Case of the Confusing Bitter Beverages, The
Six of the World’s Most Unique Restaurants
Wine 101: Wine and Climate Change Part I: An Overview
— that’s all for now —
Except, of course, for the usual legalistic mumbo-jumbo and commercial flim-flam:
As an Amazon Associate, this newsletter earns from qualifying purchases made through it. These include our own books (listed below), and occasional books mentioned in the entries above. If you order anything via those links, the price you pay is not increased by our commission.
Occasionally, URLs we provide may take you to commercial sites (that is, they’ll cost you money to take full advantage of them), or publications that have paywalls. We do not receive any compensation for listing them here and are providing them without any form of recommendation—other than the fact that they looked interesting to us.
Your privacy is important to us. We will not give, sell or share your e-mail address with anyone, for any purpose. Ever. Nonetheless, we will expose you to the following irredeemably brazen plugs for our own books:
The Resource Guide for Food Writers
(Hardcover)
(Paper)
(Kindle)
(newsletters like this merely update the contents of the book; what doesn’t appear here is already in the book)
The Herbalist in the Kitchen
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
The Business of Food: Encyclopedia of the Food And Drink Industries
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
Herbs: A Global History
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
Sausage: A Global History
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
Can It! The Perils and Pleasures of Preserving Foods
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
Sauces Reconsidered: Après Escoffier
Terms of Vegery
(Paper)
(Kindle)
How to Serve Man:
On Cannibalism, Sex, Sacrifice, & the Nature of Eating
(Paper)
(Kindle)
How to Write a Great Book
The Digressions of Dr Sanscravat: Gastronomical Ramblings & Other Diversions
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Ephemera: a short collection of short stories
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Prophet Amidst Losses
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Future Tense: Remembrance of Things Not Yet Past
(Paper)
(Kindle)
The Backstories: As retold by Gary Allen
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Tabula Rasa, Baby: (Not Written in Stone)
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Unbelievable: A Modern Novella (the Extended Edition)
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Noirvella: The Extended Edition
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Hot Hot Hot/Risky Business
(Paper)
(Kindle)
The Long & Short of It: A Miscellany
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Beer Taste & Other Disorders
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Galloping Gourmand: A Culinary Collection
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Substack Lightnin’: Volume One, The First Year
Substack Lightnin’: Volume Two, Second Year
Here endeth the sales pitch(es)...
...for the moment, anyway.
______________
The Resource Guide for Food Writers, Update #291 is protected by copyright and is provided at no cost, for your personal use only. It may not be copied or retransmitted unless this notice remains affixed. Any other form of republication—unless with the author’s prior written permission—is strictly prohibited.
As the author of this page—being a real living person—I have not used AI for any purpose (beyond routine spellcheck). Nor do I permit the use of any of its content for training of AI systems, or in the generation of AI content.
Copyright ©2024 by Gary Allen.
November 19, 2024
Food Sites for December 2024
A familiar scent, more savory and welcoming than Pumpkin Spice Anything
The season we used to call Le Grand Bouffe approaches, ’though we now celebrate it with some age-based moderation. Youth and many of its more voracious appetites have gone to wherever such pleasures go. Still, we look forward to the idea of gross self-indulgence—even if we stick to just one—not heaping—plate at the holiday dinner table.
And maybe just one dessert.
By procrastinating (avoiding work on books-in-progress), we’ve been able to post several new Substack pages:
“So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish...”; a memento mori;
“To Quote Mr. Twain...” on why I’m not dead;
“Thinking, Remembering, Rethinking,” more on memory;
“Thinking About History,” a parable of political disappointment;
“Now is the Season of Our Discontent,” and comfort food;
“Snapshots,” some thoughts about photography (and imposter syndrome); and
“Tryptophanic Leftovers,” irreverent thoughts on the upcoming holiday...
You can, should you choose to, follow us on Facebook (where, among other things, we post a lot of photographs) and Twitter. Still more of our online scribbles can be found at A Quiet Little Table in the Corner and other Substack pages. There’s even an Amazon author’s page, that includes food writing and anything else we manage to get into print.
As is our wont, we include some seasonal quotations (found in On the Table’s culinary quote collection).
Coexistence... what the farmer does with the turkey—until Thanksgiving. Mike Connolly
Cooking Tip: Wrap turkey leftovers in aluminum foil and throw them out. Nicole Hollander
I loved my mother very much, but she was not a good cook. Most turkeys taste better the day after; my mother’s tasted better the day before. In our house, Thanksgiving was a time for sorrow. Rita Rudner
Gary
December 2024
PS: If you encounter broken links, changed URLs—or know of wonderful sites we’ve missed—please drop us a line. It helps to keep this resource as useful as possible for all of us. To those who have pointed out corrections or tasty sites (this month we’re tipping our virtual hat to Michael Procopio
—thanks, and keep them coming!
PPS: If you wish to change the e-mail address at which you receive these newsletters, or otherwise modify the way you receive our postings or—if you’ve received this newsletter by mistake, and/or don’t wish to receive future issues—you have our sincere apology and can have your e-mail address deleted from the list immediately. We’re happy (and continuously amazed) that so few people have decided to leave the list but, should you choose to be one of them, let us know and we’ll see that your in-box is never afflicted by these updates again.
— the new sites —
All the US Presidents and Their Favorite Drinks
(Mashed’s Carlie Hoke is pouring)
(Jake Emen tells Vinepair why “the world’s most celebrated brandy is ignored in its homeland)
How the British Monarchy Made Breakfast the Most Important Meal of the Day
(Tom Parker Bowles’ LitHub “overview of Royal Culinary History”)
How to Drink a Martini Like Ernest Hemingway
(according to Mario Scinto, in The Takeout, his martinis were very dry)
Is Grass-Fed Beef Really Better for You?
(Rebecca Strong’s simple answer—at ask men—is “yes”)
None of the Liquid, All of the Flavor: The Actual Business Behind Sherry Barrel-Aging
(Evan Rail’s VinePair account of the strange legal status of barrels—without even touching that of bourbon barrels in the US)
Royal Origin Story of Cherries Jubilee Is Deliciously Fascinating, The
(Erica Martinez, in Take-out, on Escoffier and Queen Victoria)
Utah: Home of the “Dirty Soda”
(Utah’s Mormon population has made it the gastronomically weirdest—and, oddly, most American—state)
What Are Capers? This Small But Mighty Ingredient Can Transform Your Cooking
(a tart and salty answer from Martha Stewart)
White Striping Disease in Supermarket Chicken
(a report on standard factory-farmed chickens, by The Humane League)
Women’s Place: Cookbooks' Images of Technique and Technology in the British Kitchen
(Anne Murcott’s paper)
— inspirational (or otherwise useful) sites for writers/bloggers —
5 Boring Ways to Become More Creative
5 of History’s Most Delicious Natural Disasters
25 Most Influential Cookbooks from the Last 100 Years, The
An Atlas Like No Other: McAtlas
Don’t Even Think About Putting Ketchup on a Hot Dog
Easing Back into Writing: A Guide for Troubled Times
How to Detect AI-Generated Recipes and Images Online
ISSUE 93, REFLECTIONS, Part 1: The South and Xtreme Flavors
Many Disgusting Dishes & Culinary Horrors of Europe, The
There Is No “Essence” of an Ingredient
This Book Contains a Century of Historical Sandwiches
To Be a Historian Is to Be Ever-Curious
Who Would Want to Be a Restaurant Reviewer? Why It Is a Horrible Gig
Why Soul Food Restaurants Are Disappearing and How to Save Them
You’ll Have to Take My Glass From My Cold, Wine-Stained Hand
— podcasts, etcetera —•
Real Reason Cheese Is Yellow, The
Why Didn’t Ancient Philosophers Eat Meat?
— changed URL —
— that’s all for now —
Except, of course, for the usual legalistic mumbo-jumbo and commercial flim-flam:
As an Amazon Associate, this newsletter earns from qualifying purchases made through it. These include our own books (listed below), and occasional books mentioned in the entries above. If you order anything via those links, the price you pay is not increased by our commission.
Occasionally, URLs we provide may take you to commercial sites (that is, they’ll cost you money to take full advantage of them), or publications that have paywalls. We do not receive any compensation for listing them here and are providing them without any form of recommendation—other than the fact that they looked interesting to us.
Your privacy is important to us. We will not give, sell or share your e-mail address with anyone, for any purpose. Ever. Nonetheless, we will expose you to the following irredeemably brazen plugs for our own books:
The Resource Guide for Food Writers
(Hardcover)
(Paper)
(Kindle)
(newsletters like this merely update the contents of the book; what doesn’t appear here is already in the book)
The Herbalist in the Kitchen
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
The Business of Food: Encyclopedia of the Food And Drink Industries
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
Herbs: A Global History
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
Sausage: A Global History
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
Can It! The Perils and Pleasures of Preserving Foods
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
Sauces Reconsidered: Après Escoffier
Terms of Vegery
(Paper)
(Kindle)
How to Serve Man:
On Cannibalism, Sex, Sacrifice, & the Nature of Eating
(Paper)
(Kindle)
How to Write a Great Book
The Digressions of Dr Sanscravat: Gastronomical Ramblings & Other Diversions
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Ephemera: a short collection of short stories
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Prophet Amidst Losses
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Future Tense: Remembrance of Things Not Yet Past
(Paper)
(Kindle)
The Backstories: As retold by Gary Allen
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Tabula Rasa, Baby: (Not Written in Stone)
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Unbelievable: A Modern Novella (the Extended Edition)
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Noirvella: The Extended Edition
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Hot Hot Hot/Risky Business
(Paper)
(Kindle)
The Long & Short of It: A Miscellany
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Beer Taste & Other Disorders
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Galloping Gourmand: A Culinary Collection
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Substack Lightnin’: Volume One, The First Year
Substack Lightnin’: Volume Two, Second Year
Here endeth the sales pitch(es)...
...for the moment, anyway.
______________
The Resource Guide for Food Writers, Update #290 is protected by copyright and is provided at no cost, for your personal use only. It may not be copied or retransmitted unless this notice remains affixed. Any other form of republication—unless with the author’s prior written permission—is strictly prohibited.
As the author of this page—being a real living person—I have not used AI for any purpose (beyond routine spellcheck). Nor do I permit the use of any of its content for training of AI systems, or in the generation of AI content.
Copyright ©2024 by Gary Allen.
October 24, 2024
Food & Writing Sites for November 2024
Gourdian Knot
As this is being written, those of us who live in the US are bracing ourselves for Halloween and the Presidential Election—that is, something to scare every one of any age. The stores, of course, have faith that life will go on as usual—no matter what terrifying things we encounter—so they are busy stocking the shelves with the sugarplums of Christmas future.
We’re no longer—at the moment—editing other people’s books. However, hours sitting at the foot of a spousal hospital bed (fortunately, she’s recovered and back at home now) have given us ample time to work on books-in-progress—and post over a dozen new Substack pages:
“BBQ,” a reminiscence about the Texas of my childhood, but not a fish story;
“Thinking Ahead,” some idle thoughts about an idle future;
“Small Town Life,” on food people helping food people;
“While You're Up, Get Me A Grant,” because meaning changes across generations;
“And Fall Back…” one of many Meetings with Remarkable Men;
“Ahhhhh, Youth…” in which bad things happen to frogs and snakes (but not fish);
“Never Meet Your Heroes. They’ll Surely Disappoint,” art and life… never the twain should meet;
“Appetite for Change,” oddly enough, is not about our appetite;
“They’re as Happy as if…,” more on bibliomania;
“Uncertainty Principles,” how to get ideas;
“Testosterone Poisoning; Part One,” some true confessions;
“Testosterone Poisoning: Part Two,” more of the above;
“Mentor/Mentee,” two snippets of assigned writings; and
“A is for Autumn…” on preserving apples.
You can, should you choose to, follow us on Facebook (where, among other things, we post a lot of photographs), and Twitter. Still more of our online scribbles can be found at A Quiet Little Table in the Corner and other Substack pages. There’s even an Amazon author’s page, that includes food writing and anything else we manage to get into print.
As is our wont, we include some seasonal quotations (found in On the Table’s culinary quote collection).
As the days grow short, some faces grow long. But not mine. Every autumn, when the wind turns cold and darkness comes early, I am suddenly happy. It's time to start making soup again. Leslie Newman
My favorite word is “pumpkin.” You can’t take it seriously. But you can’t ignore it, either. It takes ahold of your head and that’s it. You are a pumpkin. Or you are not. I am. Harrison Salisbury
Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of each. Grow green with the spring, yellow and ripe with autumn. Henry David Thoreau
Gary
November 2024
PS: If you encounter broken links, changed URLs—or know of wonderful sites we’ve missed—please drop us a line. It helps to keep this resource as useful as possible for all of us. To those who have pointed out corrections or tasty sites (this month we’re tipping our virtual hat to David Leite—thanks, and keep them coming!
PPS: If you wish to change the e-mail address at which you receive these newsletters, or otherwise modify the way you receive our postings or—if you’ve received this newsletter by mistake, and/or don’t wish to receive future issues—you have our sincere apology and can have your e-mail address deleted from the list immediately. We’re happy (and continuously amazed) that so few people have decided to leave the list but, should you choose to be one of them, let us know and we’ll see that your in-box is never afflicted by these updates again.
— the new sites —
All the Different Lager Styles Around the World
(an overview, by Pete O’Connell, at VinePair)
America’s Dairy Farms Have Vanished
(Elizabeth Eckelkamp, on why 95%of farms have disappeared since the 1970s, in Wired)
Brief History of Peanut Butter, A
(Kate Wheeling’s Smithsonian article)
Bronze Age Cheese Reveals Human-Lactobacillus Interactions over Evolutionary History
(archaeological evidence of some very well-aged cheeses; reported in CellPress. More here)
Cosmopolitan is a Great Cocktail, Actually, The
(the pink drink—if made properly—defended by Georgina Torbe in The Manual)
Do Colder or Warmer Places Eat More Spicy or Bland Food?
(Frank Jacobs’ answer at Gastro Obscura)
Food Studies: Summary and Keywords
(in Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Communication)
(Jerusha Klemperer’s and Ryan Nebeker’s report in FoodPrint; introduction by Anna Lappé)
Getting Saucy: 13 Condiments from Around the World
(Gillian Finklea’s Mental Floss article reaches across the table, well-past the ketchup and mustard)
In a World of Hazy IPAs, These Beers Use No Hops at All
(Pete O’Connell, at VinePair, on gruit—an ancient beer style)
Issue 91, Radishes, Part 5: Horseradish
(more from the substack page of David S. Shields)
Little History of the Anchovy, A
(Mathew Lyons, on the big impact of a little fish, at Engelsberg Ideas; book review of A Twist in the Tail: How the Humble Anchovy Flavoured Western Cuisine)
New Exhibition Features Culinary Art from Across the Islamic World, A
(show at The Detroit Institute of Arts)
Olfactory Logos: Why Your Restaurant Needs One
(advice from “Aaron Allen & Associates, Global Restaurant Consultants”)
Our Best Recipes for Every Classic Cocktail
(raising a glass—or two— to the staff at Punch)
Scientists Just Figured Out How Many Chemicals Enter Our Bodies from Food Packaging
(Shannon Oak’s report in The Washington Post)
Simple Ingredient that Paprika Is Made of, The
(Dennis Lee explains , in The Takeout, that it’s not as simple as it seems)
(another myth… busted; in Nature)
(Michael Sebastian, in Esquire, on changing attitudes about the classic drink)
Ultra-processed Foods: Five Policy Ideas that Could Protect Health
(a study from Harvard’s School of Public Health)
— inspirational (or otherwise useful) sites for writers/bloggers —
Allrecipes, America’s Most Unruly Cooking Web Site
America’s Regional Chili Styles
Blood, Wine, and Ziti: The Starring Role of Food and Drinks in “The Sopranos”
Chef Celebrities, Foodstuff Anxieties and (Un)Happy Meals: An Introduction to Foodways Redux
Chef Grant Achatz, Wieners Circle Plotting a Corn Dog Collab
Cookbook Author Interview: Part 1
Cooking, Celebrity Chefs, and Public Chef Intellectuals
Eating the Other. Translations of the Culinary Code.
Entangled in Our Meals: Guilt and Pleasure in Contemporary Food Discourses
Food as an Object of Cultural-Technical Study
Food for Thought: On Practices, Tastes and Food Systems from a Social Anthropological Approach
How Chain Restaurants Use Smells to Entice Us
I Am Once Again Asking You to Cook with Shellfish
I’m a Vegetarian—with One Exception
I’ve Finished My Manuscript, Now What? On Dealing with Post-Book Blues
“Let There Be Food”: Evolving Paradigms in Food Studies
Meet the “Cheese Portraitist” Who Painted Our Back Cover
On Making Space for a Writing Project
Poetry of the World’s First Cookbook, The: What Cooking Can Teach Writers and Translators
Prince of Gastronomy Laid an Egg, The
Putting an End to Perfect Wine Scores
Restaurant Design Trend We Can’t Get Enough of, The
Sociology of Food, The: Eating, Diet and Culture
Tap into the “Hemingway Effect” to Finish What You Start
Tension in the Kitchen Explicit and Implicit Politics in the Gourmet Foodscape
There’s a Reason Chili’s Is All Over Your FYP
Ultra Processed Foods—the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Understanding Culture: Food as a Means of Communication
Vast Divide Between Republicans and Democrats over Fast Food, The
Wine Marketing: Isn’t It Obvious?
Women’s Place: Cookbooks' Images of Technique and Technology in the British Kitchen
— podcasts, etcetera —•
Evolution of the Old Fashioned Cocktail—1806 to 2050!
Has the Drinks Industry Taken Creativity Too Far?
How Guinness Remains the Coolest Beer on Earth
How is Whisky Made, What’s in it, and Why Does it Burn Like That?
How Should Brands Credit Cocktail Creators?
New York’s Best Cheesecake—Big Kitchens—Food Documentary
“Oyster Sommelier” Is Now a Job, Thanks to this New Oyster-education Program
Secret Food Hacks I Learned in Restaurants
Spicy History of Hot Sauce, The
— that’s all for now —
Except, of course, for the usual legalistic mumbo-jumbo and commercial flim-flam:
As an Amazon Associate, this newsletter earns from qualifying purchases made through it. These include our own books (listed below), and occasional books mentioned in the entries above. If you order anything via those links, the price you pay is not increased by our commission.
Occasionally, URLs we provide may take you to commercial sites (that is, they’ll cost you money to take full advantage of them), or publications that have paywalls. We do not receive any compensation for listing them here and are providing them without any form of recommendation—other than the fact that they looked interesting to us.
Your privacy is important to us. We will not give, sell or share your e-mail address with anyone, for any purpose. Ever. Nonetheless, we will expose you to the following irredeemably brazen plugs for our own books:
The Resource Guide for Food Writers
(Hardcover)
(Paper)
(Kindle)
(newsletters like this merely update the contents of the book; what doesn’t appear here is already in the book)
The Herbalist in the Kitchen
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
The Business of Food: Encyclopedia of the Food And Drink Industries
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
Herbs: A Global History
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
Sausage: A Global History
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
Can It! The Perils and Pleasures of Preserving Foods
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
Sauces Reconsidered: Après Escoffier
Terms of Vegery
(Paper)
(Kindle)
How to Serve Man:
On Cannibalism, Sex, Sacrifice, & the Nature of Eating
(Paper)
(Kindle)
How to Write a Great Book
The Digressions of Dr Sanscravat: Gastronomical Ramblings & Other Diversions
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Ephemera: a short collection of short stories
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Prophet Amidst Losses
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Future Tense: Remembrance of Things Not Yet Past
(Paper)
(Kindle)
The Backstories: As retold by Gary Allen
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Tabula Rasa, Baby: (Not Written in Stone)
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Unbelievable: A Modern Novella (the Extended Edition)
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Noirvella: The Extended Edition
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Hot Hot Hot/Risky Business
(Paper)
(Kindle)
The Long & Short of It: A Miscellany
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Beer Taste & Other Disorders
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Galloping Gourmand: A Culinary Collection
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Substack Lightnin’: Volume One, The First Year
Substack Lightnin’: Volume Two, Second Year
Here endeth the sales pitch(es)...
...for the moment, anyway.
______________
The Resource Guide for Food Writers, Update #289 is protected by copyright and is provided at no cost, for your personal use only. It may not be copied or retransmitted unless this notice remains affixed. Any other form of republication—unless with the author’s prior written permission—is strictly prohibited.
Copyright ©2024 by Gary Allen.
Food Sites for November 2024
Gourdian Knot
As this is being written, those of us who live in the US are bracing ourselves for Halloween and the Presidential Election—that is, something to scare every one of any age. The stores, of course, have faith that life will go on as usual—no matter what terrifying things we encounter—so they are busy stocking the shelves with the sugarplums of Christmas future.
We’re no longer—at the moment—editing other people’s books. However, hours sitting at the foot of a spousal hospital bed (fortunately, she’s recovered and back at home now) have given us ample time to work on books-in-progress—and post over a dozen new Substack pages:
“BBQ,” a reminiscence about the Texas of my childhood, but not a fish story;
“Thinking Ahead,” some idle thoughts about an idle future;
“Small Town Life,” on food people helping food people;
“While You're Up, Get Me A Grant,” because meaning changes across generations;
“And Fall Back…” one of many Meetings with Remarkable Men;
“Ahhhhh, Youth…” in which bad things happen to frogs and snakes (but not fish);
“Never Meet Your Heroes. They’ll Surely Disappoint,” art and life… never the twain should meet;
“Appetite for Change,” oddly enough, is not about our appetite;
“They’re as Happy as if…,” more on bibliomania;
“Uncertainty Principles,” how to get ideas;
“Testosterone Poisoning; Part One,” some true confessions;
“Testosterone Poisoning: Part Two,” more of the above;
“Mentor/Mentee,” two snippets of assigned writings; and
“A is for Autumn…” on preserving apples.
You can, should you choose to, follow us on Facebook (where, among other things, we post a lot of photographs), and Twitter. Still more of our online scribbles can be found at A Quiet Little Table in the Corner and other Substack pages. There’s even an Amazon author’s page, that includes food writing and anything else we manage to get into print.
As is our wont, we include some seasonal quotations (found in On the Table’s culinary quote collection).
As the days grow short, some faces grow long. But not mine. Every autumn, when the wind turns cold and darkness comes early, I am suddenly happy. It's time to start making soup again. Leslie Newman
My favorite word is “pumpkin.” You can’t take it seriously. But you can’t ignore it, either. It takes ahold of your head and that’s it. You are a pumpkin. Or you are not. I am. Harrison Salisbury
Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of each. Grow green with the spring, yellow and ripe with autumn. Henry David Thoreau
Gary
November 2024
PS: If you encounter broken links, changed URLs—or know of wonderful sites we’ve missed—please drop us a line. It helps to keep this resource as useful as possible for all of us. To those who have pointed out corrections or tasty sites (this month we’re tipping our virtual hat to David Leite—thanks, and keep them coming!
PPS: If you wish to change the e-mail address at which you receive these newsletters, or otherwise modify the way you receive our postings or—if you’ve received this newsletter by mistake, and/or don’t wish to receive future issues—you have our sincere apology and can have your e-mail address deleted from the list immediately. We’re happy (and continuously amazed) that so few people have decided to leave the list but, should you choose to be one of them, let us know and we’ll see that your in-box is never afflicted by these updates again.
— the new sites —
All the Different Lager Styles Around the World
(an overview, by Pete O’Connell, at VinePair)
America’s Dairy Farms Have Vanished
(Elizabeth Eckelkamp, on why 95%of farms have disappeared since the 1970s, in Wired)
Brief History of Peanut Butter, A
(Kate Wheeling’s Smithsonian article)
Bronze Age Cheese Reveals Human-Lactobacillus Interactions over Evolutionary History
(archaeological evidence of some very well-aged cheeses; reported in CellPress. More here)
Cosmopolitan is a Great Cocktail, Actually, The
(the pink drink—if made properly—defended by Georgina Torbe in The Manual)
Do Colder or Warmer Places Eat More Spicy or Bland Food?
(Frank Jacobs’ answer at Gastro Obscura)
Food Studies: Summary and Keywords
(in Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Communication)
(Jerusha Klemperer’s and Ryan Nebeker’s report in FoodPrint; introduction by Anna Lappé)
Getting Saucy: 13 Condiments from Around the World
(Gillian Finklea’s Mental Floss article reaches across the table, well-past the ketchup and mustard)
In a World of Hazy IPAs, These Beers Use No Hops at All
(Pete O’Connell, at VinePair, on gruit—an ancient beer style)
Issue 91, Radishes, Part 5: Horseradish
(more from the substack page of David S. Shields)
Little History of the Anchovy, A
(Mathew Lyons, on the big impact of a little fish, at Engelsberg Ideas; book review of A Twist in the Tail: How the Humble Anchovy Flavoured Western Cuisine)
New Exhibition Features Culinary Art from Across the Islamic World, A
(show at The Detroit Institute of Arts)
Olfactory Logos: Why Your Restaurant Needs One
(advice from “Aaron Allen & Associates, Global Restaurant Consultants”)
Our Best Recipes for Every Classic Cocktail
(raising a glass—or two— to the staff at Punch)
Scientists Just Figured Out How Many Chemicals Enter Our Bodies from Food Packaging
(Shannon Oak’s report in The Washington Post)
Simple Ingredient that Paprika Is Made of, The
(Dennis Lee explains , in The Takeout, that it’s not as simple as it seems)
(another myth… busted; in Nature)
(Michael Sebastian, in Esquire, on changing attitudes about the classic drink)
Ultra-processed Foods: Five Policy Ideas that Could Protect Health
(a study from Harvard’s School of Public Health)
— inspirational (or otherwise useful) sites for writers/bloggers —
Allrecipes, America’s Most Unruly Cooking Web Site
America’s Regional Chili Styles
Blood, Wine, and Ziti: The Starring Role of Food and Drinks in “The Sopranos”
Chef Celebrities, Foodstuff Anxieties and (Un)Happy Meals: An Introduction to Foodways Redux
Chef Grant Achatz, Wieners Circle Plotting a Corn Dog Collab
Cookbook Author Interview: Part 1
Cooking, Celebrity Chefs, and Public Chef Intellectuals
Eating the Other. Translations of the Culinary Code.
Entangled in Our Meals: Guilt and Pleasure in Contemporary Food Discourses
Food as an Object of Cultural-Technical Study
Food for Thought: On Practices, Tastes and Food Systems from a Social Anthropological Approach
How Chain Restaurants Use Smells to Entice Us
I Am Once Again Asking You to Cook with Shellfish
I’m a Vegetarian—with One Exception
I’ve Finished My Manuscript, Now What? On Dealing with Post-Book Blues
“Let There Be Food”: Evolving Paradigms in Food Studies
Meet the “Cheese Portraitist” Who Painted Our Back Cover
On Making Space for a Writing Project
Poetry of the World’s First Cookbook, The: What Cooking Can Teach Writers and Translators
Prince of Gastronomy Laid an Egg, The
Putting an End to Perfect Wine Scores
Restaurant Design Trend We Can’t Get Enough of, The
Sociology of Food, The: Eating, Diet and Culture
Tap into the “Hemingway Effect” to Finish What You Start
Tension in the Kitchen Explicit and Implicit Politics in the Gourmet Foodscape
There’s a Reason Chili’s Is All Over Your FYP
Ultra Processed Foods—the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Understanding Culture: Food as a Means of Communication
Vast Divide Between Republicans and Democrats over Fast Food, The
Wine Marketing: Isn’t It Obvious?
Women’s Place: Cookbooks' Images of Technique and Technology in the British Kitchen
— podcasts, etcetera —•
Evolution of the Old Fashioned Cocktail—1806 to 2050!
Has the Drinks Industry Taken Creativity Too Far?
How Guinness Remains the Coolest Beer on Earth
How is Whisky Made, What’s in it, and Why Does it Burn Like That?
How Should Brands Credit Cocktail Creators?
New York’s Best Cheesecake—Big Kitchens—Food Documentary
“Oyster Sommelier” Is Now a Job, Thanks to this New Oyster-education Program
Secret Food Hacks I Learned in Restaurants
Spicy History of Hot Sauce, The
— that’s all for now —
Except, of course, for the usual legalistic mumbo-jumbo and commercial flim-flam:
As an Amazon Associate, this newsletter earns from qualifying purchases made through it. These include our own books (listed below), and occasional books mentioned in the entries above. If you order anything via those links, the price you pay is not increased by our commission.
Occasionally, URLs we provide may take you to commercial sites (that is, they’ll cost you money to take full advantage of them), or publications that have paywalls. We do not receive any compensation for listing them here and are providing them without any form of recommendation—other than the fact that they looked interesting to us.
Your privacy is important to us. We will not give, sell or share your e-mail address with anyone, for any purpose. Ever. Nonetheless, we will expose you to the following irredeemably brazen plugs for our own books:
The Resource Guide for Food Writers
(Hardcover)
(Paper)
(Kindle)
(newsletters like this merely update the contents of the book; what doesn’t appear here is already in the book)
The Herbalist in the Kitchen
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
The Business of Food: Encyclopedia of the Food And Drink Industries
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
Herbs: A Global History
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
Sausage: A Global History
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
Can It! The Perils and Pleasures of Preserving Foods
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
Sauces Reconsidered: Après Escoffier
Terms of Vegery
(Paper)
(Kindle)
How to Serve Man:
On Cannibalism, Sex, Sacrifice, & the Nature of Eating
(Paper)
(Kindle)
How to Write a Great Book
The Digressions of Dr Sanscravat: Gastronomical Ramblings & Other Diversions
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Ephemera: a short collection of short stories
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Prophet Amidst Losses
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Future Tense: Remembrance of Things Not Yet Past
(Paper)
(Kindle)
The Backstories: As retold by Gary Allen
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Tabula Rasa, Baby: (Not Written in Stone)
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Unbelievable: A Modern Novella (the Extended Edition)
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Noirvella: The Extended Edition
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Hot Hot Hot/Risky Business
(Paper)
(Kindle)
The Long & Short of It: A Miscellany
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Beer Taste & Other Disorders
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Galloping Gourmand: A Culinary Collection
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Substack Lightnin’: Volume One, The First Year
Substack Lightnin’: Volume Two, Second Year
Here endeth the sales pitch(es)...
...for the moment, anyway.
______________
The Resource Guide for Food Writers, Update #289 is protected by copyright and is provided at no cost, for your personal use only. It may not be copied or retransmitted unless this notice remains affixed. Any other form of republication—unless with the author’s prior written permission—is strictly prohibited.
Copyright ©2024 by Gary Allen.
September 25, 2024
Food Sites for October 2024
When life gives you apples, make applesauce…
…and we have, canning next year’s main ingredient for Applesauce Cakes with Cardamom. It’s an autumnal favorite recipe (written by Martha Stewart), that we found years ago. It calls for two cups of homemade apple sauce, so we put up our applesauce in one-pint jars.
No measuring, no waste.
Finally finished editing other people’s books but, at the same time as we were editing, we managed to post eight new Substack pages:
“One-track Mind,” three little tales that happen in the same place;
“A Coarse in Education,” more fiction about the repulsive Natty Vero;
”Geology 101: The Shawangunks,” written because no one in my family would allow me to deliver the lecture;
“$64,000 Question, 64 Years Later,” an excuse to talk about AI and writing;
“Too Much (Is Just Right),” tout sweet;
“Elections are Good…” musing about politicians’ books;
“No Beans,” a memorial to a chilihead;
and
“It's All Greek to Me…”, where taxonomy meets etymology.
You can, should you choose to, follow us on Facebook (where, among other things, we post a lot of photographs), and Twitter. Still more of our online scribbles can be found at A Quiet Little Table in the Corner and other Substack pages. There’s even an Amazon author’s page, that includes food writing and anything else we manage to get into print.
In keeping with this month’s photo, here are some prescribed quotes that—taken one per day—are rumored to keep doctors away. (Found in On the Table’s culinary quote collection).
Adam was but human—this explains it all. He did not want the apple for the apple’s sake, he wanted it only because it was forbidden. Mark Twain
All human history attests
That happiness for man,—the hungry sinner!‑
Since Eve ate apples, much depends on dinner. Lord Byron
You put a baby in a crib with an apple and a rabbit. If it eats the rabbit and plays with the apple, I’ll buy you a new car. Harvey Diamond
Gary
October 2024
PS: If you encounter broken links, changed URLs, or know of wonderful sites we’ve missed—please drop us a line. It helps to keep this resource as useful as possible for all of us. To those who have pointed out corrections or tasty sites (this month we’re tipping our virtual hat to David Leite—thanks, and keep them coming!
PPS: If you wish to change the e-mail address at which you receive these newsletters, or otherwise modify the way you receive our postings or—if you’ve received this newsletter by mistake, and/or don’t wish to receive future issues—you have our sincere apology and can have your e-mail address deleted from the list immediately. We’re happy (and continuously amazed) that so few people have decided to leave the list but, should you choose to be one of them, let us know and we’ll see that your in-box is never afflicted by these updates again.
— the new sites —
Ancient, Astonishing History of Yerba Mate, The
(Diana Hubbell’s Gastro Obscura account)
(comedian Brian Frange provides descriptions of apple varieties that are “inarguably accurate and not corrupted by corporate influence”)
Beautiful Art of Greece’s “Embroidered” Bread, The
(Yana Frigelis, at GastroObscura, reports on an art form discovered at The European Bread Museum)
Complete Guide to Bitters and the Cocktails to Make With Them, A
(an Infographic from VinePair’s Pete O’Connell)
FoodPrint of Food Packaging, The
(it’s not just plastic)
Have Swiss Scientists Made a Chocolate Breakthrough?
(Imogen Foulks’ BBC report on a new technique that uses entire cacao fruit to replace sugar and eliminate waste)
(Joanne Cronin’s paeon to Ireland’s native oyster—Ostrea edulis—known elsewhere as belon)
(Alisa Wetzel’s article in Butter Journal)
Inside Roman Emperors’ Outrageously Lavish Dinner Parties
(an invitation—mine arrived a bit late—to the feasts described by Guy de la Bèdoyère at Gastro Obscura)
Real Reason Why Oranges are Sold in Those Red Net Bags, The
(Tom Hale, in IFLScience, says it’s due to a kind of optical illusion)
Recipes, Tradition, and Representation
(Patrik Englisch’s paper in The Philosophy of Recipes)
Some Foods Are Styled As “Climate Saviors.” Who Are They Saving?
(Alicia Kennedy, in FoodPrint, on Breadfruit)
Unexpectedly Deep History of Canned Bread, The
(Kaleigh Brown prys off the lid at Takeout)
What Researchers Learned From the World’s Oldest Cookbook
(Babylonian recipe tablets, on public view at Yale’s Peabody Museum)
(the reason, according to Gastro Obscura’s Kathleen Crowther, is no more X-rated than chicken soup)
Your Cup of Coffee Is Already Expensive. It’s About to Get Even Worse
(Ilena Peng reports, in Bloomberg, on the combined effects of demand, supply-chain problems, and climate)
— inspirational (or otherwise useful) sites for writers/bloggers —
1 Thing Americans Do With Coffee That Shocks People Around The World, The
A Little Fiction. Some Recipes. A Fantastic Book. And a Super Event.
Abstinence Makes the Taste Buds Grow Fonder
America’s Regional Burrito Styles
Biscuits Served with Butter, Jam and Exploitation.
Building Blocks: Figs, Greece’s Ancient Superfood
CB on the Road: Along the Amalfi Coast’s Path of the Lemons
Chef Charlotte Jenkins Is Spreading the Gospel of Gullah Cuisine
Cockloaf with a Jerked Banana Glaze
Doctors and Health Experts Are Changing Their Minds about Whole Milk and Cheese
Drinking Wine with Meals Linked to Better Health Outcomes
Fact and Prejudice in Food Writing
Fruit and Alcohol? Chocolate and Cheese? The Surprising Science of Food Pairing
How American Is Apple Pie, Really?
How Do You Deal With a Kitchen Slip-Up?
How Do You Write A (Really Good) Recipe?
How Our Diet and Culinary Heritage Informs the Way We Speak
How to Deliver a Manuscript on Time
Hunt for the Best Harissa, The
Penny De Los Santos: On How Every Meal Tells a Story.
“Practical Art, A”: An Archaeological Perspective on the Use of Recipe Books
Strange Allure of Blue Food, The
“The System Is the Problem, Not People”: How a Radical Food Group Spread Round the World
“There is no Better Way to Explore the World than Through the Universal Language of Food”
Treat Every Onion Like a New Onion
What’s the Difference Between a Gourmand and a Gourmet?
Why Brewing Your Own Beer Is Worth the Trouble
Woman Preserving a Beloved Bean Collection, The
— podcasts, etcetera —•
Amazing Japanese Bakery in the Mountains!
Ben & Jerry’s Cookbook Is a Portal to ’60s-Era Nostalgia, The
First Guy to Ever Open a Restaurant, The
How a Massive Bread Factory Produces 150,000 Loaves per Week
— that’s all for now —
Except, of course, for the usual legalistic mumbo-jumbo and commercial flim-flam:
As an Amazon Associate, this newsletter earns from qualifying purchases made through it. These include our own books (listed below), and occasional books mentioned in the entries above. If you order anything via those links, the price you pay is not increased by our commission.
Occasionally, URLs we provide may take you to commercial sites (that is, they’ll cost you money to take full advantage of them), or publications that have paywalls. We do not receive any compensation for listing them here and are providing them without any form of recommendation—other than the fact that they looked interesting to us.
Your privacy is important to us. We will not give, sell or share your e-mail address with anyone, for any purpose. Ever. Nonetheless, we will expose you to the following irredeemably brazen plugs for our own books:
The Resource Guide for Food Writers
(Hardcover)
(Paper)
(Kindle)
(newsletters like this merely update the contents of the book; what doesn’t appear here is already in the book)
The Herbalist in the Kitchen
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
The Business of Food: Encyclopedia of the Food And Drink Industries
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
Herbs: A Global History
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
Sausage: A Global History
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
Can It! The Perils and Pleasures of Preserving Foods
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
Sauces Reconsidered: Après Escoffier
Terms of Vegery
(Paper)
(Kindle)
How to Serve Man:
On Cannibalism, Sex, Sacrifice, & the Nature of Eating
(Paper)
(Kindle)
How to Write a Great Book
The Digressions of Dr Sanscravat: Gastronomical Ramblings & Other Diversions
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Ephemera: a short collection of short stories
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Prophet Amidst Losses
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Future Tense: Remembrance of Things Not Yet Past
(Paper)
(Kindle)
The Backstories: As retold by Gary Allen
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Tabula Rasa, Baby: (Not Written in Stone)
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Unbelievable: A Modern Novella (the Extended Edition)
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Noirvella: The Extended Edition
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Hot Hot Hot/Risky Business
(Paper)
(Kindle)
The Long & Short of It: A Miscellany
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Beer Taste & Other Disorders
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Galloping Gourmand: A Culinary Collection
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Substack Lightnin’: Volume One, The First Year
Substack Lightnin’: Volume Two, Second Year
Here endeth the sales pitch(es)...
...for the moment, anyway.
______________
The Resource Guide for Food Writers, Update #288 is protected by copyright and is provided at no cost, for your personal use only. It may not be copied or retransmitted unless this notice remains affixed. Any other form of republication—unless with the author’s prior written permission—is strictly prohibited.
Copyright ©2024 by Gary Allen.
August 19, 2024
Food Sites for September 2024
We’ve noticed that the selections that appear, each month, in these updates have been gradually changing. What had once been a collection of sources of food information and sites that aid us (as food writers), began to include items that merely entertain our admittedly narrow interest (read: “fixation”) on foodish subjects. In part, it was in response to evolutionary changes in the internet itself (there are more substack pages than new blogs—just as the old Usenet Bulletin Boards were replaced by websites, today’s bandwidth is being diverted to podcasts and streaming video).
“Sic transit gloria mundi”—or, as the kids used to say—“omnia mutantur.”
The newsletter, which began as a supplement to The Resource Guide for Food Writers, is looking more like A Resource Guide for Writers. Maybe it’s mirroring the gradual change in our own writing—away from strictly food non-fiction, and toward fiction and related literary productions.
With September, we find ourselves in harvest mode. The cooler days are more conducive to productive writing—we’re more likely to be found in the kitchen (or at the keyboard) than standing at the outdoor grill. We don’t know if our writing of non-fiction about food will make a comeback, but suspect that the ancient urgings of our gullet will continue to influence even the more respectable bits of our literary productions.
It's been a busy month at Penwipe Publishing; we’ve been copy-editing, designing, and publishing two more books written by Geoffrey Paul Gordon (Leonard is due shortly, and The Lust Resort is already out). In between, we did manage to post eight new Substack pages:
“Close Reading,” a tale of editing, newly done, and somewhat older;
“?!” some speculation about, of all things, Interrobangs;
“Seeking Truth…” does not always lead to finding it;
“Personal Libraries,” on what our bookshelves say about us;
“Inflamed,” spicy thoughts about eating;
“Speaks with the Fishes,” blather about communicating;
“Back to Work (again)” another sample from a book-in-progress;
and
“Grand Boeuf” a compare-and-contrast response to an article by Ruth Reichl.
You can, should you choose to, follow us on Facebook (where, among other things, we post a lot of photographs), and Twitter. Still more of our online scribbles can be found at A Quiet Little Table in the Corner and other Substack pages. There’s even an Amazon author’s page, that includes food writing and anything else we manage to get into print.
In keeping with this month’s focus on the Solitary Sin, here be some quotes that don’t quite fit in with On the Table’s culinary quote collection.
You can fix anything but a blank page. Nora Roberts
Writing in English is the most ingenious torture ever devised for sins committed in previous lives. James Joyce
I could write an entertaining novel about rejection slips, but I fear it would be overly long. Louise Brown
If I had to give young writers advice, I would say don’t listen to writers talking about writing or themselves. Lillian Hellman
Gary
September 2024
PS: If you encounter broken links, changed URLs—or know of wonderful sites we’ve missed—please drop us a line. It helps to keep this resource as useful as possible for all of us. To those who have pointed out corrections or tasty sites (this month we’re tipping our virtual hat to Dwight Furrow—thanks, and keep them coming!
PPS: If you wish to change the e-mail address at which you receive these newsletters, or otherwise modify the way you receive our postings or—if you’ve received this newsletter by mistake, and/or don’t wish to receive future issues—you have our sincere apology and can have your e-mail address deleted from the list immediately. We’re happy (and continuously amazed) that so few people have decided to leave the list but, should you choose to be one of them, let us know and we’ll see that your in-box is never afflicted by these updates again.
— the new sites —
Barbecuing vs. Grilling: Yes, There’s a Difference
(Mark Stock explains in The Manual)
(Kate McDermott’s substack post about Avena sativa)
Chaos in a Glass: The History of Cold Duck, the German-American Wine-Dreg Punch
(Mickey Lyons’s query, in VinePair, of a questionable quaff)
Cheesemaking Is a Complex Science
(John A. Lucey—“a food chemist explains the process from milk to mozzarella”—for The Conversation)
(Mark Bittman compares the environmental costs)
Fight to Save Florida’s Oranges, The
(Ayurella Horn-Muller’s article, in Science, on multiple threats to the iconic citrus crop)
If the Cheese Is From Here, You Know It’s Going to Be Good
(affinage: Saveur savors Italian formaggio)
Origins of Guacamole Are Much More Ancient Than We Thought, The
(Kaleigh Brown in The Takeout, on how the famous dip became famous; Read More)
Want to Cook Like a Neanderthal? Archaeologists Are Learning the Secrets
(Jennifer Ouellette, in Ars Technica, on replicating ancient culinary methods)
— inspirational (or otherwise useful) sites for writers/bloggers —
100 Years Later, the Caesar Salad Returns to Its Roots
Adventuring with the Happy Eater
Airplane Meals Are Delicious, You Fools
Are Truffles the Culinary World’s Most Overrated Ingredient?
Being a Full-Time Writer is the Worst Job
Books That Cook: The Making of a Modern Literary Meal
Breakfast Ritual in My Blood, A
Can Gouda’s Cheesemakers Stall a Sinking Future?
Culinary Tourism: An Exploratory Reading of Contemporary Representations of Cooking
Family Recipes That Live On in Cemeteries, The
Food as You Know It Is About to Change
Freelance Writers Rejoice (Soon): You Might Get Legal Protection.
Grocery Store Tourism Is Taking Off
Hidden Racism of Book Cover Design, The
If You Want Good Book Promotion, Start Early and Practice, says PR Maven Carrie Bachman
In Search of the World’s Funniest Joke
It’s The Cake Talking: Theorizing the Recipe Memoir
“It’s the Right Environment for Cultures to Do Their Thing”
Jungle Juice, Fish Bowls, and the Rise of the Maximum Cocktail
My Hobby Is Cookbooks, What’s Yours?
My Life on the Road as a Competitive Eater of Giant Food
Platform Authors Need Now, The (That Isn’t Social Media)
Restaurant Critic Steps Back, The
Should You Delay Your Morning Caffeine?
Steak Myths You Thought Were True
Stories on our Plate: Recipes and Conversations
Transcribing Domesticity: A Material History of Recipe Sharing
Unlikely Thrill of Foraging, The
We Found Unhealthy Pesticide Levels in 20% of US Produce—Here’s What You Need to Know
— podcasts, etcetera —•
How a Winning French Bakery Made the No. 1 Baguette in Paris—The Experts
How Salt Shaped Civilization: From the Roman Empire to the French Revolution
How the World’s Best Pork Fat Is Cured in Marble—Vendors
Substack Secrets of Caroline Chambers of “What To Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking”
— that’s all for now —
Except, of course, for the usual legalistic mumbo-jumbo and commercial flim-flam:
As an Amazon Associate, this newsletter earns from qualifying purchases made through it. These include our own books (listed below), and occasional books mentioned in the entries above. If you order anything via those links, the price you pay is not increased by our commission.
Occasionally, URLs we provide may take you to commercial sites (that is, they’ll cost you money to take full advantage of them), or publications that have paywalls. We do not receive any compensation for listing them here and are providing them without any form of recommendation—other than the fact that they looked interesting to us.
Your privacy is important to us. We will not give, sell or share your e-mail address with anyone, for any purpose. Ever. Nonetheless, we will expose you to the following irredeemably brazen plugs for our own books:
The Resource Guide for Food Writers
(Hardcover)
(Paper)
(Kindle)
(newsletters like this merely update the contents of the book; what doesn’t appear here is already in the book)
The Herbalist in the Kitchen
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
The Business of Food: Encyclopedia of the Food And Drink Industries
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
Herbs: A Global History
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
Sausage: A Global History
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
Can It! The Perils and Pleasures of Preserving Foods
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
Sauces Reconsidered: Après Escoffier
Terms of Vegery
(Paper)
(Kindle)
How to Serve Man: On Cannibalism, Sex, Sacrifice, & the Nature of Eating
(Paper)
(Kindle)
How to Write a Great Book
The Digressions of Dr Sanscravat: Gastronomical Ramblings & Other Diversions
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Ephemera: a short collection of short stories
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Prophet Amidst Losses
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Future Tense: Remembrance of Things Not Yet Past
(Paper)
(Kindle)
The Backstories: As retold by Gary Allen
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Tabula Rasa, Baby: (Not Written in Stone)
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Unbelievable: A Modern Novella (the Extended Edition)
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Hot Hot Hot/Risky Business
(Paper)
(Kindle)
The Long & Short of It: A Miscellany
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Beer Taste & Other Disorders
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Galloping Gourmand: A Culinary Collection
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Substack Lightnin’: Volume One, The First Year
Substack Lightnin’: Volume Two, Second Year
Here endeth the sales pitch(es)...
...for the moment, anyway.
______________
The Resource Guide for Food Writers, Update #287 is protected by copyright and is provided at no cost, for your personal use only. It may not be copied or retransmitted unless this notice remains affixed. Any other form of republication—unless with the author’s prior written permission—is strictly prohibited.
Copyright ©2024 by Gary Allen.
July 19, 2024
Food Sites for August 2024
A few days ago, it was Henry David Thoreau’s birthday; this was his desk.
August is high summer, but it often has early suggestions of summer’s end—not that we’ve noticed this year. It’s been ridiculously hot and oppressively humid. If Winter’s weather encourages productive writing, so did air conditioning in July. The sweltering heat of the outside world rarely tempted us to venture away from the laptop.
It's been a busy month at Penwipe Publishing*; we edited, designed, and published one book (Pure Gold), and are nearly done with another (Six Plays)—both written by our new friend/colleague, Geoffrey Paul Gordon. However, we did manage to post more Substack pages:
“Saint Something-or-Other,” a seasonal foraging recipe;
“Funny Business,” an essay confronting seriousness;
“Fat, Foolish, & Fabulous.” Sir John Falstaff and genealogy;
“What We Know of Life, We Learned from Death” revisits the very first time we were paid for writing; and
“On the Tip of My Tongue,” on one way to revisit one’s past.
*The imprimatur of a contrivance that we started to publish our otherwise unpublishable stuff. The name is a subtle—no, vague—allusion to the desk that Thoreau used to write Walden. The underside of the desks’ front edge is blackened with ink stains, because Henry always wiped his pen on it before committing his next words to paper.
You can, should you choose to, follow us on Facebook (where, among other things, we post a lot of photographs), and Twitter. Still more of our online scribbles can be found at A Quiet Little Table in the Corner and other Substack pages. There’s even an Amazon author’s page, that includes our food writing and anything else we manage to get into print.
More summery observations, some from On the Table’s culinary quote collection.
If it could only be like this always—always summer, always alone, the fruit always ripe. Evelyn Waugh
It was August, and the fields were high with corn. Melanie Gideon
If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. Harry Truman
Gary
August 2024
PS: If you encounter broken links, changed URLs—or know of wonderful sites we’ve missed—please drop us a line. It helps to keep this resource as useful as possible for all of us. To those who have pointed out corrections or tasty sites (this month we’re tipping our virtual hat to Krishnendu Ray—thanks, and keep them coming!
PPS: If you wish to change the e-mail address at which you receive these newsletters, or otherwise modify the way you receive our postings or—if you’ve received this newsletter by mistake, and/or don’t wish to receive future issues—you have our sincere apology and can have your e-mail address deleted from the list immediately. We’re happy (and continuously amazed) that so few people have decided to leave the list but, should you choose to be one of them, let us know and we’ll see that your in-box is never afflicted by these updates again.
— the new sites —
Freedom, Finances, and Fried Chicken
(Debra Freeman, in Eater, on “the legacy of the enslaved and later free Black women” of the American South)
(Julia Skinner’s reading list of vegetarian books for omnivores)
Long, Winding Origin Story of Tres Leches Cake, The
(Mandy Baca traces it for Food52)
(Ed Behr’s article, in his Substack—The Art of Eating)
(Hanna Staab has the answer at VinePair—sláinte!)
Researchers Just Discovered the Only Known Roman-Era Brewery Ever Found in Italy
(where beer was brewed from millet)
Where Does Horchata Come From Anyway?
(the trendy nut-milk-based drink—according to Thrillist’s Dana Givens—has its roots in Africa, via Latin America)
— inspirational (or otherwise useful) sites for writers/bloggers —
5 People and Places That Claim to Have Invented the Hamburger
14 Telltale Signs a Recipe Sucks
America’s Obsession with Hot Dogs, Explained
Can We Eat Our Way Out of America’s Invasive Species Problem?
Drafty Draft and the First Pancake, The
Has French Cuisine Lost Its Luster? Or Are the American Food Media Just Ignoring It?
Hipster Beer Is Dead. Long Live ‘Lifestyle’ Beer.
History of Beer, The: And Why Civilization As We Know It May Have Started Because of It
Hottest Cookbook Ingredient Right Now, The? Bodies, Bodies, Bodies.
Is Organic Produce Worth the Higher Price?
“Joyce Chen’s China”: How a Film Used Food to Bridge a Cold-War Divide
Line Cook’s Rant About... Recipes, A
Literally the Gayest Dish on the Menu
New Archaeochemical Insights into Roman Wine from Baetica
Price of Restaurant Criticism, The
Psychology Behind Buying Bad Airport Food—Again and Again, The
Should Chefs Be Allowed to Copyright Their Dishes?
Taking a Good Hard Look: Teapots and Bronzes
The Chef Is Human. The Reviewer Isn’t.
Truth About the US’ Most Iconic Food, The
Turn Fact Into Fiction—Without Hurting Someone or Getting Sued
Use AI as Your Free Virtual Assistant
What Are The 23 Secret Flavors In Dr Pepper?
What Does “Good Enough” Even Mean?
What Working at Restaurants Can Teach Writers
What Your Grocery Cart Says About You
Why Italy Fell Out of Love with Cilantro
— podcasts, etcetera —•
America’s First Celebrity Bartender and the Book That Changed Bars Forever
Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing
New York City’s Black Oyster King
What “Couscousgate” Tells Us About French Food
— that’s all for now —
Except, of course, for the usual legalistic mumbo-jumbo and commercial flim-flam:
As an Amazon Associate, this newsletter earns from qualifying purchases made through it. These include our own books (listed below), and occasional books mentioned in the entries above. If you order anything via those links, the price you pay is not increased by our commission.
Occasionally, URLs we provide may take you to commercial sites (that is, they’ll cost you money to take full advantage of them), or publications that have paywalls. We do not receive any compensation for listing them here and are providing them without any form of recommendation—other than the fact that they looked interesting to us.
Your privacy is important to us. We will not give, sell or share your e-mail address with anyone, for any purpose. Ever. Nonetheless, we will expose you to the following irredeemably brazen plugs for our own books:
The Resource Guide for Food Writers
(Hardcover)
(Paper)
(Kindle)
(newsletters like this merely update the contents of the book; what doesn’t appear here is already in the book)
The Herbalist in the Kitchen
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
The Business of Food: Encyclopedia of the Food And Drink Industries
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
Herbs: A Global History
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
Sausage: A Global History
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
Can It! The Perils and Pleasures of Preserving Foods
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
Sauces Reconsidered: Après Escoffier
Terms of Vegery
(Paper)
(Kindle)
How to Serve Man:
On Cannibalism, Sex, Sacrifice, & the Nature of Eating
(Paper)
(Kindle)
How to Write a Great Book
The Digressions of Dr Sanscravat: Gastronomical Ramblings & Other Diversions
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Ephemera: a short collection of short stories
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Prophet Amidst Losses
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Future Tense: Remembrance of Things Not Yet Past
(Paper)
(Kindle)
The Backstories: As retold by Gary Allen
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Tabula Rasa, Baby: (Not Written in Stone)
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Unbelievable: A Modern Novella (the Extended Edition)
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Hot Hot Hot/Risky Business
(Paper)
(Kindle)
The Long & Short of It: A Miscellany
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Beer Taste & Other Disorders
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Galloping Gourmand: A Culinary Collection
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Substack Lightnin': Volume One, The First Year
Substack Lightnin': Volume Two, Second Year
Here endeth the sales pitch(es)...
...for the moment, anyway.
______________
The Resource Guide for Food Writers, Update #286 is protected by copyright and is provided at no cost, for your personal use only. It may not be copied or retransmitted unless this notice remains affixed. Any other form of republication—unless with the author’s prior written permission—is strictly prohibited.
Copyright ©2024 by Gary Allen.
June 22, 2024
Food Sites for July 2024
Red wine, and brown liquor, are all very well—in colder seasons—but now it's time to switch to beer (preferably a locally-brewed one, like this).
If we had harbored any doubts about the arrival of summer, they’ve been sweated out of us. Every day, this week, the actual temperature has been in the nineties—plus, augmented by higher-than-average humidity. It’s been brutal. Baking (as in dinner) was out of the question. Even standing, outside, near the grill, was ridiculously hot.
Last month, still in various kinds of recovery, we didn’t do much serious writing. However, we did manage to post more Substack pages:
“TK” some speculation about part of the writing life, with a short story;
“It’s the Sweet of the Year...” more idle thoughts, this time about fishing and the mental make-up of trout, also with a short story;
“De Gustibus Non Est Disputandum” answers a question about food aversions;
“Back to Work...” an apologia, along with part of a new memoir;
“A Different Kind of WIP...” a short story, sans introduction, about getting published;
and
“Something to Chew On...” some speculations on culinary etymology.
We’ve started work on a new book, but haven’t made much progress on it. Perhaps that’s because we edited and designed—and published—a book for someone else. It’s a baseball novel that was delight to read (it’ll be available on July 17th, to coincide with the All-star Game).
You can, should you choose to, follow us on Facebook (where, among other things, we post a lot of photographs), and Twitter. Still more of our online scribbles can be found at A Quiet Little Table in the Corner and other Substack pages. There’s even an Amazon author’s page, that includes our food writing and anything else we manage to get into print.
A few summery observations, some from On the Table’s culinary quote collection.
A hot dog at the ballpark is better than steak at the Ritz. Humphrey Bogart
Although the frankfurter originated in Frankfurt, Germany, we have long since made it our own, a twin pillar of democracy along with Mom's apple pie. In fact, now that Mom's apple pie comes frozen and baked by somebody who isn't Mom, the hot dog stands alone. What it symbolizes remains pure, even if what it contains does not. William Zinsser
You can find your way across this country using burger joints the way a navigator uses stars. Charles Kuralt
Gary
July 2024
PS: If you encounter broken links, changed URLs—or know of wonderful sites we’ve missed—please drop us a line. It helps to keep this resource as useful as possible for all of us. To those who have pointed out corrections or tasty sites (this month we’re tipping our virtual hat to Cynthia Bertelsen—thanks, and keep them coming!
PPS: If you wish to change the e-mail address at which you receive these newsletters, or otherwise modify the way you receive our postings or—if you’ve received this newsletter by mistake, and/or don’t wish to receive future issues—you have our sincere apology and can have your e-mail address deleted from the list immediately. We’re happy (and continuously amazed) that so few people have decided to leave the list but, should you choose to be one of them, let us know and we’ll see that your in-box is never afflicted by these updates again.
— the new sites —
Complete Guide to Quick Breads, The
(a quick introduction from the staff at Chowhound)
Frequent Spicy Meals Linked to Human Longevity
(according to some Chinese research, capsaicin is good for you—alcohol, not so much)
(“short incursion into the history of Romanian cuisine” in the anonymously-posted, Romanian Food Blog)
In the Middle Ages, European Beer Was Hallucinogenic
(Olivia White’s Vinepair article; spoiler alert: they used black henbane, not hops)
Mezcal vs. Tequila: What’s the Difference?
(Christopher Osburn explains, in The Manual)
Pilsner vs. Lager: What’s the Difference?
(Christopher Osburn raises quite a few to find out, in The Manual)
Warmer Climate, Spicier Food. But Which Country Is the Spiciest?
(according to Frank Jacobs, in Big Think, attitude—toward hot & spicy foods—is related to latitude; mostly)
— inspirational (or otherwise useful) sites for writers/bloggers —
25 Essential Pasta Dishes to Eat in Italy, The
Are We Living Through a Bagel Renaissance?
Breakfast Is the Most Important Meal of the Day—Or Is It?
Don’t Call It an “Ethnic” Grocery Store
How Bad Are Ultraprocessed Foods, Really?
How to Handle Being a Picky Eater As an Adult
In Puerto Rico, the Piña Colada Is Always Evolving
Making a Living by Writing Is As Rare as Being a Billionaire
My Macro—and Micro—Food Writing Life
Mystery of Italy’s Saltless Bread, The
“No Pickles? No Deli”: Archetypal American “Secular Jewish Space” Gains Due Regard
Pitch-Perfect Ode to Korean “Drivers’ Restaurants”, A
Restaurant Groups Are the New Chains
Surprising Joys of Indie Publishing, The
There’s a Scientific Reason Why Cold Beer Tastes Better
This Is Why You Add Water to Whiskey (Plus, Our Best Tips)
Toni Morrison: Write, Erase, Do It Over
What’s Cooking? A Culinary Journey through History
Why Calling Hamburgers “Burgers” Is Actually Incorrect
Why Hot Dogs Are Sold in 10-Packs But Hot Dog Buns Are Sold in 8-Packs
Woman Who Created the Modern Cookbook, The
— podcasts, etcetera —•
Archaeologists Reveal How a Town in Syria Survived the Bronze Age Collapse of Civilizations
Chat with Rosa Jackson, Cookbook Author and Cooking School Teacher, A
Day in the Life as a Candy Factory Worker, A
Dr. Chris Van Tulleken: How Ultra-Processed Foods Are Making Us Sick
How a Taiwanese Grandma Makes Over 1,000 Potstickers per Day
How Civilization Was Created by Bread
Most Elaborate Final Meals of Death Row Inmates, The
What Happens to Your Body When You Have a Hangover
— that’s all for now —
Except, of course, for the usual legalistic mumbo-jumbo and commercial flim-flam:
As an Amazon Associate, this newsletter earns from qualifying purchases made through it. These include our own books (listed below), and occasional books mentioned in the entries above. If you order anything via those links, the price you pay is not increased by our commission.
Occasionally, URLs we provide may take you to commercial sites (that is, they’ll cost you money to take full advantage of them), or publications that have paywalls. We do not receive any compensation for listing them here and are providing them without any form of recommendation—other than the fact that they looked interesting to us.
Your privacy is important to us. We will not give, sell or share your e-mail address with anyone, for any purpose. Ever. Nonetheless, we will expose you to the following irredeemably brazen plugs for our own books:
The Resource Guide for Food Writers
(Hardcover)
(Paper)
(Kindle)
(newsletters like this merely update the contents of the book; what doesn’t appear here is already in the book)
The Herbalist in the Kitchen
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
The Business of Food: Encyclopedia of the Food And Drink Industries
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
Herbs: A Global History
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
Sausage: A Global History
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
Can It! The Perils and Pleasures of Preserving Foods
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
Sauces Reconsidered: Après Escoffier
Terms of Vegery
(Paper)
(Kindle)
How to Serve Man:
On Cannibalism, Sex, Sacrifice, & the Nature of Eating
(Paper)
(Kindle)
How to Write a Great Book
The Digressions of Dr Sanscravat: Gastronomical Ramblings & Other Diversions
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Ephemera: a short collection of short stories
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Prophet Amidst Losses
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Future Tense: Remembrance of Things Not Yet Past
(Paper)
(Kindle)
The Backstories: As retold by Gary Allen
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Tabula Rasa, Baby: (Not Written in Stone)
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Unbelievable: A Modern Novella (the Extended Edition)
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Hot Hot Hot/Risky Business
(Paper)
(Kindle)
The Long & Short of It: A Miscellany
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Beer Taste & Other Disorders
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Galloping Gourmand: A Culinary Collection
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Substack Lightnin': Volume One, The First Year
Substack Lightnin': Volume Two, Second Year
Here endeth the sales pitch(es)...
...for the moment, anyway.
______________
The Resource Guide for Food Writers, Update #285 is protected by copyright and is provided at no cost, for your personal use only. It may not be copied or retransmitted unless this notice remains affixed. Any other form of republication—unless with the author’s prior written permission—is strictly prohibited.
Copyright ©2024 by Gary Allen.
May 18, 2024
Food Sites for June 2024
Isn’t it curious that infantilized images of pigs are routinely used to promote the consumption of pork? Do cute piggies want to be eaten?
(seen at Due South BBQ, Roanoke, VA)
Last month, we were—for the most part—otherwise occupied. Rather than belaboring you with the details, redundantly, you should be able to deduce them, yourself, from the links below. They might also explain why so many entries are about alcohol.
Still, we did manage to post more Substack pages:
“Flaubert’s Parrot,” or my life as a stuffed bird;
“Paleontology, or Something Like It,” on searching for the Nature of Things;
“The Mything Link,” a look at memory and remorse, with a little story;
“Rhetorical Question” explores a few figures of speech; and...
“The Best Laid Schemes o’ Mice an’ Men” recaps an event we’re calling “roadtrippus interruptus;” it’s served with a small appetite-suppressing story.
We also published, in book form, two entire years of “In Other Words” (our Substack posts). Substack Lightnin': Volume One, The First Year, and Substack Lightnin': Volume Two, Second Year are already available through Amazon.
You can, should you choose to do so, follow us on Facebook (where, among other things, we post a lot of photographs), and Twitter. Still more of our online scribbles can be found at A Quiet Little Table in the Corner and other Substack pages. There’s even an Amazon author’s page, that includes our food writing and anything else we manage to get into print.
More liquid distractions, some from On the Table’s culinary quote collection.
Cocktails are society’s most enduring invention! Elsa Maxwell
...the Song of Songs, to bouillabaisse, and from the nine Beethoven symphonies to the Martini cocktail, have been given to humanity by men who, when the hour came, turned from tap water to something with color in it, and more in it than mere oxygen and hydrogen. H.L. Mencken
Beer is not a good cocktail party drink, especially in a home where you don’t know where the bathroom is. Billy Carter
The glances over cocktails
That seem to be so sweet
Don’t seem quite so amorous
Over Shredded Wheat. Frank Muir
Gary
June 2024
PS: If you encounter broken links, changed URLs—or know of wonderful sites we’ve missed—please drop us a line. It helps to keep this resource as useful as possible for all of us. To those who have pointed out corrections or tasty sites (this month we’re tipping our virtual hat to Aaron Rester—thanks, and keep them coming!
PPS: If you wish to change the e-mail address at which you receive these newsletters, or otherwise modify the way you receive our postings or—if you’ve received this newsletter by mistake, and/or don’t wish to receive future issues—you have our sincere apology and can have your e-mail address deleted from the list immediately. We’re happy (and continuously amazed) that so few people have decided to leave the list but, should you choose to be one of them, let us know and we’ll see that your in-box is never afflicted by these updates again.
— the new sites —
Brewed from Old Bread Crusts, the World’s Oldest Beer Recipe Is Experiencing a Revival
(the hymn to Ninkasi leads to another new brew—this time to fight climate change)
Chutney & Subcontinental Cuisines: A Historic Relationship
(an introduction from New Jersey restaurant/caterer Laree Adda)
Even Older Polish Cookery for Complete Beginners
(Karol Palion’s blogpost, at Forking Around with History, about the search for—and bibliographic methodology employed in—the hunt for the first Polish cookbook)
Food Design, Nutrition, and Innovation
(paper by Fabio Parasecoli, in Frontiers in Public Health)
From Ancient Egypt to Roman Britain, Brewers are Reviving Beers from the Past
(Norman Miller’s BBC survey of modern recreations)
Hangxiety: Why Alcohol Can Leave You Feeling Anxious
(Queensland Health explains what goes on with your brain chemistry, the morning after)
How a ‘Strange,’ ‘Evil’ Fruit Came to Define Italy’s Cuisine
(Ligaya Mishan’s New York Times article about the tomato—”the prince of [Italian] cuisine.”)
In Its Birthplace, the G&T Is a Reclamation
(Jaya Saxena, in Punch, on the Indian history and reinvention of gin & tonic)
Mastering the Art of Making a Cookbook
(Adam Gopnik’s New Yorker article about legendary editor Judith Jones)
Tasting Roman Wine from the Time of Jesus
(Nathan Steinmeyer’s article in Bible History Daily)
Waffles: Breakfast, Dinner, Dessert
(Edward Bottone doesn’t waffle; he tells the whole story at The Vooks Cook)
— inspirational (or otherwise useful) sites for writers/bloggers —
600-Year History of Cookbooks as Status Symbols, A
About French Cooking… It’s Not All Haute
Are Tacos and Burritos Sandwiches? A Judge in Indiana Ruled Yes.
Before Jell-O, Colorful Gelatin Desserts Were Haute Cuisine
Cookbooks Have Always Been Political—Whether Readers Knew It or Not
Cooking in the Books: Cookbooks and Cookery in Popular Fiction
Embracing the Coffee Heritage of Saudi Arabia: From Tradition to Sustainability
Fast Food Forever: How McHaters Lost the Culture War
First Direct Evidence of Adult European Eels Migrating to Their Breeding Place in the Sargasso Sea
Fish Farming on Lake Victoria: A Lethal Ecological Threat
Food Crazes Make Me Want to Roll My Eyes. But First, Pass Me a Crookie
How Natural Wine Became a Symbol of Virtuous Consumption
In Defense of Human Intervention
Insatiability of Recipe Writing, The
Invisible Labor of Being a Food Writer in 2024
Meat-Filled Desserts from Around the World
No, Your Spaghetti Doesn’t Have to Be al Dente: 5 Pasta Myths, Debunked
On Paying Attention to Seasons
Tastes of a Nation, The: M.F.K. Fisher and the Genre of Culinary Literature
We Should All Be Cooking with Fresh Turmeric
What Do Maple Syrup Bottles Have Those Tiny Handles For?
What Do You Want from a Cookbook?
What if Recipes Were Written for Everyone?
— podcasts, etcetera —
AnthroChef: The History of Food
Anything’s Pastable: Eat Sauté Love
Craft Books for Cookbook Writers
Experiencing Reality through Cookbooks: How Cookbooks Shape and Reveal Our Identities
Treacherous, Untold Toll Bartending Takes on the Body, The
Why You Can’t Get a Restaurant Reservation
— that’s all for now —
Except, of course, for the usual legalistic mumbo-jumbo and commercial flim-flam:
As an Amazon Associate, this newsletter earns from qualifying purchases made through it. These include our own books (listed below), and occasional books mentioned in the entries above. If you order anything via those links, the price you pay is not increased by our commission.
Occasionally, URLs we provide may take you to commercial sites (that is, they’ll cost you money to take full advantage of them), or publications that have paywalls. We do not receive any compensation for listing them here and are providing them without any form of recommendation—other than the fact that they looked interesting to us.
Your privacy is important to us. We will not give, sell or share your e-mail address with anyone, for any purpose. Ever. Nonetheless, we will expose you to the following irredeemably brazen plugs for our own books:
The Resource Guide for Food Writers
(Hardcover)
(Paper)
(Kindle)
(newsletters like this merely update the contents of the book; what doesn’t appear here is already in the book)
The Herbalist in the Kitchen
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
The Business of Food: Encyclopedia of the Food And Drink Industries
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
Herbs: A Global History
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
Sausage: A Global History
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
Can It! The Perils and Pleasures of Preserving Foods
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
Sauces Reconsidered: Après Escoffier
Terms of Vegery
(Paper)
(Kindle)
How to Serve Man:
On Cannibalism, Sex, Sacrifice, & the Nature of Eating
(Paper)
(Kindle)
How to Write a Great Book
The Digressions of Dr Sanscravat: Gastronomical Ramblings & Other Diversions
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Ephemera: a short collection of short stories
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Prophet Amidst Losses
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Future Tense: Remembrance of Things Not Yet Past
(Paper)
(Kindle)
The Backstories: As retold by Gary Allen
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Tabula Rasa, Baby: (Not Written in Stone)
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Unbelievable: A Modern Novella
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Noirvella (the expanded edition)
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Hot Hot Hot/Risky Business
(Paper)
(Kindle)
The Long & Short of It: A Miscellany
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Beer Taste & Other Disorders
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Galloping Gourmand: A Culinary Collection
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Substack Lightnin': Volume One, The First Year
Substack Lightnin': Volume Two, Second Year
Here endeth the sales pitch(es)...
...for the moment, anyway.
______________
The Resource Guide for Food Writers, Update #284 is protected by copyright and is provided at no cost, for your personal use only. It may not be copied or retransmitted unless this notice remains affixed. Any other form of republication—unless with the author’s prior written permission—is strictly prohibited.
Copyright ©2024 by Gary Allen.
