Food & Writing Sites for October 2026
Monday, September 21, 2026
It’s autumn in the Hudson Valley—and, presumably, other places as well—which tells me it’s cool enough to start baking again, and nothing suits the season more than apple pie.
Since the last time we posted one of these updates, real life has eaten into our writing time… and yet, we’ve managed to post yet more pages via Substack:
“Loosing Literary Threads…” an early-American coincidence.
“Kindred Spirits…” on literary and geographic coincidences;
“A Cup of Ambition…” on writing and coffee;
“Endtimes... and AI…” or why bother writing;
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.
A couple of aptly appley quotes, for October, from On the Table’s quote collection:
"You cannot sell a blemished apple in the supermarket, but you can sell a tasteless one provided it is shiny, smooth, even, uniform and bright." Elspeth Huxley
"I have no truck with lettuce, cabbage, and similar chlorophyll. Any dietitian will tell you that a running foot of apple strudel contains four times the vitamins of a bushel of beans." S.J. Perelman
Gary
October 2026
PS: If you encounter broken links, changed URLs—or if you 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 make sure that your in-box will never be afflicted by these updates again.
— the new sites —
Before the Chilli Came: What Were We Actually Eating?
(hot spices—pre-Columbian-Exchange—used in Indian cooking)
Brief History of the Refrigerator, A
(by Zee Krstic, courtesy of Martha Stewart)
Cereal Has Strayed Too Far: How Breakfast Became Dessert
(Atlantic article by Marion Nestle and Lisa Sutherland)
(Ruth Peltason’s history of department store dining)
Europe’s Regional Beer Styles, Mapped
(Stephen Bradley’s account of eight countries’ brews, at VinePair
Forgotten Drink that Caffeinated North America for Centuries, The
(Ben Richmond’s Gastro Obscura article about Yaupon tea)
How Can White Wine Be Made from Red Grapes?
(Marshall Tilden III’s explanation in Wine Enthusiast)
Origins of the Package Store, The
(a liquor store, by any other name—according to Robert Moss’s Substack post)
(interpreting Frieda Kahlo’s last painting)
— inspirational (or useful) sites for writers/bloggers —
8 Foods People in the Odyssey Might Have Actually Eaten
Andouillette Does Not Travel, The
Architecture of Storytelling, The
BTS of Making a Cookbook Podcast
Coming Soon to This Newsletter
Courage to Be Yourself, The: Virginia Woolf on How to Hear Your Soul
Cultural Appropriation and Food: Where Is the Line?
Extreme Heat Comes for the Red Chile Capital of Pakistan
Food Heritage and Nationalism in Europe
Guests Tonight? Let’s Have a Cocktail Party.
How Georgia’s Winemakers Went Underground to Survive Soviet Occupation
How to Write When You’re Feeling Stuck
Interview: Phoebe Tran on Bánh and Building the World of Bé Bếp
It’s Time to Give Up on the Nonstick Pan as We Know It
Lemon with Cinnamon “Tastes Like Coca-Cola” And 6 Other Weird Combos that Taste Like Other Foods
Little Holes in Your Bread are Telling You Something, The
Meet the Appalachian Apple Hunter Who Rescued 1,000 “Lost” Varieties
Most Iconic Seafood Shack in Every State, The
Muses? Memory? Muddling? Mystery? What 55 Authors Shared About the Writing Process
Navigating Food Trends as a Cookbook Author
Only Restaurant Employees Should be Writing about Food
Rise of Tablescaping Influencers, The
Sales Are So Low, California Wineries Are Burning Their Vineyards
The United States of Barbecue: A Regional Guide
This Classic Cookbook Chefs Swear By Is 50 Years Old
Very Useful Guide to Chinese Restaurants, A
Why the Best Writing Advice Is Often the Weirdest
Will AI Replace Wine Criticism?
— podcasts, et cetera —
Everything You Know about Food Is Wrong
Feeding the Italian Military of WW2
My First Culinary Job as a College Graduate
What Archaeology Reveals about Fast Food in the Roman Empire
When You Look at Your Cereal Box, What Do You See?
Why 180°C is the Ultimate Baking Sweet Spot?
— 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)
(this newsletter updates the contents of the book; what doesn’t appear here is probably already in the book)
The Herbalist in the Kitchen
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
The Business of Food: Encyclopedia of the Food And Drink Industries
(Hardcover)
(Kindle)
Human Cuisine
(Paper)
(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)
Inedible: Cruel & Unusual Foods That Moms Used to Make and Inflicted on Young & Innocent Palates
Substack Lightnin’: Volume One, The First Year
Substack Lightnin’: Volume Two, Second Year
Substack Lightnin’: Volume Three, Third Year
Substack Lightnin’: Volume Four, Fourth Year
Here endeth the sales pitch(es)...
...for the moment, anyway.
______________
The Resource Guide for Food Writers, Update #311 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 ©2026 by Gary Allen.
