Food Sites for January 2024
Monday, December 18, 2023
Janus—not to be confused with singer Janis Joplin, or art dealer Sidney Janis, or even the muppet Janice—was the Roman god of doorways (actual and metaphorical transitions). He was generally portrayed with two masks, one facing ahead, the other back. That’s why our first month is named “January.” The transition to a new year, in many religions, is marked by hopes for the future and reflections upon the past.
January tends to be a dark and solemn month.
The past year has been a busy one, around here, for writing (and publishing: we squeezed out four books, twelve of these update newsletters, and sixty-nine substack pages). It’s not going to be easy to maintain that kind of pace in the new year!
We are, however, still scribbling away—working on a collection of stories based on an earlier novella and, of course, posting more Substack pages (these are the ones posted since the last updates newsletter):
“Unattainable” is a tale of unrequited—and unrequitable—longing;
“A Cookie By Any Other Name” tries to track down the source of a family tradition;
“Despicable” serves up a new sample from the collection of stories, mentioned above. It’s about the main character in Unbelievable: A Modern Novella.
You can, if you wish, 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 new seasonal items from On the Table’s culinary quote collection.
No one ever regarded the first of January with indifference. Charles Lamb
Winter blues are cured every time with a potato gratin paired with a roast chicken. Alexandra Guarnaschelli
Honestly, I just go to restaurants to eat so I won’t die. If there was a pill I could take in January and then I wouldn’t have to eat again for the rest of the year, I would take it. Of course, I wouldn’t want to sacrifice my chocolate cake and ice cream. Steven Wright
If I had my way, I would remove January from the calendar altogether and have an extra July instead. Roald Dahl
Gary
January 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 Fabio Parasecoli—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 —
American Thanksgiving as a Republican Meal, a Repudiation of the High Cuisine of Monarchies
(Rachel Laudan explains the political underpinnings of the most American of traditions)
(Mike Dunphy’s Insidehook article on recent changes in attitudes about the head on Czech lager)
Delicious History of Hot Chocolate, The
(Leila El Shennawy melts the ice—and marshmallows—for Readers Digest)
Fantastical Feasts of England’s First Celebrity Chef, The
(Amanda Herbert’s account—in Gastro Obscura—of the outrageous productions of Robert May in the seventeenth century)
Food and Power in Early Medieval England: a Lack of (Isotopic) Enrichment
(paper by Sam Leggett and Tom Lambert, in Anglo-Saxon England, Volume 49)
Gelatine: The ingredient with the Wonder Wobble
(Veronique Greenwood’s report for the BBC)
History of Baking and Pastry Cooking
(rahul, at Winni, discusses cakes—from ancient times to today’s wedding and birthday cakes)
In the Gut’s “Second Brain”’ Key Agents of Health Emerge
(Quanta Magazine’s Yasemin Saplakoglu on the role of glial cells “in digestion, nutrient absorption, blood flow, and immune responses”)
Is the Burn from Foods Like Wasabi Different from Chile Pepper Heat?
(obviously, they are; Cynthia Graber’s and Nicola Twilley’s Gastropod article, at Eater, explains why)
(Gastro Obscura article on Finnish famine food, bread flour made from pine bark)
“Prison Bakery” Discovered in Pompeii Is a Grisly Reminder of a Darker Aspect of Ancient History
(Russell Moul’s IFLScience article about findings from a recent archaeological excavation)
Reconstructing the Menu of a Pub in Ancient Pompeii
(culinary archaeologist Farrell Monaco tells us how to “eat like a first-century Roman” in Gastro Obscura)
There Is Something You Should Know About Wasabi
(Holly Large’s article about real Wasabia japonica, in IFLScience)
Why We Couldn’t Describe a Flavor We Taste Every Day
(Frank Jacobs, at GastroObscura, on the history and global spread of umami awareness)
(neuroscientist Iris Kulbatski on some unexpected effects of intermittent fasting, in TheScientist)
— inspirational (or otherwise useful) sites for writers/bloggers —
AI Revolution Is an Opportunity for Writers (the Human Kind), The
Before Drinking Coffee, People Washed Their Hands With It
Bitter Taste of ‘Not Too Sweet’, The
Cooking the World’s Largest Egg
Food Traditions and “Prostitution”
For Cocktail Bars Across the U.S., Is Fancy Ice Really Worth the Expense?
Hipster Coffee Enthusiasts Have Taken the Joy Out of Coffee
History of the Cuban Sandwich, The
How a Vibrant, Factory-Made Sweet Usurped the Original Maraschino Cherry
Is Trying a Classic Cocktail Where It Was Created Actually Worth It?
Jacques Pépin Says Following a Recipe Can Lead to Disaster
Menu was the Message, The: 1904-1931
Scary Things for Writers to Do to Challenge Themselves
Timeless Allure of Oysters and Alcohol, The
Why Russell Norman Was a Restaurant Genius
— another blog —
— podcasts, etcetera —
— 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)
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)
Here endeth the sales pitch(es)...
...for the moment, anyway.
______________
The Resource Guide for Food Writers, Update #279 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 ©2023 by Gary Allen.
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