Food Sites for September 2024
Monday, August 19, 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)
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)
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.
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