Food & Writing Sites for February 2025
Monday, January 20, 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)
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)
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.
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