Food & Writing Sites for January 2026
Thursday, December 18, 2025
Leave some apples on the trees, for the birds...
Whenever a new year begins, a few classically-educated people try to show off by telling us that the first month is named for the Roman god, Janus (the two-faced God of doorways). We’re more interested in Edusa (one of whose duties was ensuring the nutrition of children, by making them eat their pulmentum, fried dormice, stewed sow’s uterus—or whatever other dish they eschew).
Aside 1: Does “eschew” actually mean “refuse to chew?”—or is that just fake etymology?
Aside 2: Isn’t “aside” a euphemism for “digression”?
Aside 3: Isn’t “digression” itself a euphemism for “pointless waste of time, and overthinking”?
Since the last issue of these updates, we’ve posted yet more pages via Substack:
“'Tis the Season...” some thoughts about holiday food;
“Just Before Thanksgiving, Sixty-odd Years Ago…” On the coincidental loss of some famous people;
“Wildely Unsubstantiated Rumors…” thoughts about fake news;
“Fomulaic…” rewatching Rom-coms;
“No Beans About It…” chili-cook-off history;
“As Threatened…” a follow-up to the above;
“On Getting Directions…” what to expect when lost;
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 classical—or not-so-classical—selections from On the Table’s culinary quote collection:
The army from Asia introduced a foreign luxury to Rome; it was then the meals began to require more dishes and more expenditure... the cook, who had up to that time been employed as a slave of low price, become dear: what had been nothing but a métier was elevated to an art. Livy
Las Vegas is Everyman's cut-rate Babylon. Not far away there is, or was, a roadside lunch counter and over it a sign proclaiming in three words that a Roman emperor’s orgy is now a democratic institution... “Topless Pizza Lunch.” Alistair Cooke
Gary
January 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 Elissa Altman)—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 —
Best Spanish Meat Product Types
(no surprise, here: the top choices are variations on jamón ibérico)
Can You Really Be Addicted to Food?
(The Conversation has compelling evidence)
Do We Need Another Debate About “Natural?”
(philosopher Dwight Furrow confronts the definition problem in writing about wine)
“Eggs with Legs” vs “Eggs on Legs”
(Gareth Jones’ rant about the production of industrial poultry)
Healthiest Fish to Eat, The; According to a Registered Dietitian
(Morgan Chamberlain’s recommendations at mindbodygreen)
History of Pizza, The: From Ancient Flatbreads to a Global Icon
(one slice from the Eats History Newsletter)
How to Order the Best-Tasting Drinks on an Airplane
(Mandy Naglich explains how “cabin atmosphere affects our sense of taste and smell;” for INSIDEHOOK)
Let’s Talk about Sichuan Peppers
(Xueci Cheng’s comprehensive Substack page on the berries of Chinese prickly ash)
Microbiologists Explain What Happens in Your Mouth When You Eat Sugar
(José Lemos and Jacqueline Abranches, on why cavities form, in sciencealert)
Scientist Discovers Breast Milk Is Customized Food and Signal
(Katie Hinde learned that our first food is much more than previously thought)
(“What the Founding Fathers ate—and drank—on July 4, 1777; Victoria Flexner’s Atlantic article)
(Andrew Zimmern’s Spilled Milk substack page on white Bolognese)
(iconic baked goods, from around the world, from tasteatlas)
Synthetic Tongue Rates Chillies’ Heat—and Spares Human Tasters
(Jenna Ahart’s report in Nature)
(Phoebe Amoroso on tofu tradition at Culinary Backstreets)
(María Ítaka recites her “wrap” rhapsody at Culinary Backstreets)
We’re Fascinated By These Really Weird Forks
(Allie West’s Saveur article on Victorian silverware)
When Did Humans First Start Eating Meat?
(Benjamin Taub writes, in IFLScience, that the question still doesn’t have an answer… but it was much earlier than we thought)
Woman Who Invented the Kitchen, The
(an account of an influential industrial designer and engineer: Lillian Moller Gilbreth)
(Virginia Brown’s account of the “oldest brewery in the U.S.,” at Atlas Obscura)
— inspirational (or useful) sites for writers/bloggers —
3 Common Alcohol Myths, Debunked
Arroz Imperial and the Taste of Regret
Back When Your Thanksgiving Dinner Walked Hundreds of Miles to Market
Critics in the World of the Rising Soufflé (Or Is It the Rising Meringue?
Did I Write the Most Viral Drinks Story of All Time?
Emiko Davies on Following Your Culinary Curiosity
HIERARCHY OF ALCOHOLS, THE: How to Drink Like a Poet and Not a Drunk
How Food Fuels Faith in Sacred Spaces Around the World
I Tried the Oldest Whisky Ever Bottled. It Was Nothing Like I Expected.
In Shakespeare, Food References Are a Window to the Soul
Introduction: Culinary Cultures and Convergent Histories
Once Popular Sandwiches People Don’t Eat Anymore
Permission Workbook, The: On Finding Magic in the Mundane
Ten Speed Cookbook Editor Gives Tips from Proposal to Publication
Ultimate Guide to Writing Clear, Impactful Personal Essays, The
Why It Pays to Handwrite the Recipes You Love
Wine Traditions and Innovation
Younger Diners Are Embracing Eating with Strangers
— podcasts, et cetera —
1982: Roald Dahl’s Writing Shed
Alton Brown: Classic Cookbooks
Dorie Greenspan: “I Still Think Baking Is Magic”
First Guy to Ever Drink Coffee, The
Food for Thought: Children and Food
How to Tell What’s Real Online
Jim Gaffigan: Live from Old Forester—The Bourbon Set
Last Seltzer Factory in Brooklyn, The
Leslie Soble: Eating Behind Bars
Slippery History of Eels in Shakespeare’s England, The
Writing Advice You Desperately Need, The
Writing Memoir vs Fiction (with Elizabeth Gilbert)
— 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)
Inedible: Cruel & Unusual Foods That Moms Used to Make and Inflicted on Young & Innocent Palates
(Paper)
(Kindle)
Substack Lightnin’: Volume One, The First Year
Substack Lightnin’: Volume Two, Second Year
Substack Lightnin’: Volume Three, Third Year
Here endeth the sales pitch(es)...
...for the moment, anyway.
______________
The Resource Guide for Food Writers, Update #303 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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