Food & Writing Sites for May 2026
Saturday, April 18, 2026
Morels, an indication that Spring has finally arrived.
It’s about to become a very busy time for us. We are moving. Like most retirees, we are heading south for a better climate—about forty miles south, and still in the Hudson Valley. Our current home, where we’ve been accumulating books for a quarter of a century (see: Bibliomania, a Moving Problem, below) is a mile from the river, on a hill high above Rondout Creek.
Our new home—with room for a library—will be maybe a quarter-mile from the Hudson. A small stream descends to the river in a series of waterfalls, right across the street from our driveway.
Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.
Since the last issue of these updates, we’ve posted yet more pages via Substack:
“Loss, in Translation…” musing about Rilke;
“Youthful Excesses…” an American rant;
“Lamarck My Words…” some genealogical speculations;
“As If By Design...” on the power of coincidence; and
“Bibliomania, a Moving Problem…”
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.
For May, a suitably celebratory selection, not—this time only—from On the Table’s culinary quote collection:
“O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!” Lewis Carroll
Gary
May 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 see that your in-box is never afflicted by these updates again.
— the new sites —
(Ruth Reichl’s substack post on Edna Lewis)
(Xueci Cheng’s Substack page on this familiar Chinese pantry item)
For Centuries, Alewives Dominated the Brewing Industry
(spoiler alert: no minnows were involved)
History of Momo, A: the Dumpling that Defines Nepali Cuisine
(Kunjal Bastola’s article in Smithsonian)
Is “Estate Bottled” an Indicator of Quality?
(“Not necessarily,” says Dwight Furrow at Edible Arts)
Japanese Sharp Pour Is Taking Over U.S. Taprooms, The
(Courtney Iseman—at Punch—on the history of, the reason for, and the methods used, in the new technique)
Not All Agave Spirits are Tequila or Mezcal
(Christopher Osburn on pulque, and more, in Cool Material)
Open Your Mind to This Polarizing Invasive Herb
(the problem with Fish Mint, Houttuniya cordata)
(Cynthia Bertelsen on dendê—valuable commodity and ecological threat)
(Peter Scholliers on why white bread began to be replaced on wealthy tables; in Dutch, with translation available)
Scholar Mapping America’s Forgotten Feminist Restaurants, The
(Reina Gattuso traces them back to 1912, for Gastro Obscura)
(directory of thousands of snackfoods from around the world)
(Jan Whitaker’s account, in her blog: Restaurant-ing Through History)
Term “Sommelier” Is Losing All Meaning, The
(Kara Newman’s article in Wine Enthusiast)
Ultimate Guide to Wine Glasses, The
(advice from Punch)
(Edna Lewis knew the answer… and shared it with Gourmet Magazine, back in 2008)
— inspirational (or useful) sites for writers/bloggers —
5 Fast Food Scandals We Can’t Believe Really Happened
Cultural History of Food in the Modern Age, A
Ecological Politics of Crayfish (Crawfish?) in Kenya, The
Era of Cookbooks Is Not Over, The
In Wine, Beauty is in Variation. We Need a Discourse that Captures It
Just How Healthy Are Pecans? What Nutrition Experts Say
Recipe Writing with Real Cooks in Mind
Sally Ekus Is the Opposite of a Gatekeeper
Taste and the Value of Nostalgia
What Drinking Coffee Every Day Does to Your Body, According to Nutrition Experts
What’s Fueling the Explosion of Chef-Made Hot Sauce?
Why Cookbooks Are the Next Frontier for Narrative Writing
World's Most Expensive Chocolate, The—Would You Spend $500 On A Bar?
— podcasts, et cetera —
VinePair Podcast, The: How Do Wine Programs, Sommeliers, and AI Interact?
— 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
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 #307 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.
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