A World of Food

Most of the food writing I look at is one of two things. It's analysis of the overall situation of nutrition, economic issues, and policies about food (see yesterday's post). Or it's cooking and food history. I like Mark Kurlansky's Salt and Cod, Pollan's books and all-too-brief NY Times blog, Marion Nestle, or mid-20th century classics like Waverly Root and Joseph Wechsberg. About a few of my favorite books: I once created an amazon.com list of food-book favorites: Wine and Food...

I enjoy reading about cooking, and have many favorite cook books and authors from Claudia Roden to Julia Child. Most recent acquisition: a used copy of:
The Czechoslovak Cookbook: Czechoslovakia's best-selling cookbook adapted for American kitchens. Includes recipes for authentic dishes like Goulash, Apple Strudel, and Pischinger Torte by Joza Brizova. It's been in print almost as long as the first Julia Child books, and reflects the pre-Child philosophy of cookbooks. Namely, it's nothing but recipes. The subtitle is the most descriptive text in the book -- and it appears only on the current dust jacket, not on the 1965 title page. After a 1-page table of contents, we go directly to "Soups and Soup Accompaniments" on page 1, beginning immediately with Beef Soup (White or Brown). I've only been browsing the recipes, but I hope to try some when my current kitchen remodel is done.

There's a third side of the public face of food: celebrities. Interestingly this side of the food picture don't seem to figure in the analysis of the situation of the slow-food writers like Pollan, Marion Nestle, etc.

To see an example: Superchefblog is a blog about famous, nearly famous, and obscenely famous people in the world of popular, extreme, or just top-of-the-line cuisine. Mainly celebrity gossip and news, it really has few ideas about food. As for me, OK, I do like to watch Batali's older cooking show "Multo Mario" on the Food Network at noon when I am eating lunch. But add much more ego, and it makes me uneasy, and this blog is the most groupie-conscious of them all.

PS: A New York Times article dated Sept. 13, 2006, updates the great mystery of Ferran Adrià, the head chef of El Bulli, "the trendsetting restaurant on the Costa Brava." He "who is celebrated for his astonishing and often baffling technical accomplishments, now has disciples and imitators worldwide." In sum, he's the leader and most famous of the chefs whose food no writer has ever made me wish to eat.

The article's author Mark Bittman says: "I was blown away ... — but more often by the technical wizardry than by the flavors." Examples of the high-tech food: "a thin, brittle basket of solidified passion fruit juice, filled with the essence of tangerine, ... Parmesan snow, served in a stylishly wrapped plastic-foam box — the better to keep it cold — and topped with, of all things, muesli with dried fruits; a frozen sugar eggshell filled with crunchy coconut and ice cream flavored with the wood from barrels used to make bourbon..."

The article: Adrià May Be Relaxing, but His Obsessions Are Still Abuzz