DIGEST: Gastronomica

Carolyn Tillie · November 7, 2003

Note: Below you will find the collection of digests in chronological order. As I am backtracking from the genesis of this publication, the current, newsstand issue may not yet be digested. Please check back frequently and this message will be removed when all are up-to-date.

Carolyn’s Editorial Note: Gastronomica was introduced in February, 2001 from the University of California Press as a literary and art journal with food as its emphasis. I appreciate the journalistic integrity in that ample end notes and resources are provided in translations, historical analyses, and investigations. Also, because much of the journal is artistic in nature, to the publication’s merit, I will begin each digest with a description of the cover as well as all illustrations contained therein as it is an integral part of the presentation.

February, 2001 – Inaugural Issue

Cover

L’Age D’Or by Luis Buñuel.

A scene shot from the 1930 surrealist’s film which depicts a woman orgiastically sucking on a man’s three left fingers. Initial reaction is one of delightful cannibalism. An interesting beginning…

Food Studies Come of Age

The More We Know About Food, The Greater Our Pleasure In It by Darra Goldstein

Introduction letter from the editor of Gastronomica with the proposal that the journal “aims to renew this connection between sensual and intellectual nourishment by bringing together many diverse voices…” These voices include visual artists, historians, scientists, poets, and many more.

Orts and Scantlings

“Borborygmus” and “Lagniappe” by Mike Morton

Definitions of the two words – Borborygmus is a word for rumblings, such as the noise a stomach makes when hungry and as the title of the next segment, small blurbs which will appear at the beginning of each journal. Lagniappe is essentially “a bonus, a gift, or a freebie” as in the thirteenth roll in a baker’s dozen and will be an ending segment.

Borborygmus - Rumblings from the World of Food

Deconstructing Dietary Guidelines – by Marion Nestle

Comments on the National Nutritional Summit held in Washington D.C. in May, 2000.

Veggie Wear by Ardath Weaver

Comments on children’s clothing found in Pottery Barn Kids catalogue.

Good News for Chocoholics by Harold McGee

Comments on Professor Joe Vinson’s (University of Scranton) studies that chocolate is good for you.

Sophie Coe Memorial Prize

Call for entries for Food History Essay contest .

Culture Shock

My McDonald’s by Constantin Boym

A Russian immigrant’s impressions of this American monolith.

Poetry

Ripe Peach by Louis Glück

1.

There was a time

Only certainty gave me

Any joy. Imagine –

Certainty, a dead thing…

editorial note - this poem continues for a full 10 stanzas...

Origins

Turtle Soup by Amy B. Trubek

Historical treatise on the origins and subsequent demise of turtle soup. Fabulous page-and-a-half woodcut illustration accompanying article, Decapitation of a Turtle in a Paris Restaurant from George Augustus Sala.

Essay

Delicacy by Paul Russell

Reminiscences of a child’s foray into gourmet food.

Feast For The Eye

Alison and Peter Smithson’s 1956 ‘House of the Future’ by Gwendolyn Owens

The Smithsons were architects and house came from The Times of London’s exhibition. The future was 1980. Owens looks back on the era from which and for which the house was designed. With a full-page blue-tint b/w photograph of the prototype kitchen and quarter-page detail of the plans.

Watched Pot

The Olla by Alicia Rios

An analysis, history, and use of the Spanish clay pot. With a full-page b/w photograph.

Working on the Food Chain

Tasting Technology: The Agricultural Revolution in Genetically Engineered Plants by Marc Lappé

The Risks and Rewards of Biotechnology by Charles J. Arntzen and Irena Chalmers

Bottom line, these two articles are the pros and cons of genetically modified organisms within food products. With a full-page, full color photograph by Charity Rupp entitled New Labels for Genetically Engineered Food.

Illustration

That Rich and Hidden Stuff by Peggy Diggs

Quilt-like graphic art piece. Partially computer-generated(?)

Investigation

A Plea for Culinary Modernism: Why We Should Love New, Fast, Processed Food by Rachel Laudan

Does Culinary Luddism exist and if so, is it relevant? With a half-page, full color, vertical photograph of homemade biscuits.

”Eat Your Words!” Seventeenth-Century Edible Letterforms by Gillian Riley

Expansive, illustrated article on Dutch still life painters and the rise of letterforms within these paintings. Note: An example of a letterform would be the letter "B" formed from dough.

With a sixth-page, full color recreation of Clara Peeters’ Still Life with Artichoke, 1612, a full-page, full color detail from Peeters’ Candle, Sweets and Wine, 1607, full page, full-color presentation of Willem van Mieris’ Grocer’s Shop, 1732, half-page, full color print of Osias Beert’s Still Life with Artichoke, no date given, and a two-page, full-color offering of Pieter Claesz’s Still Life, 1625-1630, a half-page, full color print of Peter Binoit’s Still Life with Letter Cookies, ca. 1615, and lastly, a page-and-a-half, full color of Clara Peeters’ Still Life with Gilt Goblet, ca. 1612.

Deconstructing Soup: Ferran Adrià’s Culinary Challenges by Fabio Parasecoli

A look at mousses, purees, granitas, foams, and jellies. With recipes and discussion of the challenges and deconstructions thereof.

With a full page, full color photograph of luscious-looking versions of the above and a page-and-a-half color photograph of Fabio pointing a commercial whip cream dispenser at the camera.

Illustration

The Romaines of the Day by Mike Glier

Two-page presentation of graphite rendering of lettuce.

Archive

Sicilian Cheese in Medieval Arab Recipes by Charles Perry

Discussion of early cheeses with notes on translated text and commentary.

With quarter-page color picture of recipe for sifat al-arruz from Kitab Wasf al-At’ima al-Mu’tada, 15th century.

Fundamentals

Salt, Smoke, and History by T.R. Durham

A dissertation of smoking meat. With methods and recipes.

With full-page photograph Trout smoking at Durham’s Tracklements, Ann Arbor and quarter-page photograph, Herring/Mackerel Smokehouse, West Highlands, Scotland, ca. 1960

Libations

Tuscan Wine: Tradition and Innovation by William R. Nesto

Mostly about producers Gambelli and Tachis.

Chef’s Page

Seafood Restaurant, Padstow, Cornwall, England by Rick Stein

A personal perspective, from the owner.

With half-page b/w photograph of a sign depicting a hand-drawn fish and an arrow, pointing.

Spilled Beans

The Chef’s Uniform by The Culinary Institute of America

A history of the toque, coat, pants, apron, and neckerchief.

With a full-page 1840 woodcut print, showing the “Greek Bonnet” style hat worn by French chefs of the period and a half-page b/w lithograph from 1878 by Jules Després showing a “modern” chef’s coat, shawl-like neckerchief, and soft hat.

WWFood

Turkish Delights by Nevin Haliei

An overview of Turkish cuisine.

Photograph

Easter Weekend ’98 at the Athens Central Market by Aglaia Kremezi

The photograph is a full-page b/w shot of a butcher with several skinned lambs thrown over his shoulder. Accompanying the photograph is a recipe for Leg of Lamb Stuffed with Greens, Fennel and Feta Cheese, Arni Gemisto Me Horta Ke Feta

Notes on Vintage Volumes

Early Black-Authored American Cookbooks by Jan Longone

A slight history of black-authored cookbooks with a few accompanying recipes.

With quarter-page depiction of frontispiece and title page of Hotel Keepers, Head Waiters, and Housekeepers’ Guide by Tunis Campbell, a quarter-page shot of Malinda Russells’ A Domestic Cookbook.

The Bookshelf

Books in Review including:

Art, Culture, & Cuisine: Ancient & Medieval Gastronomy by Phyllis Pray Bober

Making Sense of Taste: Food and Philosophy by Carolyn Korsmeyer

A Mediterranean Feast: The Story of the Birth of the Celebrated Cuisines of the Mediterranean, From the Merchants of Venice to the Barbary Corsairs, with More Than 500 Recipes by Clifford A. Wright

Food and Drink in Medieval Poland: Rediscovering a Cuisine of the Past Edited by Maria Dembinska

Food: A Culinary History Edited by Jean-Louis Flandrin and Massimo Montanari

Pig Tails ‘n Breadfruit: A Culinary Memoir by Austin Clarke

Tupperware: The Promise of Plastic in 1950s America by Alison J. Clarke

Bookends

A few additional reviews of:

The Book of Marmalade by C. Anne Wilson

Was It Something You Ate? Food Intolerance: What Causes It and How to Avoid It by John Emsley and Peter Fell

Good Things to Eat as Suggested by Rufus by Rufus Estes, edited by D.J. Frienz

Lagniappe

Happy Scrapple Daddy by Joshua Raoul Brody

Quite literally, a song – words and music printed on the last page of the journal. The chorus goes something like, “Pork liver, lambies tongues, Vienna sausage, aw save me some…”

Edited November 7, 2003 by Carolyn Tillie (log)

srhcb · November 7, 2003

CT,

I'm pleased to see somebody (other than me) has taken on this project! As a fan of "Gastro" I've recently been engaged in a brief debate as to the magazine's journaliistic merits with FG on another Thread:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST...=2&t=28539&st=0

I was paging through my back issues last night in preparation for composing a follow-up piece, and now at least I know where to post it.

THANX SB

Carolyn Tillie · November 7, 2003

SB;

Thank you for that link -- I had not been privy to that thread and will carefully follow and read all the links.

The task of digesting Gastro was bigger than I thought and I am pleased in retrospect to be doing it.

As an aspiring food writer, it helps me encapsulate words and thoughts but it is also helping go back through old issues and re-reading articles I had forgotten about or meant to read and never did.

Cheers

carolyn

Richard Kilgore · November 12, 2003

Thanks for posting this digest, Carolyn. Fascinating and wonderful. I will have to start reading through these issues.

ExtraMSG · November 13, 2003

Does anyone know where one can purchase the magazine? I looked at Barnes and Noble and didn't see it.

Carolyn Tillie · November 13, 2003

Some higher end bookstores will carry it, but B&N isn't one of them. Look for it at a specialty store or you can subscribe through:

Gastronomica.org

Carolyn Tillie · November 13, 2003

Thanks for posting this digest, Carolyn. Fascinating and wonderful. I will have to start reading through these issues.

Thank you! It is becoming more and more inspiration for me as well...

My goal is to post an old journal a week until I get caught up. Check in once a week through January or so as each one gets added to the digest!

srhcb · November 13, 2003

Does anyone know where one can purchase the magazine? I looked at Barnes and Noble and didn't see it.

A list of stores by State where you can purchase Gastro:

http://www.gastronomica.org/gastro/pages/s.../bookstore.html

SB (its worth subscribing though)

Carolyn Tillie · November 14, 2003

Spring 2001, Volume 1, Number 2

Cover

Zavtrak (Breakfast) by David Shterenberg, 1916. Owned by the State Russian Museum, St. Petersberg.

A painting depicting a man and a woman, seated at a table. On the table in front of them lies a plate of cherries, a knife, and a partial baguette. The woman is handing the man an apple. The artist is considered an avant-garde genius of the early century. Known for still life works of food as well as landscapes.. The artist lived for a while in La Ruche with the likes of Chagall, Modigliani and Soutine.

From the Editor

The Spoon, Not the Scepter – Food Helps Us to Arrive at an Understanding of National Identity by Debra Goldstein

“By approaching history from a domestic point of view we can learn a lot about ourselves and others.”

Borborygmus - Rumblings from the World of Food

Letter to the editor regarding the inaugural issue from Joshua Raoul Brody, San Francisco.

Curiouser and Curiouser? by Anne Murcott

Questioning the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food’s authority over qualifying the safety of food and how the public believes the rhetoric.

The Cult of the Youth by Phyllis Richman

Commenting on the rise and fall of new restaurants.

Alan Ducasse: IN New York, but not OF New York by Mitchell Davis

The arrival of Alan Ducasse’s new restaurant in New York.

Orts and Scantlings

”Corruption” by Mark Morton

Etymological analysis food words.

Feast For The Eye

Janine Antoni’s Gnawing Idea by Laura Heon

A review of artist Janine Antoni’s works entitled Gnaw, 1992 photographs of which include two full-page color prints of the two works – a large, 600-pound, cube of lard and one of chocolate, gnawed by the artist. Also includes one-third page color reprint of Lipstick Display, 1992.

Poetry

Food For Thought by Eamon Grennan

“Here is the space I’m sitting in: a garden

closed by fuchsia hedges, two sycamores…”

Etymologies

Rehabilitating the “Stinking Herbe” – A Case Study of Culinary Prejudice by Helen Leach

An in-depth study of the correlation between the coriander and the bedbug with an analysis of the roots of each word and their associations with one another. Includes a half-page figure of a bedbug and a coriander seed, Cimex Lectularius from John Smart, A Handbook for the Identification of Insects of Medical Importance British Museum, 1943.

Watched Pot

The Egg Beater by Meryle Evans

A history of the egg beater.

Including a full-page, black-and-white photograph of two, late nineteenth century rotary eggbeaters, an eighth-page photograph of “Ladies Boxing Eggs in Newman, Georgia” circa 1900, and a half-page advertisement of “Improved Dover Egg Beaters,” no date.

Opinion

Mangled Menus by Arthur Schwartz

A critical analysis of new culinary language wherein chefs utilize inappropriate words for descriptions of dishes to confuse and boggle the diner.

Fundamentals

The Bengali Bonti by Chitrita Banerji

An investigation into a utensil used by woman in India to cut food. With a quarter-page, black-and-white print of a nineteenth-century Kalighat painting of a woman cutting a whole fish, possibly a carp, on a bonti and a full-page, black-and-white reproduction of A Bengali Kitchen from Mrs. Belnos’s Twenty-four plates Illustrative of Hindoo and European Manners in Bengal, 1832.

Working on the Food Chain

Farmland, Farms, Farming, and Farmers: The Four F’s of Food Production by Michael Hamm

An investigation of the future of farming and agriculture, with a full-page color photograph of Children at the Memorial Homes Community Gardens and and half-page, full-color photograph of Mr. Wilson with is Okra both photographs courtesy of the New Jersey Urban Ecology Program.

Photographs

Food Chain – Six Photographs from the Series by Catherine Chalmers – All in full color:

1. Two-page photograph of a tomato from which emerges a green worm.

2. Single page photograph of same worm, devouring said tomato.

3. Single page close-up of said worm, amongst tomato debris.

4. Single page, long shot of worm with remnants of tomato debris.

5. Grasshopper, eyeing Worm.

6. Grasshopper, devouring Worm.

Investigations

Christopher Columbus, Gonzalo Pizarro, and the Search for Cinnamon by Andrew Dalby

Investigation into Columbus’ travels and search for rare spices, specifically cinnamon along with an analysis of the history of cinnamon.

With full page, full color reproduction of The true cinnamon of Sri Lanka, Cinnamomum zeylanicum, from an early nineteenth-century Indian botanical painting for the East India Company, a one-third page, black-and-white woodcut, An iguana, which the Caribbean Indians used for food… a single woodcut occupying two top-half pages, Raised-bed gardening among the Arawak Indians. From Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdes’s ‘La Historia General y Natural de las Indias…’ both woodcuts from 1535.

William Alexis Jarrin: An Italian Confectioner in London by Laura Mason

Very lengthy (11 page) analysis and biography of Jarrin with comparative analysis of his place in history alongside the more famous Carême, his published work, and his tools. Extensively illustrated with a full-page, black and white frontispiece portrait of Jarrin from his 1820 publication of The Italian Confectioner, a one-third page, black-and-white drawing of Jarrin’s Patent Water Cooler, dated 1827, a full-page, black-and-white reprint of a folding plate from the book depicting many and various forms of confectionary equipment, a two-page, centerfold-like map of New Bond Street, from Tallis’ “London Street Views 1838-40.”, and a one-third page, black-and-white reproduction of Jarris’ frontispiece portrait from the 1884 edition (Jarrin is slightly more aged and distinguished looking).

Professor Blot and the First French Cooking School in New York, Part I by Jan Longone

A 130-year old true story, otherwise undocumented and untold of a French chef trying to teach cooking and open a restaurant in the 1860’s. With a quarter-page, black-and-white title page of Blot’s book, What to Eat, and How to Cook It and a half-page, black-and-white print from the book entitled, Tables for cooking and preserving meats and fowl. Both from 1863.

Archive

Emile Zola’s Portrait of Les Halles by Alexandra Leaf

This interesting article starts with a description of the vegetables available at the famous shopping pavilion in Zola’s original French facing a current translation, from his Carnets d’enquétes: Une ethonographie de la France and continues with commentary. These notes were unpublished in Zola’s life and were essentially made these notes for his 1872 novel, La Ventre de Paris.

With a stunningly, up-close black-and-white photograph of Zola, circa 1900, a half-page, black-and-white print of Les Halles’ open-air market by Durand, and a half-page, black-and-white sketch of Les Halles pavilions in Zola’s own hand. Of note is that the vegetable pavilion is bottom row, center and St. Eustache is indicated in the upper left corner.

Eating Out

”Let’s Eat Chinese!” Reflections on Cultural Food Colonialism by Lisa Heldke

How various cuisines from around the world have traveled to America.

Libations

Chinese Spring Green Tea by Mary Lou Heiss

Who would have guessed there was such a difference between tea leaves harvest in the springtime versus fall? The pictures alone makes it enticing – a one-third page, full-color photograph of pan firing Lung Ching Tea, a full-page and a full-color photograph of two gentlemen basket-firing tea.

Chef’s Page

La Locanda del Coccio, Providence, Rhode Island by Walter Potenza

How an Abruzzo-based chef has utilized terracotta, clay pot cooking in his own restaurant. With a half-page, full-color reprint Banqueting Couple with a Slave from a 1st Century fresco.

WWFood

Iceland by Steingrimur Sigurgeirsson

The culinary traditions and comments on contemporary Iceland cuisine.

Spilled Beans

Baumkuchen Sylvia M. Henderson

History and conjecture on the development of this odd cake.

With a half-page, full-color photograph of a perfectly-constructed Baumkuchen plus a quarter-page, tinted reprint of an old-fashioned Baumkuchen spit from Horst Scharfenberg.

Review Essay

The Other French Revolution – Explorations of Culinary and Prandial Inventiveness by Beatrice Fink

Comparison of two books: The Invention of the Restaurant: Paris and Modern Gastronomic Culture by Rebecca L. Spang and Haute Cuisine: How the French Invented the Culinary Profession by Amy B. Trubek.

The Bookshelf

Books in Review include:

A Soup for the Qan: Chinese Dietary Medicine of the Mongol Era as Seen in Hu Szu-Hui’s Yin-shan Cheng-yao. Introduction, translation, commentary, and Chinese text by Paul D. Buell and Eugene N. Anderson, with an appendix by Charles Perry.

God’s Banquet: Food in Classical Arabic Literature by Geert Jan van Gelder

A History of Cooks and Cooking by Michael Symons

The Primal Feast: Food, Sex, Foraging, and Love by Susan Allport

No Foreign Food: The American Diet in Time and Place by Richard Pillsbury

Corn in Clay: Maize Paleothnobotony in Pre-Columbian Art by Mary W. Eubanks

The Anthropology of Food and Body: Gender, Meaning, and Power by Carole M. Counihan

The Accomplisht Cook, or The Art and Mystery of Cooking by Robert May

Ethnic Culinary Herbs: A Guide to Identification and Cultivation in Hawaii by George W. Staples and Michael S. Kristiansen

Lagniappe

An Edible Map by David Jouris

A map of the United States with demarcations of edible cities such as Orange, California and Forks, Washington.

With half-page, two-tone map.

srhcb · November 15, 2003

Spring 2001, Volume 1, Number 2
Cover
Zavtrak (Breakfast) by David Shterenberg, 1916. Owned by the State Russian Museum, St. Petersberg.
A painting depicting a man and a woman, seated at a table. On the table in front of them lies a plate of cherries, a knife, and a partial baguette. The woman is handing the man an apple.
Feast For The Eye
Janine Antoni’s Gnawing Idea by Laura Heon
A review of artist Janine Antoni’s works entitled Gnaw, 1992 photographs of which include two full-page color prints of the two works – a large, 600-pound, cube of lard and one of chocolate, gnawed by the artist.
Poetry
Food For Thought by Eamon Grennan
“Here is the space I’m sitting in: a garden
closed by fuchsia hedges, two sycamores…”
Etymologies
Rehabilitating the “Stinking Herbe” – A Case Study of Culinary Prejudice by Helen Leach
An in-depth study of the correlation between the coriander and the bedbug with an analysis of the roots of each word and their associations with one another.
Watched Pot
The Egg Beater by Meryle Evans
A history of the egg beater.
Including a full-page, black-and-white photograph of two, late nineteenth century rotary eggbeaters, an eighth-page photograph of “Ladies Boxing Eggs in Newman, Georgia” circa 1900, and a half-page advertisement of “Improved Dover Egg Beaters,” no date.
Photographs
Food Chain – Six Photographs from the Series by Catherine Chalmers – All in full color:
1. Two-page photograph of a tomato from which emerges a green worm.
2. Single page photograph of same worm, devouring said tomato.
3. Single page close-up of said worm, amongst tomato debris.
4. Single page, long shot of worm with remnants of tomato debris.
5. Grasshopper, eyeing Worm.
6. Grasshopper, devouring Worm.
Professor Blot and the First French Cooking School in New York, Part I by Jan Longone
A 130-year old true story, otherwise undocumented and untold of a French chef trying to teach cooking and open a restaurant in the 1860’s.
Archive
Emile Zola’s Portrait of Les Halles by Alexandra Leaf
This interesting article starts with a description of the vegetables available at the famous shopping pavilion in Zola’s original French facing a current translation,
The Bookshelf
Books in Review include:
A Soup for the Qan: Chinese Dietary Medicine of the Mongol Era as Seen in Hu Szu-Hui’s Yin-shan Cheng-yao. Introduction, translation, commentary, and Chinese text by Paul D. Buell and Eugene N. Anderson, with an appendix by Charles Perry.
God’s Banquet: Food in Classical Arabic Literature by Geert Jan van Gelder
A History of Cooks and Cooking by Michael Symons
The Primal Feast: Food, Sex, Foraging, and Love by Susan Allport
No Foreign Food: The American Diet in Time and Place by Richard Pillsbury
Corn in Clay: Maize Paleothnobotony in Pre-Columbian Art by Mary W. Eubanks
The Anthropology of Food and Body: Gender, Meaning, and Power by Carole M. Counihan
The Accomplisht Cook, or The Art and Mystery of Cooking by Robert May
Ethnic Culinary Herbs: A Guide to Identification and Cultivation in Hawaii by George W. Staples and Michael S. Kristiansen
Lagniappe
An Edible Map by David Jouris
A map of the United States with demarcations of edible cities such as Orange, California and Forks, Washington.
With half-page, two-tone map.

Once again, thank you for taking on this Herculean task!

Spring 2001 was the first issue of Gastronomica I received. A fellow food writing enthusiast from another Forum had alerted me to the magazine's existence, and given me some general idea as to its content. (This person, who also posts on eGullet Baords, has contributed several articles to Gastronomica since, and I'll point them out when you get to the particular issues.)

What struck me first was the cover. Being a long time New Yorker reader I've always thought highly of publications that use their front covers to make an artistic statement rather than just advertise contents. Gastronomica has already had several very intriguing covers that could stand alone as food commentary in their own right.

Looking back on my first exposure to the publication, these parts stood out.

I'll have to admit that "A Feast For the Eye", featuring the huge gnawed cubes of lard and chocolate, still has me baffled. I was almost tempted to submit a counter-piece featuring 600 lb blocks of Velveeta and Spam!

The poetry reminded me again of the New Yorker, and I say that as the most lavish praise I can give a periodical.

The articles on coriander and bedbugs, eggbeater history, Prof Blot's Civil War era French Cooking School, and Zola's notes on vegetable stalls are typical of what would come to be expected as standard Gastonomica fare, although later issues seem to have developed stronger themes for each issue.

The photographs, (and interior artwork), are always first class, whether as pieces themselves or accompanying a written article.

The book reviews are interesting and entertaining, and have enticed me to purchase several of the reviewed works.

The Lagniappe, (a small gift given to a customer by a merchant), is a nice touch which, along with the cover, helps establish a unique personality for the magazine.

I look forward to your outines of each issue, and will add my comments on those, and each new issue as it's published, as well as remembering to elaborate on my views of Gastro's particular position in the world of food publications which were previously expressed on another eGullet thread.

THANX SB

Carolyn Tillie · November 18, 2003

Summer 2001, Volume 1, Number 3

Cover

”Eyes Momma” by Al Hansen, 1987. From the collection of Flaminio Gaggioni, courtesy of the Gracie Mansion Gallery, New York. The cover is slightly reminiscent of a female shape, constructed of Hershey’s wrappers, however the letters from the word, Hershey, have been cut up to form other words like, “she,” “her,” and “eyes.”

From the Editor

Something Provocative for Everyone by Darra Goldstein

Looking back at the first issue with pride – and expressing excitement about future issues.

Borborygmus - Rumblings from the World of Food

Sacrifice of the Innocents by Nancy Harmon Jenkins

Interesting analysis of the “European food crisis” which includes mad-cow disease, foot-and-mouth disease, and toxic chemicals found in produced food.

Food Fight by John Feffer

Japanese and Koreans differ over the production and export of kimchi. Almost comical, except to die-hard kimchi lovers.

A Feast of Gold by Daphe Derven

An account of the COPIA recreation of King Midas’ funeral banquet as determined by Dr. Patrick McGovern of the Museum of Applied Science Center for Archaeology at the University of Pennsylvania.

Manger/Eat, no author ascribed

An announcement of a book published by Coromandel Express (known for limited editions). With an accompanying black-and-white photograph by Malick Sidibé, Frigo, Bamako, which depicts an African American woman looking into a refrigerator, circa 1960.

Cartoon, unknown artist

Black-and-white (New Yorker-styled) cartoon of two cows facing each other, one commenting, “Have you tried the lemongrass? It’s disgusting.”

Orts and Scantlings

Eggheads by Mark Morton

A debate on the folk etymological basis of food words.

With a half-page, color photograph of racks upon racks of eggs.

From the Peanut Gallery

Sophisticated by Leila Crawford

A limited essay on how trying new dishes makes one sophisticated. Not nearly as well-written as Delicacy by Paul Russell which appeared in the first issue.

Illustration

Coffee Escaping from a Cup by Rodney Greenblat

Black-and-white reproduction of work. Pity, as Greenblat, known for very colorful, juvenile works of whimsy, should only be reproduced in color.

Feast For The Eye

Picasso’s “El Bobo” by Deborah Rothschild

An analysis and commentary on the painting, El Bobo, after Murillo, 1959. Oil and enamel on canvas – reproduced on a full-page in full-color.

Lives

My Life and Loaves by Andrew Whitley

An interesting introspection of the sociology of bread written by an academic becoming involved with a Russian baker. With an intimate, page-and-a-half, full-color photograph of Nina and Three Loaves, depicting a typically corpulent Russian woman, scarf on head, apron on, looking at longingly at theree large, tinned loaves of bread; a half-page, full-color photograph entitled Bread is Our Wealth depicting two women looking into a glass display of bread loaves; and a quarter-page, full-color photograph of Nina Mixing Rye Bread.

Poetry

The Cup of Coffee by Elizabeth Spires

Two, seven-line sets starting:

I stare into the cup of coffee,

black, bitter, and steaming…

Working on the Food Chain

Crops, Genes, and Evolution by Adrianne Massey

Very extensive, scientific investigation involving the co-evolution of crop plants and human societies with analysis of the natural evolution of fruits and flowers, human interference in plant reproduction, genetic modification techniques, and a comparison of selective breeding, mutagenesis, and genetic engineering. With a full-page, full-color photograph of an ear of teosinte, the presumed ancestor of corn, next to kernels from a modern hybrid corn variety and a one-third page diagram by Aleksandr Larionov entitled Birth of a Grain of Wheat

Food Play

Vegetable Paper by Michelle Ticknor

A brief description on the manufacture of paper made from sliced, dried vegetables. With a one-third page, full-color print of Beets and a full-page, full-color photographic detail of Carrots.

Carolyn’s Editorial Note: A few years back, while visiting Catalina Island, someone was making decorative bowls of vegetable paper. I was completely taken by the artistry and spectrum in the works and always regretted not buying one.

Investigations

Food for the Bawdy: Johann of Bockenheim’s “Registrum Coquine” by Luigi Ballerini

A history and commentary on a fifteenth-century cookbook written by the chef to Pope Martin V. Extremely well-annotated. With a full-page, full-color reproduction of Limbourg Brothers, Map of Rome, 15th c. Illuminated miniature from the “Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry,” 1416. Ms. 65, f.141 verso. Musée Condé, Chantilly France and a half-page, black-and-white woodcut of Pope Martin V, from Platina’s Vitae Pontificum, 1592.

Food Patterns in Agrarian Societies: The Core-Fringe-Legume Hypothesis by Sidney W. Mintz and Daniela Schlettwein-Gsell

Extremely scientific investigation with no less than thirteen graph charts analyzing nutrient, protein, and lysine contents of various foods.

With a full-page, full-color photograph of Preserved vegetables and rice, China..

Professor Blot and The First French Cooking School in New York (Part 2) by Jan Longone

A conclusion of the article started previously in the Spring, 2001 issue. With a half-page, black-and-white reproduction of the title page and two sample pages of Pierre Blot’s Hand-Book of Practical Cookery,, 1867.

Personalities

The Countess of Kent by Paula Panich

Another well-annotated, well-researched biography of this English lady and purported authoress of A Choice Manual and A True Gentlewoman’s Delight. With a full-page, full-color portrait, Lady Elizabeth Grey, Countess of Kent painted by Paul Van Somer, ca. 1619. Oil on wood.

Fundamentals

The Corkscrew by Stephen J. Gendzier

A history, with amusing poem, and a page-and-a-third of full-color photographs of ten different antique corkscrews.

Libations

Port by Ray Isle

A very nice beginner’s overview of the mystical fortified wine. With two pictures: one, a third of a page, full-color, of the old chapel at Quinta do Vale do Meào, one of the finest properties of the Upper Douro and an extended view, looking westward up the Douro from a hillside above Pinhào, during a momentary break in the winter rains. Stunning.

Origins

Hart’s Desire by Nichola Fletcher

Very fascinating account of the history of eating venison, starting with a quote from Henry VIII to an account of nine-course, deer-based banquet. Illustrated with a full-page, black-and-white woodcut of a fallow deer, from Edward Topsell, “Historie of Fourefooted Beasts, 1658, and a quarter-page, full-color reproduction of The Pursuit of Fidelity, Tapestry, German, ca. 1475-1500.

Dining In

Collapsible Table by Digridur Sigurjonsdottir

An Ikea-like table, plans for which are available online, which is designed for those with little storage space. With a page-and-a-half, full-color, three photographs of three angles of the table.

Chef’s Page

Firebird by Ari Nieminen

Interesting account of the pre-Revolution-based Russian restaurant in New York city. With a half-page, full-color photograph of a gilded and engraved silver tray in the shape of a lady’s shoe, Russian, 1853.

WWFood

The Land of Milk and Honey by Miri Zell Donati

An account of Israeli food over the past half-century. With a full-page, full-color photograph of dried fruit and nuts at the Lewinsky Market, Tel Avi and a half-page, full-color photograph from the same market of the blessing the fruits of the earth.

Spilled Beans

Table Service by John Fischer

Comparisons between French service (service à la française) and Russian styles of service (service à la russe). With a half-page, black-and-white depiction of Russian service, from Urbain Dubois, “Cuisine Artistique: Etudes de l’Ecole Moderne” (Paris, 1888).

At The Movies

Chocolat by Jim Stark

A movie review – from a foodie’s perspective, “whether it is the rich, dark ganache that Vianne is constantly swirling, the chocolate seashells she displays, the rich and spicy hot chocolate to which Armande becomes addicted, or the little cellophane bags of sexually exciting chocolate pieces...” With a full-page, full-color screen shot of Juliette Binoche, holding her shop’s sign, plus a half-page, full-color intimate moment between actress Binoche and director, Lasse Hallström.

Review Essay

Why…the taste of sake? by John Kochevar

A comparison/review of two books, At the Japanese Table by Richard Hosking and The Essence of Japanese Cuisine: An Essay on Food and Culture by Michael Ashkenazi and Jeanne Jacob. With a half-page, black-and-white image from the Edo period (1600-1868) of making vinegar from rice plus a half-page, full-color photograph of a Samurai drinking table, Kamakura period (1185-1333).

”A Honey of Roses”: The Culture of Food in Shakespeare’s Day by Hona Bell

A review of the book Fooles and Fricassees: Food in Shakespear’s England, edited by Mary Anne Caton, with an essay by Joan Thirsk. With a half-page, full-color depiction of costumes from the time of James I and a half-page, black-and-white frontis and title page from Hannah Woolley’s The Queen-like Closet (London, 1675).

The Bookshelf

Books in review including:

The Cambridge World History of Food edited by Kenneth F. Kiple and Kriemhild Coneè Ornelas

Feeding China’s Little Emperors: Food, Children, and Social Change edited by Jun Jing

Afghan Food & Cookery: Noshe Djan by Helen Saberi

The Country Housewife’s Family Companion (1750) by William Ellis

Bananas: An American History by Virginia Scott Jenkins

Souper Tomatoes: The Story of America’s Favorite Food by Andrew F. Smith

The Bread Builders: Hearth Loaves and Masonry Ovens by Daniel Wing and Alan Scott

Places in Mind: Poems by Catharine Savage Brosman

World Food Spain by Richard Sterling

Keeping Food Fresh: Old World Techniques and Recipes by the Gardeners and Farmers of Terre Vivante.

Lagniappe

To Serve and Tease by Nero Blanc

A crossworld puzzle for gastronomes.

srhcb · November 20, 2003

Summer 2001, Volume 1, Number 3

This was perhaps Gastronomic's weakest issue ever, understandably so because of the effort already exerted to insure the first and second issues made as strong an initial impression as possible.

Additionally, since the magazine hadn't yet developed any formal patterns, (or distinctive voice. so to speak), this quarter's seems somewhat disjointed, and obviously consists of pieces that had been removed from consideration for inclusion in the first two issues.

Had this been your first exposure to Gastronomica, you may have passed on becoming a regular reader, but I felt the following parts lived up to my expectations and carried the effort forward.

"Vegetable Paper by Michelle Ticknor

A brief description on the manufacture of paper made from sliced, dried vegetables. With a one-third page, full-color print of Beets and a full-page, full-color photographic detail of Carrots."

I don't know where else this would have appeared.

"Food for the Bawdy: Johann of Bockenheim’s “Registrum Coquine” by Luigi Ballerini

A history and commentary on a fifteenth-century cookbook written by the chef to Pope Martin V. Extremely well-annotated."

This alone was worth the price to me. I'm fond of historical works presented in Gastronomica's style, which is scholatic without being too academic.

"Professor Blot and The First French Cooking School in New York (Part 2) by Jan Longone

A conclusion of the article started previously in the Spring, 2001 issue."

Another historical piece, continued from the previous issue.

”A Honey of Roses”: The Culture of Food in Shakespeare’s Day by Hona Bell

A review of the book Fooles and Fricassees: Food in Shakespear’s England, edited by Mary Anne Caton, with an essay by Joan Thirsk. With a half-page, full-color depiction of costumes from the time of James I and a half-page, black-and-white frontis and title page from Hannah Woolley’s The Queen-like Closet (London, 1675). "

Every book review segment contains at least one title I would love to own if I had a perpetual Amazon Gift Certificate, but this is another one I never bought.

Like I say, not an altogether great example, but the endeavor was still in an obviously formative stage.

THANX SB

Carolyn Tillie · November 20, 2003

Fall 2001, Volume 1, Number 4

Cover

A photograph of Laurence Fishburne, hefting a hunk of meat like it was an AK47.

From the Editor

Celebrating American Food by Darra Goldstein

“Public image – self-presentation – has always been important to America’s national consciousness…” With a quarter-page, black-and-white photograph of an ice cream sign, “Freezo” with the commentary, ”Just what do the towering ice cream cones of countless roadside stands tell us about our collective psyche?”

Borborygmus - Rumblings from the World of Food

Letters to the editor regarding previously-published articles.

On Cooks and Cooking by Michael Symons

In which the author slams Albert Sonnenfeld’s review of Symons’ book, A History of Cooks and Cooking.

Digesting Veggie Tales by John T. Edge

Critiques the animated movie that utilizes vegetables as anthropomorphized beings.

Crosscultural Food Training in Texas by Ken Rubin

About the Chochran Fellowship Program. With a quarter-page, black-and-white photograph showing …Fellowship participants at Eaves Bros. Quality Seafood, Austin, Texas.

The Return of Classic Service? by Janet Fouts

Comments on the loss of European-trained ‘classic’ service in American eateries.

World Food Media Awards

Small announcement declaring the journal was nominated for the Jacob’s Creek World Food Media Awards.

Correction

Correcting a citation in the Spring, 2001 journal on the Eggbeater article.

Crossworld Puzzle – Answers

Orts and Scantlings

Talking Turkey by Mark Morton

Brief notes on the Fall bird, with notes on the origins of its name and the names of some of its parts (drumstick, for example).

Watched Pot

The Pitcher by Tom Spleth

Tom Spleth is a ceramist and painter. He was recently an artist-in-residence at the Kohler Company (WI). His work is in the collections of the RI School of Design, the Corning Museum (NY), and the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution (DC). In the journal, Tom offers a two-paragraph introspection on the Pitcher with a half-page, full-color reproduction of a piece by the artist which looks like quilted fabric or hand-made paper (hard to tell).

Opinion

Include Me Out by Fred Chappell

Very well-written document of one man’s encounter with Southern-style, sweetened ice tea. With a half-page, black-and-white photograph of the author with a bird (cockatiel?) on his head.

Poem

dinner, 1933 by Charles Bukowski

when my father ate

his lips became

greasy

with food.

With an eighth-page, black-and-white photograph of the author, looking as though he is trying to gag himself on three of his fingers.

Feast For The Eye

Sandy Skoglund’s ‘Cocktail Party’ by Ellen Wiley Todd

Skoglund is an interesting artist, known for bizarre installations. This article shows a two-thirds page, full-color photograph of her installation, Cocktail Party from 1992, where an entire room, furniture, and guests were covered in Cheez Doodles. The author, Todd, purports an erudite analysis of the work.

Personal History

Family Style by Frank Bergon

An introspective look at Basque restaurants in California’s San Joaquin Valley.

With a half-page, full-color photograph of the Basque Hotel, Fresno, California, and a quarter-page, black-and-white photograph of the banner on Lauck’s Inn, Madera, California which says, “Basque Family Style.”

Photographs

Carrie Mae Weems Serves Up Substance by Vivian Patterson

Social commentary on poetic photographer, Weems.

With two, full-page, black-and-white photographs Black Woman with Chicken and Black Man with a Watermelon, and a quarter-page, black-and-white photograph Untitled (Eating Lobster)

Local Fare

Boiled Peanuts by John Martin Taylor

On Southern cuisine, specifically boiled peanuts.

With a third-page, black-and-white photograph, Untitled (Steven’s Pies) by Carrie Mae Weems.

Visionaries

Imagining the American Institute of Wine and Food: The Legacy of John Ronsheim by Adam Kowit

The history of the AIWF and its founder.

With a half-page, black-and-white photograph of Ronsheim, circa 1975 and a two-third page, full-color reproduction of a letter from Ronsheim to Jeremiah Tower.

Investigations

”Don’t Eat That”: The Erotics of Abstinence in American Christianity by R. Marie Griffith

Very bizarre article about Christian-based weight loss program.

With a half-page photograph from First For Women magazine of a woman holding a chocolate cake and an open bible with the caption, “My Faith Helped Me Lose 45 Pounds!” Additional quarter-page illustrations include four in black-and-white: ”Gluttony” during the Renaissance, engraving by the Flemish artist Philip Galle from his Series of the Sins ca. 1600; ”Gluttony” in Modern Times from C.S. Lovett, “Help Lord… The Devil Wants Me Fat!” (Baldwin Park, CA: Personal Christianity, 1977). ”The Spirit is Willing but the Body is Weak” from Harold Hill, How to Flip Your Flab Forever, 1979; and a photograph of Overeaters Victorious founder Neva Coyle. Also two, quarter-page, full-color illustrations: Cover of Fat-Burning Bible Diet and a detail from Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper with the caption, “How The Good Book can help you melt off 15 pounds in 30 days!”; and a book cover, Slim For Him.

”My Problem is Watery Custard”: Reading the Confidential Chat by Laura Shapiro

Introspective commentary from a food historian on researching women and cooking from the late 1940s through the early 60s.

With a quarter-page, black-and-white photograph (circa, 1950) of a woman making vegetable soup, and a half-page, black-and-white photograph of a busy housewife from Life magazine, June 16, 1947.

Edible Activism: Food, Commerce, and the Moral Order at the Park Slope Food Coop by Even Jochnowitz

Too much information on the coop movement and politics that reside therein.

With a half-page, black-and-white photograph of a white board of produce notes [that] keep members up-to-date on boycotts and stock and a third-page, full-color picture of a Tofu Turkey.

Memoir

Laurie Colwin: A Writer in the Kitchen by Willard Spiegelman

A look back on the life and writings of Colwin.

With a full-page, full-color photograph of Colwin at her garden gate.

Interview

Mr. Clarence Jones, Carolina Rice Farmer by Jennie Ashlock

A formal interview with an overview of the rice industry.

With a two-thirds page, black-and-white photograph of Jones at home.

Essay

Interactive Foods for Children; Marketing Child’s Play vs. Playing in the Garden by Laura B. DeLind

A program to get children educated towards food production.

With a full-page, full-color photograph of a young participant in the Children in the Garden program at Growing in Place Community Farm and a half-page, black-and-white photograph of Children at the Growing in Place Community Farm, in Mason, Michigan.

Illustrations

American Classics by Thorri Hringsson

Two interesting painting depictions; one, a full-page, full-color depiction, ”Summer Plates”, 1997 and a third-page, full-color reproduction of ”Lobster in Aspic”. With some short commentary by the artist.

Origin

Boston Cream Pie by Greg Patent

Recipe sleuthing determines the origin of this uniquely-American cake, called a pie. Included in the article is the Parker House recipe.

With a half-page, full-color photograph of a pretty-great-looking sample, plus a quarter-page, black-and-white reproduction of The Boston Herald announcement of the opening of the Parker House, 1856.

Archive

What Mrs. Fisher Knows About Old Southern Cooking by Rafia Zafar

Commentary on the book, What Mrs. Fisher Knows… originally published in 1881.

With quarter-page reproduction of original title page.

Spilled Beans

Kedgeree by Sylvia M. Henderson

An investigation into this Anglo-Indian dish, which became an American staple.

With quarter-page, black-and-white photograph of Eleanor Roosevelt presiding over dinner on the porch at Val-Kill Cottage, Hyde Park, New York.

American Icon

Julia and Me by Nancy Cobb

Chronicle of meeting the Grande Dame.

With a half-page, full-color photograph of the author and the High Priestess.

Photo Essay

American Ice Cream Stands by John Margolies

Five, full-page, full-color photographs of ice cream stands from various states including South Carolina’s Daisy Queen, Utah’s Arctic Circle, Illinois’ Velvet Freeze, Ohio’s Igloo, and Tennesse’s Kream Kastle.

Chef’s Page

Lucia’s Restaurant, Minneapolis, Minnesota by Lucia Watson

Recollections of Vietnamese cuisine in Minnesota.

With quarter-page, black-and-white reproduction of an original recipe for Concepción’s fish soup.

Notes on Vintage Volumes

The Cook – An Early American Culinary Magazine by Jan Longone

Looking back on an early (1880s) food journal.

With a quarter-page, black-and-white reproduction of a cover from September 21, 1885, and a quarter-page, black-and-white reproduction of the Weekly Retail Market Report, same date as cover.

The Bookshelf

Books in Review including:

Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal by Eric Schlosser

Southern Belly: The Ultimate Food Lover’s Companion to the South by John T. Edge

The Last Days of Haute Cuisine: America’s Culinary Revolution by Patric Kuh

Bitter Harvest: A Chef’s Perspective on the Hidden Dangers in the Foods We Eat, and What You Can Do About It by Ann Cooper and Lisa M. Holmes

From Fireplace to Cookstove: Technology and the Domestic Ideal by Priscilla J. Brewer

Can She Bake A Cherry Pie? American Women and the Kitchen in the Twentieth Century by Mary Drake McFeely

Whitebread Protestants: Food and Religion in America Culture by Daniel Sack

The Oxford Companion to the Wines of North America edited by Bruce Cass; Jancis Robinson, Consultant Editor

Rooted in America: Foodlore of Popular Fruits and Vegetables edited by David Scofield Wilson and Angus Kress Gillespie

The Olive in California: History of an Immigrant Tree by Judith M. Taylor, M.D.

Bookends

A few additional reviews...

Whistleberries, Stirabout, & Depression Cake: Food Customs and Concoctions of the Frontier West by The Federal Writers’ Project; Foreword by Greg Patent

Salmon Nation: People and Fish at the Edge edited by Edward C. Wolf and Seth Zuckerman

Lagniappe

Water Toast by Ashley Shelby

The lost art form of an alleged Indiana delicacy.

Carolyn Tillie · November 25, 2003

Winter 2002, Volume 1, Number 1

Cover

Lunch by George Tooker, 1964

Tooker, of the Magical-Realist movement, creates muted-toned, crisply-outlined figures in a haunting, prosaic situation.

From the Editor

Celebrating American Food by Darra Goldstein

“Talking Food History – How does the study of food enrich your life?

Borborygmus - Rumblings from the World of Food

Sacrifice of the Innocents

Letter to the editor from John Fletcher regarding Spring, 2001-published article by Nancy Harmon Jenkins

Agrarian Food Patterns

Letter to the editor from Barbara Santich regarding Spring, 2001-published article by Sidney Mintz and Daniela Schlettwein-Gsell – with response by Mintz.

Cartoon

Black-and-white rendition of a dog, talking to a cat, “My ideological bent is, and always has been, towards foo.”

Jean-Louis Flandrin (1931-2001) by Albert Sonnenfeld

A eulogy to preeminent French culinary historian.

A Journey Through Mexican Cuisine by Giorgio De’Angeli

Remarking on the innovative culinary studies program being established by the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

Eat Art: Joseph Beuys, Diet Roth, and Sonja Alhäuser at the Busch-Reisinger Museum by Shin Yu Pai

A review of an art exhibit based on an exploration of edible and organic materials.

With a half-page, full-color photograph of Joseph Beuys’ Capri Batter, Germany, 1985, depicting a yellow light bulb set next to a lemon.

A Survey of American Culinary Collections by Madge Griswold

An overview of several university’s culinary collections as determined by the International Association of Culinary Professionals Foundation.

The Jane Grigson Trust Bursary 2002

Invitation for applications.

Orts and Scantlings

Pigeon’s Milk by Mark Morton

Invented words and phrased and how they become foods.

With a half-page, black-and-white woodcut by Edward Lear of Columba Livia, var. Gutturosa, from The Natural History of Pigeons, 1835.

Feast For The Eye

Man Ray’s “Electricité” by Stefanie Spray Jandl

Barely food-related, this article is about Man Ray’s sojourn into an experiment in electricity-enriched photographs.

With a full-page, black-and-white photogravure from Ray of Salle à Manger and a half-page, black-and-white photogravure of Cuisine both from Electricité Dix Rayogrammes, 1931.

Essay

Messages in a Bottle by Barbara Kirschenblatt-Gimblett

A somewhat sappy remembrance a deceased friend. Includes six recipes mentioned within the eulogy.

With a half-page, full-color photograph and written word montage by Max Gimblett and Matt Jones entitled Delicious Pudding and a one-third page, black-and-white drypoint etching of Max Gimblett by Anne, 1967.

Inventions

The Patented Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich: Food as Intellectual Property by Anna M. Shih

Surprisingly interesting account of how the J.M. Smucker Company’s Menusaver division obtained a U.S. patent for a “Sealed Crestless Sandwich.”

Taking up a half-page, two black-and-white drawings of sheets three and four of four of the patent drawings.

Photographs

Heavy in White by Lynn Bianchi

Brief commentary by photographer Bianchi about her work utilizing a corpulent model being served by “normal”-shaped women. Anyone unfamiliar with the photographer’s work should take a look: http://www.lynnbianchi.com/

Includes a full-page, black-and-white Servitude 1 and Lalique both from 1998.

Investigations

Alaska’s Vanishing Arctic Cuisine by Zona Spray

Very extensive history and culture of Eskimo cuisine.

With a half-page, black-and-white photograph of a seal oil dish used to light sod or snow houses and warm prepared foods and a half-page, full-color photograph of sealskin poke filled with meat, dried fish, and seal oil, and a quarter-page, full-color photograph depicting the modern-day technique of rendering seal oil from blubber.

The Origins of Trachanás: Evidence from Cyprus and Ancient Texts by William Woys Weaver

This is an historical analysis of Trachanás which is a porridge made from cracked wheat and soured goats milk.

With a quarter-page, full-color photograph of Tranchanás in the form of flat cakes from Gourri, Cyprus and a quarter-page, full-color photograph of Alexandrian “olyra” (Triticum Dicoccum) and ”ereikte” (grits) in a first-century A.D. dish from the Roughwood Seed Collection..

”We Eat First With Our Eyes”: On Ghanaian Cuisine by Fran Asseo-Asare

A look at various foodstuffs, culture, hospitality, and food migration.

Includes a quarter-page, black-and-white line drawing of two women pounding “fufu and a one-third page, full-color photograph of a box of Tropiway Fufu Flower, one of the most popular brands among Ghanaians. It contains plantain, cassava, and “granular potatoes.” But also BHT and FD&C Yellow #5..

Fundamentals

Apple Parers: A Slice of American History by Don Thornton

A look at mechanical apple peeling contraptions.

With a full-page, black-and-white photograph of The Climax, patented May 11, 1869 by Geo. W. Brokaw and a half-page, two black-and-white shots of The Champion…patented November 11, 1866….

Poem

A conversation between Huidobro and Braque by Shin Yu Pai

Is a poem a poem?

And isn’t an orange just an orange,

And not an apple?

Five additional lines follow along with a quarter-page, full-color image that I believe is a painting by George Braque but is not credited.

Libations

Confessions of a Tea Drinker by Marguerite Dorian

Title tells all – except that it is written from a Russian perspective.

With a one-third, full-color line drawing (cartoon) of four Russians sitting around a samovar.

Remains of the Day

Shelf Life by Jeanne Schinto

Venerable food collections that occur out of happenstance – why do people save old food.

With a quarter-page, full-color reproduction of a Smithfield can of Pork with Barbeque Sauce.

Memoir

Memories of an Exiled Shetlander by Ethel G. Hofman

Article as title describes – rather makes me long for Scotland and that food. Also includes a glossary of Scottish food words and three recipes; Shetland Bannocks, Coconut Cake, and Fried Gefilte Fish.

With a full-page, black-and-white photograph taken in the late 1960s of Greenwald shops on Commercial Street, Lerwick and a one-third page, full-color photograph of Jean and Harry Greenwald, finishing up the tea break at a whist drive in Lerwick, also late 1960s.

Archive

On Being Married to M.F.K. Fisher by Joan Reardon

Author Reardon comments on text by Donald Friede (Fisher was his fifth wife, Friede was Fisher’s third husband) from a manuscript held in a private collection of Kennedy Friede Golden.

With a full-page, black-and-white photograph of M.F.K. Fisher grilled at Bareacres and a full-page of three black-and-white photographs of M.F.K. Fisher in the kitchen at Bareacres and with Donald Friede, Anne, and Kennedy, 1947.

Origins

Pho: The Vietnamese Addiction by Alexandra Greely

A history and perspective, including a recipe from the Green Papaya Restaurant in Brisbane, Australia.

With a half-page, reproduction of a sepia-toned postcard dated October 13, 1905 depicting an itinerant purveyor of food in Tonkin (North Vietnam).

Evolutions

Brownies: A Memoir by Lisa Yockelson

A family memory of brownies, including two recipes, a version of Grandmother’s brownies and another, Dark, Deeply Chcocolate Brownies.

Includes a lively, page-and-a-half, sepia-toned photograph of the author’s late father, Bernard Yockelson, grandmother, Lillian Yockelson, grandfather, Louis Yockelson, and uncle, Wilbert Yockelson, at the boardwalk in Atlantic City, mid 1940s.

Working on the Food Chain

Food Irradiation by Robert L. Wolke

A scientific look at the application of nuclear radiation on food.

Chef’s Page

Savoy by Peter Hoffman

This chef comments more about the development of The Dinner Series. Of all the Chef’s Pages, this one is sadly missing a lovely accompanying photograph, although there is an excerpt of ”Blackberry Eating” from Mortal Acts by Galway Kinnell, ©1980.

WWFood

The Emerald Isle by John McKenna

On Irish cuisine and culture with commentary about modern published books, and evolution of the cuisine.

With a half-page, full-color photograph of the entrance to Guinness.

Spilled Beans

The East Passage Club by Sylvia M. Henderson

The EPC grew from the U.S. Navy’s “experiment in gourmet food and fine dining on their base in Newport, Rhode Island.” History and commentary with reproduction of three menus, one from 1969, 1982, and 1983. Fascinating…

With a quarter-page, black-and-white photograph of the East Passage Club logo on Armetal pewter service plate.

At The Movies

Tortilla Soup by Jim Stark

Run-of-the-mill movie review with some slight insight into the food production within the movie.

Review Essay

Getting Sauced Sitting Down by Duncan Holmes

Review of Sit Down and Drink Your Beer: Regulating Vancouver’s Beer Parlours, 1925-1954 by Robert Campbell. More of an encapsulation of the book than an in-depth review.

With a half-page, black-and-white photograph of ”Ladies and Escorts” section of the Metropole Hotel’s beer parlour, Vancouver, 1951 and a half-page, black-and-white long shot of Vancouver’s Ambassador Hotel, 1939.

The Bookshelf

Books in Review including:

Pot on the Fire: Further Exploits of a Renegade Cook by John Thorne with Matt Lewis Thorne.

Chalk and Cheese by Will Studd. Photography by Adrian Lander.

Crawling at Night by Nani Power.

Offbeat Food: Adventures in an Omnivorous World by Alan Ridenour.

Dinner Roles: American Women and Culinary Culture by Sherrie A. Inness.

Carnal Appetites: Food, Sex, Identities by Espeth Probyn.

The World is Not for Sale: Farmers Against Junk Food by José Bové and François Dufour, Interviewed by Gilles Luneau. Translated by Anna de Casparis.

Feasts: Archaeological and Ethnographic Perspectives on Food, Politics, and Power by Michael Dietler and Brian Hayden.

Food in Society: Economy, Culture, Geography by Peter Atkins and Ian Bowler.

Bookends

A few additional reviews...

The Delights of Delicate Eating by Elizabeth Robins Pennell.

Culinary Herbs for Short-Season Gardeners by Ernest Small and Grace Deutsch.

Lagniappe

The Bloomsday Diet by Ashley Shelby

In retaliation to Zone and Atkins diets, this is a diet based on James Joyce’s Ulysses. Very funny.

Carolyn’s Editorial Note: This seems to be the beginning of Gastronomica adding a significant number of recipes to enhance the articles being presented – quite refreshing and appreciated, considering the journals’ subject matter.

srhcb · November 27, 2003

Carolyn,

Once again, thanks for undertaking this project. I'm not even able to keep up with my short running commentary.

The issue of Fall 2001, Volume 1, Number 4 was probably the first completely composed after the release of the first issue, given the long lead time of a magazine like Gastro. While a distinct literary style hadn't yet emerged, it was becoming obvious that the articles being submitted were going to influence the publisher's direction.

Cover

A photograph of Laurence Fishburne, hefting a hunk of meat like it was an AK47.

The cover will no doubt be recalled as a seminal feature in the magazines developmental history. Words don't do it justice, but I believe it's still featured on the web site. I'm surprised it hasn't been marketed as a t-shirt yet. (I'd buy one!)

Since I'm enough of a food writing groupie to always enjoy articles about the modern icons, my favorite pieces in this issue were:

Memoir

Laurie Colwin: A Writer in the Kitchen by Willard Spiegelman

A look back on the life and writings of Colwin.

With a full-page, full-color photograph of Colwin at her garden gate.

American Icon

Julia and Me by Nancy Cobb

Chronicle of meeting the Grande Dame.

With a half-page, full-color photograph of the author and the High Priestess.

I also like historical pieces like:

Origin

Boston Cream Pie by Greg Patent

Recipe sleuthing determines the origin of this uniquely-American cake, called a pie. Included in the article is the Parker House recipe.

With a half-page, full-color photograph of a pretty-great-looking sample, plus a quarter-page, black-and-white reproduction of The Boston Herald announcement of the opening of the Parker House, 1856.

(I even tried, not entirely unsuccessfully, to make one!)

Archive

On Being Married to M.F.K. Fisher by Joan Reardon

Author Reardon comments on text by Donald Friede (Fisher was his fifth wife, Friede was Fisher’s third husband) from a manuscript held in a private collection of Kennedy Friede Golden.

With a full-page, black-and-white photograph of M.F.K. Fisher grilled at Bareacres and a full-page of three black-and-white photographs of M.F.K. Fisher in the kitchen at Bareacres and with Donald Friede, Anne, and Kennedy, 1947.

What can I say? Other than perhaps Julia, there is nobody in the food world I hold in higher esteem than MFKF!

As I stated, my favorite issue thus far, and one of the best of all time! (Okay, so there have only been 12 total)

Carolyn Tillie · December 1, 2003

Spring 2002, Volume 2, Number 2

Cover

Table for Ladies by Edward Hopper, 1930

Detail. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, George A. Hearn Fund, 1931 (31.62). Photograph ©1983, MMA. Hopper is one of the best known realists in America’s inter-war period. This image depicts a waitress bending over to display fruits in a basket, with another lady behind her at a cash register and two figures, a man and a woman, sitting at a table in the distance.

From the Editor

Who Doesn’t Like Comfort Food? by Darra Goldstein

“I want to read about other people’s comfort foods about as much as I want to read about their favorite brands of toothpaste.”

Borborygmus - Rumblings from the World of Food

Letters to the Editor

Water Toast by Chistine Lamar, Providence, RI – A remembrance of her own, with recipe.

Edible Activism by Mark Rose, Seattle, WA – Horrified by Eve Jochnowitz’s article from Fall, 2001, with a reply from Ms. Jochnowitz.

Crops, Genes, and Evolution by Brenda Hefti of the National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD and Robert Pincus, Climate Diagnostics Center, Boulder, CO. – Commenting on the Summer, 2001 article by Adrianne Massey, with a reply from Massey.

Barbara Tropp (1948-2001) by Joyce Goldstein

An obituary and eulogy.

With a one-third page, full-color photograph of Ms. Tropp.

Slippery Business by Jane Canova

The risks of benzopyrene, a known carcinogen, as appears in olive oil.

Eat – Unaccredited

Introduction of a new, bi-monthly food and lifestyle magazine (published partly in English and partly in Japanese.

With a half-page, full-color recreation of the the Packaging issue, Eat 07.

God and the Devil in the Kitchen by Robin Kline

Essay on the philosophies of Epictetus, food, and pleasure.

Cartoon – by Sidney Harris

Under the title Pharmaceutical Update…, a sheep, addressing a cow, says, “They got me producing antibiotics for cattle.” The cow replies, “That figures – I’m producing them for sheep.”

Orts and Scantlings

Sweet Nothings by Mark Morton

More etymological ramblings of food words and their origins.

With a half-page, black-and-white recreation of The Feminine Monarchie, or the Histori [sic] of Bees by Charles Butler, Oxford: W. Turner, 1634.

Feast For The Eye

From Field to Frame – The Fine Art of Crop Art by Diana Johnson

Beyond Arcimboldo, an essay on the history and development of artwork created out of food from 19th and 20th centuries.

With a half-page, full-color photograph of The National Farmers’ Bank made by Lilian Colton in 1982 out of clover, alfalfa, cantaloupe, bromegrass, and canola. Also, two quarter-page, black-and-white photographs, one of Lilian Colton in her studio and another of a Hen and Chicks, ca. 1990 constructed of watermelon, black sunflower, salsify, timothy, baptista, and cornmeal.

Past Pleasures

Consider the Eel by Richard Schweid

Extensive history of this odd ingredient. With two recipes – Stewed Ell and Jellied Eel.

With a half-page (vertical), full-color hand-painted drawing of the Common Eel from Mrs. T. Edward Bowdich, The Fresh-water Fishes of Great Britain (London: R. Ackermann, 1828. Also, a quarter-page woodcut of Eel fishing in the fifteenth century from Hortus sanitatis (Main, J. Meydenbach, 1491).

Poem

Love Soup by Kathryn Hellerstein

"Peeling sunchokes, brewing

Broth, and warming onions…"

Eleven more lines that move towards sex

Memoir

An Edible Adolescence by Alexandra Stein

A 1960s memoir that spans London, Sperlonga, Paris, and New York

With a half-page, black-and-white photograph of The Stein children and a one-third page, black-and-white shot of the author’s mother, Jenny Stein, both photographs ca. 1961. Also, a half-page, faded color photo-strip (four shots, vertical) of Pierre Aroutcheff, ca. 1969.

Investigations

Women Who Eat Dirt by Susan Allport

Very fascinating article about dirt (specifically, various types of mud) which are digestible, usually eaten by pregnant women, in Nepal, Africa, India, Central America, and the American South.

With a full-page, full-color photograph of A trader from Western Nigeria sorting bags of eko clay at the market in Uzalla, Nigeria, a half page, black-and-white frontispiece from B. Annell and S. Lagercrantz’ Geophagical Customs (Uppsala, Sweden, 1958) depicting a Brazilian slave with mouth lock, and a full-page, black-and-white photograph of edible clays at a market in Accra, Ghana.

The Best “Chink” Food – Dog Eating and the Dilemma of Diversity by Frank H. Wu

More of a political question about the eating of dog as opposed to looking at the historical roots of canine consumption.

With a one-third page, full-color photograph of a vendor selling grilled dog meat in Vietnam and a one-quarter page, full-color photograph of women at a South Korean dog market.

Design

Designing Technology for Domestic Spaces – A Kitchen Manifesto by Genevieve Bell and Joseph “Jofish” Kaye

Manifesto is right – a 13+ page (with 2 ½ pages of 6-font notes) on the history and development of efficient kitchens.

With a full-page, full-color shot of Wendy Ju and “counterActive, a half-page, black-and-white diagram of an efficient and an inefficient kitchens by Christine Frederick from The New Housekeeping: Efficiency Studies in the Home Management (New York: Doubleday, 1913), and a half-page, black-and-white photograph of The Frankfurt Kitchen, Austrian Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna.

Taste

Asparagus Ice Cream, Anyone? by Jeri Qunzio

An interesting look back on the development of ice cream – and how odd flavors were the norm going back as early as the seventeenth- and early eighteenth-centuries.

With a full-page, full-color reproduction of ”Artistically Served Ices” from The Encyclopaedia of Practical Cookery, edited by Theodore Francis Garrett (London: L. Upcott Gill, 189?), p. 144, fig. 1 shows ”Asparagus Ice flavoured with Asparagus Flavouring.” and a half-page, black-and-white woodcut of Mrs. Marshall’s Ice-Cream Duck from Mrs. A.B. Marshall’s Cookery Book (London: Robert Hayes, 189?), p. 283.

Archive

A la recherché de la tomate perdue – The First French Tomato Recipe?

The text in French from Pauline barjavel de Carpentras 1795 with a translation, commentary on the recipe and author, and conclusion.

With a half-page, full-color reprint of Raphaelle Peale’s Still Life, ca. 1810, oil on panel. With comment, Note the ribbed, globular shape of the eighteenth-century tomato in the left foreground..

Photographs

by Gail Skoff

Ms. Skoff is known for her food photography for Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse Cooking and Paul Bertolli’s Cooking by Hand cookbooks. Here, there are three photographs – all full-page and in black-and-white. Because there is no description or title, the viewer is left to question what is being viewed. The first seems obvious enough – the stem-end of a pear (image: http://www.cecilemoochnek.com/artists/Skoff.htm) while the next two, allude to intimate views of body parts, while they could just be other fruits or vegetables.

Diet

The Raw Deal by Gayle Forman

On raw-food support groups and their growing movement.

Slow Foods

Spanish Thistle-Bloom Cheese by Rosa Tovar

A history, development in Jewish culture (no pun intended), and an interesting catalogue of thistle-bloom cheeses of the Iberian Peninsula.

With a one-third page, full-color rendering of Cynara cardunculus from Curtis’s Botanical Magazine (London: Edward Couchman, 1828), p. 2862, and a half-page, black-and-white map, drawn by the Daniel Zarza, of where specific cheeses can be found.

Humor

The Child’s Physiology of Taste – after Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

With Aphorisms, Definitions, Aesthetics of Presentation, Methods of Consumption, and Different Ways of Preparing a Proper Sandwich. Very cute.

Chef’s Page

One Market – San Francisco, California by Adrian Hoffman

Adrian is protégé under Bradley Ogden. Open for ten years now, this restaurant is known for its wine list, live jazz, and great menu.

With a one-third page, black-and-white photograph of a live chicken, standing on a kitchen scale.

WWWFood

Cuisine with a Conscience by Lisa Förare Winbladh

The changing culinary scene in Sweden.

With a full-page, full-color photograph of Lobster with rutabaga and rosemary, as prepared by chef Thomas Drejing at his Malmö restaurant, Petri Pumpa.

Review Essays

Revolutions in Wine by Tara Q. Thomas

Two sets of comparison/reviews, the first of three books and the second of two books:

A Century of Wine: The History of a Wine Revolution by Stephen Brook, General Editor

Wine & War: The French, The Nazis & The Battle for France’s Greatest Treasure by Don and Petie Kladstrup

American Vintage: The Rise of American Wine by Paul Lukacs

and

The Curiosities of Food, or the Dainties and Delicacies of Different Nations Obtained from the Animal Kingdom by Peter Lund Simmonds

Strange Foods: Bush Meats, Bats, and Butterflies: An Epicurean Adventure Around the World by Jerry Hopkins

With a half-page, full-color photograph of Vietnamese Grilled Mice.

Notes on Vintage Volumes

”Berney’s Mystery of Living” and Other Nineteenth-Century Cooking Magazines by Jan Longone

Well-researched look into early cookbooks.

With a one-third page, black-and-white cover shot of Berney’s Mystery of Living, vol. 1, no. 1 (1868), a full-page, full-color recreation of the cover of The Boston Cooking-School Magazine, vol. XI, no. 5 (December 1906), and three quarter-page, full-color covers: The Cooking Club, vol. 8, no. 3 (March 1902), Table Talk, vol. V, no. 5 (May 1890), and What To Eat (September 1905).

The Bookshelf

Books in review:

The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s-Eye View of the World by Michael Pollan

Pickled, Potted, and Canned: How the Art and Science of Food Preserving Changed the World by Sue Shephard

The World of Caffeine: The Science and Culture of the World’s Most Popular Drug by Bennett Alan Weinberg and Bonnie K. Bealer

Dangerous Tastes: The Story of Spices by Andrew Dalby

On Right Pleasure and Good Health: A Critical Edition and Translation of “De honesta voluptate et valetudine” Edited and translated by Mary Ella Milham

Libellus de arte coquinaria: An Early Northern Cookery Book Edited and translated by Rudolf Grewe and Constance B. Hieatt

Alcohol, Sex, and Gender in Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe by A. Lynn Martin

Tradewinds & Coconuts: A Reminiscence & Recipes from the Pacific Islands by Jennifer Brennan

Bread of Three Rivers: The Story of a French Loaf by Sara Mansfield Taber

Food and Drink in Literature: A Selectively Annotated Bibliography by Norman Kiell

The Professional Chef, 7th edition by The Culinary Institute of America

Bookends

A few additional reviews...

Secrets of Tsil Café: A Novel with Recipes by Thomas Fox Averill

Heaven on the Half Shell: The Story of the Northwest’s Love Affair with the Oyster by David G. Gordon, Nancy E. Blanton, and Terry Y. Nosho

Lagniappe

Gastronomic Encounters – Who’s Meeting Whom? by Dana Cook

Another puzzler – in this case, three different dialogues are transcribed with names replaced with Xs. The reader is challenged to guess who the principals are based on the date, location, and food eaten. Fun.

Carolyn Tillie · December 1, 2003

One little thing Carolyn hasn't mentioned. I like having the thumbnail bio's of the Contributors, which I usually find myself referring to about a third way through an article.

You are absolutely right - I did forget to include those...

mea culpa.

srhcb · December 1, 2003

One little thing Carolyn hasn't mentioned. I like having the thumbnail bio's of the Contributors, which I usually find myself referring to about a third way through an article.

You are absolutely right - I did forget to include those...
mea culpa.

My comment was not intended as criticism, I assure you. I'm in awe of your undertaking this task!

THANX Again,

SB

Carolyn Tillie · December 1, 2003

One little thing Carolyn hasn't mentioned. I like having the thumbnail bio's of the Contributors, which I usually find myself referring to about a third way through an article.

You are absolutely right - I did forget to include those...
mea culpa.
My comment was not intended as criticism, I assure you. I'm in awe of your undertaking this task!
THANX Again,
SB

Oh, I didn't think so -- I'm just anal-retentive which lends itself well to this project. I will start adding the reference to the writers' bios though!

Thanks!

Carolyn Tillie · December 5, 2003

Summer 2002, Volume 2, Number 3

Cover

Kalers Pond [snoopy] by Meredith Allen. Courtesy of Gracie Mansion Gallery, New York.

This cover depicts a disembodied hand holding a Snoopy-faced melting frozen Popsicle. Although the actual cover did not exist on any of the websites I visited, similar images can be seen here: http://www.wburg.com/0201/articles/allen.html or http://www.meredithallen.com/gallery/12

From the Editor

Hunger Artists by Darra Goldstein

“Gogol’s celebration is tinged with disdain for the ways in which overindulgence of the senses can deprive the spirit…”

Contributors – Mini-biographies.

Borborygmus - Rumblings from the World of Food

Letters to the Editor

Irradiated Food by Mark Rose, Seattle, WA – Commenting on Winter 2002’s article by Robert L. Wolke, wishing there had been a counter-response from an anti-food irradiation specialist and offers some of his own. Wolke has a response.

More Irradiated Food by Wenonah Hauter, Director, Public Citizen’s Critical Mass Energy and Environmental Program, Washington, D.C. – Yet another lengthy tome which is again responded by Wolke.

Eurochocolate in the Eternal City by June DiSchino

An account of a chocolate festival organized by the Rome Tourist Board and The Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

With a one-third, full-color photograph of chocolate eggs lining the stairway at Piazza di Spagna, Rome. Pretty astonishing picture of hundreds of dark and milk chocolate eggs… Also a one-half page, full-color photograph of ”Black Mamie” egg by RoccoBarocco.

akwa by Fabio Parasecoli

About a “dynamic international assemble of young Turks” who organize “ad hoc dinners/happenings in various European and American venues.” Interesting premise – a perusal of their website, http://www.akwa.org shows that nothing has transpired since 2001 (not even the correction of obviously misspelled words!).

Department of Amplification: Tarhana by Nancy Harmon Jenkins

Commenting on William Woys Weaver’s Winter 2002 discussion of trachanas, recalling her own experiences and includes a nice chart of variations from different locales (for example, eggs are added to the basic tarhana dough in Isparta, the Southern mountains.)

Another Accolade

A comment that the May 1 issue of Library Journal named Gastronomica one of the 10 best new magazines of 2001…

Cartoon – by David Sipress

A woman sitting behind a desk, holding a manuscript, says to another woman in front of the desk, “I love the way you weave together stories of your abused childhood with these delightful recipes for muffins and scones.”

Orts and Scantlings

Barbecue Mania by Mark Morton

Etymological history of the word “barbecue” and how Canadians have a shortened season for barbecue which “leads to a seasonal disorder”. With a digression into the foods “most commonly cooked.”

With a half-page, full-color photograph of a neon sign reading, Deluxe Bar-B-Q – Chicken & Ribs.

Feast For The Eye

Philip Guston’s “Poor Richard” by Debra Bricker Balken

Interesting account of a series of foodstuff caricatures of Richard Nixon’s life

With three, quarter-page, black-and-white illustrations, From Philip Guston’s “Poor Richard”, 1971. China ink on paper, 10½ x 14 7/8, “Nixon Cookie,” “Kissinger Pot Pie,” and “Spiro Sponge Cake.”

Anniversary

What I Learned from M.F.K. Fisher About Living After 9/11 by Krishnendu Ray

Very well-written article how an Indian-native found solace in Fisher’s writings, post-9/11.

Poem

Episode with a Potato by Eric Ormsby

“I was skinning a potato when it said:

Please do not gouge my one remaining eye!”

~another thirty some-odd lines…~

The Natural World

Behind the Bee’s Knees by Holley Bishop

An account of keeping bees for honey and pollen, with a bit of history, science, and sociology thrown in. Also, two recipes: Honey Pollen Nut Cake and Honey Pollen Moisturizing Facial Mask.

With a beautiful, full-page, full-color close up of bees on a tray of screened pollen, and a half-page, full-color photograph of John Pluta’s colorful bee yard.

Fiction

Antieros “Tununa Mercado” translated by Peter Kahn;

Commentary – Gastronomy, Eroticism, and Transgression in Tununa Mercado’s “Antieros” by María Claudia André

This is the first time a bit of fiction has appeared in the magazine.

Investigations

Insensible Perspiration and Oily Vegetable Humor: An Eighteenth-Century Controversy over Vegetarianism by Ken Albala

I love this article – it shows that “quack diets are nothing new.”

With a one-third page, black-and-white frontispiece, Santorio Santorio in his weighing chair. From Sanctorious Sanctorius, “Medicina statica: being the aphorisms of Sanctorius,” with introduction by John Quincy (London: W. Newton, 1718). and a full-page, black-and-white plate from Giovanni Alfonso Borelli’s “De motu animalium (Leyden: P. Vander Aa, etc., 1685) depicting a demonstration of leg joints.

Gender on a Plate: The Calibration of Identity in American Macrobiotics by Karlyn Crowley

A very extensive, historical overview of macrobiotic diets, from the 60s guru Timothy Leary to the progenitor, George Ohsawa (originally Yukizaka Sakurazawa, 1893-1966).

With a half-page, black-and-white photograph of Michio Kushi and a quarter-page, full-color photograph of two women enjoying a meal at the Kushi Institute, Becket, MA.

Archive

Of Goose in Gascony: The Making of Confit in Centuries Past by Edward Schneider

Extremely fascinating article (for me, at any rate) on the history of foie gras and confit with a translation of an anonymously written text 18th century text ”Détails des procédés usités en Gascogne pour engraisser et pour confire les oÿes, les canards, les dindes” (“Account of the procedures used in Gascony to fatten and preserve geese, ducks, turkeys”). This includes “How to Cook and Preserve Geese, etc., How to Cut Them Up and Salt Them, Rendering the Fat, How to Preserve the [Goose or Duck] Quarters, Filling the Crocks for Storage, Using the Crocks, Using the Fat and the Quarters, and Garbures, Soups, etc,”

With two, one-quarter page, black-and-white photographs taken between 1938 and 1943 by Pierre Toulgouat in the town of St. Vincent de Paul in the les Landes region depicting feeding a goose.. Also, a one-quarter, full-color reproduction of Facsimilie of the first page of the manuscript. From Michel Guérard, “L’Art et la manière d’engraisser et de confire les öyes et les canards (Pau: Cairn Editions, 1999), p. 10.

Libations

Tokaji: Forever Amber by Miles Lambert-Gocs

A bit of history and overview of this Hungarian sweet wine.

With a half-page, black-and-white photograph of a woman with a bowl of grapes on her head from Harvest 1935 and a one-third page, black-and-white advertisement for Tokaji, circa 1970.

The Global Market

The Banana Project by Doug Fishbone

A fascinating account of a performance artist’s interactive piece installed as part of the Interakcje festival in Piotrkow Trybunalski, Poland.

With a full-page, full-color photograph of a huge pile of green and yellow bananas from the National Gallery, San Jose, Costa Rica, November 18, 2000, and two pages in full-color, one full-page and one half-page, of the Town square, Piotrkow Trybunalski, Poland, May 10, 2001.

Memoir

Broth by Vicki Lindner

A heady and personal account of making brood – or broth – from the author’s favorite cookbook, Lynne Rosetto Kasper’s The Splendid Table.

With a full-page, full-color photograph of Betty Tompkins’ “Foreplay, 1991.” Acrylic on 8” cast-iron pan.

Working on the Food Chain

The American Farmers Market by Lisa M. Hamilton

“This is the type of market that Gourmet or Sunset magazine likes to photograph, where fresh-faced suburban moms collect bright greens and perfect eggplants in wicker baskets…” said author of the new crop of Farmer’s Markets springing up around the country.

With a half-page, black-and-white photograph of a Mennonite selling vegetables. and a quarter-page, full-color reproduction of an outdoor meat market in Pickering Square, Bangor, Maine, ca. 1906.

On The Home Front

Broken Bread by Kathryn Hibbert

A poetic remembrance of bread making within a family.

With a stunning, up close, full-page, full-color photograph of a loaf, ripped in half, one half stacked atop the other.

Chef’s Page

Tony Tan’s Cooking Classes, Melbourne, Australia by Tony Tan

Another chef discusses how a career in the kitchen came through early cooking with Mom.

With a half-page (vertical), full-color photograph of a nineteenth-century enamel tiffin carrier.

Language

French for Foodies Margo Miller

About French food slang with a list of twenty or so of the most famous.

Illustrated by Charles Philipon with four pear-like Caricatures of King Louis-Philippe, 1831.

Shopping

East of Eden: Sin and Redemption at the Whole Foods Market by Benjamin Aldes Wurgaft

Rather high-handed look at Whole Foods with five ‘sections’: Genesis: in which the world, the concept of sin, and cooperative gardening are created; Exodus: looking for a way to escape sin; Exodus II: learning to eat from the right tree; Leviticus: or the way to make any foodstuff whole; Numbers: activism, religion, and shopping are all the same; and Deuteronomy: the shape of things to come.

I think putting the Whole Foods Corporation within a religious context is stretching it a bit.

Review Essays

Social Settings by Susan Williams

Compares two books, The Ladies’ Etiquette Book: The Importance of Being Refined in the 1880s edited by David E. Schoonover, foreword by Kenneth Cmiel and The Art of the Table: A Complete Guide to Table Setting, Table Manners, and Tableware by Suzanne Von Drachenfels.

With a full-page, black-and-white frontispiece depicting five scenes of home life from John H. Young’s Our Deportment, or the Manners, Conduct, and Dress of the Most Refined Society (Detroit and St. Louis: F.B. Dickerson & Co., 1882).

When Readables Become Edibles by Beatrice Fink

Reviews Livres en bouche: Cinq siècles d’art culinaire français (XIVe-XVIIIe siècle), Exhibit, Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal (21 November 2001 – 17 February 2002)

Extremely positive overview and review of an exhibit in France. Wished I had been there…

With a one-third page, black-and-white Seventeenth-century illustration of carving. From “Manuel de découpe à l’usage des voyageurs. De sectione mensaria XVII XVII. as well as some pages from an antiquarian book published in Dijon between 1689 and 1704. Also shown is a one-third page, full-color seventeenth-century collation served “en Ambigu” for the exhibition.

The Bookshelf

Books in review:

Culture of the Fork: A Brief History of Food in Europe by Giovanni Rebora. Translated by Albert Sonnenfeld

Medieval Arab Cookery: Essays and Translations by Maxime Rodinson, A.J. Arberry, and Charles Perry, with a foreword by Claudia Roden.

Carolyn’s note – I love this book!

Habeus Codfish: Reflections on Food and the Law by Barry M. Levenson

A Time for Tea: Women, Labor, and Post/Colonial Politics of an Indian Plantation by Piya Chatterjee

Starving on a Full Stomach: Hunger and the Triumph of Cultural Racism in Modern South Africa by Diana Wylie

Enriching the Earth: Fritz Haber, Carl Bosch and the Transformation of World Food Production by Vaclav Smil

The Devil’s Larder by Jim Crace

The Cheese Room: Discover, Eat and Cook the World’s Best Cheeses by Patricia Michelson

Stuffed: Adventures of a Restaurant Family by Patricia Volk

Bookends

A few more smaller reviews:

Chorizos in an Iron Skillet: Memories and Recipes from an American Basque Daughter by Mary Ancho Davis

The Little Book of Coffee by Alain Stella

The Little Book of Tea by Kitti Cha Sangmancee, Catherine Donzel, Stephane Melchior-Durand, and Alain Stella

Lagniappe

The Gourmand’s Lament by Caryl S. Avery

Another poem – I’m no good at commenting on poetry…

Carolyn’s editorial note on this issue – not enough recipes… I liked how there were a number of recipes in the previous issue but this one, although there are fabulous articles, are missing that nice touch!

Collard_Green · December 8, 2003

Here's a book to read.....all about eating.

http:www.members.cox.net/carson

Enjoy,

Carson Collard Green Hughes

Compeititve Eater

ChocoKitty · December 8, 2003

Lagniappe
The Gourmand’s Lament by Caryl S. Avery
Another poem – I’m no good at commenting on poetry…

I loved this poem! At first I didn't quite get it, and then I read it aloud. I thought it was really clever.

Carolyn Tillie · December 12, 2003

Fall 2002, Volume 2, Number 4

Cover

”Tomato Eater” by Gail Skoff.

I guess they liked Ms. Skoff’s presentation in the Spring, 2002 issue. Here are my notes from that presentation: Ms. Skoff is known for her food photography for Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse Cooking and Paul Bertolli’s Cooking by Hand cookbooks. This photograph is a close-up of mustached man, eating a tomato with gusto. There was apparently some controversy over the picture as the man’s fingers are very dirty.

From the Editor

Cook’s Block by Darra Goldstein

“…now the world is our oyster, and there’s no red tide stemming it.”

Comments on how, as an editor, she has too much to choose from in designing these journals.

Contributors – Mini-biographies.

Borborygmus - Rumblings from the World of Food

Letters to the Editor

Mangled Menus by François de Mélogue, an uneducated chef in Damascus, Virginia – Generally ecstatic about the magazine with numerous compliments plus a stab at Arthur Schwartz’s article from Spring, 2001. Schwartz provides a response.

The Bloomsday Diet by Robert Palmer, Dana Professor of the History of Science, Emeritus, Trinity College – A response to Elizabeth Petrosian’s Winter 2002 piece where Petrosian is corrected on a number of James Joyce’s Ulysses food references.

Yak Cheese by Janet Fouts

An account of how Jonathan and Nina Stein White, New Jersey cheesemakers, went to Tibet to assist in the development of a Tibetan product suitable for Western consumption and sale.

With a one-third, black-and-white photograph of a Yak grazing in eastern Tibet.

Scratch ‘n Sniff by Jim Stark

Odd account a DJ duo named “German Cassis” and “Serena ‘Swiss Miss’ Jost.” Based in Brooklyn, NY, the duo mixes beats while baking sweets. From their website, www.djscratchandsniff.com: “Original sounds and homemade samples are cut with grooves featuring music created by the duo and their own pool of musicians and composers. The dj's simultaneously bake chocolate chip cookies, seducing the senses with sweet smells and ambient sound--the perfect mix on an audible and edible level.”

Whatever.

Gastronomic Encounters

An announcement of some awards given via the Spring, 2002 contest.

Conference

An announcement of a The Nineteenth-Century Studies Association 23rd annual conference, the theme of which was “Feasts and Famine.”

Query: Tomatoes

Author Lawrence Davis-Hollander requests historical and recent recipes from readers for a Tomato cookbook in the works.

Orts and Scantlings

No Cakes for High Muckamucks by Mark Morton

An account of a Native American named Tisquantum, a member of the Pawtuxet tribe, and how many native American words became integrated into American vernacular.

With a half-page, full-color photograph of a fish’s head, eyes glazed over.

Feast For The Eye

Mikhail Larionov’s “Still Life with Crayfish by Sonya Bekkerman

Larionov is a Russian Cubist painter, circa 1900 to 1930. This article is an interesting account of the artist’s life as well as the art itself in its historical context.

With half-page, full-color reproduction of said painting, 1907.

Poem

Recipe for S&M Marmalade by Judith Pacht

“Blood orange

should be eaten

naked,

blushing,

cupped

in the palm.”

…and another twenty- or thirty-some lines…

Memoir

Remembering Daddy by Miriam Sauls

Mildly sappy account of a childhood through the Father’s sharing and love of food.

With a full-page, black-and-white photograph of Cousin Sam and brother Chuck after a successful hunt for our game dinner ~picture depicts a dinner, hung by its hind quarters, from a tree, with two gun-wielding men on either side of said venison. Also, a quarter-page, black-and-white photograph of Daddy in his “Kiss the Chef” Christmas toque.

Origins

Cheesecakes, Junkets, and Syllabubs by Carol Wilson

Very fascinating, well-annotated history of three dairy-based desserts, with some Bronze Age and Roman references. Includes five recipes: Tart de Bry, Tart de Bry (modern recipe), Junket, Syllabub, ca. 1800, and Syllabub (modern recipe).

With a quarter-page reproduction of a spouted glass vessel for syllabub, made by George Ravenscroft around 1677. From Peter Brears, “Food and Cooking in 17th Century Britain: History and Recipes” (London: English Heritage, 1985).

Archive

Specialized Cookbooks from “Mad Magazine” by Dick De Bartolo and George Woodbridge

A two-page spread of six different cookbook covers: The Little Kids’ Cookbook, Cooking for One, The Dieter’s Cookbook, Cooking for the Filthy Rich, The Teen-Age Cookbook, and The Serviceman’s Cookbook. Very humorous.

Visionaries

”The Only Place to Eat in Berkeley”: Hank Rubin and the Pot Luck by Barry Glassner

The Pot Luck was a restaurant in Berkeley that was open from the 1960s into the 1970s. This is an account of the owner, the complications involved with opening the restaurant, its traditions, menu, and influence on the world of wine. (Rubin became wine editor for Bon Appetit magazine in 1969. A rather inspiration story.

With a full page, black-and-white photograph of Hank Rubin and a quarter-page, black-and-white painting of the Pot Luck restaurant by Lou Macouillard from Ford Times, May, 1971.

Investigations

From Cave to Café: Artists Gatherings by Robert Chirico

Interesting story of where artists throughout history tend to gather – and why and how food became an integral part of their gatherings. Very well researched and cohesive.

With a full-page, black-and-white photograph of A Back Table at the Five Spot, New York City. Interesting that Gastronomica doesn’t reference the date of this picture. A surf of the web produced this link about the picture (which was shot in 1957): http://jacketmagazine.com/06/hoover.html

Also, a half-page, black-and-white reproduction of Johan Tobias Sergel’s Youths Playing “Klyfva Wigg”, 1791; a quarter-page, black-and-white reproduction of Jan Steen’s Meeting of the Rhectoricians (again, not dated, but researched to reveal Steen as a Dutch Baroque painter, c. 1625 to 1679); and finally, a full-page, full-color reprint of Philip de Konnick’s Bacchanalia, 1654. Stunning.

Just Like Home: “Home Cooking” and the Domestication of the American Restaurant by Samantha Barbas

How, starting around World War I, the role of cooking in middle-class homes changed with an account how, in 1924, the National Restaurant Association presented an exhibition on the art of “commercializing home cooking.” Heavily annotated research.

With a full-page, full-color reproduction of the February, 1927 cover of The American Restaurant: The Magazine for Eating Places; a half-page, black-and-white reproduction of an advertisement for ”None Such Mince Pies” from The American Restaurant, November, 1925, p. 63; and a one-third page, black-and-white reproduction of ”Grey Manor, Dayton, Ohio” from The American Restaurant, March, 1926, p. 45.

Past Pleasures

”Deviled Ham Untouched by Human Hands”: Food-Related Vintage Stereoviews by Jeanne Schinto

“A stereoview consists of two small square photographs (usually three by three inches), mounted side by side…[they] are meant to be viewed through a stereoscope, which causes the brain to fuse the two flat photographs into a three-dimensional one.” This is pretty fascinating article by virtue of the fact that I never knew there was a such a history about them AND that there were so many diverse images related to food.

Four different stereoviews were reproduced: 1; black-and-white, one-third of one page, of Flora Muybridge, pregnant, with a bough of pears n.d., 2; sepia-toned, two-thirds over two pages, depicting a man, hefting a large knife over a large egg, out of which is emerging a live chicken’s head (not a chick!), with the caption, ”Great Scott! I don’t remember ordering chicken for breakfast!” Keystone View Company, 1907, 3; black-and-white, one-third of one page, State Dinner for Prince Henry, East Room of the White House. Stereoview from The Imperial Series, H.C. White Company, 1902, and 4; black-and-white, one-third of one page, Liberty Bell of Apples at the World’s Fair, 1893.

Working on the Food Chain

Big Cheese, Small Business by Beth Dooley

In depth article about artisinal cheese makers, Mary and Dave Falk of LoveTree Farmstead Cheese in the Trade Lake area of northern Wisconsin.

At The Movies

Bent Hamer’s “Psalms from the Kitchen by Jim Stark

From IMDB.com: ”Salmer fra kjøkkenet” is a very enjoyable feel good-film. It is based on true events that took place in the 50's, when Swedish scientists measured the movements of housewives to make more rational kitchens (It's true!). Although director Bent Hamer twitches (of course) the truth a bit, the film takes a basis in these experiments. Encouraged by their marvelous discoveries, the Swedish scientists decide to expand their experiments to include elderly single Norwegian men. Because the film was in post-production during the release of the journal, The Gastronomica article is an English translation of an excerpt of the shooting script.

With a full-page, full-color photograph of Isak (Joachim Clameyer) at his kitchen table – the gentleman is looking away from the camera but is holding a knife above a table-full of partially butchered meats. Also, a half-page diagram of a housewife’s travels between various places in the kitchen during a four-week period.

Poem

Aunty’s Eggplant by Cynthia Imperatore

Note from author: I asked my ninety-year-old aunt for the eggplant recipe she had taught my father, her younger brother, now long dead. As she recounted the process, fixed in her mind through years of repetition, I remembered my father’s own elaborate preparation and recorded her words, which appear in italics. As follows, the first few lines:

Eggplant was an all-day affair in my house growing up

Medium sized, firm. Deep purple.

an affair of the heart and of the palate, a ritual.

Feel for the lighter ones – less seeds.

Another two-dozen or so lines continue…

With a full-page, black-and-white photograph of several eggplants lovingly displayed in a decorative, porcelain bowl.

Photographs

Mentawai Album by Charles Lindsay

Charles Lindsay is a photographer but his account of consuming monkey head soup is nothing compared to the full-color photographs.

A full-page depiction of Monkey head soup, a page-and-a-half photograph of Tumbu holding a fruit bat (ultimately consumed as well), a full-page of Bai Lau Lau and Tingi, a mother and child and a half-page shot of a pot full of grubs taken from a sagu trunk, to be cooked in bamboo. All pictures taken in 1989.

Libations

Liquid History by Noah Rothbaum

Amazing account of Salvatore Calabrese, who is trying to track down historical bottles of cognac, such as those that were bottled when Thomas Jefferson was President.

With a one-third page, full-color photograph of Salvatore Calabrese at The Library Bar, The Lanesborough Hotel, London.

WWFood

France: Dining with the Doom Generation by Lucie Perineau

A somewhat depressing account of vegetarians in France.

With a full-page, full-color photograph of three people dining with the caption, Eating on the Edge of the Night, Nimes, France, 2002

Chef’s Page

Beyond the Berlin Wall by Marcel Biró, with Shannon Kring Biró

Heartfelt account of apprentice chefs working in East Germany. “I have lived in two different worlds, one of deprivation and oppression, the other of abundance and choice. In moving from the former to the latter, I have come to fully comprehend the value of freedom.”

Notes on Vintage Volumes

The Mince Pie That Launched the Declaration of Independence and Other Recipes in Rhyme by Jan Longone

Charming, whimsical accounting and reprinting of five rhymed recipes, from 1864 to 1927: Oyster Cocktail, Stewed Duck and Peas, Corn Bread and Boston Brown Bread, Old Virginia Mince Pie, and Cheese Radish. The first four lines of the Oyster Cocktail, for example are:

If the right amount you take,

This will just seven cocktails make.

In each glass three raw oysters toss,

And stand aside till you make your sauce.

With a half-page, black-and-white reproduction of Recipe for Cheese Relish from “A Book of Practical Recipes.” Compiled and Published by the Ladies of the South Side Presbyterian Church, Pittsburg, PA., March, 1907. plus Cover of “A Poetical Cook-Book.” Philadelphia: Caxton Press of C. Sherman, Son & Co., 1864..

Review Essays

Salt by Dana Polan

A compare and contrast of two books: Salt: a World History by Mark Kurlansky and Salt: Grain of Life by Pierre Laszlo, translated by Mary Beth Mader.

With two facing, two-thirds page, black-and-white engravings from Georgius Agricola, “De re metalica,” Book XII. Basil: in Officina Frobeniana, 1561, pp. 450-451.

Chocolate: From Bean to Bar by Ellen M. Schnepel

A compare and contrast of three books: The New Taste of Chocolate: A Cultural and Natural History of Cacao with Recipes by Maricel E. Presilla, Chocolate: The Nature of Indulgence by Ruth Lopez, and Crafting the Culture and History of French Chocolate by Susan J. Terrio.

With a half-page, full-color photograph of Venezuelan cacao workers. From Maricel E. Presilla, “The New Taste of Chocolate: A Cultural and Natural History of Cacao with Recipes” (Berkeley: Ten Speed Press, 2001), p. 33)

The Bookshelf

Books in Review include:

Hangering for America: Italian, Irish, and Jewish Foodways in the Age of Migration by Hasia Diner

Eat My Words: Reading Women’s Lives Through the Cookbooks They Wrote by Janet Theophano

Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health by Marion Nestle

In the Shadows of State and Capital: The United Fruit Company, Popular Struggle, and Agrarian Restructuring in Ecuador, 1900-1995 by Steve Striffler

Eating Right in the Renaissance by Ken Albala

French Food: On the Table, On the Page, and In French Culture edited by Lawrence R. Schehr and Allen S. Weiss

Remembrance of Repasts: An Anthropology of Food and Memory by David E. Sutton

The Wine Bible by Karen MacNeil

Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini: The Essential Reference by Elizabeth Schneider

Cakewalk: Adventures in Sugar with Margaret Braun by Margaret Braun

Bookends

A few more shorter reviews:

The English Table: Trifle by Helen Saberi and Alan Davidson

Teapots Transformed: Exploration of an Object by Leslie Ferrin

A Veritable Scoff: Sources on Foodways and Nutrition in Newfoundland and Labradour by Maura Hanrahan and Marg Ewtushik

Lagniappe

Nero Blanc’s Recipe for the Perfect Yule Log by Nero Blanc

Another crossword puzzle.

srhcb · December 21, 2003

Carolyn,

You're going faster than I can remember to comment!

Keep up the good work.

SB

PS: Just in case I forget, I gotta go on record saying how much I loved the "Tomato Eater" cover on the Fall 02 issue.

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