DIGEST: Gastronomica

[Carolyn Tillie]

Winter 2004, Volume 4, Number 1

Cover

Supper (1902), by Leon Bakst. Owned by the State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg.

“Leon Bakst (Lev Samoilovich Rosenberg) was born in a middle class Jewish family in Grodno, Belarus, on May 10, 1866 and died in Paris on December 27, 1924. He was educated at the gymnasium in St. Petersburg and then at the Academy of Fine Arts. He started his artistic career as an illustrator for magazines but changed his mind when he met Aleksandr Benois. He travelled through Europe and came in contact with European artists. After his return to St Petersburg, he began to gain notoriety for his book designs and his portraits. In 1898, together with Benois and Serge Diaghilev, he founded the group World of Art (Mir Iskusstva). In 1906 he became a teacher of drawing in Yelizaveta Zvantseva's private art school where, among other students, he taught Marc Chagall.” http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~sasha/ag_dev.html

From the Editor

Food from the Heart by Darra Goldstein

“If a dish resonates for us, then it should be considered authentic enough.”

Contributors – Mini-biographies.

Borborygmus

To the Editor

Ethnic Eateries by Paul van Reyk, Petersham, New South Wales, Australia.

Wishing. Commenting on the Summer 2003 article “Why Ethnic Eateries Have Terrible Service” by Krishnedu Ray. Ray’s response to the complaint followed.

Of Gluttony and Temptation by Beatrice Fink, Paris. Commenting on the Spring, 2003 article by Ray Boisvert, “Gluttony” indicating some errors by the author and offering first-hand information to the contrary. Raymond Boisvert thanks Ms. Fink for the clarification.

In Memoriam: Estel “Ed” Wood Kelley by Lisa Heldke

A eulogy of the entrepreneur that brought us such products as Tang, A-1 Steak Sauce, Cool Whip, Klondike Ice Cream Bars, Grey Poupon mustard, and Smirnoff vodka.

A Cuppa Tea by Chitrita Banerji

A review of a Summer 2003 installation exhibit “Yankee Remix” at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art by Calcutta-born Rina Banerjee who utilizes tea in the central theme. Info on the artist: http://www.engology.com/eng5banerjee.htm

With a two-thirds page, full-color depiction of the artist’s installation Contagious Spaces/Preserving Pink Eye, 2003.

The Pisco Wars by Daniel Joelson

An interesting look at the dispute between Chile and Peru of ownership rights to a grape liquor, Piso.

With a one-third page, full-color photograph of bottles of Pisco from Chile and Peru. The article includes a recipe for a Pisco Sour.

Oxford Symposium

Announcement of the subject matter for the 2004 Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery: Wild Foods.

Berkshires Cuisine

Announcement of the Massachusetts Institute of Contemporary Culture holding three one-week courses on the gastronomic richness of the Berkshires.

The Iceman Cometh

Announcement of an exhibit at the William L. Clements Library at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor exploring the American ice industry.

Orts and Scantlings

Eat Your Words by Mark Morton

Earthy, bawdy article on the erotic aspects of food language.

With a half-page, full-color photograph depicting the mouth of an obviously young girl, with full pink lips, back-lit in orange, biting into a fluorescent green Popsicle.

Feast for the Eye

Delicious Deception – Wax Parlor Art in Nineteenth-Century America by Dorothy Moss

History of and review of an art exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art depicting wax food.

With a two-thirds page, full-color photograph of Wax Fruit and Dessert Arrangement. United State, ca. 1860-1880. Beeswax, paraffin, tempera, glass, and wood. Height 19 inches (48.3 cm). Wax Flower-Making Kit. United States, ca. 1860-1880. Colored paper and board, glass, powder pigments, wire, beeswax, gilded brass, wood, paper patterns, and hair.

Poetry

To Jacques Pépin by Shanna Compton

Touch me

with your impeccably clean hands.

Go ahead: Say “beutter,” instead of “butter.”

I can take it.

Poem continues for another 14 lines. Rather erotic.

Family History

If This Is Wednesday, It Must Be Liver Loaf by Will Pritchard

How a man in his mid-30s, discovered much about his 100-plus-year-old grandmother after inheriting her cookbooks.

With a full-page, black-and-white photograph of William H. and Marion L. Pritchard, the author’s grandparents, in the Adirondacks in the 1930s.

Religion

Divine Liturgy by D. Wood

Fascinating account of the Divine Tracy Hotel in Philadelphia, whose genesis was the Peace Mission Movement under the guidance of Father Divine early last century.

With a half-page, black-and-white photograph of Father Divine’s Delicatessen, Grocery, and Vegetable Store, one of the dozens of businesses operated by the Peace Mission Movement in the 1930s and 1940s. also, a half-page, black-and-white photograph entitled; Marriage Feast of the Lamb, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Father Divine and his wife mark the eighth anniversary of their marriage. April 29, 1954..

Terroir

The Spirit of Place by Lawrence Osborne

Oddly meandering account of how the place where a wine is made – or the memory of where a wine is first experienced – determines the esoteric qualities in wine.

With a page-and-a-half, full-color photograph of a woman climbing a hill, between grape vines, entitled; Sunset over mature vines at Chalone Vineyards. Also, a half-page, full-color long shot of Mature vines at Chalone Vineyards.

Technology

The Clockwork Roasting Jack, or How Technology Entered the Kitchen by Jeanne Schinto

Great story about how a husband’s obsession with gadgets provided an investigation into one of the first technological advances in cooking after he acquired one for the author. Well-researched and annotated.

With a two-thirds page, sepia-toned vertical illustration, The mechanics of a roasting jack. From Joseph Moxon, “Mechanick Exercises. Or the Doctrine of Handy-Works” (Printed for Dan. Midwinter and Tho. Leigh, at the Rose and Crown in St. Paul’s-Church-Yard, 1703), p. 38.

Also, a one-half page, black-and-white image Thomas Rowlandson (1756-1827), “Kitchen at Newcastle Emlyn.”

Lastly, a half-page, black-and white reproduction from a book, An eighteenth-century clockwork roasting jack. Frontispiece from Martha Bradley, “The British Housewife” (London, 1756).

Taste

Food Science and Consumer Taste by Alain-Claude Roudot

I often get lost reading anything remotely scientific due to the jargon involved. This article is not an exception as I almost gave at the beginning of the first section because the author began quoting statistics (a real turn off). However, a header entitled The Nineteenth Century kept me going and reasonably interested. The illustration didn’t hurt:

Full-page, black-and-white plate from Polycarpe Poncelet’s ”Chimie du gout et de l’odorat” (1755). From a facsimile edition published by Klincksiek in 1993.

Investigations

Chunky Soup – The “Sumotori” Diet by Jonathan Deutsch

Warning: Your trusty editor cannot be remotely objective about her love of this article due to its subject matter…

How Sumo wrestlers bulk up. That’s it in a nutshell. Beautiful, isn’t it? Complete with a recipe for Chankonabe, the meat or fish and vegetable stew steeped in tradition that helps these men of girth maintain their poundage.

With one-third page, color photograph of a lower-ranked wrestler at Takasago-beya serves his “senpai” (elder) a steaming bowl of “chankonabe.” Also, a half-page, full-color photograph wherein sumo wrestlers gather for lunch after a hard day of practice at Takasago-beya in Tokyo. On the left is former Hawaiian wrestler Konishiki, because of his high rank seated in a chair in defence to his size and preference.

Feeding Your Face – Fan Fare and Status at a Sumo Tournament by Merry White

Exquisitely fascinating story on how and why the fans of sumo wrestling are fed. Who knew of the Edo-period dressed caterers who provide fare for hundreds of the most devoted fans in their boxed seats? Did you know there is a hierarchy of fandom? Guests of sponsor companies are treated and fed differently than simple long-standing fans (yep, there is a cool Japanese name to differentiate these groups). Damn, I want to go to a basho!

Haunted Kitchens – Cooking and Remembering by Jean Duruz

I like to know what an article is about before I start reading it – I don’t necessarily want to commit to reading a full article about something that may not interest me. In the case of this article, the title belies the hidden reference to a deeply philosophical, almost over-intellectualized concept of Rupert Sheldrake’s morphogenetic resonances as it relates to cooking. If you understand what I am referring to, you will understand the complex language in which this article was written kept me from finishing it.

With three beautiful, full-page, full-color modern art pieces. I can’t tell you created them however. They don’t seem to be referenced.

Americana

Quick Lunch by Jan Whitaker

Historically inquisitive account of the genesis of lunch rooms. Specific comments about the Astor House lunch and history of the “dairy lunch.” Well annotated.

With a half-page, full-color photograph of the Interior of Demonet’s Lunch, on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. Here patrons have a choice of standing at the central counters or sitting at a table. The presence of tables usually was a signal to women that they were welcome.

Ritual

Agni’s Flames by Raghavan Iyer

First hand, story-like account of the food-related rituals which occur in an Indian household; from the birth of a baby boy to the death of the patriarch. Well written.

Fashion

Food + Clothing = by Robert Kushner

An artist’s account of how “the juxtaposition of the nude body with food has always fascinated” him. Interesting that a relatively well-known artist Robert Kushner, had little or no information available online about this particular artistic endeavor. Illustrations include:

A full-page, black-and-white photograph, Pretzel Decolleté with Collard Skirt, 1994 showing a well-muscled nude black man, wearing a skirt made up of collard greens and three large necklaces, one of pretzels and the other of what looks like onion rings.

A half-page, black-and-white photograph of Pineapple Falsies, displayed at “Robert Kushner and Friends Eat their Clothes,” New York, 1972.

A full-page, black-and-white photograph, Asparagus Vest depicts a nude woman with not only a vest of asparagus, but also necklaces of radishes and scallions, a necklace of sliced salami, and a headdress of parsley and radishes.

Lastly, a full-page, black-and-white photograph of another well-muscled white man entitled Sourdough Epaulettes, 1994 where the model is wearing (guess what?) sourdough bread epaulettes, fringed with scallions, red cabbage leaf gloves, and a codpiece of eggplant.

Shopping

Fancy Groceries by Robert Kaufelt

How the son of a grocer turned a local, neighborhood grocery store into a chain of gourmet shops.

With a two-third page, black-and-white photograph of a grocery cart, from the pusher’s perspective.

Also, a one-quarter page, full-color photograph of the closed, gated entry to Balducci’s, dated 2002.

WWFOOD

South Africa’s Rainbow Cuisine by Lannice Snyman

An all-too-brief history of the development of South African cuisine with an overview of how different immigrants influenced the genre. The article SHOULD have been as long as that Haunted Kitchen thing…

With a stunning, two-thirds page photograph showing gathering “waterblommetjies” at Voëlvlei Farm at Piketberg, South Africa. The beauty in the photograph is the striking colors of the gatherer’s purplish-blue boats and shirts contrasting with their emerald green waste waders. Absolutely a great photograph.

Chef’s Page

Pierre Hermé – Creating a Collection by Dorie Greenspan

This author has collaborated on several Hermé cookbooks so it is a well-written account of Hermé’s haute couture-like presentations of seasonal collections of desserts including an analysis of the creative process.

At The Movies

”A Love Supreme” and “Dim Sum” by Sukhdev Sandhu

A review of these two food-related flicks. Funny, I don’t even remember hearing about them… but our author enjoyed them.

With a half-page montage of nine black-and-white miniature screen shots from A Love Supreme.

Review Essay

A Journey to the West – Chinese Food in Western Countries by Yong Chen

China to Chinatown : Chinese Food in the West (Globalities) by J.A.G. Roberts

Shopping at Giant Foods: Chinese American Supermarkets in Northern California by Alfred Yee

The Bookshelf

Books in Review

Pasta: The Story of a Universal Food by Silvano Serventi and Françoise Sabban

Feast and Folly: Cuisine, Intoxication, and the Poetics of the Sublime (Suny Series in Postmodern Culture) by Allen S. Weiss

Around the Table of the Romans: Food and Feasting in Ancient Rome by Patrick Faas

Bread and Oil: Majorcan Culture's Last Stand by Tomás Graves

Refined Taste: Sugar, Confectionery, and Consumers in Nineteenth-Century America (John Hopkins University Studies in Historical and Political Science, 120thno. 1) by Wendy A. Woloson

Matters of Taste: Food and Drink in Seventeenth-Century Dutch Art and Life by Donna R. Barnes, Peter G. Rose, Albany Institute of History and Art

Eating Apes (California Studies in Food and Culture, 6) by Dale Peterson, Karl Ammann, Janet K. Museveni

The Changing Chicken: Chooks, Cooks and Culinary Culture by Jane Dixon

It Must've Been Something I Ate: The Return of the Man Who Ate Everything by Jeffrey Steingarten

Restaurant Empire Enlight Software, 2003

Bookends

Early French Cookery: Sources, History, Original Recipes and Modern Adaptations by D. Eleanor Scully, Terence Peter Scully

Feast Your Eyes: The Unexpected Beauty of Vegetable Gardens by Susan J. Pennington, Ann C. Easterling, Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service

Human Evolution Cookbook by Harold Lewis Dibble, Dan Williamson, Brad M. Evans

Lagniappe

Terms of Endearment by Karen Salmansohn

Four pink-toned “postcards” of food-related endearments in four languages: Cupcake (small cake formation) in English, Zuckerschnecke (sugar snail) in German, whater the Cyrillic word for my little carrot is in Russian, and whatever the Brazilian phrase for my little coconut treat in Brazilian…

Edited August 24, 2004 by Carolyn Tillie (log)

[raghavan iyer]

Agni’s Flames by Raghavan Lyer

First hand, story-like account of the food-related rituals which occur in an Indian household; from the birth of a baby boy to the death of the patriarch. Well written.

Carolyn - your thoroughness amazes me. Wow! Just a quick note, I am an Iyer and not a Lyer...honest! Thanks for liking the story.

[Carolyn Tillie]

Agni’s Flames by Raghavan Lyer

First hand, story-like account of the food-related rituals which occur in an Indian household; from the birth of a baby boy to the death of the patriarch. Well written.

Carolyn - your thoroughness amazes me. Wow! Just a quick note, I am an Iyer and not a Lyer...honest! Thanks for liking the story.

Sincerest apologies, Raghavan. Had I the skill to go back and edit my own data input, I would do so... Sometimes I'm typing these things on the sly at work and try to double check them before I post them.

Appreciate the compliment though -- I liked your article... When I do this, it is hard to not write commentary on every story ('cuz ya all know how damned opinionated I am and it would be so easy to slam some of these!). But I found your's engaging and heart-warming. Cheers.

[srhcb]

When I do this, it is hard to not write commentary on every story ('cuz ya all know how damned opinionated I am and it would be so easy to slam some of these!).

Permit me then?

Although I have nothing against food or sex, or the intermingling of the two, I'm growing a bit weary of some aspect of innuendo being almost a prerequisite for publication in Gastronomica, or many other journals devoted to either of the two topics, especially when the treatment takes on quasi-intellectual tones.

The offending articles in this issue have already been pointed out in Carolyn's review, so I'll concentrate on parts I enjoyed.

First, since it's already been mentioned, I note that I lalso liked Raghavan Iyer's story. Food, family and culture always make for an interesting combination, especially when presented in a thougth provoking fashion.

I enjoyed the two sumo related articles, and the historical pieces on ice, Father Divine, the Roasting Jack and lunch rooms.

I was also unaware of the films, ”A Love Supreme” and “Dim Sum”, reviewed by Sukhdev Sandhu, but found the subjects intriquing.

The center piece of this issue, "Haunted Kitchens – Cooking and Remembering" by Jean Duruz, was, shall I say, overbearing? I'm not saying it was right, wrong, or unprofessionally rendered, but let's say the pictures that accompanied it were "appropriate" in being ther being impossible to describe with words.

At least I was able to pick a good Ruth Reichel quote from this article, where she says, in referring to her biography, "Everything here is true but it may not be entirely factual." I've quoted this several times to counter overly journalisitc type arguments on both food and other subjects.

The fact that this article takes up twelve pages of the magazine I believe makes it the longest piece published in Gastro to date? This can't be a good sign.

RE: "It Must've Been Something I Ate: The Return of the Man Who Ate Everything", by Jeffrey Steingarten. I am reminded (again!), that I still have to obtain and read this book. (note to self.......

And, once again, my thanks to Carolyn for undertaking this project. Since I still haven't recieved my copy of Summer 04, you're technically only one issue away from being caught up!

[Carolyn Tillie]

And, once again, my thanks to Carolyn for undertaking this project. Since I still haven't recieved my copy of Summer 04, you're technically only one issue away from being caught up!

You are my best cheerleader -- I wouldn't keep doing this without you, SRHCB!

And thank you for backing me up on the Duruz piece. I actually tried to re-read it several times to see if I was just being overly dense. Nope -- it was...

Cheers.

[srhcb]

And thank you for backing me up on the Duruz piece. I actually tried to re-read it several times to see if I was just being overly dense. Nope -- it was...

Cheers.

I went back and re-read "Haunted Kitchens" myself. While the article contains several interesting anecdotes and many insightful comments, I still fail to grasp any unifying theme or codifying point. Perhaps Gasto's editors just took Ms. Duruz's word that there was one?

BTW, I recieved my Summer 04 issue today, so "we're" officially two behand again.

SB (was it really spelled "Froot" Loops?)

[Carolyn Tillie]

"we're" officially two behand again.

"We" are going to work really hard on getting caught up and not letting months go by before getting the next digest up!

Thanks for your patience...

[foggygurl]

I'm just in love with the magazine and kudos go to Darra Goldstein for the courage to see food and dining as an erotic experience and say so. One particular issue with a cover of a rustic farmworker eating a raw tomato was a bit too erotic. The magazine was pulled from the shelves of several small bookstores claiming it to be over the top.

Tomatoes over the top?? What's next? Zuccinini?

[Carolyn Tillie]

Thanks again for all your patience -- between the wine country harvest, my Mum's passing, and a recent car crash, the digesting has somewhat gotten away from me. I WILL have the next issue in the line up posted before Christmas and the one after that before New Year's (it is a quiet time at the winery -- I have time for catch up).

Thanks again for everyone's encouragement!

[srhcb]

BTW: When did you all receive your last (Fall 04) issue of Gastro?

There was some discussion about article in it on another thread nearly a month ago, but my copy just arrived (here in MN) last Monday.

Another subscriber I know (in MI) got her's last Friday!

Is Gastro discriminating against their Midwest readers?

SB (maybe "we" are the corpus of Gastro's Midwest subscribers?)

[Carolyn Tillie]

BTW: When did you all receive your last (Fall 04) issue of Gastro?

←

Mine arrived today!

BTW, I'll be posting my next installment in the next day or so.... REALLY!

[Carolyn Tillie]

Spring 2004, Volume 4, Number 2

Cover

Homme (1920), by Man Ray. Jedermann Collection, N.A. Image © 2004 Man Ray Trust/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris. Photographic image of a now-antique hand-crank egg beater.

From the Editor

The Way We Live Now by Darra Goldstein

“We stop to savor the moment, to contemplate the vigor of vegetables, the sensuality of sausage.”

Contributors – Mini-biographies.

Borborygmus – Rumblings from the World of Food

To the Editor

Persian Miniatures by Najmieh Batmanglij, Washington, DC.

Commenting on the Fall 2003 article “Haft Awrang” by Katie M. Ziglar. Correcting several points in Ms. Ziglar’s article.

Mock Foods Deborah L. Miller, St. Paul, MN. Commenting on the Spring, 2003, “In Praise of Mock Foods” where Ms. Miller adds to the discussion with Midwestern insight and includes several recipes; Mock Apple Pie and Elephant Stew

Pottles by James Semple, London, UK

Commenting on the Fall, 2003 article “Coffins, Pipkins, and Pottles” by Mark Morton. Mr. Semple suggests that Mr. Morton may have missed some of the definitions of the word “pottle.” Mr. Morton responded and added some additional definitions.

Alan Davidson (1924-2003) by Tom Jaine

A eulogy and mini-biography of food writer, Davidson.

A Coming-Out Party by Judith Hausman

How the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture organized a fund-raiser for Outstanding in the Field

Support for Sharpton by Kevin Canfield

“This is the story of how a man who was running for president helped [the author] discover the best soul food in Harlem.”

Symposium of Australian Gastronomy – by Paul Van Reyk

“Foods, Fears, Fads, and Fantasies” was the theme of the 13th annual event held in February.

Salon Series of Stags’ Leap Winery

A small blurb on how owners Horance and Minnie Mizner Chase restarts a celebration of visual, performing, and literary arts.

Orts and Scantlings

Strange Cousins by Mark Morton

The surprise of how some apparently disparate words are closely akin.

With a one-half page, full color photograph of a stunning, golden bagel with sesame seeds.

Feast for the Eye

Martianmallow – Food for the Inner Alien by Marion Lee and Thomas Beischer

A very odd story regarding conceptual artists Shirley Tse and Dan Frydman and their piece as part of an exhibit entitled In The Polka Dot Kitchen which ”explores the impact of mock recipes, hyper-realized food presentation, the pleasures and dangers of food consumption, and various foods themselves as a medium of art making and visual expression.”

With a full-page, color photograph by Shirley Tse and Dan Frydman,

Martyianmallow depicting a large, flat, white floating thingy in a swimming pool.

Poetry

Today’s special dish by Nina Lindsay

It was the morning’s sweetness, a cold wind

on warm air and the papery smell

of wisteria, that tempted me to homemade tortellini

for your lunch. But now, broth

Poem continues for another 12 lines.

Classics

Still Life with Frittata by Teresa Lust

How the Italian frittata permeates modern antipasti menus, art, and literature.

With a half-page, full color reproduction of Carlo Magini’s (1720-1806) Sumptuous Table with Frittata and Bread.

Politics

”GM or Death” – Food and Choice in Zambia by Christopher M. Annear

Very powerful, controversial story of how Zambia’s president banned genetically modified (“GM”) foods, including those imported for famine relief.

With a one-third page, full-color photograph of Woman with baby selling non-GM tomatoes. Mansa market, Luapula Providence, October 1999.

A one-third page, full-color photograph of Zambian President Levy Patrick Mwanawasa during his July 2002 visit to the Lunda-Kazembe Mutomboko Ceremony in Mwansabombwe, Luapula Province, Zambia.

A one-half page, full-color photograph of Mr. Nason L. Chibwe displaying non-GM cassava root grown on his farm in Kansele on the Luapula Plateau during his independently organized agriculture show and farmer workshop, October 1999..

Memoir

Motherfood by Jan Zita Grover

Yet another look back on a mother’s cooking after the passing of the parent. This one from the perspective that the surviving child experiences cooking in Minnesota.

Bibliography

Over the Top – The Extravagant Confectionery of J.M. Erich Weber by Francine Kirsch

Great story with much historical investigation into an early confectionery artist and his writings, mostly written for the trade at the time (1890s).

With numerous, outstanding illustrations; a two-thirds page, full color photograph of a typical torte from Weber’s ‘Torten-Kunst’ (1922), described in German, English, French, Spanish, Swedish, and Danish on the page facing the plate;a half-page, full-color photograph of Unusual cakes. Color plate from ‘PRA-KO-KU.’ Horseshoe, vine, and clover leaves, fish; and a half-page, full color photograph of Weber’s interpretation of an English wedding cake; on the right, his interpretation of the traditional pyramid-shaped centerpiece. Plate 83 from the 1923 edition of ‘PRA-KO-KU.’

Investigations

Romanced by Cookbooks by Anne L. Bower

How the general reader can enjoy simply perusing and reading a cookbook without ever actually cooking a recipe from said book. This article looks into the phenomenon of the book consumer obtaining these books not as a kitchen resource, but as art and enjoyment.

Illustrations include a two-thirds page, full color reproduction of Martha Hopkins and Randall Lockridge’s InterCourses: An Aphrodisiac Cookbook cover, published in Memphis, TN, by Terrace Publishing, 1997; and two smaller reproductions of covers, Norman Douglas’ Venus in the Kitchen, originally published in 1952 and reprinted by Bloomsbury in 2003 and Barbara Cartland’s The Romance of Food published by Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Co., 1984.

Food Stories by John Clark

Oddly technical look at the development of Thai food in an Australia context. The author, John Clark’s website no longer has the Thai links working, which is a shame. His credentials are impressive however the article seems a bit more scientific than the average reader may potentially appreciate. There are numerous scientific hexahedrons mapping aesthetic values as antithetical pairs and three illustrations; one-third page high, full color: Dom Yam [is a} mild soup for which coconutmilk and stock are briefly brought to the boil before adding almost any kind of fresh fish. The coconut milk is then boiled just enough to cook the fish and to avoid creating an oily or overly creamy texture in the soup. The heat is then turned off, and fresh lime and chopped Chinese coriander leaves and roots are added.

Technology

Grinding Away the Rust – The Legacy of Iceland’s Herring Oil and Meal Factories by Chris Bogan

An exciting, rousing adventure-like account of the author’s account of a local effort to build a the Herring Era Museum and his involvement with the museum. The story includes a history of the fishing industry in Iceland and the development of the use of industrial equipment.

With a one-third page, full color photograph looking across at Sigló from the ruins of the Evangar factory while collecting bricks by snowmobile, January 2002. Plus, two additional one-half page, full color photographs of the massive concrete herring oil tanks at the Hjaltyrí ghost factory. The metal tank held fuel oil for the boilers in the room on the left, Summer 2002. and a shot of the author next to an American Blower Company blower, made in Detroit in the early 1940s. Ingólfsfjördur, Iceland, Summer 2003.

Celebrations

A Highland ‘Ceilidh’ by Ethel G. Hofman

The Gaelic word ‘ceilidh’ means a social gathering. This is a relatively short article on what could have been far more extensive – a brief travelogue of the vicinity, an overview of the foods that are served, a description of the clothes that are worn, and some history on the events themselves. Although the article was too short for your editor’s likes, it did include two recipes: Whiskey Fruit Loaf and Hot Marmalade Pudding.

With a stunning, one page, full color photographs (which looked like a painting!) of the Shetland Crofthouse Museum, Dunrossness, Shetland. There was an additional explanation that though this house is in Shetland, it is typical of the Skye dwellings where ‘ceilidhs’ were held. There was also a one-half page, full color photograph of George Macpherson, storyteller and historian.

The Law

When the IRS Came to Dinner by Elizabeth Williams

Very interesting overview of the Supreme Court case United States v. Fior d’Italia, Inc.

With a half-page, full color, close-up photograph (no caption) of a man’s hand on a menu and a pair of waitress’s hands, holding a notepad, taking the order.

Photographs

Scenes from American Life by Eric Futran

Five black-and-white photographs in all;

1. One-third page. A middle-aged woman and man, standing behind the counter with some large jars set in front of them. Helena Fish Market, West Helena, Arkansas. – On the way to Memphis with my kids, I passed the exit for West Helena. “Birthplace of Sonny Boy Williamson,” I said to myself, and the next thing I knew I was inside this market shooting a picture of the nice people there. My kids were unimpressed. They wanted to know when we’d get to McDonald’s.

2. One-third page. Two men behind a large, outdoor grill one basting the meat on the grill and the other, drinking from a can. Taste of Chicago, July in Grant Park. – These substantial gentlemen were grilling slabs of ribs over open coals to entice the hundreds of thousands of people who visited this food festival. Our heroes kept themselves well hydrated as the meat sizzled and the crowd grazed.

3. Page-and-a-half. A medium- to long-shot of a diner’s booth seating. The booth on the left is empty, while the shot shows a large, elderly man sitting in the booth on the right. Diner in Cairo, Illinois. – Cairo is a river town at the bottom of Illinois, which time and the railroads have passed by. The downtown is full of deserted buildings – beautiful, sad examples of late-nineteenth-century commercial architecture. Metropolis, a town several miles down the road, got the gambling casino; Cairo was left with memories. Early-morning light shone through the blindsin this truck stop a few hundred yards from the Interstate.

4. Full page. A close-cropped shot with a white-aproned, rubber-gloved black man, clutching a very large fish. Bud at South Chicago Fisheries. – I photographed this place on South Stoney Island Avenue for a show on Soul Food at the Chicago Cultural Center. Customers pick out the fish they want from a large pool at the back of the store. Bud, or his friend Big Man, scoops the fish out of the pool, hauls it over to a table, and clobbers it with a sledgehammer. Then they fillet it to order. You can’t get fish much fresher than that.

5. Full page. A longer, angular-framed picture of a tall, thin, young white man, wearing a hair net, standing next to a large, rolling rack. Ryan Ruffy at Roth Käse, Monroe, Wisconsin. – Because I love cheese, I love cheese factories. Roth Käse is located in a town that also boasts Huber Brewery, the oldest independent family brewery in America, and Baumgartner’s a Swiss bar on the town square, where you can feast on a liverwurst, Limburger, and raw onion sandwich (topped with hot mustard, of course).

Passages

Lucien Robert – De Temps en Temps by Elizabeth Riely

A rather meandering obituary of Lucien Robert, owner and operator of Maître Jacques, later known as Maison Robert, in Boston.

With a full-page, black-and-white photograph of Lucien Robert at age thirteen, on the family farm in Normandy, dressed for his first communion. This was the year of his mother’s death.

Origins

’Nebam Sirme’ – Preserving Milk and Tradition by Bronwen Bromberger

Fascinating, well-annotated account of how African semi-nomadic herders produce and utilize a product, butter oil, or nebam sirme.

With a full page, full color photograph of an older, colorfully-dressed African women selling nebam sirme at a weekly market. There is also a two-thirds page, full color photograph of a young African boy, holding a Coca-Cola bottle filled with nebam sirme.

In Memoriam

Linda Formichelli, Leftover Artist – 1969-2060 by W. Eric Martin

editor’s note: I think this article is a joke of pseudo self-promotion. If you look at the website Two Writers.net, it is a promo site for freelance writers W. Eric Martin and Linda Formichelli. Both authors are very well published in hundreds of magazines, but it really makes me wonder why Gastronomica bothered with this. Martin writes an attempt at an obituary on Formichelli as a neurotic artist. Lame.

Oh yeah, by the way, there is a two-thirds page, full color photograph of a sliced pizza.

Chef’s Page

From the Heart of the Yucatán – El Turix, Cozumel, Mexico by Rafael Ponce

One of the more straight-forward accounts of a restaurant from a chef.

With a one-third page, full color photograph of Rafael Ponce in the kitchen of El Turix.

Notes on Vintage Volumes

”What is your name? My name is Ah Quong. Well, I will call you Charlie.” by Jan Longone

Very intriguing account of the content and mere existence of early (19th and 20th Century) ethnic American cookbooks, including:

Hindu Diatetics: With Hints on Cooking and Recipes by K.D. Shastri, MD, Minneapolis: Indo-Aryan Publishing Co., 1917

Mount Lebanon to Vermont by George Haddad. Rutland, VT: Tuttle, 1916

Jewish Cookery Book by Mrs. Esther Levy. Philadelphia: W.S. Turner, 1871.

[Great American Cookbook] by Makis Guinis. New York: Atlantis, Inc. 1917

Svensk-Amerikansk Kokbok: Swedish-American Book of Cookery and Adviser for Swedish Servants in America by Carl Grimskold. New York: Otto Chils’ Print, 1888. 2nd Revised edition.

Chinese and English Cook Book, San Francisco: Fat Ming Co., 1910.

With a number of reproductions of book covers: Full page, full color title page for Chinese and English Cook Book. San Francisco: Fat Ming Co., 1910; and four, quarter page, all color: My Norsk-Dansk og Amerikansk Kogebog, Chicago: John Anderson Publishing Co., 1905; Greek cookbook cover, New York, 1917, Nová Domáci Kucharka, 1896, and Smaczne Ciasta, Przepsiy, 1910.

Review Essay

Bittersweet by Sidney W. Mintz.

editor’s note – normally the Review Essay is a comparison of two books – this is a review of only one so it surprised me that it was not part of The Bookshelf.

Bittersweet: The Story of Sugar by Peter Macinnis

With a full-page, black and white reproduction from the book, ”This is the price of sugar in Europe.” Moreau Le Jenue, graveur Baquoy fils, Du sucre en Europe, Kehl 1787, Paris, BN, Res. Imp. In Jean Goldzink, “Voltaire: Candide, ou l’optimisme/Voltaire; suivi du texte apocryphe de 1760” (Paris: Magnard, 1985, p. 191).

The Bookshelf

Books in Review

Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (Scribner Library of Daily Life) by Solomon H. Katz, Jonathan Katz, William Woys Weaver.

California Dish : What I Saw (and Cooked) at the American Culinary Revolution by Jeremiah Tower.

Food + Architecture (Architectural Design) by Karen A. Franck.

Fried Butter by Abe Opincar.

Pane e Salute: Food and Love in Italy and Vermont by Deirdre Heekin and Caleb Barber.

Return to Paris: A Memoir by Colette Rossant.

From Here, You Can't See Paris: Seasons of a French Village and Its Restaurant by Michael S. Sanders.

Land of Plenty: A Treasury of Authentic Sichuan Cooking by Fuchsia Dunlop.

It Asian Food: The Global and the Local (Consumasian Book Series) by Katarzyna Cwiertka, Boudewijn Walraven.

It The British Housewife: Cookery Books, Cooking and Society in Eighteenth-Century Britain by Gilly Lehman.

Bookends

It How to Read a French Fry: And Other Stories of Intriguing Kitchen Science by Russ Parsons.

Lagniappe

Gastrabulary by Ken Albala and Lisa Cooperman

Very funny recommendations on the addition of eight new words to the English language which would expand gastronomy’s vocabulary. Editor’s favorite: adipatry: the tradition of using animal fat as the primary cooking medium. From Latin ‘adeps,’ ‘adipis’ = fat, and the ‘patria’ = fatherland.

With two, one-eighths page color reproductions from the artwork by Lisa Cooperman.

[srhcb]

Carolyn,

Congratulations for another wonderful synopsis, especially considering the personal ordeals you've been through lately.

This wasn't my favorite issue, although the cover photo ranks near the top of my list in that category. Too many of the articles seemed too have pretentious, or maybe even strained? "Food Stories", by John Clark, with the little three dimensional diagrams, pretty much lost me completely. The article on GM food, along with just about every other article I've seen anywhere on the same subject, falls into the same category.

On the other hand, "Grinding Away the Rust – The Legacy of Iceland’s Herring Oil and Meal Factories by Chris Bogan - An exciting, rousing adventure-like account of the author’s account of a local effort to build a the Herring Era Museum and his involvement with the museum. ", despite the esoteric title and topic, was great. The author's obvious interest in the subject, and the great photos, made for enjoyable reading.

I'd also like to note that "Alan Davidson (1924-2003) by Tom Jaine

A eulogy and mini-biography of food writer, Davidson. ", was about the editor of "Petis Propos Culinaires", a curious publication I was introduced to in this forum, and author of, "The Wilder Shores of Gastronomy", excerpts from that journal. The man and his works are well worth becoming aquainted with.

Like I already mentioned, Gastro often seems a little tedious to me, but at least a few artilces from each issue make it worthwhile reading, if only because alternate publications are so few.

THANX AGAIN

SB

[sanguinella]

an anthropological, cultural, literary review of food...about time.

[srhcb]

New Issue Alert!

According to their web site, the Winter 05 issue of Gastro is out.

Could all subscribers please check in here and leave a note when they receive their copy? It seemed like some people got the Fall 04 issue five to six weeks later than others.

THANX SB

[srhcb]

New Issue Alert!

According to their web site, the Winter 05 issue of Gastro is out.

Could all subscribers please check in here and leave a note when they receive their copy?  It seemed like some people got the Fall 04 issue five to six weeks later than others.

THANX SB

←

My Winter 05 Gastro arrived today, just barely 8 weeks after the last quarterly issue.

Maybe I'll just chalk it up to vagaries of the of the Postal system?

SB (was pleased to see Ms Goldstein incorporate one of my favorite puns into the title for her editorial)

[srhcb]

I opened my latest issue of Gastronomica yesterday hoping maybe to find a new article by my favorite (living) food writer, (known of these boards as ChocoKitty), and what do I espy instead? Something by my second favorite (living) food writer me, albeit just a Letter to the Editor. But, what fun!

My Letter concerned an article in the Summer 2004 issue by John Edge, titled "Black Magic", which included a recipe for a Coca Cola Cake. I tried baking the cake with somewhat less than satisfactory results, which prompted me to write to Gastro.

I'd also like to point out that John Edge's published reply supports my contention that he never tried the recipe for Coca Cola Cake he provided in his article. If he had, either in the first place or after I pointed out the problem to him, he would have known that using the recipe produces a syrup rather than a frosting for the cake in a quantity great enough to literally drown it!

Anyway, I'd also like to mention that the memoir about dealing with food shortages during the war in Bosnia by Alma Marin is, in my estimation, maybe one of the best pieces ever published by the magazine

I couldn't help but note that the editor allowed Ms Marin great leeway with her punctuation and liberal use of parenthetical phrases, (which I heartily approved of). My favorite was the "(?!)" interjection in the first sentence of the Food and Vegetables chapter on page 34.

I haven't had the chance to read any more of the issue yet. (I'm so enthralled with re-reading my own modest contribution over and over), but I hope this liberalization of grammatical rules applies to the entire magazine and, indeed, that the practice quickly spreads throughout the publishing world.

SB

[srhcb]

RE: "the memoir about dealing with food shortages during the war in Bosnia by Alma Marin is, in my estimation, maybe one of the best pieces ever published by the magazine"

Further along in this issue, "Sadie's Tomatoes", by Jack Foster, is even better!

It's so elegantly written I found myself imagining the story had a musical score accompanying it. Has that ever had that happen to any of you?

SB (whose garden is growng it's 97th consequtive crop of tomatoes this year)

[srhcb]

Enticed by the article in the last issue of Gastronomica, "In Search of the Perfect Peach", by John Grossmann, today I ordered three boxes of Cal Red Peaches from Frog Hollow Farm.

http://www.froghollow.com/store/site/index.cfm

SB (two as gifts, one for me)

[srhcb]

Coming soon: The Summer 05 Gastro issue devoted soley to Julia Child!

http://www.ucpressjournals.com/

SB (eagerly awaiting that, and the Frog Hollow peaches)

[srhcb]

Just received the new issue devoted exclusively to Julia Child!

First impression: It's nice and THICK!

SB (still waiting for peaches, but feeling a lot better)

Edited August 22, 2005 by srhcb (log)

[srhcb]

Enticed by the article in the last issue of Gastronomica, "In Search of the Perfect Peach", by John Grossmann,  today I ordered three boxes of Cal Red Peaches from Frog Hollow Farm.

http://www.froghollow.com/store/site/index.cfm

SB (two as gifts, one for me)

←

Damn Fine Peaches!

[srhcb]

Just received the new issue devoted exclusively to Julia Child!

First impression:  It's nice and THICK! 

SB

←

I don't know. Somehow it just wasn't as good as I'd hoped for.

The article, "My Friend Julia Child", by Jacques Pepin, was a heartfelt tribute, and the photos were great, but other than a short piece by Noriko Nakamura in the scrapbook section the rest of the issue seemed almost, dare I say, bland?

SB

[Jennifer Iannolo]

SB,

I find your impression interesting, as I had a somewhat different response. In fact, it kept me up all night reading.

This may be due to the fact that I'd just finished Julia's biography, so these stories were a bit of an addendum to the details there. Without all of that background, I might not have found the issue as compelling.

[srhcb]

SB,

I find your impression interesting, as I had a somewhat different response.  In fact, it kept me up all night reading.

This may be due to the fact that I'd just finished Julia's biography, so these stories were a bit of an addendum to the details there. Without all of that background, I might not have found the issue as compelling.

←

Ms Iannolo,

Thank you. Even I found my impression interesting; although perhaps curious would be a better word. Being a long time devotee of Julia Child and charter subsciber to Gastronomica, I had looked forward to the publication of this issue since it was announced last year.

It's interesting you would mention Julia's biography, which I've also read. The Summer Gastro did indeed read like an addendum to the biography, but without the cohesiveness a single author and editor would have contributed.

Perhaps my expectations were too high, but I don't think that was the whole problem. Everyone would agree that Julia's indomitable spirit is one thing that set her apart from the crowd throughout her life. Except for the examples I mentioned I really didn't sense this while reading the magazine.

I did enjoy the issue. It just wasn't quite what I'd hoped for.

SB