Writing Worth Reading
Writing Worth Reading
From foraging in the wild to foul restaurant dining, here is our toothsome selection of writing on the world of extreme food
Only after a food pipeline to the world above was opened for them, did the miners allow themselves to raise the issue of cannibalism, in jokes
"I'm not into solid foods very much. I prefer to eat liquid food, something like a banana daiquiri"
"Sane rural people hunt in their backyards all the time. Why shouldn't urban people?" Writer heads into Seattle, with knife, gun and net to find his dinner. First up rabbit, then pigeon, rat, squirrel, duck, goose - even slug
"You got to remember – you're not petting that frog. You're not slapping that frog. You got to grab that frog." So begins a nighttime frogging expedition in Louisiana. And frog eyes are whiteish. "Don't grab anything with red eyes"
Profile of Evan Strusinski, wild food forager. Adored by top chefs for his encyclopedic knowledge and passion. "When I’m an old man and can no longer go foraging, if you hold a chanterelle under my nose, the smell will make me weep”
"That’s a doughnut burger. They take a Krispy Kreme, put it on the griddle. They take a bacon cheeseburger and put it on top. It’s topped with another Krispy Kreme. And it's pretty much the healthiest thing offered". h/t Tyler Cowen
Pursuit of wild food has become fashionable. But wrap up, and take care. Writer goes foraging with the experts for wild asparagus, beach horseradish, orchid roots with more protein than filet de boeuf. And much, much more
On Alexandre Dumas as writer and gastronome. "Like a really fat 19th-century Anthony Bourdain." He wanted to try everything. His gigantic "Dictionary of Cooking" included recipes for toad, swan, and bear. But not eagle. Too tough
"In some cultures, it is customary to bury the placenta and plant a tree over it. Hughes had other plans. She was going to eat it." Almost every land mammal does the same. And every 20 years or so a human placentophagia fad arises
Diner reports on final days of El Bulli, laboratory of molecular gastronomist Ferran Adrià. Last meal included "hare served with glass of its own blood, more intensely red than any wine." But all was not quite as it appeared
Best piece you'll ever read about tomatoes. Unless you're a farmer from Florida. In which case you might want to go back to gassing those hard, perfectly round, nutrient-poor, taste-free, green orbs with ethylene to turn them red
Discursive essay, ostensibly about American eating habits, but really about Lewis Lapham's own eating habits, and none the worse for that. Interesting throughout. Who knew that one-fifth of American meals were eaten in cars?
Imagine a McDonald's that doesn't sell Big Macs. Where beef is off the menu. India is full of them. Latest sensation: The "McSpicy Paneer". Uses buffalo milk. Took two years to get the texture right
Sheep's head anyone? Skewered doves' hearts? British, American reluctance to eat offal is changing. "They were like lost dishes, part of folklore," says one chef. "Now we have young people ordering brains without a second thought"
Step one: Preheat oven. Step two: Wash chicken. Step three: Have sex with your partner. "And I'm not speaking with tongue in cheek. I'm strongly and earnestly recommending you make sex part of the routine of cooking". Here's why
What it's like creating recipes for a frozen food giant. Forward-planning essential because quantities involved so vast there simply may not be enough produce available. Whole crops bought up. Result: "Gastronomic pragmatism"
"I am one of about 350,000 Americans with a feeding tube. Six times a day, a can of liquid food is dripped into me from a plastic bag on a pole." It's a quiet, efficient way of eating. But generally, other people prefer not to watch
Inside Nathan Myhrvold's 2,438-page "Modernist Cuisine". Not so much a cookbook, more a major reference work. Kitchen basics, advanced physics, handy tips. Try "hyper-decanting" tough red wine by giving it a minute in a blender
To buy from Dr Claw, you friend him on Facebook. He checks you out. He sends you a phone number. You text him when you want a delivery. Drugs? No. He sells lobster rolls. And he has to work around New York's crazy food regulations
Gloriously hostile review of Paris restaurant, L'Ami Louis. On veal kidneys: "The heat had welded them together into a gray, suppurating renal brick. It could be the result of an accident involving rat babies in a nuclear reactor"
The recession has turned this journalist into a scavenger. Wild mushrooms for starters. The main dish: escaping the city and living on a friend's homemade preserves. Definitely not the breadline but perhaps a sign of the times
Multi-millionaire computer scientist turns his hand to cooking. "You see a pork chop and some mashed potatoes; he sees a mesh of proteins that coagulate at a specific temperature next to an emulsion of starch and fat"
Insects prized for food across most of developing world. Westerners typically cringe at idea of eating bugs. They'd do better to give it a try. Insects are plentiful, cheap, nutritious—and the best of them have a nice, nutty taste
Nathan Myhrvold, that is. Ex-Microsoft boffin, author of 2,400 page, 47-pound, $625, soon-to-be-published book, "Modernist Cuisine: The Art & Science of Cooking". Final dessert course: gummy worms, made out of gelatinized oil
Run over an animal by mistake? Take it home and cook it. A feature on the ethics and practicalities of dealing with road kill. Not quite as distressing as it sounds
"Average human adult provides 66 pounds of edible food, including fat, connective tissue, muscle, organs, blood, and skin. Protein-rich blood clots and marrow are said (by the rare connoisseur) to be special treats"
Why do Americans so rarely eat bear? Plenty of it about. Perhaps because a bear looks remarkably like a person, when skinned. But give it a try. Meat tastes "juicy, rich, earthy, and savoury", with a hint of yak
It's a hackneyed subject, the outer limits of American fast foods, but one that retains its capacity to shock and amuse. Cheesecake Factory's pasta carbonara has 2,500 calories, 85 grams of saturated fat
Absolutely everything you might ever want to know about the techniques of chicken butchering, and the sensibility required for it. With pictures. If you don't want to know, look elsewhere
Question prompted by a traffic incident in New York. Police pulled over a car, found in the trunk a live cat marinated in cooking oil, peppers, and salt
The London Times award-winning food columnist takes an irreverent look at the world of food writing, from restaurant critics to celebrity chefs
