Blog on the Language of Food

Thanks to a Slate article on the etymology of macarons, I just discovered this blog on the language of food by a Stanford linguist, Dan Jurafsky. Now, this essay, and the blog in general, really appeal to my sensibilities: medieval history, cultural mixing, word change, and the contrast between sweet and savory. I'll be reading Jurafsky's other posts soon (and hoping that he posts some more), but for now, enjoy some macarons with me:

The Language of Food: Macaroons, Macarons, and Macaroni

Searching for the Wurst

I haven't posted in ages -- the sign of a busy life, but also one with a lot of fun, experimental, and inventive cooking that went unphotographed and undocumented. However, I am planning to return with recipe ideas and food experiences soon. Until then, I'll share the news that an essay of mine on culinary fusion in Texas will appear in the literary journal The Southwest Review.

I'll post more once I know the date of publication, but I will say that I recount my experiences of attending the New Braunfels Wurstfest. And, strangely, wurst has lately become a bit of an obsession of mine. Not culinarily, because I can take or leave meat these days, but culturally. I'm starting to think that if you want to know a culture, you need to figure out what they grind up and put in their pigs' intestines. Recent bedtime reading has included Uwe Timm's novel Die Entdeckung Der Currywurst (translated into English as The Invention of Curried Sausage), Petra Boden's business history of Berliner currywurst sellers called Die Berliner Currywurst, and now Wiglaf Droste's Wurst.