Just Read

Over the weekend, I finished yet another non-fiction book about food (must be my fifth or sixth this year). This one, The Man Who Ate Everything by Jeffrey Steingarten (food writer for Vogue), was recommended by my brother's girlfriend. And I'd pass the recommendation along.

It was not quite as speedy a read as some of the other books I've read this year, especially the Ruth Reichl memoirs. However, I can say without hesitation that I learned a lot from it - it's much more than just a collection of good short stories. Instead, it's a collection of interesting, engaging essays about finding the best food there is. Sometimes Steingarten is traveling, like when he's exploring Alsace in search of true sauerkraut. But sometimes he doesn't leave his own kitchen, where he does his best (usually eventually successfully) to make all different types of foods.

The book certainly has a scientific edge to it, which reminded me that there's a whole side to food that is more chemical than aesthetic. Sometimes, when I'm making up my own recipes, I focus so much on how food will look on a plate that I forget that theoretically, I could gain the knowledge necessary to develop meals that taste good, too. (At the same time, if I thought as much about molecular binding as Steingarten, I'd never make mashed potatoes again.)

I'm on to a new book this week. The Sunday Philosophy Club by Alexander McCall. Totally different - sort of a mild mystery. But food does play a role. Which makes me happy.