Last summer was my first foray into the field for my dissertation research on the German recipe industry. I set out to study how recipe authors transform the fragrant, splatteringly sensorial experience of cooking into tidy prose, and I learned so much from my interviews and observation. The biggest surprise of the summer was the…
Tag: Recipe
Petty Aunts and Stolen Broccoli
Who owns a recipe? How do you know? Does it matter? The answers to these questions are not absolute or universal, but rather rooted in beliefs about skill, expertise, knowledge, and the value of food and cooking. Consider how the characters in this absurdly catchy (and recently viral) TikTok music video would respond to the…
Brazilian Beach Barbecue
A beach day on the southeastern coast of Brazil requires many supplies beyond a towel and sunscreen. Your day trip from São Paulo is well provisioned and won’t be complete without chairs, tables, multiple barbecue grills, coolers, cups, and dishware, as well as a speaker blaring music. The food that best sustains an all-day beach…
Food + Trauma: “Prison Ramen”
It is impossible to separate incarceration from the experience of trauma. The life described by the contributors to the cookbook Prison Ramen is one of a scrabble for survival through lethal battles for power, and a loss of nearly all control in one’s own life. But the meals described in this book – even a…
Sign Language Frappé
The very first lesson in my Greek Sign Language class was how to order coffee. My standard order at the time was “frappé, sweet with milk:” a frothy instant coffee beverage practically synonymous with Greek café life. The fact that coffee was our first lesson did not surprise me one bit – my coffee order…
Ariana Gunderson 