Help me (metaphorically) send my grandpa across the globe!
October 28, 2018 6:30 PM Subscribe
I'm looking for a food-based book to build a "travel experience" gift box around. What are your best books about food from cultures other than the US? The catch: it can't be a cookbook.
For Christmas I want to put together a gift box for my grandpa to "experience" another country or culture, mostly through cuisine. I want the centerpiece to be a book, but the theme to be primarily food. He loves cooking and food, but he has so many cookbooks and has said he explicitly doesn't want any more cookbooks. What suggestions do you have for books about food from other countries/cultures other than the US that aren't cookbooks?
It can be about the history of it, or cultural significance, or "how stuff's made" without being recipes, etc. This is for a conservative Christian man, so probably nothing super social justice-y about food, but he's a not the sort of person who gets offended reading/hearing about PoC or other religions, so don't feel you need to avoid those. I'm also on a somewhat tight budget, so preferably no $60 photo books, please.
Bonus if you can also give me some ideas on what to include in the gift box, preferably non-perishable foods or "just-add-x" kits so he can make a recipe or two. Can also include some items that aren't food, but I want most of it to be focused on food.
For Christmas I want to put together a gift box for my grandpa to "experience" another country or culture, mostly through cuisine. I want the centerpiece to be a book, but the theme to be primarily food. He loves cooking and food, but he has so many cookbooks and has said he explicitly doesn't want any more cookbooks. What suggestions do you have for books about food from other countries/cultures other than the US that aren't cookbooks?
It can be about the history of it, or cultural significance, or "how stuff's made" without being recipes, etc. This is for a conservative Christian man, so probably nothing super social justice-y about food, but he's a not the sort of person who gets offended reading/hearing about PoC or other religions, so don't feel you need to avoid those. I'm also on a somewhat tight budget, so preferably no $60 photo books, please.
Bonus if you can also give me some ideas on what to include in the gift box, preferably non-perishable foods or "just-add-x" kits so he can make a recipe or two. Can also include some items that aren't food, but I want most of it to be focused on food.
Maybe too progressive for him, but this is what Anthony Bourdain excelled at.
posted by turkeyphant at 6:58 PM on October 28, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by turkeyphant at 6:58 PM on October 28, 2018 [1 favorite]
Hungry Planet:What the World Eats
"American photographer Peter Menzel and writer Faith D’Aluisio have traveled the world documenting that most basic of human behaviors—what we eat. Their project, “Hungry Planet,” depicts everything that an average family consumes in a given week—and what it costs. The pair released their book "Hungry Planet: What the World Eats" in 2005, showcasing meals in 24 countries."
posted by maya at 6:59 PM on October 28, 2018 [4 favorites]
"American photographer Peter Menzel and writer Faith D’Aluisio have traveled the world documenting that most basic of human behaviors—what we eat. Their project, “Hungry Planet,” depicts everything that an average family consumes in a given week—and what it costs. The pair released their book "Hungry Planet: What the World Eats" in 2005, showcasing meals in 24 countries."
posted by maya at 6:59 PM on October 28, 2018 [4 favorites]
Bitter Almonds, by Mary Taylor Simeti. About foodways in Sicily. I think it has recipes in the back but mostly it’s discussion about nuns and almonds and Greeks and sweets and war.
posted by PussKillian at 7:02 PM on October 28, 2018
posted by PussKillian at 7:02 PM on October 28, 2018
The book “Hungry Planet: What the World Eats” follows 30 families and might fit the bill, or inform additional photo-based books. Edited to add that I’m seconding Maya
posted by childofTethys at 7:37 PM on October 28, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by childofTethys at 7:37 PM on October 28, 2018 [1 favorite]
Came here to recommend Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper. With Sichuan peppercorns naturally, and maybe a packet of chile bean paste. (The authentic stuff comes in a packet, not a jar, and has "Pixian" on the label.) I also enjoyed Mastering The Art of Soviet Cooking. It's a mix of family history, history-history and modern journalism and is a downer in parts (as you might expect), but definitely fits your criteria. The author is a renowned food writer.
posted by serathen at 7:38 PM on October 28, 2018
posted by serathen at 7:38 PM on October 28, 2018
The Language of Food by Dan Jurafsky is so great. (I recommend it a lot here, sorry!) History, culture, linguistics, economics, etc. in chapters on individual food items--really nice to read one piece at a time.
Related to the book's TOC, you could include:
- a fancy ketchup such as Sir Kensington's, or one from another country (banana ketchup, curry ketchup, etc.)
- a flavored syrup, like the berry ones you can find at eastern European groceries
- a dried noodle from another culture (udon, German egg noodles, etc.)
- macaroons or macarons
etc.
I don't know where you live, but if you have Cost Plus World Markets there, they tend to have a lot of "just add x" items from various countries, plus fun condiments and so on.
posted by wintersweet at 7:47 PM on October 28, 2018 [2 favorites]
Related to the book's TOC, you could include:
- a fancy ketchup such as Sir Kensington's, or one from another country (banana ketchup, curry ketchup, etc.)
- a flavored syrup, like the berry ones you can find at eastern European groceries
- a dried noodle from another culture (udon, German egg noodles, etc.)
- macaroons or macarons
etc.
I don't know where you live, but if you have Cost Plus World Markets there, they tend to have a lot of "just add x" items from various countries, plus fun condiments and so on.
posted by wintersweet at 7:47 PM on October 28, 2018 [2 favorites]
“French Lessons” by Peter Mayle.
posted by rustcellar at 8:02 PM on October 28, 2018
posted by rustcellar at 8:02 PM on October 28, 2018
Does he like beer? You can look for a good book about beers (I gave one as a gift once but can’t remember the name), plus a few good specialty beers as a gift basket.
posted by CrazyLemonade at 8:04 PM on October 28, 2018
posted by CrazyLemonade at 8:04 PM on October 28, 2018
I just loved, loved, loved, My Life in France which is all about how Julia Child became Julia Child and learned to cook French food. After the last page I was ready to read the book again right from the start.
Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel is a wonderful novel where food is front and center and there are recipes at the start of each chapter.
While Soul Food is about America it focuses on a part of our culture that is not the dominant one
posted by brookeb at 8:31 PM on October 28, 2018 [1 favorite]
Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel is a wonderful novel where food is front and center and there are recipes at the start of each chapter.
While Soul Food is about America it focuses on a part of our culture that is not the dominant one
posted by brookeb at 8:31 PM on October 28, 2018 [1 favorite]
The Year of Eating Dangerously, by Thomas Parker Bowles (son of the Duchess of Cornwall, yes). Super fun read but filled with foods you want to avoid, so this might be a good second book for the gift.
posted by janey47 at 11:52 PM on October 28, 2018
posted by janey47 at 11:52 PM on October 28, 2018
How about The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen, by Jacques Pepin? About $10 on Amazon.
You could also include this French seasoning assortment package.
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 4:59 AM on October 29, 2018
You could also include this French seasoning assortment package.
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 4:59 AM on October 29, 2018
Mark Kurlanksy is a James Beard award-winning food writer and has several food related books you might want to consider. Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World is a really interesting read, has a global and historical core, and doesn't have any agenda. You could of course get him salt cod to go with. I've only read portions of Choice Cuts, a book he edited of great food writing throughout history and around the world. Maybe pair it with unique/high end versions of his favorite snacks or beers?
posted by perrouno at 6:39 AM on October 29, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by perrouno at 6:39 AM on October 29, 2018 [2 favorites]
Seconding Mark Kurlansky -- check out Salt: A World History. You could get him a selection of different salts from around the world (sampler sets are available everywhere), a salt block/plate, a salt cellar, etc. If you wanted to throw in a relevant cookbook, Pinxtos and The Basque Kitchen are both good and will overlap with Kurlansky's Cod or Salt nicely.
posted by melissasaurus at 7:52 AM on October 29, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by melissasaurus at 7:52 AM on October 29, 2018 [2 favorites]
If books that contain recipes are fine, try Maman's Homesick Pie, a memoir about a Persian chef whose parents fled Iran in the 70s.
Also good: Ruth Reichl's memoir, Garlic and Sapphires, about being a NYT food critic. I haven't finished Cheryl Tan's Tiger in the Kitchen book yet but that's about a fashion writer who returns to Singapore to learn cooking from her family. The food memoir space in general is a great genre for this. I especially love Gabrielle Hamilton's prose, though idk if your grandfather is conservative in the homophobic sense.
posted by storytam at 8:33 AM on October 29, 2018
Also good: Ruth Reichl's memoir, Garlic and Sapphires, about being a NYT food critic. I haven't finished Cheryl Tan's Tiger in the Kitchen book yet but that's about a fashion writer who returns to Singapore to learn cooking from her family. The food memoir space in general is a great genre for this. I especially love Gabrielle Hamilton's prose, though idk if your grandfather is conservative in the homophobic sense.
posted by storytam at 8:33 AM on October 29, 2018
Oh! Also! If you can get ahold of Lucky Peach that has some recipes and is sometimes a bit crude but has the most unique, funny, fascinating approach to food I've seen. It was a food magazine that took a kind of gonzo DIY approach, and they were very international (with great coverage of Asian chefs in particular).
posted by storytam at 8:37 AM on October 29, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by storytam at 8:37 AM on October 29, 2018 [1 favorite]
The Fortune Cookie Chronicles by Jennifer 8. Lee is about Chinese food coming to America.
posted by vespabelle at 5:58 PM on October 29, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by vespabelle at 5:58 PM on October 29, 2018 [1 favorite]
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Grape, Olive, Pig: Deep Travels Through Spain's Food Culture by Matt Goulding
Rice, Noodle, Fish: same book, but for Japan
Pasta, Pane, Vino: same book, but for Italy
They are expressly not cookbooks (there might be a recipe sprinkled here and there, but I don't recall seeing any) and are narrative nonfiction texts.
Otherwise, and I have read this, I love Fuchsia Dunlop's Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper, which is a memoir of her experience learning to cook in China. (I'd also strongly recommend her cookbooks should you be in the market for Chinese cookbooks!)
posted by andrewesque at 6:58 PM on October 28, 2018 [2 favorites]