Books about Food, Part One

Books about food are one of my favorite types of non-fiction. It's amazing, really, how important food is (financially, nutritionally, environmentally, culturally) yet how little we think about it. Here's half the list of books that I have read about food; I'll do the other half later:

Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser. This has been on the best seller list forever. And it should be. The book's main strength is that he doesn't just focus on one area but several (nutrition, the meat packing industry, etc.). And, while I enjoyed reading it, I can't say that it changed my eating habits. Does that mean that the book failed? I don't know. We don't eat fast food a lot (maybe three times per month), by the way.

Comfort Me With Apples by Ruth Reichel. It must have been forgettable, because I can't think of a single thing to say about it, and it hasn't been that long since I read it.

Fat of the Land by Fred Powledge. An out-of-date book about American eating habits.

Secret Formula by Frederick Allan. This is a history of the Cola-Cola company. And its main fault is that there is another history of Coke that is fabulous, which makes this book completely unnecessary. But more on that other book later . . .

The Man Who Ate Everything by Jeffrey Steingarten. This is one of the best books that I have ever read and one of the rare books that I would consider reading a second time. Steingarten is a cantankerous non-foodie who ends up with a food-writing job and, well, you know. Funny, funny, funny, more so because he is obsessive. (Not in an OCD way. In a funny way.)

Beyond Beef by Jeremy Rifkin. Similar to Fast Food Nation in that it is great muckraking, but no so great that I would stop going to Culver's.

Why Does Popcorn Pop? by Dan Vorhees. I've read several books in the little-anecdotes-about-food category. They're fun. They aren't going to change your life, but they're fun.

Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes. I haven't seen the movie, but my impression just from the ads is that it has virtually nothing to do with the book. The book was a gem; it gave me deeply good vibes. Relaxing. Luscious. A vacation on paper.

Spoiled by Nicols Fox. What I decided after reading this book: any Scout campout that any of my boys go on will not involve raw meat. I'm not convinced that the food supply is quite as bad as Fox thinks, but there are dangers there. My adult brother had no idea that raw eggs could be dangerous. (I personally, eat cookie dough with raw eggs in it, but I won't let my kids. I feel that I can assess the 1 in 16,000 risk and decide to take it. But I don't feel comfortable imposing that risk on them. So I hide in the pantry whenever I partake.)

Can You Trust a Tomato in January? by Vince Staten. Yep, another entry in the little-anecdotes category. I think you can trust a tomato, but you'll get what you bargained for. We had a subscription to a demonstration farm on the UC Davis campus. That's when I learned what real produc tasted like. Wouldn't it be nice if people outside of the Central Valley of California could actually afford real produce? Until then, I'll continue buying tomatoes in January from Wal-Mart.

American Pie by Pascale Le Draoulec. (Has nothing to do with the movie of the same name.) Imagine a cross country trip with the sole goal of finding the best pie in the country. Funny writer, good book. Be sure to budget some time to make your own pie, because you'll crave it after reading this. This book is responsible for adding the phrase "dumpster pie" (exactly what it sounds like) to our family lexicon.

The Tummy Trilogy by Calvin Trillin. A collection of his writing on food; uneven. Some of it was good.