What is Food Information?
Beyond pages and screens, information and food connect to every aspect of our lives
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This summer, I had the absolute joy of teaching a class on Food Information. Sitting right at the nexus of my life in Library & Information Science research (even at my alma mater!) and my life in food, designing and teaching this course allowed me to imagine and define 'food information' for myself, but more importantly to see how others define it.
At the start of the semester, I asked around on social media to see how other folks would define 'food information,' and got a whole range of answers, which you can see in this document if you're curious.
I also asked my students to define food information, too, emphasizing that I wanted them to think of their definition before reading others. I saw a range of answers, but many homed in on the 'information' part of the definition: considering (for example) labeling/food science/nutrition studies, or maybe on certain types of information transmission (cookbooks, recipes, etc.)
The other theme I saw was community, specifically sharing recipes and cultural and family traditions.
Over the course of the summer, definitions shifted and changed, and I was amazed at the new insights I gained from my students as they explored what food information meant to each of them. Our final project was very open-ended: In essence, exploring the answer to 'what is food information?' in whatever format they chose.
As a food writer, and a visual artist, I tend to default to creative nonfiction or historical narrative writing, recipe writing, and accompanying visuals.
But teaching often pushes us outside of our preexisting boxes, asking us to consider the world through the perspective of our students and, in this case, through different forms and formats. In this case, the definition of food information was explored through poetry, multimedia art pieces, family recipes, documentary video, blogging, nonfiction narrative, adapted song lyrics, and more.
In so doing, they exposed components of Food Studies, and of studying food, that I think can get lost in the day to day routine of pitch-write-invoice or in the standard formats of food writing that we've all become accustomed to. Yes, poetry that discusses food exists (hello, plums in the icebox), but I haven't seen much that concurrently grapples with building a shared definition.
Students went from understanding 'food information' as being didactic or scientific and towards a communal and historical, but also highly personal understanding. But I was most struck by their appreciation for the creativity of food, and the creativity food sparks in us, and the ways we can allow ourselves to explore these ideas beyond the bounds of our standard essay+recipe format.
I'm not sure how it will impact my own creative practice yet, but I know that it will, and I'm feeling inspired to start diving into fiction writing or even back into poetry to continue evolving my own understanding of what food information is.
I would love to hear your ideas, though: What is your definition of 'food information?' Or what creative pieces of fiction/poetry/film/whatever have you seen that embodies a creative approach to exploring food as a subject? The possibilities are endless, and I love to hear what resonates with each person!
News
I'm doing several book events this month! Some have already happened BUT if you're in Atlanta, there's still time to join me for my (free) Big Book Party!
Mark your calendars for October 22, 5-8 PM at Cultured South's Lee + White location:
*Books for sale + signing (book table courtesy of Charis Books + More)
*Fermented documentary screening
*Q+A with me and special guest Chef Edward Lee
*snacks!
*A kombucha mocktail based on the book, using my homemade goldenrod vinegar
*Beer + other libations from Best End Brewing (limited drink tickets available)
If you missed this leg of the tour, don't worry, I'm in the process of planning some 2023 events. If you or your organization would like to host a book talk/demo/pop up/whatever, please reach out!
For Southern Living, I wrote about sour corn, which is one of my favorite summertime treats. We're nearing the end of corn season, but I do hope you'll get to try my recipe before it's done completely.
I shared my interview with Sourced Journeys on social a while back, but I had so much fun I wanted to make sure to include it here, too. Make sure to check them out if you haven't already.
I also had fun talking with Kiki Aranita about oven mitts for this piece in Food & Wine.
I write about fermentation for Cook Casual, an absolutely incredible vegetarian zine run by Erin Alderson, whose work I've admired for a while and who is a joy to work with. The latest issue features my fermented hot sauce recipe: I hope you'll use it to savor those last peppers from your plants as the seasons change.
For Foodprint, I wrote about how to use a dehydrator to put up your summer harvest, and it's a great primer for getting started if you've never dehydrated before.
Speaking of dehydrators, I also wrote this piece comparing nine different dehydrators, and it was fun to dive into the data from the test kitchen and see how each model performed.
To Read/Listen
Listen to Sleep has some wonderful mindfulness meditations, and a really enjoyable Instagram account with short videos that transport me to hikes and exploring with a beloved four legged friend. Erik reads bedtime stories, too! Please check out his work if you haven't already, it's really very special.
I love Yo-Yo Ma, and I love birdsong and forests, so I deeply loved this performance, done in a forest surrounded by birds. I've listened to it probably 100 times.
I love this piece on figs and family, or as author Teresa Nicholas says, " Figs are not merely trees. They are history. They are family."
I also enjoy Jane Ratcliffe's newsletter Beyond, and this guest issue on Tiny Disarmaments by Grace Yoder is no exception. One excerpt that has influenced my writing practice this month: "I’ve begun to wonder if anything grows where there isn’t an environment and an ecology to support it. The story of the Enemy is rooted in a mythology of individualism. How do any of these problems or characters look when I remember that we are absolutely and completely relational?"
Eric Kim's writing is beautiful: I love how he weaves together a narrative about a dish that gives you all the descriptive highlights you need while also making you hungry to try it. His piece for New York Times on kimjang, the autumn kimchi making party, is beautiful and worth taking your time savoring.
In my work for the City of Atlanta Tree Conservation Commission, I learned that Georgia has freshwater mussels. Not only that, but some of the greatest species diversity exists here in our backyard in Atlanta! Very exciting stuff, and all the more reason to continue preserving our critical ecosystems (Georgia, like neighboring Alabama, has very high biodiversity and a range of climates including coastal wetlands, mountains, and piedmont. This makes stewarding the land with care especially important!)
Around the time I started teaching the class, a book on Food Information, Education, and Knowledge came out, and I'm looking forward to exploring it as part of my own continuing education.
Finally, the latest MacArthur Fellows have been announced: As someone who thrives on interdisciplinarity and curiosity, I always eagerly await each year’s list to see who I can learn from and whose ideas resonate with my own practice. I learned about many new-to-me folks this year, and was so happy to see Robin Wall Kimmerer and Joseph Drew Lanham as Fellows.
Their craft as writers and thinkers, and their perspectives on the world, have been critical in shaping my own thinking and how I imagine myself in my ecosystem, from my work as a fermenter to my personal connection to trees.
To Make: Baked Brie With Apple and Fennel
When the temperature drops and apples are in season, I'm likely to make this at least a few times. I love how the apples and fennel, which also is in season around this time, work together to add a sweet bite to the savory cheese without it becoming cloying. I also like that this is insanely easy to make, and relatively quick, so it's a good choice for a relaxed evening with friends and a bottle of wine (or for your own dinner).
Best served with lots of crusty bread for scooping and spreading, and perhaps a simple dressed green salad on the side.
1 green apple
One 13 oz wheel of brie
1 small bulb fennel
Salt and pepper, to taste
Honey
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-Lightly coat the bottom of a ceramic baking dish with olive oil.
-Thinly slice apples and fennel, and layer in baking dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
-Place wheel of brie on top and drizzle with honey, if desired (for another treat, try topping with raspberry jam the last few minutes of baking)
-Bake for 10 minutes covered, then uncover until top is golden and cheese melts.
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