Food news antipasto

It has been a few years since we wrote about the Internet Archive’s extensive cookbook collection, and a recent article reminded me about this amazing (and free) resource. Many of the older works have been scanned and are available for download in several formats including Kindle and PDF. The books aren’t limited to U.S. or English language publications. The archive also includes pamphlets from food and equipment companies; recipe collections from newspapers and women’s clubs; and books on topics ranging from French pastries to homemade wine to uses for canned salmon. 

This week Food and Wine regaled us with the 25 most important recipes of the last 25 years. The focus is on recipes for the US, and includes items that are now ubiquitous but were relatively unknown prior to 2000. While many items are homegrown such as Nashville hot chicken and no-knead bread, the list is brimming with foods like shakshuka and tonkotsu ramen, highlighting the diversity of the nation and its ‘melting pot’ reputation.

File this in the “everything old is new again” folder – the latest trend in kitchenware embraces items that are 50+ years old. Young people have been scouring thrift shops and their grandparents’ cabinets to find vintage Corningware casserole dishes. The demand is so great is is causing prices to skyrocket. The retro aesthetic strikes again.

Samin Nosrat’s hit cookbook, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, and a Netflix series with the same name brought her success and acclaims. Despite this, in an interview with The Independent, she shares that she struggled with burnout and depression. “That thing that I’d been single-mindedly chasing basically my whole life, I found it, I got it, and still had that loneliness inside, that feeling of ‘it’s not good enough, I’m not good enough’,” she said. Nosrat found her way back to feeling good through cooking. Her recent cookbook, Good Things, is a reflection of the joy she derives from the entire cooking process: “shopping, cooking, preparing, cleaning – I think even these basic tasks can be a source of pleasure in and of themselves.”

One of the latest TikTok trends that has people meeting up in real life started in German with a flyer that invited people to gather for a “pudding-with-a-fork meetup”. Within weeks the event was drawing over 1,000 people, and it’s caught on across the world. Why pudding and why forks? You will have to ask the organizers, but it seems that the draw is that it is a nice way to meet people and talk to others.

In case you missed our GBBO recap: The Great British Bake Off/Baking Show – Chocolate Week 5 – 2025