Skip to main content

1000 things to eat before I die

Am reading this book in no particular order.  Written by a 90 year old food critic, or more appropriately food lover, Mimi Sheraton is one lucky lady.

She has had this enviable job for the past 60 years and so in her travels she has managed to eat her way through a lot.

She professes to eating out half the time during the week which is at least seven meals even at this age.  She eats whatever she wants and honestly if she can say that on public TV to a serious journalist then I want to believe it.

Apparently eating in moderation has kept her healthy and lovely.  She can still climb three stories of her multi level home in NY without any aid or implements other than her own wheels.

This book was first published in 2015 and covers a vast geography in terms of food origins and their national appeal.  The best places to forage are also listed along side the recipe.  Food name origins and other etymological tidbits make for an interesting read.

Personally I think I have yet to sample at least 500 of the items listed given the run rate at which I am finding delicacies to read about and will attempt to at least conquer this challenge if not the highest peaks on each continent, before I turn off.

I did consume the Indian section first in part to understand her appreciation of things I would vote at the top of the list and found her to be aligned spiritually.

It starts with an homage to the mighty Alphonso aka Hapoos Mango.  As is a page dedicated to Kulfi (India's version of gelato).

There were a few inconsistencies (e.g. her description that Pakoda and Bhajia are distinctly different foods - to me they are the same food with different names depending on region - essentially deep fried vegetables coated with batter) or missing content that I have emailed the publishers about and hope they make it to the next edition.

Bon Appetit!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

On the go(zay masta) in Japan again

Cool cat the Japanese are Tokyo at dusk  My second visit to this land of the rising sun after almost a decade. Back then clearly I was wet behind the ears product manager and likely didn’t pay attention to all (efficient) things Japanese. But today I did and of course continue to be impressed. It is as much the obvious stuff like on time travel that is both clean and comfortable and all that which makes it possible. The impressive landmark and landscapes that these humans have put together despite their cramped (or because of it) surroundings and precarious geological conditions could amaze a novice architect among us. But it’s also the little things that someone had to think about which have a phenomenal impact on day to day lives that make the Japanese stand apart. Below are few random examples- 1. Providing a very fine machined wooden toothpick in every packet of wooden chopsticks. The said chapsticks are simply set on the To Go counter of any food vendor/ convenience store wher...

Presumptive Society

Today's world is hyper connected.  I am not so sure what it means but you hear it a lot.  It is probably hyper but not sure how connected it is.  Sugar (fermented or not) is available in many ways than before and so getting hyper is easy.  It is probably more a threat than cocaine since it is sold legally. And what is this connected stuff?  Most people I encounter seem disconnected from reality.  So going back to this assumption that we are connected there are subtle and no so subtle instances of how brands and companies and middle men try to portray someone - A linkedin profile for somebody working for X years at a place advertises to the connected network that so and so is CELEBRATING X years @ Such and Such Inc. Do we know if (s)he is celebrating or cringing?  Perhaps a better way to portray will be - So and So LASTED X years @ such & such inc. Then it exhorts the readership to go ahead and congratulate them for this lasting effe...

A few good books

 On an informal mission to read one book a week as long as the eyes allow for such ambition. Fiction or non is not important as long as it entertains and /or educates. To that end the past few weeks have brought a bounty in the form of some wonderful and then not so engaging literature. Among the notables are - Non fiction category: 1. Good arguments by Bo Seo (how to handle a dispute or debate the most efficient way possible) 2. Genesis by Eric Schmidt (and former US Secy of State Henry Kissinger, who recently passed) - how AI might affect our lives as we know it 3. One in a billion - Zarna Garg (an autobiographical look at an Indian born American woman with a bindi narrated in a standup format - yes it is at times cliched but still funny) Fiction: 1. Personal by Lee Child (a vigilante story with Jack Reacher the giant, nomad protagonist of Child's novels goes hunting for a sniper) 2. Ramayana unraveled by Ami Ganatra (she might disagree about it being a work of fiction but oh wel...