Food for Thought: Mental Preparations for Feasting

I don’t know about you, but I’m gearing up for Thanksgiving feasting. I’m still on a mission to find the best stuffing/dressing recipe (if you have recommendations, please share!), and I’ve been dreaming of pumpkin pie.

Unfortunately, these culinary ruminations have been interrupted by job applications and drafts of articles owed to my co-authors, so I fear I have reached my maximum capacity for writing for the week. I will instead attempt to distract you from this by providing links to articles other people have written about food:

Here’s a fantastic article that looks at dairy consumption in areas of the world where the local populations do not have the gene for lactose tolerance (in this case, Mongolia). It provides a great example of how cultural and biological evolution often go hand in hand: https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/11/how-can-you-eat-dairy-if-you-lack-gene-digesting-it-fermented-milk-may-be-key-ancient

Next, check out the work of Dr. Jerolyn Morrison. Using archaeological data, she cooked ancient Minoan recipes in Minoan-style cooking pots (literally my dream project!) when the British School of Athens hosted the Prince of Wales for a visit. Watch this fun video of one of her experimental cooking events and read about her work here.

If you or anyone else you know is doing great food or pottery-based research, please share and I will highlight it on the blog!

In the meantime, be sure to break out your stretchy pants to prepare for that ultimate American food event. I’ve already got mine on….