The findingDulcinea Blog

Discover a Culture Through its Cuisine

Mollie Caselli writes for GulliverGo, a new study abroad and travel Web site.

When I studied in Paris I took courses in French language and history. Classes were challenging, but my experiences with the local cuisine introduced me to the real Parisian culture. Whether you’re at a food market, birthday dinner, or learning to cook homemade pasta, the local recipes will teach you about daily life.

You can mark the days, seasons, and holidays by what you eat. If you’re Greek, it’s sweet bread at Easter, Baklava at Christmas, and Greek Avgolemono (lemon and rice) soup on Sunday. My Italian family savors a pot of Crab Cioppino every Christmas Eve. Christmas in Paris: I overindulged in La Bûche de Noël (cake bread) and Stollen bread. You know it’s a hot day in Spain when locals spoil themselves with Gazpacho. Anyone can experience these cultural treats; you just have to be a little open-minded.

Visit Local Restaurants

Don’t just open a tourist guide and find the most popular restaurant. Check out those hole-in-the-wall joints. You know, the homely ones where people speak the native language. Carry your language dictionary and you’ll be able to translate what’s on the menu.

Learn to Cook

Take a cooking class abroad. Whether it’s a day or a week, learn how to create your favorite food. You will not only discover its history, but you’ll also take a piece of your host country home with you.

Live With a Family

It might sound daunting, but live with a local family. Maybe you already have family abroad. Get to know them. I lived with a host family in Paris. We shared conversations over dinner. I even helped cook for a birthday party. Some locals invite travelers for one night. You’ll enjoy great food, but you’ll also learn how families value their time together.

Sweet Sites | Graphic Gourmet: All You Can "Eat" Online

A screenshot of foodgawker.com

From “Top Chef” to “Julie & Julia,” from the Travel Channel’s “Food Paradise” to New York Magazine’s whopping 82-burger slideshow, delicious food has become the new cultural obsession. But has it also become a treat for our eyes only? Michael Pollan recently fretted so in The New York Times, arguing that proper, wholesome cooking has migrated from the pots and pans of the American kitchen to the Food Network’s primetime lineup.

Don’t tell Pollan, but we’re about to enable America’s food-porn addiction. We researched the tantalizing world of food art, photography and sheer voyeurism on SweetSearch, and turned up the following (sesame) seedy side of the Web. Plenty of sites serve up photographic fodder, but few can beat Photograzing from Serious Eats, foodgawker or the aptly named FoodPornDaily for lush and delectable pictures. Although the latter two sites offer neither more nor less than their URLs promise, the Serious Eats main site features recipes, restaurants and food news from all over the country—in addition to tasty photos, of course. The restaurant-review site Menuism earns honorable mention in the low-hanging but mouthwatering fruit category: It allows users to browse for restaurants by food photos.

As the photographic equivalent of street food or carnival fare, the above sites offer little for a higher-brow palate. Fortunately, there’s a range of food art and food-centric social commentary that caters to the tastes of both voyeur and connoisseur. WebEcoist offers “15 Fascinating Food Artists and Sculptors,” an excellent introduction to food art that features potato chip portraits, elegant butter statues, surreal foodscapes and a “Biscuit City.”

Time Magazine’s feature “What the World Eats” shows 15 families from all over the world with their entire week’s food allowance spread out before them, providing a fascinating look into geographical differences in diet. Similarly, Mark Menjivar’s “You Are What You Eat,” presented by Good Magazine, captures the contents of strangers’ refrigerators, and the simple Tumblr “Hospital Food” collects photos of meals from sickbeds worldwide.

Finally, there are plenty of resources for budding food photographers. Check out Rob Willey’s advice in his Food & Wine Magazine article “Shoot First, Eat Later,” Photojojo’s “The Ten Tastiest Food Photography Tips,” “little nuggets from the front lines of food styling and photography” from the blog “Still Life With” or, for a behind-the-scenes look at a professional in action, watch Cooking Up a Story’s “The Art of Food Photography.”

If you’re still not sated, findingDulcinea offers lots of news and features on food, and don’t miss our Web Guide to Food for recipes, restaurant reviews, special diets and more.

Jill Marcellus
Senior Intern

Culinary Travel Sites for Study Abroad Students

Eating al fresco in Barcelona

Cooking and eating with the locals offers a surefire cultural immersion for students studying abroad. Even without enrolling in a strictly culinary program, students can experience the deeply embedded cultural features intrinsic to native foods, simply by doing as the locals do.

Brave New Traveler’s Ross Lee Tabak has excellent advice for those longing to tuck into a legit local meal, including shopping at the grocery store instead of always eating out, not being afraid to eat alone, trying everything once and walking around during mealtimes to ask locals for their recommendations.

For students who want a more formal and structured culinary education experience abroad, there are plenty of programs to choose from. Try Study Abroad Links, which has a thorough directory of culinary study abroad programs in Argentina, Canada, France, Italy, South Africa, Spain, Thailand and the United States. Or visit the Study Abroad Directory from GoAbroad.com, which lists about 100 different culinary arts programs for students around the world (just highlight “Culinary Arts” in the subject section of the search box).

Finally, visit our "6 Sites for Study Abroad Programs," for more sites to help you plan an educational immersion, or our Food Web Guide to help you indulge in all things culinary on the Web.

Sarah Amandolare
Senior Writer

Everyday's a Holiday. No, Seriously.

National Pig Day revelers in Central Park, New York in 2008. (Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

With the Internet comes a Web site for everything—maybe even several. The Internet also brings more awareness of holidays you never knew existed. Take today: Feb. 5 is World Nutella Day. According to its Web site, the day is not actually affiliated with Ferrero, the company that owns Nutella. But it is a wholehearted celebration of the “chocolaty hazelnut spread.”

Here are some other holidays that really exist:

National Pie Day occurred on Jan. 23, and we created a whole feature to help you bake, buy and eat pie to celebrate this special day (belatedly, if you’d like).

National Handwriting Day also occurred on Jan. 23, and handwriting, or lack thereof, has gotten a lot of press lately. The Handwriting Without Tears project, a “complete handwriting curriculum for students," celebrated with an initiative to send students’ handwritten letters to President Obama.

National Pig Day is coming up on March 1. Serious Eats has an article that can help you make the most of the day with recipes and other fun resources from the Serious Eats archives. If that’s not enough, pig out with the article “The Bacon Explosion” from the New York Times.

Singles Awareness Day occurs on Valentine’s Day’s hangover, Feb. 15. Don’t make singles feel singled out on Valentine’s Day—give them their own, standalone cause for celebration!

Holiday Insights has information on a lot more holidays of the strange, funny and well-meaning variety.

Liz Colville
Senior Writer
Audience Development

Cook More in 2009

This year promises to be a year of change—the time is nigh to refine your cooking and kitchen.

Begin with the basics: your pantry. No matter how great your recipe, or your intentions, a dish will fall flat with stale ingredients. Real Simple Magazine has a list called "Surprising Expiration Dates" to help you begin purging the less-than-fresh from your cupboards and refrigerator door. Hint: If you thought Ketchup would last forever, you were wrong.

Mark Bittman (aka The Minimalist) wrote a recent column in The New York Times explaining what items your pantry absolutely must have this year, and which phony substitutes you must never let cross your kitchen threshold. Not surprisingly, he calls for fresh, wholesome (DIY when possible) ingredients only.

If your goal for the year is to cook with greater health in mind, our feature “5 Sites for Healthy Eating” will give you a fresh perspective. Discover your body’s nutritional needs, what foods will fulfill them and how you can procure and create light, mouth-watering recipes, including appetizers, entrees, drinks and dessert.

Unique food sites are always a blessing. If you’re looking to spice up your everyday dining, visit our “5 Food Web Sites to Spice up the Holidays” feature, which pinpoints some of the most interesting and up-and-coming food Web sites.

Isabel Cowles
Senior Writer

Our Web Guide to Cooking is full of sites to help you find recipes, learn how to cook, buy supplies and ingredients, and otherwise get inspiration to dine out less.

D.C. Food: Fueling Up for the Inauguration

Restaurant Nora (Photo: The Washington Note)

Washington, D.C., is a hotbed for law students, nonprofit organizations, lobbyists, world-changing types and … chefs? It turns out that our nation’s capital is also one of the most talked about food destinations, whether for classic French fare, fantastic Ethiopian food or a simple falafel sandwich. These local blogs and established restaurant-finding Web sites cater directly to hungry inauguration travelers, as well as to year-round visitors. Keep in mind that some establishments will stay open 24-hours just for Obama’s big event.

Washington City Paper is the District’s alternative weekly newspaper, with an edgier take on local food and happenings. Check out the special post on “Inauguration Eats.”

Washington, D.C., food blog Capital Spice has two special features for the inauguration. The guide to eateries that best represent the district’s dining scene includes Ethiopian favorites and the best “Local, sustainable, organic, farm-to-table” establishments. Capital Spice also provides a helpful Google Map of the 213 restaurants, bars and clubs with extended hours for the inauguration.

Zagat's Washington, D.C., edition has multiple online features, including new restaurant listings and Zagat Top Lists, in addition to Zagat’s library of restaurant reviews and ratings. For access from your mobile device, get Zagat.mobi.

For lengthier D.C. restaurant reviews, visit The New York Times. More than 100 eateries are listed with thorough description and evaluation courtesy of Frommer’s.

Suggestions from the staff of findingDulcinea:

For falafel:

George’s King of Falafel

For an affordable sit-down meal:

Lebanese Taverna

2 Amy’s Pizza

For fine dining:

Restaurant Nora

Komi

For great bar food:

The Tombs

Café Saint-Ex

For fresh produce:

Fresh Farm Markets at Dupont Circle 

Sarah Amandolare
Senior Writer

Visit our special "Presidential Inauguration" section on findingDulcinea for numerous articles on inaugurations past and present.

Keeping Up with Food Safety

If you’ve been reading the news lately, you’re probably aware that during the past several months, outbreaks of salmonella have been connected with food products around the country. Food-borne illnesses can leave consumers feeling a little unnerved, but with the help of these Web sites, you can become an educated shopper and learn more about practicing food safety at home.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is the regulatory body responsible for overseeing most of the food products on the market. Check here for important food safety notices, or to report a problem with an item.

Avoiding cross-contamination is perhaps one of the best ways to stop the spread of bacteria in your kitchen. The National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse explains how this is done, and reveals what else you should do to store and cook food properly.

One way to extend the life of your food is freezing items you don’t plan to use right away. But if you’ve ever tasted something with freezer burn, you know it’s not always easy to freeze food correctly. Learn how to freeze a variety of products at the National Center for Home Food Preservation, and get answers to other questions about freezing food with the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service.

Lindsey Chapman
Writer

Looking to learn more about food? The findingDulcinea Food Web Guide recommends some of the best Web sites for finding great recipes online, exploring specialty foods, reading restaurant reviews and more.

Healthy Baking Solutions

Winter is the time for baking: learning something new, teaching kids some culinary skills, and making the house smell great. If, like many people, your New Year's resolutions for 2009 include fitness and weight loss, you might be interested in healthier baking recipes. These sites, derived from our Baking Web Guide, can lead you in the right direction.

Cooking Light magazine offers tips for low-fat baking and substitutions for the usual high-calorie ingredients you find in most baked goods. This reputable magazine guarantees you won't sacrifice taste in the process.

Betty Crocker has "Healthy Baking Tips" that also mention ingredient substitutions. Try typing "low fat" in the search box on the upper right to find some lighter dessert choices.

Vegan recipes are a good way to discover low-fat baking. Goodbaker sells low-fat, organic baking mixes and also offers free recipes and low-fat baking hints. You can also "Ask Goodbaker" any vegan baking questions.

Post Punk Kitchen is a public access vegan cooking show. Although it covers vegan cooking of all kinds, the Post Punk baking section is especially helpful for advice on how to cook vegan.

The number of people diagnosed with celiac disease (requiring a gluten-free diet for life) is on the rise, and you can often cut calories when baking with gluten-free mixes, which typically use some combination of rice, tapioca and soy flour and sometimes call for sweeteners like agave syrup instead of sugar. Arrowhead Mills sells a variety of such products, including all-purpose mixes.

Liz Colville
Senior Writer
Audience Development

Get Holiday Hangover Relief

Dr. Aaron Carroll and Dr. Rachel Vreeman of Indiana University's Medical School specialize in "medical myths for the holiday season."

They've done two lists so far, and 2008's, summarized by the New York Times blog Well, includes more evidence that there is, sadly, no cure for that peskiest of holiday guests: the hangover. The, ahem, sobering reality: "The researchers found no scientific evidence supporting any type of cure for alcohol hangovers. Because hangovers are caused by drinking too much alcohol, the only way to avoid one is to drink very little or not at all."

While there may not be a cure to over-drinking (or, for that matter, overeating), there is still a trove of good Web sites and products that can help you feel better after one or several nights of dehydrating, calorie-packed revelry.

Coconut water is "nature's sports drink," and you'll be seeing it populating more and more supermarket shelves as beverage companies catch on to this simple and delicious potassium-sodium cocktail. BeYouTV, an online health magazine, explains that the drink is low in sugar, cholesterol-free, 99 percent fat-free and low in calories.

Acetaldehyde may sound like something you find in a petrie dish, but unfortunately you'll also find it in your body after you drink. In a very interesting article about what alcohol does to your body, educational site SoYouWanna explains that it's a "nasty chemical critter" that has a starring role in every hangover. Arm yourself with knowledge to help you minimize overzealous drinking.

Pricky pear cactus extract was studied by some researchers at Tulane University in 2004 and discovered to be helpful in preventing the symptoms of a hangover. The extract can be found at some health food stores; take it a few hours before drinking commences and it may "alleviate symptoms such as dry mouth and that nauseated, can’t-stand-the-sight-of-food feeling."

Bananas can help counteract the diuretic (dehydrating) effect of alcohol and caffeine, which many people use to minimize hangover headaches and fatigue. An article on holiday hangovers from the Food Network Web site explains that bananas are full of the electrolyte potassium, which, together with sodium can help get you upright again. The article adds that different cultures have different ideas about which foods can help you overcome yet another hangover symptom, nausea.

Food and timing play a crucial role in hangovers; the site RealBeer has some great tips about drinking water, drinking on a full stomach, knowing how different alcohols affect you and spacing out your drinks adequately.

Liz Colville
Senior Writer
Audience Development

Now that you're sufficiently educated about the effects of partying too hard, find resources on "Making the Most of New Year's" in our Web Guide on the subject.

And if you're still craving more hangover science, read Newsweek's 2007 article, "Why Hangovers Can't Be Cured."

Site of the Day: The Daily Plate

The Daily Plate helps users break down the nutritional content of their meals. Weight loss is never easy, but it can be a lot more straightforward with this free dieting service. The Daily Plate provides calorie counts, as well as the fat, carbohydrate, and protein content of the foods you eat. Users can then keep track of their daily progress with a personal food journal and fitness log. Consult the site’s vast exercise list to find unique workouts to fit your lifestyle.

The Daily Plate

Check out findingDulcinea's Site Spotlight section for more sites of the day.