The twelfth issue of is out in bookstores today THINGS Explain wellthe Post magazine dedicated to explaining individual topics in depth; it’s called What we eatand deals with food, the things we eat, and how we eat them.
In recent years, attention to nutrition, the products we use, their origin and the various steps that bring them to our tables have increased greatly. But attention to food also includes attention to one’s health and to the economic and environmental sustainability aspects of what we eat.
In addition to the description of individual foods that have been talked about a lot for different reasons, such as avocado, synthetic meat, palm oil, and edible insects, What we eat it also addresses aspects related to nutrition more generally, such as food allergies, expiry dates of products, or the sometimes excessive importance attributed to calories in diets. Furthermore, the volume tries to explain some behaviors towards food, for example why we didn’t eat vegetables as children, why the (a lot of) food we produce in the world is not enough for everyone, or why the Chinese don’t eat cheese.
What we eat it is illustrated by Pavel Popov, and contains contributions by Dario Bressanini, Rosario Pellecchia, Anna Prandoni and Caterina Zanzi.
This twelfth issue of THINGS Explain well can be purchased, as well as in bookstores, on the Post website (with free shipping) and in online bookstores of Amazon, Feltrinelli e IBS. This is the introduction of What we eat written by the director of the Post Luca Sofri, entitled “It’s all a magna magna”.
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I’m in the kitchen of my house and I look around: I realize that, despite the work collected in this issue of THINGS Explain wellI still don’t know how the tuna takes the shape of the can, I have no idea what part of the saffron – which I barely know what it is – is the powder in the yellow sachets, I can’t say if mozzarella is only made in Italy, and who knows why we keep butter in the fridge and in Northern Europe we don’t, not even in summer. In short, I don’t know a lot of things: and it certainly has to do with my personal and extensive ignorance, but also a little with the fact that around us we talk a lot about cooking and yet the things we eat are explained very little.
Indeed, the communication work that our civilizations have produced is admirable, managing to celebrate the high cultural and even artistic value of what ultimately depends on biological needs, gastric processes, and which is exhausted by producing – ahem… – what produces. The topic of this issue of THINGS Explain well it is our feeding ourselves, made necessary by the functioning of the crazy machine that we are, and perfected over the centuries by equally complex commercial mechanisms. Eating has created enormous economies, and those economies have changed the ways we eat, and what we eat. However, over time, all these very prosaic things have also been surrounded by social activities of every size and importance, from romantic relationships that often arise around dinner invitations to certain international diplomacies that exploit gastronomic cultures, or have as their same object economies and food businesses: just to give a couple of examples. And in between, infinite other occasions in which eating is not just nourishment, occasions which continually change as the world changes (not to mention the one which dramatically generates the don’t eatat the same time: here too on personal or entire population scales).
It depends on the type of canned tuna, of course: I’m always in the kitchen thinking about it (I’ve been Googling it for years, and it still hasn’t occurred to me how they put the pear in the bottle of pear grappa).
This number of THINGS Explain well collects an inevitably limited and selected part of what we can know better about what we eat and how we eat. Only in passing does he deal with cooking and gastronomy, themes around which everything has happened in our part of the world in recent decades, including successful television programs and thousands of recipes consulted daily online. For my personal straw tail and to exorcise my straw tail I confess this: 22 years ago, January 2003 (I have a good archive) I published in the newspaper I was collaborating with at the time, the Sheetan article entitled «Against gastrofanatics». Reading it now is rather dated and naive, because everything has happened around “gastrofanaticism” in these 22 years: but that piece had some good intuition (which perhaps wasn’t even that original: I still had to learn well that almost everything was already said by someone else). I quote that article to address the contradiction between my skepticism at the time towards gastronomic cults and their solemn taking of themselves more and more seriously (“it’s about pasta”, I said, freely quoting Jannacci), and our often dealing with food on the Postand on this issue of THINGS Explain well. A contradiction that I try to resolve – see if you can trust me – by supporting the difference between the precious and fascinating knowledge of what we eat and the emphatic excesses of the so-called art of cooking and gastronomy, that which has great nobility but often ends up being called “food”. food, and which needs euphemisms to give refinement to the aforementioned biological, gastric, economic and social processes that push us to ingest, digest and enjoy food. Activities which are also practiced in very different ways in the various regions of the Earth, and this is something that must be doubly remembered when we talk about what WE, or the majority of us, eat.
However, in that piece I tried to pretend that we could talk about food – about food – everyone, professionals or amateurs: «Believing that because you are particularly expert or passionate about something that you somehow own it and should be jealous of it, is understandable and human, but like many human things, a little ridiculous. Things belong to everyone, whether it’s the city you live in, Bob Dylan or dumplings.” This number of THINGS Explain well tries again to do that thing, to claim that the knowledge of what we eat, how we eat it and why, is fascinating and useful for those who watch programs with chefs – the cooks – and also for those who don’t watch them. And for the chefs, of course.
You can buy What we eat on the Post website (with free shipping).
Some of the pages of THINGS Explained well – What we eat
Well, here we are, folks! The twelfth issue of *THINGS Explain Well* is sizzling hot off the press! This time, it’s all about *What We Eat*. And let’s be honest, if I had a euro for every time I opened my fridge and thought, “What on Earth am I doing with this?”, well, I’d probably have enough to buy a decent dinner instead of that suspicious tin of tuna that’s been in there since the last season of *Friends* aired!
Now, nutrition has become quite the buzzword lately, hasn’t it? It’s not just about filling our bellies anymore; it’s a whole production—like cooking a three-course meal while your in-laws are visiting. We’re talking sustainability, health, the origins of our grub—we really need to know where our food comes from before we devour it like a rabid hyena! And let’s not forget the bizarre facts like ‘why do the Chinese don’t eat cheese?’—I mean, d’uh, it’s because it’s not a food group, it’s *extravagance*! But hey, let’s focus on what we can learn here.
This issue dives into the complexities of our culinary choices, from trendy avocados that scream “I’m cool” when you slice them open, to those synthetic meats that I still can’t figure out if I should be excited or horrified by. And then there’s the edible insects! Yes, my friends, for the right price, you could be munching on crickets instead of chips at the cinema. I’m still trying to get over the trauma of finding a hair in my popcorn; I can’t imagine crunching on a cricket leg while I’m trying to enjoy a movie!
The contributing authors, like Dario Bressanini and Rosario Pellecchia, have packed this issue with information that could convince even the most stubborn of kids to try their greens—even if the main compelling argument is “They’ll make you grow taller!” (note: results may vary). But let’s be honest; we’ve all been there, staring at a plate of broccoli and debating our life choices.
But the beauty of food isn’t just in what we put in our mouths; it extends to the experiences we create around it! You know—romantic dinners, awkward family meals full of side-eye glances, or business lunches. Food can be a magnificent diplomat, a cultural hero, and sometimes, let’s be real, an excuse to wear stretchy pants on the weekend. Luca Sofri nails this idea in his introduction, pushing us into realms of culinary wonder but reminding us of those “gastrofanatics” who take things a bit too seriously—like, it’s *only* dinner, not the Great British Bake Off finale!
Now, as much as we like to say we gather around meals for love and togetherness, most of us are just trying to avoid cooking! Whatever happened to the notion of “it’s about the food, not the fuss”? Can we just eat a sandwich in peace without turning it into a gourmet experience? According to this very issue, we should embrace our ignorance around food rather than pretending we know how to stuff a pear into a bottle of grappa—let’s just be relieved that it even made it there in the first place!
This issue doesn’t just hold your hand and stroke your ego, folks. It dives in deep, and whether you’re a chef, a food critic, or just a person who can microwave a mean bowl of instant noodles, there’s something for everyone to chew on here. So buckle up, grab yourself a copy of *What We Eat*, and remember: the next time you’re sitting at the dinner table, it’s not just food—it’s a life-changing experience! Or, at the very least, a chance to correct your friends when they think mozzarella is only made in Italy. Spoiler alert: it’s not! So go on, treat yourself, learn something new, and maybe for heaven’s sake, *wash your hands* before diving into that bag of chips!
Grab your copy today and maybe learn the story behind tuna in a can — you might just impress someone at your next dinner party! Purchase it here!
‘s be real—a source of tension. Remember that time your friend brought a surprise cake to a dinner party, and it turned out to be gluten-free when half the guests were gluten intolerant**?** We’ve all been there.
In this edition of *THINGS Explain Well*, we aim to discover how every bite we take is interwoven with stories, traditions, and complex systems that go far beyond mere sustenance. Each page unravels the intricacies of our food culture, examining why we eat what we eat and how it shapes our identities. From historical influences to modern trends, we’ll touch upon everything that makes our meals a reflection of who we are.
And let’s not forget about the science! Ever wondered why certain foods make you feel more energetic than others? Or why some flavors blend together in harmony while others clash like enemies on a battlefield? The articles will touch upon the biochemical reactions happening in our bodies with each delicious bite, turning our everyday meals into an adventure in gastronomy!
So buckle up, grab a snack (preferably not that mysterious can from the back of your cupboard), and get ready to explore the world of food in a fresh and engaging way! Whether you’re a seasoned chef looking for inspiration or just someone who enjoys eating (which, let’s face it, is pretty much all of us), there’s something in this issue for everyone.
**You can’t go wrong with a good book about food. What’s better than understanding the plates we put on our tables? And remember, what we eat isn’t just about the food itself—it’s about the stories, cultures, and adventures that come with it. Grab your copy of *What We Eat* and dive into this culinary journey today!**
