Gastro Obscura: A Food Adventurer's Guide (Atlas Obscura)

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We need to continue expanding the production of this fruit—and making more people interested in it—so that this tradition isn’t lost,” he says. “After all, aside from being a native species, this is also something that’s very important for global conservation.” The soft drink Fanta was invented by Coca-Cola, an American company, inside of Nazi Germany during World War II. Developed at the height of the Third Reich, the new soda ensured the brand’s continued popularity. Fanta became a point of nationalistic pride and was consumed by the German public, from the Fraus cooking at home to the highest officials of the Nazi party. Around 3100 BC, ancient Egyptians started to systematize their hieroglyphs, mummification techniques, and art, all of which influenced the construction of tombs. The most decorated tombs of the time, especially those adorned with food scenes, belonged to royalty. Workers painted scenes on tomb walls to commemorate the deceased’s accomplishments and to ensure that important ceremonies, from food to burial rituals, would endure in the Field of Reeds, the Egyptian afterlife. Some tomb paintings even included images depicting how workers prepared food. These tiger nut cakes were intended to please the sun god Amun. Public Domain

Recipes for sweet, scrappy cakes abounded in newspapers and baking pamphlets. The cooking guides did double duty of instructing American women on how to make the most of their leaner pantries while also boosting morale. A widely published bedtime tale from 1918, “ Uncle Wiggly and the Victory Cake,” which was syndicated in The St. Louis Star and Times, The El Paso Herald, and The Buffalo Enquirer, offered home bakers advice. “We must all help win the war,” part of the story reads. “And one way is to save sugar for the soldier boys. Make your cakes without so much sugar in them. Make them victory cakes. Put in cocoanuts or peanuts or something like that.” A vintage victory cake pamphlet offering 10 recipes that are “thrifty in every way.” Courtesy of The National WWII Museum The truth was a bit more complicated, however. Intended to imply hydrogen and oxygen—the two chemicals that make up water—the result has a more clinical, less roll-off-the-tongue convention to it, and instead evokes hydrogen peroxide, a chemical you probably don’t want to drink.Peel and quarter the Yukon Gold potatoes, then place them in a saucepan and add enough milk to cover. Bring to a simmer and allow the potatoes to cook until they are completely tender. Drain, reserving ½ cup scalded milk. It’s easy to dismiss a recipe grave as mere novelty. But memorials celebrating an individual’s culinary achievements are not a new development. The most notable of these might be the tomb of Eurysaces, a Roman baker who built a memorial for himself sometime between 50 and 20 BC. The grand structure’s frieze offers a remarkable glimpse into the ancient art of breadmaking, featuring figures grinding grain, kneading dough, and baking loaves in domed ovens. If the detailed design wasn’t enough to demonstrate Eurysaces’s success, the inscription brags, “This is the monument of Marcus Vergilius Eurysaces, baker, contractor, it’s obvious!”

With a chatty style and goofy illustrations, Peters told readers to ignore the unhelpful advice of friends and family about the dangers of reducing. Food as fuel was the mantra. “Any food eaten beyond what your system requires for its energy, growth, and repair, is fattening, or is an irritant, or both,” she wrote. A sample lunch consisted of cottage cheese and a French roll (unbuttered). To resist the lure of eating, Peters urged her audience to regard all food as potential calories. The responsibility of watching one’s weight, she wrote, was a worthwhile but lifelong struggle. Diet & Health became the bestselling nonfiction book of 1922. Peters, who was a newspaper columnist as well as a doctor, became “the best known and loved physician in America.” Toss the peels with the remaining sugar on a rimmed baking sheet, pulling them apart so that they are separated into individual strands. Transfer the coated peels to a piece of aluminum foil and allow them to stand until dry, 1 to 2 days. These candied peels can be made in advance, and can hold in the freezer for up to 2 months. Suddenly, raw vegetables were in vogue. In Lowe’s study of the diet of Smith College students in the 1920s, she quoted a campus warden who noticed that consumption of potatoes had diminished, while students were eating more celery, tomatoes, and lettuce. Outside of Smith, people followed the Hollywood 18-Day Diet—a prototype of modern fads. Inspired by the burgeoning film industry, they ate only oranges, grapefruit, toast, and eggs. SHAPIRO: I think this cucumber gave its life for a good cause. Should we see what it tastes like while we're flavor tripping on miracle berries? Bring 2 cups of sugar and 2 cups of water to boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the boiled peels and bring to a boil again. Reduce the heat and simmer the mixture until the peel is soft, roughly 30 minutes. Remove and drain. Reserve liquid and refrigerate for future use as an orange simple syrup. The candied orange peels add a bittersweet punch to the cake. Hannah Selinger for Gastro ObscuraRemember that choux pastry in the piping bag? Grab it and pipe a ring around the edge of the puff pastry.

This book was a magnificently fascinating foray into the world of obscure eats, many of which take a lot of adjusting to in terms of wrapping your head around the mechanics of them! I think the best thing about a book like this is just how much you can learn- there were so many things in this book that I had no idea about, and this is coming from someone who had read on the topic of strange and wonderful foods before. The amount of research and knowledge that a book like this necessitates is mind-boggling, and I am so appreciative that the writers have made the choice to share this with us.

WONG: So these have been used in West Africa for centuries. They would eat them exactly the way we're doing, except for something that they wanted to taste better that was sour. So sour palm wine is an example. They would eat these barriers, then drink the wine. It would taste a whole lot better. Sheep shearing is still celebrated through competitions and agricultural shows. On a world level, Welsh sheep shearers are renowned for their skills. Each year, people gather together for the Royal Welsh Show and each county hosts their own annual agricultural shows. In 2019, an event on Anglesey, a small island off the coast of North Wales, even featured a shearing cake competition. Coca-Cola wasn’t alone in ignoring Hitler’s increasing aggression. Other American industries, such as Hollywood, overlooked Nazi Germany’s human rights atrocities and went out of their way to retain German business. Despite those prices, the market has been in steady decline. Cecilia Céspedes, an agroecological researcher with the Chilean government agency INIA, led a three-year project to help reverse the fate of the white strawberries. She explains that several factors contributed to their precipitous decline in recent decades.