Christine Baumgarthuber – The New Inquiry

Kazakh postage stamp in tribute to koumiss, a fermented dairy drink

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Fermented Foods: A History

By Christine BaumgarthuberApril 8, 2021

Suspicion of fermented foods owes to a peculiar blend of scientific and market forces so influential as to sway consumer preference in the direction of bland, unappetizing mass-produced substitutes for the zestier originals we can – and did – make ourselves.

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Lunch on the Grass

By Christine BaumgarthuberAugust 4, 2020

Much of what made life pleasurable is now gone. We must seek out what remains.

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Bitter Buttons and Other Backyard Weeds

By Christine BaumgarthuberJuly 28, 2020

Tansy is a lovely plant in its way — enough, anyway, to tempt me to take some of it home. But then I remind myself of its checkered past.

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Pyttipanna (Links for the Week of May 19, 2020)

By Christine BaumgarthuberMay 19, 2020

A deep dive into the causes of food shortages, food handling myths debunked, and 8 million pints of beer poured down the drain.

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Pyttipanna (Links for the Week of May 10, 2020)

By Christine BaumgarthuberMay 11, 2020

Dining on murder hornets, a Dali of Wheat Thins, and hard times ahead for food trucks.

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Pyttipanna (Links for the Week of May 3, 2020)

By Christine BaumgarthuberMay 6, 2020

Killer home-brew, disappearing cheese, and food banks on the brink of extinction.

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Pyttipanna (Links for the Week of April 12, 2020)

By Christine BaumgarthuberApril 14, 2020

The perils of being a farmworker, bacon shortages, and why your chocolate bunny is hollow.

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Pyttipanna (Links for the Week of April 7, 2020)

By Christine BaumgarthuberApril 7, 2020

Another looming zoonotic pandemic, food maldistribution woes, and tons upon tons of rotting produce.

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Pyttipanna (Links for the Week of March 29, 2020)

By Christine BaumgarthuberMarch 30, 2020

A looming kibble crisis, food stores for tight budgets, and the wisdom of victory gardens.

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Pyttipanna (Links for the Week of March 22, 2020)

By Christine BaumgarthuberMarch 25, 2020

The ethics of ordering in, food supply problems, and a return to rationing.

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Pyttipanna (Links for the Week of March 16, 2020)

By Christine BaumgarthuberMarch 16, 2020

Sourdough starters made simple, regenerative wheat farming, and the dangers of hamsterkäufe.

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Pyttipanna (Links for the Week of February 23, 2020)

By Christine BaumgarthuberFebruary 25, 2020

Pork rolls, mayonnaise slices, and bug burgers — all in this week’s linkpile.

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Pyttipanna (Links for the Week of February 17, 2020)

By Christine BaumgarthuberFebruary 17, 2020

The virtues of dining solo, human altruism and food, and what does an oyster taste like exactly?

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Pyttipanna (Links for the Week of February 9, 2020)

By Christine BaumgarthuberFebruary 10, 2020

Vegan junk food, bacon patches to ease meat withdrawal, and, yes, eating out is bad for you.

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Pyttipanna (Links for the Week of January 26, 2020)

By Christine BaumgarthuberJanuary 28, 2020

Killer cake-eating contests, steam-table economics, and space cookies.

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Pyttipanna (Links for the Week of January 19, 2020)

By Christine BaumgarthuberJanuary 20, 2020

Brits breaking vegan, seaweed-eating sheep, and this is your brain on sugar.