‘50 Foods’ you need to know more about, from Edward Behr

Way back in the day, when “blog” was a misspelled reference to a marshy swamp, there were these things we called “newsletters,” which were essentially blogs on paper that you could clip in binders or stack on bookshelves.

There were some notable ones written by some great authors – John Thorne’s “Simple Cooking” comes immediately to mind. And so does Edward Behr’s “The Art of Eating.” The two are almost exact opposites stylistically: Thorne is the master of the personal and experiential while Behr usually prefers a more scholarly approach.

Rather than tantalizing us with delicious stories, Behr dives deep into very specific subjects and comes back with fascinating bits of information that help us see the food, wine or region in a different light. Now he brings that same singular focus to a book, “50 Foods: The Essentials of Good Taste.”

It’s his guide to some of his favorite ingredients, arranged in no-nonsense alphabetical order, starting with anchovies and winding up with walnuts (zucchini was apparently beneath consideration).

No flowery evocations of romantic food encounters for Behr. When he does refer to a personal experience, he sounds almost like Joe Friday. In his chapter on chestnuts he relates, “At a hillside agriturismo with an old, out-of-use, stone secatoio for drying chestnuts, I ate [chestnuts] with porcini mushrooms, a combination of the season.” And that’s it.

If you’re looking for food porn, go elsewhere. What Behr traffics in is usable information. And he nearly always delivers. In that same chapter on chestnuts for example, he explicates the difference between the usual words for chestnut in French and Italian: châtaigne and castagna; and the special words used for those of superior quality: marrons and marroni, which tend to be larger and more beautiful.

Then he parses the various uses of chestnuts, examining their particular dry texture and how it is best complemented in cooking (hint: whipped cream doesn’t hurt).

Granted, this may be information that will be appreciated by a smaller crowd. Behr is not going to make you want to run out and buy chestnuts if you’ve never had them. But if you’re someone who is already familiar with them, he will show you how to deepen your appreciation and use them better.

It may be old-fashioned, but it’s great reading.

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