The award-winning journal Gastronomica celebrates food and culture with articles, literature, humor, and art selected to challenge and to entertain. Exploring food in all its incarnations, not just the meal on the plate, the journal invites readers to consider the full spectrum of food, from its least appetizing aspects to its joys and delights. This contrast, says Gastronomica editor-in-chief Darra Goldstein, brings out the full glory of food.

In The Gastronomica Reader, Goldstein has collected some of the best writing and art from the journal’s archives. In the book, we join a competitive eater on the road, glimpse the history of the spice trade through a pepper shaker, look at organic farming in Mexico and the battle over genetically modified food in Zambia, attend a fashion show in which all the clothes are made of food, explore the inextricable connections between food and family, memory, art and poetry, and much more.

In this new UC Press podcast, Goldstein talks to Chris Gondek about The Gastronomica Reader, why Gastronomica isn’t a typical food magazine, the cover image that drew objections from readers, and the food that brings back memories.

Listen to the podcast now: [podcast]https://www.ucpress.edu/content/podcasts/11342.mp3[/podcast]

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