A bucket list contains all those hopes, dreams and goals a person would like to accomplish before dying (or kicking the bucket). British writer and editor Frances Case may have the ultimate bucket list.
Case is the general editor of the book 1001 Foods You Must Try Before You Die (Universe Publishing, 2008), and in it, she has assembled the personal choices of food critics and writers from around the world.
Foodies will love the book, of course, but it’s also likely to end up on the shelves of those who enjoy travel, international and ethnic customs, artisan food producers, professional chefs looking for something different they can prepare, and even fans of Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential and those of the Food Network’s new show, “Extreme Cuisine.”
The book is almost encyclopedic in information and scope. Like the familiar food pyramid, 1001 Foods is divided into food groups – fruit, vegetables, dairy, fish, meats, aromatics (herbs and spices), grain, bakery and confections. Browsing through the book, with its mouth-watering color photographs of nearly each food item represented, is like window shopping at some of the best charcuteries, bakeries, greengrocers, dairies and grocery stores in the world.
Common and Exotic Ingredients
There are plenty of familiar ingredients in the book – if you’re taste leans toward the gourmet. Still, Rainier cherries are no longer really exotic. In season, they’re generally available at the local grocery. The same is true for Comice pears, the Asian pear, watermelon and Clementines – just to name a few common examples in the fruit category.
Yet there’s no question it’s the exotic food entries that make this book truly fascinating, however. Moose cheese, for example, is popular in Swedish culture and, yes, it’s made from the milk of domesticated moose. According to the book’s “Taste” notes, “Moose cheese is less crumbly than feta and has a much smoother, broader and deeper taste.”
Then there’s fugu – the renowned puffer fish that carries a lethal toxin in its stomach, liver, ovary and skin. The Japanese have enjoyed it is a delicacy for years – but eaten outside of controlled and reputable restaurants, eating a plate of fugu is a bit like playing Russian roulette. Tingling lips is normal while eating it – and part of the thrill – but even a minute amount of the toxin attacks the nervous system, leading to numbness and even death.
Relief in Sweets
Some of the food – lamb’s brains and bull testicles – sound as though they’re lifted straight from Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential. But if one gets a bit queasy flipping through those entries, just flip quickly to the bakery or confections section and indulge in a Viennese Sacher-torte, the Muslim Guillac (a sort of Turkish baklava), an Italian cake called Sbrisolona, traditionally served at Christmas. Or you could read about the French candy known as Vichy mint or the crumbly but toothsome Cornish Fudge. There’s no calories for looking.
1001 Foods You Must Try Before You Die
If nothing else, looking through 1001 Foods You Must Try Before You Die may inspire readers to compose their own “bucket list” of foods they want to try. Whether thy search out their own tasty delicacies or make up this list from the list of 1001 foods Frances Case has compiled doesn’t really matter. What does matter is that eaters realize there is a world of food out there – so many varieties, in fact, it may just take a lifetime to discover them all.
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