Talking of Food is a magazine website set up by a group of people who love not only food but also the diversity of its culture. It is not bound by ideology or momentary fads but has an open mind towards opposing views. Its contributors are often experts in their field and discuss wide ranging subjects such as antibiotics in the food-chain, the opposing arguments on GM food or the future of food. On a lighter note see how they make noodles in China or follow Elisabeth Luard's classic series on European Peasant Cookery.

Nicholas Culpeper: The Complete Herbal

Not only do many modern medicines have their origins in herbal medicine, more and more people are turning to herbal preparations—with or without also accepting modern drugs, vaccines and medications—and alternative, traditional treatments are popular. At Talking of Food we have our series on Vitamins, so we have decided to look into one of the most celebrated of herbalists, Nicholas Culpeper, who in the first half of the 17th century took knowledge of the medical use of herbs out of the grip of the Society of Apothecaries and made it accesible to ordinary people. Follow this link to all we have included from The Complete Herbal.

Image of Nicholas Culpeper by Thomas Cross, line engraving, published 1649, Catalogue NPG D29025. Used with permission from the National Portrait Gallery under Creative Commons licence. Image resized.

A Year in Chicken Soup

I am deep within the annual existential crisis otherwise know as The January Spring Clean. Literally so: I’m up to my knees in books, flung from their roosts on the book shelves in a desperate attempt to Get Rid Of This Infernal Clutter. I lift one at random and blow a film of dust from its decorative cover: Arabesque by Claudia Roden, one of my favourite cookbooks …

School Dinner Memories

Everyone has a memory of their school dinner - and it's not always about the dreaded tapioca pudding! There are some people who actually liked them.