cipsenSep 2, 20211 minSophie Coe PrizeI was pleased and flattered to learn that I am recipient of the 2021 Sophie Coe Prize for food history writing for my piece "From Cloth...
cipsenJul 12, 20203 minThe challenges of anti-racism in southern IndianaThe recent racist attack on a Black man in Monroe County propels the classic midwestern college town of Bloomington (home to Indiana...
cipsenMay 12, 20192 minTrani - May 2019Trani 12 May 2019 I’m just wrapping up my first week in Trani (and so Puglia). I managed to visit five different properties/olive groves...
cipsenNov 21, 20176 minCalifornia olive harvest 2017 – part IIMilling of the olives began the morning after they had been harvested. The mill, Pacific Sun, is located in Tehama County in the northern...
cipsenNov 21, 20173 minCalifornia olive harvest 2017 – part IThere are days in the fall and winter months in northern California that are especially brilliant. Normally they come after a rain storm...
cipsenSep 18, 20173 minThe Good Food AwardsI spent Sunday as a judge for the Good Food Awards in San Francisco. I arrived at the venue, a multi-use office/meeting space in the...
cipsenJul 22, 20176 minSlow Food NationsIU Food Project report on Slow Food Nations in Denver I attended Slow Food Nations in Denver over the July 14-16 weekend. It was a...
cipsenApr 20, 20174 minAlice in BloomingtonFollowing nearly 5 years of planning, Alice Waters came to Bloomington for three packed days in April. She arrived Wednesday evening for...
cipsenApr 8, 20171 minFumo reviewed in the TLSThis is a curious review in that about half is taken from my book and about half consists of the author's own anecdotes - I confess that...
cipsenMar 24, 20173 minThoughts on braisingMy career as a blogger has languished throughout this (busy) academic year. Now as it gets busier still I will have a few things worth...
cipsenAug 22, 201640 minFumo at Columbia, Sept. 9, 2016I have been a lazy blogger since getting back from Italy. But our academic year starts today so perhaps it is time to revive this page....
cipsenJun 16, 20162 minItalian food magazinesItalian food magazines, at least the four I looked at during my recent stay, are a disappointing lot and all seem to follow a pretty...
cipsenJun 2, 20162 minXylella VIIt looks as though there is no resolution in sight. Scientists at the University of Bari have established that Xylella does indeed cause...
cipsenMay 22, 20162 minSmoke and oilA blog is not meant to be a diary (I think). But I am reaching the end of this Italian sojourn and if nothing else I need to reflect on...
cipsenMay 8, 20162 minHistorians of Italy only (and maybe not even)I’ve been thinking this week much about the (last) Kingdom of Naples (1735-1861). In part because I have been travelling to several parts...
cipsenApr 30, 20162 minFlorentine interludeIt’s not my intention to write a travelogue, but elements of that sort will undoubtedly enter in as long as I am in fact traveling....
cipsenApr 23, 20162 minOlive oil c. 1750Olive oil c. 1750 What follows is a description of olive cultivation and olive oil production in Calabria in the 18th c. It is taken from...
cipsenApr 21, 20161 minSalento Diary (Partenza)Riding the train northwards from Brindisi, the by now familiar ubiquity of olive trees is nonetheless striking: in any forgotten corner...
cipsenApr 19, 20163 minSalento Diary (Xylella V)One of my last activities on this Salento trip was to attend a conference in Torchiarolo (just S of Brindisi) on the Xylella problem. I...
cipsenApr 13, 20162 minSalento Diary (Xylella IV)Americans tend to be skeptical regarding “conspiracy theories;” Italians less so. Here then is the cynical analysis of the xylella...