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Italian Historian, Director of
Collins LLC and of the IU Food Project
Carl Ipsen
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Sophie Coe Prize
I 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...
cipsen
Sep 2, 20211 min read
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The challenges of anti-racism in southern Indiana
The recent racist attack on a Black man in Monroe County propels the classic midwestern college town of Bloomington (home to Indiana...
cipsen
Jul 12, 20203 min read
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Trani - May 2019
Trani 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...
cipsen
May 12, 20192 min read
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California olive harvest 2017 – part II
Milling of the olives began the morning after they had been harvested. The mill, Pacific Sun, is located in Tehama County in the northern...
cipsen
Nov 21, 20176 min read
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California olive harvest 2017 – part I
There are days in the fall and winter months in northern California that are especially brilliant. Normally they come after a rain storm...
cipsen
Nov 21, 20173 min read
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The Good Food Awards
I 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...
cipsen
Sep 18, 20173 min read
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Slow Food Nations
IU 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...
cipsen
Jul 22, 20176 min read
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Alice in Bloomington
Following nearly 5 years of planning, Alice Waters came to Bloomington for three packed days in April. She arrived Wednesday evening for...
cipsen
Apr 20, 20174 min read
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Fumo reviewed in the TLS
This 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...
cipsen
Apr 8, 20171 min read
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Thoughts on braising
My career as a blogger has languished throughout this (busy) academic year. Now as it gets busier still I will have a few things worth...
cipsen
Mar 24, 20173 min read
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Fumo at Columbia, Sept. 9, 2016
I 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....
cipsen
Aug 22, 201640 min read
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Italian food magazines
Italian food magazines, at least the four I looked at during my recent stay, are a disappointing lot and all seem to follow a pretty...
cipsen
Jun 16, 20162 min read
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Xylella VI
It looks as though there is no resolution in sight. Scientists at the University of Bari have established that Xylella does indeed cause...
cipsen
Jun 2, 20162 min read
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Smoke and oil
A 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...
cipsen
May 22, 20162 min read
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Historians 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...
cipsen
May 8, 20162 min read
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Florentine interlude
It’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....
cipsen
Apr 30, 20162 min read
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Olive oil c. 1750
Olive 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...
cipsen
Apr 23, 20162 min read
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Salento Diary (Partenza)
Riding the train northwards from Brindisi, the by now familiar ubiquity of olive trees is nonetheless striking: in any forgotten corner...
cipsen
Apr 21, 20161 min read
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Salento 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...
cipsen
Apr 19, 20163 min read
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Salento Diary (Xylella IV)
Americans tend to be skeptical regarding “conspiracy theories;” Italians less so. Here then is the cynical analysis of the xylella...
cipsen
Apr 13, 20162 min read
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