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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...
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Sep 2, 20211 min read


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...
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Jul 12, 20203 min read


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...
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May 12, 20192 min read


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...
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Nov 21, 20176 min read


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...
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Nov 21, 20173 min read


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...
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Sep 18, 20173 min read


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...
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Jul 22, 20176 min read


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...
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Apr 20, 20174 min read


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...
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Apr 8, 20171 min read


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...
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Mar 24, 20173 min read


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....
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Aug 22, 201640 min read


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...
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Jun 16, 20162 min read


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...
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Jun 2, 20162 min read


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...
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May 22, 20162 min read


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...
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May 8, 20162 min read


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....
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Apr 30, 20162 min read


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...
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Apr 23, 20162 min read


Salento Diary (Partenza)
Riding the train northwards from Brindisi, the by now familiar ubiquity of olive trees is nonetheless striking: in any forgotten corner...
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Apr 21, 20161 min read


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...
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Apr 19, 20163 min read


Salento Diary (Xylella IV)
Americans tend to be skeptical regarding “conspiracy theories;” Italians less so. Here then is the cynical analysis of the xylella...
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Apr 13, 20162 min read
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