2010’s Best Food Lists

December 30, 2010

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I’m joining the predictable, but fun, year end tradition of compiling the “best of” lists. Here is my list of the “best of” food lists;

(Read my A Real Food Look Back at 2010 for my reflections of the year in food news).

Best Cookbooks of 2010

This is always my favorite list category at the end of each year. I love cookbooks and am always amazed how many fresh and new perspectives are published in this genre – especially this year.

The following are all the best cookbooks of 2010 lists I found online to date;

Huffington Post, The Washington Post, Bon Apetit, Amazon, The Guardian, Epicurious, NPR, LA Weekly, NY Times and NYTimes (they compiled 2 lists), Vogue, David Lebovitz, Oregon Live, Michael Ruhlman, Cookbooker, and Saveur (my favorite food magazine, which also had the best selection on their list) .

The one book from these lists I did end up purchasing was Amanda Hesser’s The Essential New York Times Cookbook: Classic Recipes for a New Century. I can’t resist a cookbook that offers a window into a culture or part of history – and with great recipes. (I use this criteria picking my Top 3 Jewish Cookbooks).

I want to highlight a few “real food” standouts not found on the above lists;

Good Meat: The Complete Guide to Sourcing and Cooking Sustainable Meat by Deborah Krasner

Joel Salatin describes Good Meat as taking the mystery out of “artisanal farming and domestic culinary arts [and] bringing us all another giant step closer to healing the planet one bite at a time.” (Listen to an interview with Krasner on KCRW’s Good Food podcast).

The Lost Art of Real Cooking: Rediscovering the Pleasures of Traditional Food One Recipe at a Time

Written by Ken Albala and Rosanna Nafziger. This is a charming book of recipes written in narative form aimed to get you in the kitchen making your own yogurt, sourdough, cheese, and beer – foods that are made in factories today that used to be made in the home. (Listen to an interview with Ken Albala on The Splendid Table podcast).

The Best Food Related 2010 List

One of the best food lists I read this year was Grist’s – Vote for the Top 10 Scary Foods of 2010,

Grist lets you vote for the food you “were you most afraid to put in your mouth this year,” which included, hamburgers, corn sugar, genetically engineered salmon, Smithfield Pork, Gulf Seafood, school lunches, alcoholic energy drinks, eggs, Bluefin Tuna, and raw milk and cheese.

More 2010 Food Lists

The Atlantic – 10 Biggest Food Stories of 2010

The Atlantic – More Holiday Gift Ideas: 8 Food Books Worth Buying

Chicago Tribune – 2010’s Best Recipes

Daily Beast – 10 food trends of 2010

The Food Network – Top 50 Recipes of 2010

Grist – Top Ten Green Stories of 2010

Grist – Favorite food books of 2010

Huffington Post – 7 Things I learned about Food in 2010

Huffington Post – The Top 5 Food Stories of 2010

Huffington Post – Who is the 2010 Eater of the Year

Journal of Living Food and Healing – Top 13 Trends in 2010 for Real Food and Agriculture