About CulinaryLore: The Language, History, and Science of Food

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The CulinaryLore Manifesto: Beyond the Recipe

The internet doesn’t need another food blog. It needs a detective.

Most food sites fall into two camps: they either recycle the same surface-level myths you’ve heard a thousand times, or they bury you in academic jargon that lacks any practical connection to your kitchen. CulinaryLore is the one-stop shop that bridges that gap. By refusing to stay in a single “academic silo,” I’m able to provide a 360-degree view of food that no one else can match:

  • Food History: I go beyond the “fun facts” to do real historical sleuthing—tracking idioms back to 1st-century Roman medicine and debunking the viral hoaxes that clutter your feed.
  • Food Science: I deconstruct the “why” behind the “how,” translating complex chemistry into the practical math of your stovetop.
  • Food Law & Culture: From the legality of supermarket snacking to the psychological phenomenon of the “dessert stomach,” I investigate how food shapes our society and our laws.

I don’t just research and write about food; I investigate the “Lore”—the intersection of science, history, and human behavior that makes every bite interesting.

My approach to CulinaryLore is forged from a career that spans military service in the Middle East, medical experience, and years in the professional restaurant and fitness industries. I don’t just look for “fun facts.” I apply a background in Social Psychology and Linguistics to deconstruct why we eat what we eat, and why we believe the myths we do.

I am fiercely evidence-oriented, but in a forever practical way. My background in Engineering and Science means I value precision, but my years in Professional Kitchens mean I value efficiency. You won’t find me recommending a ‘two-hour steak’ for a marginal difference no one will notice. I provide the high-level sleuthing, but I keep the results grounded in the reality of your kitchen.

When Food and Psychology Meet

1. The Psychology of the Viral Myth

  • The Feature: Potemkin Numbers: Why We Believe Viral Food Myths
  • The Value: Most people see a number and assume it’s a fact. I use Social Psychology to deconstruct why our brains are hardwired to believe “authoritative” falsehoods and “proofiness,” to teach you how to spot a fake statistic before it even rings your cognitive doorbell.

2. The “Scientific” Smoke Screen

  • The Feature: Heavy Metals in Collagen: The ‘Medically Reviewed’ Deception
  • The Hook: Using my experience with fitness scams plus medical background, I look past the “medically reviewed” badges to find the actual data. This isn’t just food science; it’s a forensic audit of how the wellness industry uses “science” to create fear.

3. The Reality of the Palate

  • The Feature: Does Food Taste Better When Someone Else Cooks It?
  • The Hook: I debunk the “expert” who claimed we enjoy food less when we cook it ourselves when he “spoke out of school” about a paper he obviously hadn’t read. By applying evidence-oriented critical thinking, I proved that the “I’m tired of smelling it” theory doesn’t hold up to real-world scrutiny.

Food History Deep Dives You Won’t Find Elsewhere

1. The Egg Cream Myth: Case Closed

  • The Feature: Did Egg Creams Ever Actually Contain Eggs?
  • The Debunk: For decades, the “common knowledge” was that the New York Egg Cream never saw a real egg. I spent months digging through primary sources and historical records to prove the consensus wrong. This is the only definitive investigation that shows not only that they contained eggs, but why it was impossible for the original recipe to be any other way.

2. The Margarine “Franken-Food” Files

  • The Feature: The Strange History of Margarine: Debunking the Viral Myths
  • The Value: You’ve seen the viral posts: “Margarine was invented to fatten turkeys” or “It’s one molecule away from plastic.” I didn’t just fact-check them; I conducted a thorough forensic debunking of the entire series. No one else has gone to these lengths to trace these hoaxes back to their roots and expose the chemistry and history behind the smear campaigns.

🏛️ The Linguistic Hub: Why Food Language Matters

The words we use to describe our food are more than just labels; they are the core of our cultural identity. I use my background in linguistics to protect that history and deconstruct how we communicate through what we eat.

1. The Core Manifesto: Language is Food

  • The Feature: The Language of Food
  • The Meat of the Matter: This is the heart of the site’s mission. I explore the deep-seated connection between our lexicon and our plates, crafting the message that the language of food is food. It’s not just about what we eat, but how the words we use define our place in the world.

2. The “Taco Tongue” & Hyperforeignism

  • The Feature: The Taco Tongue: Why Overpronouncing Food Words Isn’t Correct
  • Hyperforeignism: Why do we switch accents for “spaghetti” or “taco” but not “pretzel” or “beef”? I use linguistic concepts like phonological nativization to explain why forced accents are often a performance rather than “correct” speech, and why letting words become “English” is a sign of their success, not a lack of respect.

3. The “Chai Tea” Redundancy Myth

  • The Feature: Redundant Food Names: Is it Really a Mistake?
  • The Repetitive Reduction: We’ve all heard the “Chai means tea!” corrections. I deconstruct why these redundancies occur and why they aren’t actually linguistic errors, but a natural part of how languages borrow and adapt to new concepts.

🏛️ The “Hybrid” Deep Dives: Botany Meets Chemistry

I don’t believe in staying in one lane. To truly understand a food, you have to look at the Botany of the plant, the Chemistry of the flavor, and the History of how it reached our table. These investigations are where those worlds collide.

1. The Flavor Time-Capsule: Banana & Grape

2. The Truth About “Franken-Fruits”: Grapefruit & Nectarines

  • The Features: The Origin of the Grapefruit and The Nectarine: Peach vs. Plum
  • The Insight: Before we had genetic sequencing, people made up wild myths about how fruits were “crossed.” I deconstruct the accidental hybrid history of the grapefruit (the “forbidden fruit” of Barbados) and debunk the stubborn myth that nectarines are a man-made cross between a peach and a plum.

🏛️ Food Law: Deconstructing Legal Lore

I don’t just repeat the headlines. I dig into court records and trademark law to separate “frivolous” myths from the complex legal realities of the food industry.

1. Beyond the Viral Outrage: The “Frivolous” Lawsuit

  • The Features: The Truth About the ‘Twinkie Defense’ and The McDonald’s Scalding Coffee Case
  • The Insight: We’ve all heard these stories used as punchlines for “sue-happy” Americans. I deconstruct the actual legal arguments and medical evidence, like the fact that the McDonald’s coffee was served at a temperature capable of causing third-degree burns in seconds, to show why these cases were far from frivolous.

2. Intellectual Property & The “Genericide” Trap

  • The Feature: What Happens When Trademarked Food Names Become Generic?
  • The Insight: Why can’t every company call their product a “Hero” or “Aspirin”? I explore the high-stakes world of Trademark Genericide, explaining how a brand can become “too successful” for its own good and lose its legal protection.

3. The Everyday Investigator

🥃 Spirits & Science: Beyond the Bottle

My alcohol research is second to none because I don’t just look at the proof—I look at the pharmacology and the propaganda. I bridge the gap between “bar talk” and hard science.

1. Absinthe: The Green Fairy vs. The Green Label

  • The Feature: Absinthe 101: The Ultimate Resource and History
  • The Insight: This is far from a simple overview. I explore the complex history of the “Green Fairy,” deconstructing the 19th-century moral panic and the science of thujone to explain why the drink was banned—and why its modern reputation is still a collision of history and marketing.

2. The Hops & Hordenine Connection

  • The Feature: Is Beer More Relaxing Than Other Alcohol?
  • The Insight: Everyone says beer is “relaxing,” but I look at the actual science. I explore the role of hordenine and hops to determine if there is a chemical basis for “beer bliss” or if it’s all down to social psychology.

My research isn’t a hobby, it’s an application of critical thinking and investigative rigor honed through years of military service and medical study. When I tackle a subject like the Margarine myths, I’m not looking for ‘clicks’; I’m looking for the structural truth. I use my background in Ancient History, Linguistics, medical, and even engineering to spot where the historical record was mistranslated or manipulated.

I took 4 semesters of Latin not just to read old texts, but to understand the DNA of our modern kitchen. My study of Archaeology and Language isn’t academic fluff—it’s the toolkit I use to track a word like taco
or bistro through history until the real story emerge

I combine this with experience in restaurants, food retail, military discipline, extensive travel throughout the Middle East. I mix it up with an unmatched knowledge of fitness honed through years of research, writing, and work as a strength coach.

The No-Nonsense Health Filter: I apply years of research in the fitness and health industry to separate evidence-based nutrition from the ‘charlatans’ who prey on food fears to empty your wallet. I’ve taken on these charlatans to their face. I’ve brough that in the trenches attituded, honed by the gentling of age, to you in these pages.

It’s All About You

If I could tell you one thing, instead of everything else I’ve told you on this page, it’s that I do this with my ideal reader in mind. It’s about YOU, not about myself. So, here on this page is the only time you will see me selling what I do.

One thing I will point, out, again and again, is that food preference is a subjective experience and reliant upon a great many overlapping factors. So, instead of telling you how you should eat your fried eggs, I help you understand how to order them. And, instead of telling you how very bad a well-done steak is, I challenge the grumpy chefs who would use your steak preference as an excuse to sell you are poor-quality piece of meat.

Just because someone tells you one method is the absolute and only correct cooking method does not mean you will find that it produces the results you prefer. Food preferences and how we acquire them is another topic that deserves as much attention as anything else tackled on this site!

Who is my ideal reader, then? A person that really likes to cook, sure, but is extremely curious about food on another level. Or, a person who is curious or just needs reliable answers that they can trust.

Many food-related subjects have nothing to do with actually preparing and eating food! You might want to know, for example, why we call a diversion or false trail a red herring. Or, you might be curious about whether microwaves cook from the inside out. Hedck you might want to really know, once and for, why you always have room for dessert!

Doing Something About Food Versus CulinaryLore

I’m often reminded of what Bruce Lee said about rote, regimented systems (of Martial Arts). He described these systems as failing to “go immediately to the heart of things” and instead using flowery forms and artificial techniques , so that they are “doing something about combat” rather than experiencing it. Using food history as a subject, I often quip that most food bloggers who mention food history are “doing something about food history.” So, I won’t write an article about an heirloom tomato I bought at the farmer’s market and tell a colorful story about the colorful fruits and vegetables, then label it food history because I used the word “heirloom.”

At the same time, I won’t go deep into the weeds about an esoteric food science subject that has no relevance to you, your everyday food experiences, or your kitchen. While food scientists love to wax on about the deep nuts and bolts of food chemistry, this, again, is “doing something about food science.” In other words, it is about what you can observe in a rote and detached way versus what you actually experience. I strive to bridge the gabs between those esoteric nuts and bolts and our shared food culture. My deep dives are written with you in mind, not with how impressive I want to sound.

Guest Articles

I get many messages from individuals wishing to publish articles on the site. Please understand that I do not respond to “article pitches.” At this time, I am not interested in publishing guest articles on the site. I’ve found that accepting articles takes up too much of my time, especially since authors ask me what they should write. 

If you do wish to publish an article on CulinaryLore, then take the time to familiarize yourself with the site and what I write. Then write an article that you think would fit well and send it to me (or send a representative excerpt). I will then let you know if I wish to publish it, and we can work out any details. If you do not do this, then it is clear you didn’t bother to read the about page, so why should I wish to work with you? 

See privacy policy and affiliate advertising disclosure.