While I continue to cook my way through A Cook’s Tour of Italy, there is a lot more of the world to see and taste. Almost every country has its own regional cuisines, and what we eat says a lot about our history and values. A few months ago, I got a fascinating book as a birthday present from a friend: 1,000 Foods to Eat Before You Die by Mimi Sheraton. With its global scope plus history and folklore, it has been a remarkable read. Entries are grouped together by region, which is especially helpful in finding connections.      

As I read, I have been compiling a spreadsheet to keep track of everything, since a thousand entries is a lot to remember. To make things even more interesting, some of the entries are not specific foods at all, but restaurants and markets to visit, paintings to admire, and even a few books and movies. In some cases, imagination must fill in for tasting. While I do not plan to sample everything on the list (due to cost, ethics, availability, safety concerns, or personal taste), each item provides another snapshot into regional and global patterns.