Whetstone Magazine

Founded in 2017, Whetstone Magazine is an independently published print and digital publication about global food origins, culture, and culinary anthropology.

Welcome to Whetstone Vol. 11!

Contributors

Decolonizing Korean Food • Japan’s occupation caused deep and lasting wounds; calling dishes like gimbap ‘the Korean version of…’ rubs salt in them.

A Culinary Powder Keg • The idea of Balkan cuisine brings up questions around what a nation is and who is considered ‘other.’

Starting with Silog • Filipino food looks radically different today than it would have a century ago. In a country that’s seen so many changing empires, we look at how traditional cuisine is established.

The Ceremonial Soup That Sustains a Culture • In one Oaxaca town, a three-day process of slaughtering and cooking pigs is essential to an Indigenous changing-of-the-guard event.

A Feel for Tehran • Every trip to Iran feels more important than the last. Before the country’s most recent protests began, I joined my parents in Tehran to visit family. This stay was filled with visits to the Tajrish Bazaar, taxis that crawled through traffic from one aunt’s house to another’s, cooking with my grandma and eating a ton. We took a road trip to see where my grandfathers were born, Kashan and Hossein, and stopped in the historic city of Isfahan. I saw more of the countr y than I normally do and discovered a rich culture I feel lucky to call my own.

Lemon Street Market • after Jereline Bethune, 1965

Pennyroyal, Rue and ‘Hickry Pickory’ • Herbal abortifacients are deeply rooted in American history.

The Ticket to Freedom • From West Africa to Brazil, selling akara or acarajé has offered people a chance at independence.

A History of Radicchio • Selective breeding turned a scrappy wild plant into a produce-case knockout.

Rendang for Eid • On Christmas Island, remoteness and colonial restrictions shape cuisine just as much as cultural connections to Southeast Asia.

Rebecca Burgess Is Weaving Voices • Get to know this Whetstone Radio Collective host.