Techniques for Better Food WritingTwitter: @diannej, www.diannej.com, author, Will Write for Food

1. Specific Adjectives

Taste and Smell:AcidulousAcridAstringentBlandBitterButteryBrightBriny

CloyingCooling FruityHerbalMellowMustyNuttyPeppery

PerfumedPiquantRobustSourTartZesty

Texture:BrittleChewyCrispCrunchyFlakyFoamy

GelatinousJuicyRunnySilkySlimySlippery

SlushySmoothStickyTenderVelvety

Appearance:BlanketedCaramelizedCrumbledCrustyDrownedLacklusterLeafyLimpMelted

MottledMurkyPlumpRipeShearedShinySmearedSpice-dustedSprinkled

StuffedSyrupy TiredTremblingWetWimpy

Sound:BubblingCrackling

FizzyPopping

SizzlingSputtering

2

Be sparing. Ruth Reichl, in Tender at the Bone:

“It was extraordinarily good, the livers tasting faintly of anchovy, capers and lemon, but mostly of themselves. I had a second slice, and then a third. I was feeling warmer and the smoke was starting to clear. A sense of languorous well-being came over me.”

2. Be specific in your writing. Remove general words and replace with specific ones. The man took a pan from the drawer = the cook took a kettle from the drawer.

3. Use powerful action verbs. Verbs give your writing vitality and action. Tajal Rao, Village Voice:

“The mussels are small and wild, jimmied off the Hampton Bays where they cling together against the shore. They are scrubbed clean and steamed in a broth that tastes of green pastures slapped by cold waters, of Mont Saint-Michel's salted grass and butter. Mussels, man. Since when did the little buggers hold so much flavor?

Sure, you must work for it, breaking apart hinged shells and scooping up the bright, salty liquor of cilantro, parsley, dill, and spinach. But there are slices of neatly grill-marked bread from Grandaisy Bakery to help you along, crisp on one side, soft on the other. Use your hands, make a mess. “

4. Us analogy or simile. Uses “like” or “as.” Jay Raynor in the (London) Guardian:

“…Best of all, though, is chef Jason Atherton's very humble Berner's Tavern at the London Edition Hotel. The ceiling is so high you could fly a kite in there, as long as you didn't chip the Georgian roses. There's acres of polished wood, a clutter of dodgy art and chandeliers like crystal tits. It's a humble room, much as Louie Spence is a quiet chap who doesn't draw attention to himself.”

5. Use metaphor. Direct comparison, ex. Those nutritional powerhouses…

6. Use contrast: A writing technique to heighten interest. MFK Fisher:

“And in Dijon we went to Ribaudot’s when we were flush, or perhaps the Chateaubriant, which we never grew to like much, except in the summer when we could eat dust and iced fruits on the sidewalk.”

7. Use context: What surrounds the food and throws light on its meaning; the interrelated conditions and their significance, such as who you are, your history, where you are, its history, the circumstances, and the date.

8. Use humor. UK blogger Helen Graves, in Food Stories:

“Cherry, Bourbon and Honeycomb Ice Cream.

Oddly, this was the first time I’d ever made honeycomb. That’s some crazy right there. In case you’ve never made it, what happens is that you melt butter, sugar and golden syrup in a pan then bubble it furiously, before chucking in some bicarbonate of soda, which makes it go BATSHIT MENTAL. It expands massively, frothing up into a giant golden Crunchie. Loads of fun.

Anyway it’s lush crumbled into this ice cream, with cherries and bourbon. Fruit, booze and honeycomb. Yes please.”

9. Add memories. Mine the past for stories, and bring them into the present with retrospection

Put Several Techniques Together

Alice Medrich, Bittersweet:

“A perfectly emulsified ganache pulls itself together before your eyes as you whisk the chocolate and cream together. It thickens into a glossy homogeneous mass with a pudding-like consistency that shows distinct tracks in the wake of the whisk. If you pour the ganache into another container, it has enough body to hold a soft shape on the surface rather than flowing into a completely level mass. It sets at room temperature with a satiny gloss on the surface and is uniformly firm when pressed with a fingertip.”

Note: Specific adjectives, powerful action verbs, metaphor.

MFK Fisher, The Gastronomical Me:“And then there was one unattractive but delicious thing, a kind of sludge of different vegetables flavored with ham, which the waiter called Udgie-pudgie. I finally saw on a menu that it was Hodge-podge. The captain and the crew loved it, and it was indeed good, in a simple crude way that might offend or bore sophisticated palates.”

Note: Metaphor, contrast, context.