The books that built SOS 📚

Cookbooks

Don’t buy these on kindle, the photos are crucial

• The Bordeaux Kitchen 

  Modern & beautifully illustrated breakdown of recipes from across the french countryside, with great narrative introduction on the issues with our food today. Our highest recommendation! (Inside)

• The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking

  Recommended by Marco Canora the chef behind Hearth NYC, this classic covers what to look for in sourcing the key notes of italian cuisine, as well as hosts of recipes. (Cover, Inside)

• The Noma Guide to Fermentation

  Absolutely gorgeous book on the science and art of fermenting everything from plums to meat, a ton of fun if you’re looking for a science experiment (Cover, Inside)

Food Science & Journalism

• Pandora’s Lunchbox 

  Deep dive on the science and economics that have driven processed foods to capture the American diet. Detailed, fun, informative.

• Extra Virginity, The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil

  Every question you’ve ever had about EVOO unveiled, lots of great stories about major frauds and the EVOO sommelier scene.

• French Women Don’t Get Fat

  The female CEO of Veuve Clicquot recounts her experience of moving to the US as a youth and ballooning in weight, breaking down the key lifestyle differences that keep the French thin without hitting the gym.

• Deep Nutrition, Why Your Genes Need Traditional Food

  A foundational work in the ancestral diet movement. It is quite technical and not the most casual read, but its takeaways are crucial.

• The Big Fat Surprise

  Thorough and celebrated debunking of the cholesterol-heart hypothesis. Sure to increase your butter consumption.

Fiction

• Down and Out in Paris and London (Orwell, 1933, 230pp)

  Highly entertaining look at the heinous underbelly of Parisian fine-dining and poverty. A true eye-opener on the historic nastiness of the restaurant kitchen!

• O Pioneers! (Willa Cather, 1913, 176pp)

  Clear-eyed narrative of life on a thriving frontier farm. Great glimpse at a time when our relationship with the land was intimate & vital.

• A Moveable Feast (Hemingway, 1964, 167pp)

  Memoir of Hemingway’s time in Paris as a struggling author. Like The Sun also Rises it is stocked with lengthy descriptions of never-ending sun-soaked lunches in Europe.

Food History

• The Food of a Younger Land

  Incredible re-compilation of a new-deal writing project pre-WWII to document every niche food tradition across the 1930’s US. Spoiler alert, lots of lard 🐷

• Food & Fantasy in Early Modern Japan

  I purchased this to deep dive on traditional fats used in Japan and Asia, I love super-niche deep dives like this as I feel they help fill in the picture of how culture and diet co-evolve.

Philosophy

• The Scout Mindset

  An indispensable reality check, The Scout Mindset spells out various techniques for avoiding “motivated reasoning” and dealing with the facts as they are. Helpful for tolerating the news that your favorite bistro cooks with canola, and reporting it truthfully.

This collection struck the right balance of entertaining and informative for us, may they guide you on your path to eating classically.

Please send your recommendations our way!

-Seed Oil Scout 🫡

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