The Devil in the Details: How Contact with the Americas Affected World Cuisine

Historical fiction—even alternate history—poses a unique challenge to authors: the ordinary circumstances of the past are not those of the present. In writing my novel, I came to a scene where the protagonist jury-rigs a primitive battery. This being 15^th century Italy, this is a fairly impressive feat. I was ready to detail how she affixes wires to a potato and exploits this household root to produce a current.

Then I stopped. I had forgotten one important fact: there were no potatoes in 15^th century Italy.

This Week on Runicfire: April 1 - 7

I hate doing anything important around the first of April. It always makes me feel silly. But with that aside, here's this week's schedule.

Monday's links cover a little more on the propaganda model of mass media, the Fermi paradox (or why we haven't made contact with aliens yet), and the history of food.

Wednesday continues the food discussion as I explore how contact with the Americas altered Western cuisine, and Italian food in particular.

And Friday, I have some more fiction to share with you.

Be well, and please stay tuned!