Tastes and styles in food do change, but unlike electronic gadgets, cookbooks don’t go totally out of date. I happened upon “The Best of Gourmet 1995” on the bargain table of a bookstore recently. Gourmet magazine is famous, at least in my mind, for its stunning photographs of food served up in fabulous settings. They have recipes as well.

I noticed that some of the recipes in the collection gave tips for obtaining ingredients that were out of the ordinary. They often referenced mail order sources, having been written back in the dark days before the Internet. It’s interesting to see what was called out. I have leafed through and picked a selection of the items at random for examination. The goal is to compare what was out-the-ordinary then to what is available now, and see what became of some of the vendors. Some items did not name vendors, but gave advice like “available in health food markets.”

1. whole yellow peas from Old Denmark Scandinavian Food Specialties (not found on the web)

2. Thai chilis and kaffir lime leaves from Adriana’s Caravan, now a premiere web merchant

3. preserved lemon peel The Gardiner, Berkeley, CA (they now sell retail, but apparently no food items)

4. walnut oil

5. sherry vinegar

6. chipotle chilis in adobo from Los Chileros de Nuevo Mexico

7. Mexican chocolate Kitchen (New York City). (I found Kitchen Market by Googling their 1995 phone number. They are well-reviewed but apparently do not sell via the Internet.)

8. crystallized edible flowers and mint leaves from Meadowsweets", an interesting web site

9. raw unhulled pumpkin seeds from Sultan’s Delight (In August their site said they were closed until September.)

10. boneless quail

11. chorizo

12. wheat berries

13. won ton wrappers

14. tasso, Cajun cured smoked pork, now available from Cajun Specialty Meats

15. hoisin sauce, the now fairly common “Chinese ketchup”

16. bulgur

17. tahini (sesame seed paste)

I believe that everything not linked in the list here is available through our main index.

The food world has not changed much since 1995. What was good then is still good. Most mail-order merchants have moved to the web, but some have not. Overall the food world is an oasis of stability. Nothing compared to, say, Windows 95 > Windows NT > Windows 2000 > Windows XP > Windows Vista. The food leaves a better taste in the mouth as well.