10 Creative, Fun, Food Websites and Newsletters

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I know your inbox is full and so is mine. Just when I think I can’t possibly read one more newsletter or look at one more food website, someone launches a new one that I can’t resist.

For the information overloaded among us, here’s a curated list of our top food site picks. Some are green, some are highly interactive, some aggregate the best from the web, some are fun, and others are just plain smart.

1. Food News Journal has quickly become my daily go-to source for all types of news in the food world. From politics and policy, to chef gossip, to its “best of blogs” section, it’s invaluable for any food writer or non-professional foodie.

2. Foodspotting features user generated photos and tips and lets you share foods you’ve found and loved and also search by location for foods others have posted. For example, I live in Oakland, and I’m craving Ramen. I search for Ramen in Oakland and can look through a list of Ramen photos in my area complete with menu names and restaurant addresses.

3. Punk Domestics curates blog posts from around the web on the topics of preserving, canning, pickling, jamming, and other DIY arts. Users can post their own content, lending to the spirit of sharing and community that the site fosters.

4. Tasting Table is like the Daily Candy of food. A daily regionalized email of top dining, drinking, and food shopping finds.

5. Tutti Foodie is made up of passionate food lovers with an environmental bent. The site features recipes, ingredients, books, and blogs focusing on the good, the unusual, and the green.

6. The Nibble is the place to go if you want to know what the best gourmet food products are of the thousands on the shelves. Get reviews of olive oils, vinegars, snack foods and more in the form of a monthly magazine, weekly tip, or daily nibble.

7. Foodzie is a place to discover and buy all types of foods from small producers, and includes everything from meats to condiments to coffee. The site makes it easy for users to find local foods through a geographic search function.

8. Cooking Up a Story offers mini-documentaries online about the people behind sustainable food production. You can find interviews with farmers, food artisans, and experts on sustainability. The stories are inspiring and provide a window into the lives of people working hard to change our food system one seed at a time.

9. Project Foodie lets you search for recipes from magazines, cooking shows, newspapers, and cookbooks. The site also provides cookbook, recipe and product reviews.

10. Food 52 lets users submit their own recipes in various categories or using certain ingredients and then users vote for the best ones. It’s a great community of proficient home cooks and a wonderful way to find fantastic and inventive recipes by home cooks. The site is super content rich with video and answers to reader’s queries. The site’s Tournament of Cookbooks is always exciting.

This is the latest installment in Vanessa Barrington’s weekly column, The Green Plate, on the environmental, social, and political issues related to what and how we eat.

Image: wicekenden

Vanessa Barrington

Vanessa Barrington is a San Francisco based writer and communications consultant specializing in environmental, social, and political issues in the food system.