New Worlder

Share this post
The Year in Review
newworlder.substack.com

The Year in Review

New Worlder's first year on Substack.

Nicholas Gill
Dec 27, 2022
4
2
Share this post
The Year in Review
newworlder.substack.com
Isla Venado, Costa Rica. Photo: Nicholas Gill.

While New Worlder has been around for years in one form or another, the move to Substack earlier this year has been extremely positive. What I particularly like is that I’m not dependent on social media for getting anyone to read the content. Don’t get me wrong, Instagram/Twitter/Facebook still help bring in new readers, though much of the traffic comes right from subscribers and from within the Substack network. I cannot tell you how freeing this is. I no longer need to depend on algorithims that encourage divesiveness for clicks to have someone read my work.

I spent a lot of this year trying to find my rhythm in this new format. Did readers want more recipes? More podcast interviews? More stories about biodiversity? More personal essays? Many of you wrote me or commented on posts to let me know and I really appreciate it (and please keep doing this!). There are some big things coming in this upcoming year on the site, especially for paid subscribers (annual subscriptions are 50% off until December 28!). Expect a lot of new stories about biodiversity, including monthly ecosystem reports. I’m going to expand the Eat Lists to every major city and culinary destination in Latin America and I will keep them updated. There will be some big name guests on the podcast, plus some fascinating lesser known ones.

One thing I really want to stress is to stop relying on social media to get your culinary information. It’s turned gastronomy into click bait headlines and nicely plated dishes that look nice in photos but lack substance and flavor. We have seen how destructive it can be, so do something about it. Subscribe to newsletters of other Substack writers (refer to my recomendations here) and support independent media wherever you can. Also, subscribe to magazines, subscribe to newspapers, buy books, buy e-books, buy audiobooks. If we depend on doing our own research and stop accepting the opinions of others, the world of gastronomy will be in a much better place.

New Worlder is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Annual subscriptions are just $20 (50% off) until December 28.

New Worlder’s Best Stories of 2022

New Worlder
Mother Noella & The Cycles of Life
This is an ad-free space, and all support comes from you: readers and listeners. Click here to become a paid subscriber. “Benedict was just a cheese,” Mother Noella Marcellino tells me as we look at Trichothecium roseum, bacteria growing on the rind of one of the cheeses she makes at the Benedictine Abbey of Regina Laudis…
Read more
6 months ago · 5 likes · Nicholas Gill
New Worlder
It’s Yuca, Not Yucca
It’s yuca the word that you are probably thinking, when writing of a plant that you might be eating. Yuca with one C is almost definitely the one. In cooking you can use it a considerable ton. It’s a tropical tuber that was born in Brazil. It grows quite easily so have your fill…
Read more
a year ago · 11 likes · 2 comments · Nicholas Gill
New Worlder
Thalia Barrios García’s Mole de Hongos
Mole, which I wrote about for Eater earlier in the year, is a rather misunderstood concept in Mexican cuisine. Much of what gets defined as mole are the classic moles of the Oaxaca Valley. These are the mestizo moles born in and around Oaxaca city, a collection of ingredients both native and f…
Read more
4 months ago · 2 likes · 3 comments · Nicholas Gill
New Worlder
Doña María Elena Espinosa Grijalba’s Arroz de Maíz
You should know her name. Everyone else should know it too. It’s Doña María Elena Espinosa Grijalba. She’s a Costa Rican national treasure. In her mid-60s, she’s one of the greatest cooks in all of Central America and a guardian of Chorotega recipes…
Read more
9 months ago · 3 likes · Nicholas Gill
New Worlder
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Tucupí
A once obscure Amazonian sauce, tucupí has become a buzz word in Latin American culinary circles over the last few years. While awareness about this sauce made from yuca (aka cassava or manioc) has spread, the understanding of what it is and what it represents to people in the region remains limited…
Read more
3 months ago · Nicholas Gill
New Worlder
The New Wave of Chilean Wine
Every time I’m in Chile I’m impressed by the breadth of great wines being produced, though many of them tend to never leave the country. Even within the country they’re difficult to find sometimes. The lack of a great wine shop in Santiago, at least that I know of (recommendations please!!) that focuses on natural and biodynamic producers, required me to enlist my good friend…
Read more
7 months ago · 3 likes · 2 comments · Nicholas Gill
New Worlder
How to Buy Quinoa That Supports Andean Farmers
Around 2005, quinoa went global and the entire market around it changed. It started being marketed as a health food at a m moment when being kosher, gluten-free and a complete plant protein were highly sought after attributes. Supply could not keep up with demand, so, naturally, prices jumped and much m…
Read more
2 months ago · 7 likes · Nicholas Gill
New Worlder
A Guide to Chichas & Other Fermented Beverages in the Americas
As far back as the first encounters with Europeans, the fermented drinks of the Americas have been a target for colonization. With its ties to non-Christian religions and allegations of health concerns, the Spanish Crown tried to outlaw pulque production after conquering the Aztecs…
Read more
7 months ago · 6 likes · 2 comments · Nicholas Gill
New Worlder
Diana Kennedy & Me
Read more
5 months ago · 15 likes · 4 comments · Nicholas Gill
New Worlder
The Story of Amaranth in the Americas
This is the first series of stories for this newsletter, though it will certainly not be the last. Each series will look at a particular topic, which might be a place or an idea of some sort. In this case, it’s an ingredient. Amaranth. Over the next few weeks, you’ll get insight into this once integral New World crop that has been systematically erased from our collective memories over the past 500 years. Through various recipes and stories, you’ll hear different voices that know the plant, grow it, write about it and cook with it…
Read more
a year ago · 3 likes · 2 comments · Nicholas Gill

New Worlder is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Annual subscriptions are just $20 (50% off) until December 28. Don’t expect this price ever again :)

2
Share this post
The Year in Review
newworlder.substack.com
Previous
Next
2 Comments
Marie Elena Martinez
Writes Eat Drink Mom Woman
Dec 27, 2022

👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

Expand full comment
ReplyGift a subscriptionCollapse
Nico Vera
Writes La Yapa
Dec 27, 2022

¡Feliz Año Nuevo! Here’s to another amazing year of food and stories!

Expand full comment
ReplyGift a subscriptionCollapse
TopNewCommunity

No posts

Ready for more?

© 2023 New Worlder
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start WritingGet the app
Substack is the home for great writing