W Journal
![What We Do and Don’t Learn from Bog Bodies](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e558c8165fc4c78f502938d/1674068175650-J6F3419D69VOOJ1CGZY1/Head_-_Tollundmanden.jpg)
What We Do and Don’t Learn from Bog Bodies
People mummified in alkaline conditions offer valuable clues about what people used to eat, but there are limits to what that tells us about culture and ritual.
![Taking Stock: Caribbean Food In New York City](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e558c8165fc4c78f502938d/1672845763991-UYEXZ537IACENQJZI7BH/kenny-eliason-8Cerf3zW8hA-unsplash.jpg)
Taking Stock: Caribbean Food In New York City
Inexpensive neighborhood restaurants have been key in connecting Jamaican expats with the flavors of home, but some chefs and diners are looking to bring the cuisine to new audiences and spaces.
![Sweet Sounds](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e558c8165fc4c78f502938d/1672259788251-OYE0OHNY9B995CFYUH54/826Whetstone_LGoslineRatliff.jpg)
Sweet Sounds
Students from 826 Valencia read their poems about cookies, cakes and other sweets.
![‘Blackness for me, is the food my mom makes’](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e558c8165fc4c78f502938d/1669989558597-35DBRNOWTPF50BUZYW1P/ebloS-aA.jpeg)
‘Blackness for me, is the food my mom makes’
826 Valencia’s Black Students Initiative shares excerpts from its recent book, The Future Is Black.
![Baleadas and Many Things](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e558c8165fc4c78f502938d/1666908319584-1DBY1KEERM9N3RM8HV5W/Oje_4DTQ.jpeg)
Baleadas and Many Things
826 Valencia students read poetry they wrote about their lives and their food.
![Cake, the Captain and a Kingdom of Donuts](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e558c8165fc4c78f502938d/1664814368804-Z9V1YVVXMJM4WXI8HPG3/6zeIpMXA.jpeg)
Cake, the Captain and a Kingdom of Donuts
This year marks the 20th anniversary of literacy organization 826 Valencia. To celebrate, students dream up their dream confections.
![Nostalgia, Authenticity and Hope in Immigrant Foods](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e558c8165fc4c78f502938d/1662661701493-6DKBL7K37RN5OKOEAR8M/Food_%2824908816444%29.jpg)
Nostalgia, Authenticity and Hope in Immigrant Foods
A 13-course lunch at London’s Ikoyi followed by a screening of Everything Everywhere All at Once provides new insight into the pitfalls of categorizing cuisines and the universe-hopping inherent in immigrant cooking.
![A New Old Ingredient in Thailand](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e558c8165fc4c78f502938d/1662061442124-VT754Z3UTXPLE7TJ287C/pexels-nine-5030168.jpg)
A New Old Ingredient in Thailand
With cannabis now legal, people return to the plant traditionally used to add a savory characteristic to their dishes.
![‘To Make! Mix It All Together!’](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e558c8165fc4c78f502938d/1661462723395-9N8Q2MVJ2R4HSJ5I7HDR/O0sajZ9g.jpeg)
‘To Make! Mix It All Together!’
Students working with 826 Valencia share their Kitchen Magic.
![Cream Cheese: An American Tale](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e558c8165fc4c78f502938d/1659622239029-NYBPTG20CLAMS2FNXQKS/lossy-page1-758px-Tenement_Museum%2C_located_on_the_Lower_East_Side_of_Manhattan_at_97_Orchard_Street%2C_New_York%2C_New_York_LCCN2011631479.tif.jpg)
Cream Cheese: An American Tale
A trip to the Tenement Museum inspires a writer to investigate the connections between the spread, Jewish immigrants and the formation of U.S. cuisine.
Odes of Joy
Students with literacy organization 826 Valencia share poems and a recipe in celebration of their favorite foods.
![Kenyan Coffee’s Next Wave Focuses on Home](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e558c8165fc4c78f502938d/1658436565568-CS3J0PO7OA6AZUJK4MWI/Plantations_in_Kenya_Colony._Native_woman_picking_coffee_with_baby_on_her_back._Close_up_LOC_matpc.17608.jpg)
Kenyan Coffee’s Next Wave Focuses on Home
Long a producer of fine coffee for export, the country is developing a café culture all its own
![Around the World in Cornmeal Mush](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e558c8165fc4c78f502938d/1657818677319-XVS12CL7F26ZN36EDQMR/IMG_3440.jpeg)
Around the World in Cornmeal Mush
Whether it’s polenta, grits, mamaliga or ugali, this comfort classic traces its origins to the same place.
![The Route to Roux](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e558c8165fc4c78f502938d/1656006622477-WS1S79I8JEPQ2XXP6VJB/Whetstone_June_SHuang.jpg)
The Route to Roux
Students with literacy organization 826 Valencia explore how their food gets to—and connects—them.
![Trading Plates in Colonial Oman](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e558c8165fc4c78f502938d/1655408266769-SRKEL1D99BHH72NCEX3H/The_Omani%27s_fort_also_known_as_Old_fort_of_Zanzibar.jpg)
Trading Plates in Colonial Oman
The Swahili diaspora influences Omani cuisine past and present.
![Care and Tending](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e558c8165fc4c78f502938d/1653899985512-ANQ6VHEIZC09DO0V8UEA/esperanza-doronila-OrK8DrZuTF8-unsplash.jpg)
Care and Tending
One writer explores the connections food engenders with elderly people in her community.
![Fresh As a Flower and So Hot Like Lava](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e558c8165fc4c78f502938d/1653417161721-GM64IH6678SWPIC7UHXF/hqndPi2g.jpeg)
Fresh As a Flower and So Hot Like Lava
Tenderloin Community School students use poetry to express their love for favorite meals. Working in collaboration with literacy organization 826 Valencia.
![Planting Empowerment and Flavor in Oaxaca](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e558c8165fc4c78f502938d/1653416750239-EWA5MAMDD0OSB236XZ1N/zoe-schaeffer-L-sr5wjJmGE-unsplash.jpg)
Planting Empowerment and Flavor in Oaxaca
For one family, agroecology means more than just a healthy kitchen garden—it’s a way to create a legacy.
![Living Off the Land in Greenland](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e558c8165fc4c78f502938d/1653020659493-1ZPP9A0FDYRVZYJ448YV/Ammasat+2.jpg)
Living Off the Land in Greenland
In a country largely covered in ice, two meals offer a look into how people find food for sustenance and joy.
![Infinite Ellipses of Ritual and Flavor](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e558c8165fc4c78f502938d/1652432596142-G4HLQXGNNKR0YNULGZJV/shelley-pauls-t4X660oKiYs-unsplash.jpg)
Infinite Ellipses of Ritual and Flavor
An ode to beans, ‘an emblem for Mexicanness before Mexico existed,’ and the milpa from which they came.