The Idea

By nature, I am a lister. I create lists of things in order to direct my life. Years can go by, and I may forget everything on a list. However, since I am also a packrat, the lists are eternal. I can pull them out of the file and pick up the quest again.

This yearI found myself with plenty of free time. I spent many nights watching my favorite "food porn" shows on Food Network and Travel Channel. I have long been a fan of cooking shows, Alton Brown's "Good Eats" being my personal favorite. But, I have also enjoyed the food travel shows. There are several, with my first being "Unwrapped" with Mark Summers. Then came "Food Finds" with Sandra Pinckney and "Taste of America" with Mark DeCarlo. Alton Brown got into the mix with "Feasting on Asphalt" (riding motorcycles across America, eating good food) and "Feasting on Waves" (sailing around the Carribean, eating good food). Currently, I am loving "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" with Guy Fieri, "Bizarre Foods" with Andrew Zimmern and "Man vs Food" with Adam Richman.

In every episode of "Bizarre Foods," Chef Zimmern heads to the marketplace and tries out the raw materials of many of the dishes he will be eating. Every country that he visits, he tastes the local fruits, vegetables, meats and cheeses available in the marketplace. I began to realize that there was a cornucopia of foods that I had never heard of before. So, I started looking around at my local whole foods store (Wheatsfield Grocery in Ames, Iowa; aka the "Hippy Store") and my farmers' markets. I saw many varieties of fruits and cheeses that I had never tasted. This was a hole in my human experience. And in my life, vacuums lead to lists.

So, I created the following lists using information from the source of all knowledge: Wikipedia. They are far from comprehensive, but they are a good starting place for this adventure. I will be using these lists to detail foods that I have tried already, as well as find new foods to try. Think of them as a culinary treasure map. Please feel free to use them for your own experiences, but if you're going to publish them anywhere, at least credit Wikipedia for the data and me for the compliation. You'll also need Adobe Acrobat reader to view the files.

Fruits

Nuts

Juices, Infusions and Potables

Cheeses of Africa

Cheeses of Asia

Cheeses of Europe

Cheeses of Italy

Cheeses of North America

Cheese of Oceania

Cheeses of South America

Cheeses of Switzerland

Cheeses of the UK & Ireland

My plan is to start by trying two new fruits and two new cheeses every month. I will also be detailing my favorite fruits, nuts, potables and cheeses that I have already tried. If you can help me to expand these lists, or find some of the items listed, I will be in your debt.

So welcome. I invite you to join me on this escapade.