How Cookbooks Travel Across Cultures, Part 1

How Cookbooks Travel Across Cultures, Part 1  A Conversation with Cookbook Author and Recipe Adaptor Maria Zizka

When it comes to writing and publishing cookbooks, adapting recipes for different countries is far more complex than simply converting grams to ounces. In this week’s Flavor of Italy Podcast, I chatted with acclaimed cookbook author Maria Zizka, who specializes in the art and science of recipe adaptations—specifically the “Americanization” of international cookbooks. Maria is based in the Berkeley Hills of California, while I’m in Rome, Italy. So we both understand the importance—and challenge—of translating food and flavor across culinary cultures. In this first installment of our two-part conversation, we dug into everything from ingredient substitutions and baking adjustments to measurement conversions and language nuances.