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These Food Magazines Are Worth the Dough

Subscribe to these print publications for the best in culinary journalism

Collage of food magazines we recommend on a pink background

The Spruce Eats / Lecia Landis

There was once a time when print magazines were pretty much the only way for food lovers to follow flavor trends, find new recipes, and learn about the latest and greatest chefs and restaurants. There were dozens of options, their mouth-watering glossy covers filling newsstands everywhere.

The internet has...changed things, but there are still some incredible food magazines out there that would love nothing more than to help you learn your way around the kitchen, your local restaurant scene, and the world at large. Maybe you’re looking for foolproof recipes tested by a team of professionals with notes on why each step is what it is. Or, perhaps you’re looking for captivating stories about small artisans making sustainable wine, cheese, charcuterie, and chocolate. Whether it's been around forever or is a new upstart returning to the joys of physical pages, there's a magazine out there for you.

For the most effective, tastiest recipes tested by an army of professionals with proven techniques (plus an explanation as to why everything works), turn to this culinary school in print. The aim of Cook's Illustrated is to figure out why recipes work and, sometimes more importantly, why they don’t work. Have trouble cooking fish? Want to bust some myths about marinating? Want to really understand how to cook with apples? This magazine covers it all.

But the "illustrated" part of the name is also important: Every cover features a gorgeous painting of food, and the photography and step-by-step visuals inside are top-notch. You’ll master skills you never thought you could and find a greater grasp on the ones you were already comfortable with. The heavily tested recipes span the globe in terms of flavor and technique: At the time of this writing, the lineup includes Sichuan green beans, Greek roasted feta, and whole-snapper grilled Jamaican-style.

Gastronomica

Gastronomica

Amazon

Are you an intellectual with a love for food? Do you seek out hard-hitting essays about dairy production while snacking on the best that your local cheese shop has to offer? If so, Gastronomica might be for you.

Published by the University of California Press, the magazine calls itself the "journal for food studies" and seeks out the latest interdisciplinary research at the intersection of food and culture, but it's just as appealing to nerdy non-academics. The research comes in between poetry; essays from noted historians, scholars, and chefs; and vibrant art that celebrates the joy and the craft of food. Your intellect and imagination will both be captured.

Each quarterly issue has a loose theme to hold it together: For spring of 2023, for example, it's borders and "authenticity." That includes everything from the secret Mexican ancestry of all-American fudge to a look at fig growers and the Slow Food movement in Tuscany.

OK, OK; drinks aren't food, exactly, but we say Imbibe still deserves a spot on this list—it won a James Beard Award, after all. It covers all things liquid, including cocktails, spirits, wine, beer, non-alcoholic drinks, and more. Not only will the magazine keep you up to date on the latest trends in booze and bars, but it'll also introduce you to lots of the fascinating characters who make and serve delicious beverages around the world. (It'll give you their recipes, too.)

Cherry Bombe

Cherry Bombe

Cherry Bombe

Cherry Bombe is all about women in food, whether that's an in-depth interview with "Top Chef All-Stars" winner Melissa King, a profile of the entrepreneur who opened women's-sports-only sports bar The Sports Bra, or an entire issue dedicated to the life and legacy of Julia Child. In the print-only magazine (stories are not available online, even to subscribers!), you’ll find lovely photos, inspiring stories, and overall fierceness.

On top of a simple print subscription, the magazine also offers two higher levels of membership, mostly for people in the food business. The Bombesquad gets you access to a members-only newsletter, virtual and in-person events, and a listing in the member directory, while members of the C-Sweet get to attend a breakfast/networking event series featuring industry thought leaders.

Food & Wine

Food & Wine

Magazines

When Food & Wine was founded in 1978, it helped kick off the modern foodie movement with its emphasis on worldwide regional cuisines, star chefs, and reliable recipes. Coming up on 50, it's still a great source for the latest on restaurants, recipes, travel, wine, and cocktails. Whether you want a taste of Naples, Florida, or Naples, Italy; to understand which kitchen tools are indispensable and which are fleeting trends; or to meet the hottest new culinary star, it's a good choice.

*Editor's Note: Food & Wine is owned by the same parent company as The Spruce Eats.

Whetstone

Whetstone

Whetstone Magazine

Stephen Satterfied began his career as one of few Black sommeliers in fine dining, and he founded Whetstone in 2016 to help amplify diverse voices in food journalism around the globe. The magazine is proudly led by a team of women and people of color, and in its pages you'll find well-researched deep-dives into all kinds of topics. The stories are fascinating—previous issues have examined the ideal conditions for oyster farming, traced curry powder's worldwide origins, and journeyed to ancient olive groves in Turkey.

But the publication isn't afraid to confront some of the more problematic issues in the food world, either: It's covered the fight to plant more genetic variety of avocados in Mexico, efforts to develop drought-tolerant millet to feed Zimbabwe as climate change reduces its access to water, and how the Japanese occupation of Korea from 1910 through World War II affected the country's food.

Whetstone is also a luxury publication, printed on fancy thick paper, with lots of gorgeous full-page photography. The subscription is fairly expensive, especially for a quarterly magazine, but these issues will sit on your coffee table for years to come.

Milk Street

Milk Street

Milk Street

Christopher Kimball founded America's Test Kitchen and Cook's Illustrated magazine in the early 1990s and has been a fixture of food TV since 2000, with a trio of PBS shows to his name. He went out on his own in 2016, creating a magazine (and online cooking school), called Milk Street. It has a global focus, featuring authentic recipes from all over the world.

Both in print and online, you'll get a tour of the world, with recent recipes ranging from gochujang-spiked Korean fried chicken to Turkish köfte meatballs to chilaquiles, the Mexican dish nachos are supposed to be. Your print subscription includes full access to an archive of Milk Street TV, radio, and podcast shows, along with all the recipes from the brand's 10-plus cookbooks. And in what may be the best part, the print magazine has no ads.

What to Look for in a Food Magazine

Focus

All of the magazines above are focused on food, but that's a very wide topic. Some food magazines are all about home cooking and recipes, while others are more about culture, sharing the stories of food and the people and places behind it. Each publication is directed at a different audience, too, with some for complete beginners and others for more advanced cooks. There is also a set of food industry magazines intended for chefs, restaurant managers, and other professionals. Some of these are more cooking-focused and could appeal to experienced home cooks, but others largely cover the less exciting business side of things.

Frequency

Publishing multiple issues is what makes a magazine different from a book, but there's no standard number of issues per year for a food magazine. Twelve, six, and four times a year are common, and others publish twice a year, or even on an irregular schedule. A subscription normally covers one year's worth of issues, however many that is, but make sure to read the details on the subscription page so you know what you're getting.

Price

Magazine prices, for a subscription or by the issue, vary pretty wildly. Part of this depends on business model: If the magazine includes ads, the advertisers are essentially subsidizing some of the costs of production and lowering the price. Some food magazines choose not to run ads, which means subscribers have to cover the whole cost. The actual printing and binding matter, too: Full-page photos with thicker paper make a magazine feels more luxurious and is designed for display on a coffee table or bookshelf, but they also cost more.

Why Trust The Spruce Eats? 

When writer, podcaster, and professional cheese nerd Christine Clark isn’t writing or teaching a cheese class, she’s reading a food memoir, cookbook, or food magazine. If you have a preferred method for storing your food magazines, she's all ears.

The Spruce Eats commerce writer Jason Horn updated this roundup. He received a master's degree in magazine journalism, and then promptly started a career almost exclusively in online media. He's spent nearly 20 years writing about food and drinks, for publications including Serious Eats, Liquor.com, Playboy, and Cottage Living (RIP).

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