You are currently viewing a new version of our website. To view the old version click .
  • 40 daysTime to First Decision

Gastronomy

Gastronomy is an international, peer-reviewed, open access journal on gastronomy and culinary arts published quarterly online by MDPI.

All Articles (37)

Mediterranean Diet as a Nutraceutical and Sustainable Model for Health and Environmental Wellbeing

  • Eduardo Costa-Camilo,
  • Fátima Cardoso and
  • Isabel Duarte
  • + 4 authors

The Mediterranean Diet (MD) has emerged as a comprehensive model for promoting human health and environmental sustainability. This review proposes reconceptualization of the traditional MD pyramid, highlighting its functional food components and their relevance to modern health challenges. Rooted in a rich cultural and gastronomic heritage, the MD extends beyond nutritional adequacy. It offers substantial nutraceutical benefits due to its high content of bioactive compounds such as polyphenols, carotenoids, omega-3 fatty acids, and phytosterols. These compounds contribute to the prevention and management of chronic non-communicable diseases through antioxidant and anti-inflammatory mechanisms. Simultaneously, the MD aligns with sustainable food system principles: it is predominantly plant-based; it promotes seasonal and local food sourcing; and it supports minimal food waste. In addition, this dietary pattern has been associated with a significantly lower ecological footprint compared to Western diets, thus supporting broader environmental goals. Ultimately, the MD stands as a scientifically grounded, culturally embedded, and ecologically viable approach to foster both individual and planetary wellbeing (One Health concept).

4 October 2025

(A). Food waste per capita (%) in 2016, 2020, and 2021 across selected regions. (B). Food waste (kg per capita) in selected European countries in 2022. Extracted from Eurostat using the latest available data [20].

Plant-based meat analogues (PBMAs) are positioned as promising alternatives to animal-based foods due to their potential environmental and health benefits. This study aimed to investigate the acceptability of PBMAs among trend-sensitive Swedish consumers, including both those who already eat PBMAs and those who do not. A questionnaire with both closed and open-ended questions was distributed digitally via social media using convenience/snowball sampling (n = 291). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and qualitative content analysis. The results show that PBMA consumption was significantly more common among women, urban dwellers, and individuals identifying as flexitarians or vegetarians. Environmental concerns and animal welfare were the most important motivators for PBMA consumption, whereas non-consumers cited issues such as imported ingredients, high processing levels, and poor sensory qualities as barriers. Consumers valued flavor and visual appeal more than production or nutritional attributes. Interestingly, while current PBMA consumers did not seek meat-like sensory properties, non-consumers and potential users preferred products resembling meat in taste and texture. The name “plant-based protein” was rated most appealing, compared to alternatives like “meat analogue” or “meat substitute.” The study highlights the heterogeneity in consumer expectations and emphasizes the need for tailored product development and communication strategies. Improving sensory quality, enhancing nutritional value, and positive product naming may support a broader acceptance of PBMAs.

19 September 2025

Overview of the questionnaire, built-in switches, distribution of questions and number of respondents.

This article analyzes how food functions as a cultural and narrative device in Vicente Blasco Ibáñez’s Around the World of a Novelist (1924), offering insight into early-20th-century global encounters as mediated through diet and gastronomy. Framed within literary analysis and food studies, the study focuses on Blasco Ibáñez’s representations of food across Japan, China, India, and the Americas, identifying how culinary practices serve to construct cultural otherness, negotiate identity, and reflect broader ideological frameworks. The methodology involves close textual reading combined with interpretive tools from cultural anthropology and nutritional science, especially regarding traditional versus industrial food systems. The analysis finds that Japanese foodways are portrayed as ritualized and harmonious, Chinese cuisine as ingenious yet unsettling, Indian diets as spiritually driven but materially scarce, and American food systems as abundant and industrialized. Across these accounts, food emerges not merely as sustenance but as a marker of civilization, modernity, and cultural difference. The article concludes that Blasco Ibáñez’s narrative captures a transitional moment in global food history, documenting both the persistence of traditional culinary systems and the rise of industrialized, globalized nutrition, thereby positioning gastronomy as a key lens for understanding travel literature and cross-cultural representation.

9 September 2025

Map with numbered locations visited by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez in Around the World of a Novelist [4]: 1. New York, 2. Cuba, 3. Panama, 4. Hawaii, 5. Tokyo (Japan), 6. Korea, 7. Shenyang (Manchuria, China), 8. Beijing (China), 9. Shanghai (China), 10. Hong Kong, 11. Macau (China), 12. Java (Indonesia), 13. Singapore, 14. Burma, 15. India, 16. Sri Lanka, 17. Sudan, 18. Nubia, 19. Egypt, 20. Naples (Italy), 21. Montecarlo (Monaco), and 22. Menton (France).

Tanomenon Sorva (TS), a traditional yogurt-based soup at the heart of Pontic Greek cuisine, is examined as a marker of identity among descendants of Pontic Greeks in Western Macedonia, Greece. Guided by social constructionism and practice theories, we conducted participant observation and semi-structured interviews with 11 women aged 54–86 years and analyzed data using reflexive thematic analysis (RTA). Four key themes emerged: (1) Cultural Continuity and Tradition; (2) Social Bonding Through Food; (3) Adaptation, Challenges, and Loss; and (4) Health and Nourishment. We argue that this iconic, tangy soup operates as a cultural code and habitual practice that stitches memory, belonging, and embodied well-being. Against pressures of culinary homogenization, TS remains a powerful symbol and a practical tradition that helps a group preserve its unique identity.

18 August 2025

Flowchart of Study Structure.

News & Conferences

Issues

Open for Submission

Editor's Choice

Get Alerted

Add your email address to receive forthcoming issues of this journal.

XFacebookLinkedIn
Gastronomy - ISSN 2813-513XCreative Common CC BY license