There's something beautiful about walking around a bookstore and flipping through tangible, printed literature. Especially when it comes to food magazines. The way the images bounce off the page alongside recipes, cultural stories, and interviews is so inspiring, and it's the kind of connection that can't be made when looking through a digital screen.
There are countless culinary magazines still in print, but I can be very choosy with what I want to pull from my mailbox (yes, those still exist.) Below I have listed out the top culinary magazines you should be reading right now.
Saveur Magazine
Saveur Magazine is my favorite food magazine – and not just because I interned there this past semester. Saveur is a food, travel, and culture magazine. While they feature recipes from around the world, they also include the background of the recipe, the history of the culture, and they spotlight the people that are still making them on location.
Food Network Magazine
Honestly, how could anyone do a roundup and not include the god of all things food, Food Network? This one is pretty self-explanatory.
Food & Wine
Food & Wine feature beautiful images, recipes, travel info, and chef & restaurant reviews. It's very similar to Saveur and Bon Appétit.
Bon Appétit
Bon Appétit is an American food and entertaining magazine also with recipes, restaurant reviews, and ratings. Their sister mag was the infamous Gourmet, which sadly went out of print in 2009, so Bon App began the "Bite Me" advertising campaign.
Fine Cooking
Fine Cooking is a cute family-like magazine in the same family as Fine Gardening, Fine Woodworking, and Fine Homebuilding. So you can build a birdhouse, plant your garden, and make dinner all in one day! Fine Cooking has how-to's, recipes, chef interviews, and entertaining ideas.
Milk Street
Milk Street is such a cool food mag. It's a newer publication and features recipes and step-by-step instructions along with backstories and test kitchen trial and error runs, with the focus of food as a culinary exchange and sharing recipes from around the world. Even cooler? Check out their website for their TV show, radio show, and their cooking school.
Print magazines aren't dead! They're far from it, actually. Stroll through a bookstore or a bodega and pick one up – you'll feel instantly inspired by the tangible, beautiful imagery. Then, go home and cook something.