UNESCO's greatest food hits

What was just added to the organization's Intangible Cultural Heritage list, what may be coming soon, and what's missing?

Tortellini and the cook who made them, at Trattoria Pomposa Al Re gras in Modena, Italy

Happy Friday, curious cook!

I had what I thought was a fantastic idea for this edition of the newsletter — I’d look up all the food traditions UNESCO added in 2024 to its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and tell you about them. It turned out Conde Nast Traveler beat me to the punch.

Nevertheless, here are the 11 food-related traditions the organization added this year, listed with the countries that applied for the recognition when it’s not obvious. I’ve also linked to each UNESCO listing, in case you want to learn more about the tradition:

• Arabic coffee, a symbol of generosity (United Arab Emirates – Oman – Qatar – Saudi Arabia – Jordan)

• Asturian cider culture (Spain)

• Breakfast culture in Malaysia: dining experience in a multi-ethnic society

• Cooking and eating Mulgi puder, traditional mashed potato with barley in the Mulgimaa region, Estonia

• Knowledge, beliefs…