The Internet is cooking

Is there a link between the hegemony of Starbucks, the melting of the polar ice cap and the proliferation of the blogosphere, this vast, thick Internet stew of advice, opinion, venom, reverie, hot air?

Right now, proving that idle time is endless and hope simmers eternal, there are an estimated 71 million bloggers in the world -- untold thousands launched daily -- which gives new meaning to the threat of global warming. Maybe cafe Wi-Fi is not such a wise idea.

The most popular English-language blog (Japanese is reportedly the most prevalent blog language) is Engadget, a product advice blog for all things electronic and stymieing. Engadget, a multi-author site crammed with revenue-generating ads, gobbles up page views by "the tens of millions" per month.

In the blogosphere, where words rival pixels, anyone can be an author. Or a diarist. Or a political pundit.

Or, to the task at hand, a cook.

The above blog info was brought to you by Ted Demopoulos, owner of Demopoulos Associates in Durham, N.H., a business consultant and the author of "Blogging for Business." Demopoulos daily grazes on the developments and offerings in the blogosphere like some guys scarf the $9.95 all-you-can-eat buffet.

"Food blogs is one area that is really growing," says Demopoulos, noting that there are upward of 48,000 food bloggers in the United States. "Food blogs cover the whole gamut, from reviews of four-star restaurants to a blog called McChronicles, which is devoted to all things Mcdonald's."

And the patrons of all these blogs?

"People who are looking for ideas," says Demopoulos. "People who are looking for recipes."

Cate O'Malley is owner-editor of the Well Fed Network, a compilation of blogs on food and wine. Asked why food blogs are popular, she replies, in an e-mail, "It gives the public direct contact with the person behind the blog. Oftentimes, I'll get questions on specific recipes, usually when people are in the middle of making them! This direct line is something that cookbooks can't offer."

O'Malley adds, "Food blogs provide an independent perspective that might not show up readily in a magazine, newspaper or cookbook. There is also a great sense of sharing and community.

"That being said, as a confirmed cookbook addict, I don't think food blogs will ever replace cookbooks."

The recipe for a successful food blog is exactly that: recipes. Lots of recipes. Plus, melt-in-your mouth photography, a warm, personal "voice," and site accessibility. It also doesn't hurt to have a cute name, like Diary of a Food Whore, Is My Blog Burning, or Pie Is the New Toast, all gourmet bloggers.

Two reigning food bloggers are 101 Cookbooks, by San Francisco author Heidi Swanson, and Chocolate and Zucchini, by Clotilde Dusoulier, a Parisian who cherry-picks the markets of Montmartre. Dusoulier, 27, is the hottest food blogger going. In a recent review of her newly published cookbook, "Chocolate and Zucchini" (Broadway Books, $18.95, 272 pages), the New York Times calls Dusoulier "the Parisian friend we all wish we had."

That computer companionability is also a factor in good food blogs, and, like a Grand Marnier soufflé, it's no easy trick for the amateur to pull off.

Are there local folks whisking in the food blogosphere? You bet. There are about a baker's dozen food bloggers in Sacramento. A few of the more seasoned are Kickin' It in the Kitchen, Rookie Cookery, the Shameless Eaters, Sacatomato and Sac-eats.

And there's The Bee's Appetizers by Mike Dunne, www. SacTicket.com/appetizers, which covers the local food and wine scene.

One tasty site, Yogurtland, is written by Fethiye Akbulut Miller, a 34-year-old software engineer at Intel who is a native of Turkey. Her blog, written in English and Turkish, is both a paean to Turkish cuisine and a side dish on Western assimilation.

"I wanted to share all things that I have learned here," says Akbulut Miller, whose site attracts 1,000 English readers a day, 2,500 Turkish.

Another zesty ethnic food blog is Chucrute com Salsicha, which is written in Portuguese by Fernanda Guimaraes Rosa, 45, a native of Brazil who is a web developer at UC Davis.

About the writer:

• The Bee's Bob Sylva can be reached at (916) 321-1135 or bsylva@sacbee.com.