SYNONYM Magazine Issue #3: SPICES

From the creators of Synonym Magazine:

Issue Three (June 2025) digs into spices, and all the different stories they tell, from romance to survival to providing a sense of place.

116 pages, spiral bound, full color.

We profile New YorkbasedVan Van, a single-origin spice company based on the terroir of Vietnam. The couple behind the brand is not only sharing Vietnamese culture and cuisine, but also the vibrant flavors and quality of Vietnams herbs and spices as they are meant to be tasted. Our editor,Tien Nguyen, interviews writer and authorMonique Truongabout the use of salt as a literary device. The result is an extraordinarily beautiful take on an ordinary seasoning and the metaphors it can inspire. We also have some lovely essays, including one about how a bike rideturnedforaging expedition in Texas transports the writer and private chefUmair Khakooback home to Pakistan.Ruby Robina Sahawrites about the colonialist history of nutmeg from Indonesias Banda Islands and how it destroyed a culture (and created New York City as we know it).Daphne K. Jenkinstalks about the love for li hing mui withNeale Asatofrom Asato Family Shop in Hawaii, and shares recipes featuring this sweet, salty, and tangy powder. Our frequent contributorKat Hongspeaks with Taiwanese/Japanese comedian,Atsuko Okatsuka, about the Cheesecake Factory and the bay leaf conspiracy, as you can imagine its pretty hilarious. This issue is full of stunning imagery to go along with recipes, like the ones fromEdy Massih, author of the cookbookKeep it Zesty, and a very special excerpt fromNoodles, Rice, and Everything SpicebyChristina De WitteandMallika Kauppinen.