Instructional works primarily organized around recipes. Largest and most commercially saturated genre.

Essays and criticism examining food as culture. The organizing principle is what aspect of food is being examined as culture — not instruction, but ideas.

Textbooks for culinary education and professional practice. Principles, theory, and technique systematically.

Academic or narrative works on culinary history, food culture, and food systems. Research-based, often with scholarly apparatus.

Autobiography and personal narrative structured around food.

Encyclopedias, dictionaries, glossaries, compendia. Organized for lookup.

Food safety manuals, HACCP documentation, operations guides, regulatory documents.

Magazines, journals, newsletters, serial publications.

Written works concerned with drinks — alcoholic, non-alcoholic, fermented, brewed, distilled, or mixed. Distinct evaluation criteria from food literature.