- Convenience food has started to take over America's culinary world. From microwaves and ready-to-eat meals to drive-thru restaurants and snack bars in retail stores, people's access to food and convenience products has had many effects on society. In a culinary paper, a writer could discuss the positive and negative effects of convenience foods on Americans and their ideas about eating.
- Choose a favorite product or food and trace its history. Writers can also choose to write about a regional or national cuisine. Choices include American, French, German or something more specific like Cajun cuisine. If these topics are not of interest, writers could write about the history of ingredients or spices used in cooking and how location affected the decision to use these items.
- Garlic is just one type of food with a rich history and it has a variety of superstitions attached. A culinary paper topic could cover the facts and myths about garlic's heart-healthy properties and its reported ability to help people live longer. Also, writers can discuss why garlic's usage is so popular in specific cultures, like Italian.
- Food and meat preparation have come under scrutiny since the introduction of factory farming practices. Some topics to base a culinary paper on include the use of steroids and antibiotics in beef production or techniques used in preparing veal or foie gras. Writers could also research how pigs collect truffles and discuss whether or not the process is cruel to the animals. You can choose to either support these controversial practices or criticize them.