As We Eat: Recent Episodes
Epicurean Creative
Food enthusiasts, Kim Baker and Leigh Olson, invite you on a storytelling journey exploring food memories, family recipes, food traditions, cuisines, cookery, and food history to discover how food connects, defines, and inspires us.
Milk - the quintessential wholesome beverage. But in 1930s New York City, it sparked a decade-long battle of epic proportions. Pitting dairy farmers against corporations, unions against consumers, this "Milk War" plunged the city into chaos as supplies dwindled and public safety hung in the balance over...a glass of milk? Listen in to this utterly captivating and unbelievable true story.
A Milky War - When Food Turned Criminal in NYC
Food & Crime - it's not a natural pairing that comes to mind. Food is sustenance, something wholesome that nourishes us. Crime, on the other hand, is the dark underbelly of society that violates laws and morals. But in the annals of New York City's history, there was a time when these two forces explosively collided over one of the most seemingly innocent food items - milk.
NYC Dairy Wars - When the City Ran Dry
In the 1930s, a complex web of competing business interests, farmer cooperatives, and consumer demands sparked what became known as the "Milk Wars" in New York City. At the center were three gigantic dairy corporations that controlled the lion's share of the city's fluid milk market.
The dairy companies were accused of monopolistic practices, price fixing, and pressuring farmer co-ops in their favor. Meanwhile, independent farmers felt cheated by the cooperatives and big business arrangements. Picket lines formed, milk supplies dwindled, and New Yorkers faced the prospect of their city running dry of its coveted dairy supply.
Milk Depots - An Oasis of Milk Safety
However, from this sea of scandal and scarcity, innovations emerged that improved milk safety and access for the masses. Facilities funded by philanthropists like Nathan Straus distributed pasteurized milk, nutrition advice, and even affordable meals to impoverished New Yorkers.
These milk depots became beacons of dairy enlightenment in the city's war over its "liquid gold."
The Dairy - A Pastoral Picnic Paradise
But the most delightful outcome was an idyllic restaurant and grazing area for cows which allowed families to escape the city's chaos. As Frederick Law Olmsted envisioned, they could picnic by the brook, enjoy fresh milk and simple fare, and for a moment, be transported to a pastoral wonderland amidst the concrete jungle's dairy battles.
The NYC Dairy Wars were a tumultuous saga pitting big business versus farmers, consumers caught in the middle, and the very notion of milk as a pure, wholesome food source at stake. Yet from the greed and turmoil, innovations in safety and access emerged, ensuring that even as guns metaphorically blazed over batches of milk, the inherent goodness and idyllic imagery surrounding this fundamental food endured.
So grab a glass of milk, find a quiet patch of green, and give a listen to this utterly fascinating episode that reminds us that when it comes to food, the quest for monetary gain must never outweigh a society's core decency and values. The stakes are just too high when you're messing with something as crucial as mom's good ol' milk.
Sources We Found Helpful for this Episode
The Prospect Park Dairy’s Throwback Menu - Prospect Park Alliance
The Great Milk Wars | Brooklyn History Part 1 - The Brownstoner
The Great Milk Wars | Brooklyn History Part 2 - The Brownstoner
The Great Milk Wars | Brooklyn History Part 3 - The Brownstoner
The Great Milk Wars | Brooklyn History Part 4 - The Brownstoner
Books We Think You’ll Enjoy Reading
- Milk: A 10,000-Year History by Mark Kurlansky
Purchase: Bookshop.org OR Amazon
- Milk: A Local and Global History by Deborah Valenze
Purchase: Bookshop.org OR Amazon
When you think of milk, what first comes to mind - a pure, wholesome beverage or a commodity ripe for corruption and greed after hearing this unbelievable saga? Share your thoughts on how this episode challenged or reinforced your perceptions of milk.
🎧 Click here for the full, interactive transcript of this episode 🎧
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Milk - the quintessential wholesome beverage meant to "do a body good." But what sinister secrets lie beneath the pure white surface? Listen as Kim and Leigh tell the shocking tale of a scandal that plagued 19th century New York, when corrupt dairies were essentially poisoning the city's children for profit. This diabolical saga exposes the dark underbelly of an industry gone rotten.
Food & Crime: The Sinister Side of Milk
Milk is held up as a paragon of purity - a wholesome, calcium-rich nectar meant to nourish children and build strong bones. Iconic marketing slogans like "Milk: It Does a Body Good" have engrained milk's virtuousness into our cultural psyche. But behind this pristine facade lies a dark history stained with greed, corruption, and what can only be described as food crime.
The Swill Milk Scandal: Poisoning a City's Children
In the mid-19th century, as New York City's population exploded from industrialization, an insidious operation was unfolding. Rather than providing pure, quality milk from pastoral cows, many dairies turned to abhorrent cost-cutting measures. Cows were kept in foul, unventilated sheds, fed a noxious swill of fermented brewery and distillery waste. The resulting "milk" was a thin, bluish, and potentially toxic liquid hardly fit for consumption.
Corruption Shielding the Milk Murderers
Despite widespread public outrage over the deadly swill milk, the powerful interests behind the corrupt dairies worked tirelessly to shield themselves. Tammany Hall alderman "Swill Milk Mike" Tuomey led rigged hearings designed to discredit critics and health authorities. Behind closed doors, he colluded with dairy owners, accepting bribes and ensuring no substantial regulations would interfere with their lucrative scheme.
It would take over a decade of fighting against entrenched corruption before any food safety laws could be enacted.
The Legacy of Milk Adulteration and Food Crime
While finally curtailed in the late 19th century, the swill milk scandal foreshadowed an issue that still plagues the modern food industry - adulteration for profits.
Diving deep into food's sordid criminal underworld, our latest podcast episode provides a gripping cautionary tale about the toxic consequences of unchecked corporate greed meeting feeble regulations. Stay tuned for more on this disturbing chapter of culinary history.
Sources We Found Helpful for this Episode
How We Poison Our Children, New York Times, May 13, 1858
The 19th-Century Swill Milk Scandal That Poisoned Infants With Whiskey Runoff, Gastro Abscura
The Swill Milk Scandal of 1858 | STUFF YOU MISSED IN HISTORY CLASS
Swill milk scandal, Wikipedia
The Surprisingly Intolerant History of Milk, Smithsonian Magazine
Books We Think You’ll Enjoy Reading
Milk: A 10,000-Year History by Mark Kurlansky
- Purchase: Bookshop.org OR Amazon
Milk: A Local and Global History by Deborah Valenze
- Purchase: Bookshop.org OR Amazon
Transcript
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Here’s our question for you: What shocks you most about the depths corporations were willing to stoop for profits during the Swill Milk Scandal - poisoning infants by adulterating milk with toxic substances, the blatant corruption shielding these practices, or society's sluggish response in enacting food safety regulations? Do you think adequate safeguards are in place today to prevent similar food crimes, or are you concerned corporate greed could still lead to public health crises from contaminated food supplies?
Coming Up
Join us in two weeks for our next episode as we dive into the chaotic and violent "Milk Wars" that gripped New York City in the 1930s, when rival milk truck driver gangs waged a turf war over the city's dairy distribution.
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Dig into the seedy underbelly of the food world, where corporate titans wage secret wars over seemingly innocent products like eggless mayonnaise and hot coffee. From multi-million dollar legal battles to covert smear campaigns, this episode exposes the cloak-and-dagger tactics used by Big Food to protect profits - even if it means burning victims along the way. Get a tantalizing taste of the crimes and deception lurking behind your favorite eats.
The Seedy Underbelly of Food & Crime
You may think your innocent morning coffee or favorite sandwich spread is just that - innocent. But the food world has a dark side full of corporate espionage, legal battles, and covert smear campaigns. Get ready to explore the sinister side of your everyday eats.
Eggless Mayonnaise Sparks War
In 2014, an upstart vegan company dared to make a plant-based mayonnaise alternative called Just Mayo. Industry titan Unilever (maker of Hellmann's) wasn't having it, suing to prevent them representing the products as "mayo" since it contained no eggs.
But the scandal went deeper than a simple labeling dispute. The American Egg Board, a USDA-sanctioned organization, secretly hired bloggers to promote pro-egg messaging and create anti-Just Mayo online ads. Emails even discussed plans to publicly "hit" the Just Mayo founder.
This mayonnaisemelee shows how far Big Food will go to protect its turf - using underhanded tactics that seem better suited to cloak-and-dagger spies than sellers of sandwich spreads.
The Hot Coffee Burning Truth
In the 1990s, an elderly woman named Stella Liebeck was severely burned by McDonald's coffee that was served at a stunningly-high 180-190°F. She sued, initially asking for just $20,000 in expenses, but the case ballooned into a multi-million dollar punitive damages award.
The media painted Liebeck as merely an opportunistic litigant. But the truth reveals McDonald's knew its coffee caused serious burns. The truth of Liebeck's burns and medical costs were glossed over as the public mocked her award.
Years later, the hot coffee case demonstrates how large corporations control the narrative through selective reporting - distorting a victim's reality to protect their practices.
Corporate Espionage or Savvy Business?
With billions at stake, it's no surprise that major food players will go to great lengths to maintain dominance and squash threats. From funding shadowy PR campaigns to manipulating public perception, the cases of Just Mayo and McDonald's hot coffee give a glimpse into the darker side of the food industry.
But are these simply savvy business moves to protect assets and brands? Or have companies crossed ethical lines better suited to the world of spies and criminals than honest food purveyors? Decide for yourself as you hear the full fascinating story on the latest Food & Crime episode of the As We Eat Podcast.
Transcript
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From daring bootleggers to shocking corporate misdeeds and culinary espionage we uncover the criminal underbelly of oleo misadventures.
Crimes Against Butter and the Margarine Misdeeds
Who knew that something as innocent as butter could ignite a war between industries and the public? The latest episode of the As We Eat podcast dives into the criminal underbelly surrounding a popular butter alternative.
Behind butter's sunny, wholesome facade lies a sordid tale of deception, bootlegging, and brazen lawbreaking - all thanks to an unlikely culprit: margarine. What began as a cheap butter alternative took an illicit turn as opponents of the "oleo" spread resorted to smear campaigns and oppressive legislation.
The Oleomargarine Act and the Birth of Butter Bootleggers
In 1886, the dairy lobby strong-armed the federal government into passing the Oleomargarine Act, imposing a hefty tax to cripple the margarine industry. Little did they know, this move would give rise to a daring new breed of criminal: the butter bootlegger.
Much like the legendary rum-runners of Prohibition fame, underground networks sprung up to smuggle the "golden bars" of margarine across state lines. Daring housewives turned interstate traffickers, risking fines and imprisonment in their quest for the forbidden spread.
As the margarine wars escalated, congress continually ratcheted up regulations. Some states outright banned the sale of margarine - yeah, you read that right. In response, the underworld adapted, employing stamp counterfeiting and other chicanery to peddle their illicit wares.
Ultimately, the oppressive measures backfired spectacularly. World wars and economic turmoil only increased margarine's popularity with the working class. But the skirmishes left a trail of oleomargarine offenders in their wake, their "crimes against butter" immortalized alongside legendary mobsters and gangsters.
Consumer Protection to Modern Misdeeds
While the margarine saga highlights the unintended consequences of excessive regulation, it also underscores the vital need for laws to protect consumers from unscrupulous practices and public health threats.
The 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act aimed to safeguard the public by prohibiting adulterated and misbranded foods and landmark court cases cemented definitions and standards.
These laws continue protecting us today from corporate greed, food adulteration, and new frontiers of malfeasance like culinary espionage. One thing's for sure: after hearing these sordid tales of Food & Crime, you'll never look at your butter dish the same way again.
Books We Think You’ll Enjoy Reading
- Butter: A Rich History by Elaine Khosrova
- Purchase: Bookshop.org OR Amazon
- Sheboygan County Connection IV: From Vollrath Zoo to Wisconsin's Margarine Wars by Sheboygan County Historical Research Center Purchase: Bookshop.org OR Amazon
- The Purloining of Prince Oleomargarine by Mark Twain, Phillip C. Stead, Erin Stead (illustrator) Purchase: Bookshop.org OR Amazon
Transcript
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Unveiling the Dark Side of Love: Food & Crime
In the lavish courts of 17th century France, where opulence danced hand in hand with intrigue, one woman held sway over the hearts of the elite. Her name was Catherine Monvoisin, but history remembers her as La Voisin, a figure shrouded in mystery and infamy. Join us as we peel back the layers of deception and delve into the dark kitchen of La Voisin, where love potions mingled with poison, and scandal brewed like a potent elixir.
Love Potions Through the Ages: From Myth to Reality
Love potions have long been the stuff of legend, weaving their way through the tapestry of human history from ancient civilizations to modern times. In cultures across the globe, tales of magical elixirs and enchanted foods have captured the imagination, from Shakespearean comedies to Greek myths of Aphrodite's charms. But in 17th century France, the line between myth and reality blurred as nobles sought to manipulate love and desire through clandestine means.
The Affair of the Poisons: A Scandal Unveiled
The Affair of the Poisons cast a shadow over the glittering court of Louis XIV, revealing a web of intrigue that ensnared the highest echelons of society. It began with whispers of conspiracy and culminated in a series of sensational trials that shocked the nation. At its heart was La Voisin, a woman accused of selling not only love potions but also deadly concoctions meant to secure power and influence. As the truth emerged, the very foundations of the monarchy trembled, and the boundaries between magic and reality blurred.
The Legacy of Love Magic: Then and Now
As we peer into the annals of history, we glimpse a world where love and power collided in a deadly dance. Yet even as the echoes of the past fade into memory, the allure of love magic persists. From ancient rituals to modern-day spells, humanity's quest for agency over matters of the heart endures. In an age where pheromones mingle with perfumes and love potions grace the pages of Teen Vogue, the legacy of La Voisin lives on, a testament to the enduring power of desire.
Sources We Found Helpful for this Episode
- Ravaisson, Francois. Archives de la Bastille by François Ravaisson, 1870–1874, volume VI.
- The Aftermath: La Voisin, Alarmist podcast
- La Voisin, France’s Murderous Fortune Teller, SyFy
- The Scandalous Witch Hunt That Poisoned 17th-Century France, Altas Obscura
- Catherine Monvoisin And The Affair Of The Poisons, Headstuff
Books We Think You’ll Enjoy Reading
- The Affair of the Poisons: Murder, Infanticide, and Satanism at the Court of Louis XIV by Anne Sommerset
- Purchase: Amazon
- Louis XIV and the Affair of the Poisons: A Play in Five Acts by Victorien Sardou
- Purchase: Bookshop.org
- Strange Revelations: Magic, Poison, and Sacrilege in Louis XIV's France by Lynn Wood Mollenauer
- Purchase: Bookshop.org OR Amazon
Transcript🎧 Click here for the full, interactive transcript of this episode 🎧
How far would you go in the pursuit of love or personal gain?
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Come with us on a journey of deadly liberation as a popular apothecary brews a recipe for freedom, liberating over 600 women from abuse at the hands of those who should have protected them.
Sources We Found Helpful for this Episode
A Woman to Know: Giulia Tofana
Guilia Tofana: World’s Most Dangerous Apothecary
The Role of Women During the Italian Renaissance
Books We Think You’ll Enjoy Reading
If you’re an enjoy reading Gregory Maguire or a historical fiction fan, I think that you will enjoy Deborah Swift’s trilogy about our heroine/devious serial killer, Giulia Tofana. This is historical fiction so much imagination was applied.
- The Poison Keeper by Deborah Swift
- Purchase: Amazon
- The Silkworm Keeper by Deborah Swift
- Purchase: Amazon
- The Fortune Keeper by Deborah Swift
- Purchase: Amazon
Transcript
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Indulge your senses and delve into the dark world of food and crime in our latest episode. Join us as we unravel the chilling tale of Christiana Edmunds, forever etched in history as the Chocolate Cream Killer of Brighton. From obsession to poisonings, this Victorian-era saga will keep you on the edge of your seat, questioning the thin line between love and madness. Tune in to explore the enduring question of what drives a person to such lengths in the pursuit of affection, and the unsettling legacy left behind.
Sources We Found Helpful for this Episode
- The Case of the Chocolate Cream Killer: The Poisonous Passion of Christiana Edmunds by Kaye Jones
- Christiana Edmunds wikipedia
- The Case of the Chocolate Cream Killer: The Poisonous Passion of Christiana Edmunds, Women’s History Network
- ‘A Genteel Murderess’ – Christiana Edmunds and the Chocolate Box Poisoning, The Gale Review
Books We Think You’ll Enjoy Reading
- The Case of the Chocolate Cream Killer: The Poisonous Passion of Christiana Edmunds by Kaye Jones
- Purchase: Amazon
- The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Deborah Blum
- Purchase: Bookshop.org OR Amazon
Transcript
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Welcome to Season 4 of the As We Eat podcast, where we'll be delving into the intersection of Food & Crime, unearthing fascinating stories from history. Today, we journey back to 19th century Paris, France, to uncover the enigmatic tale of Marie Lafarge, a young woman whose life took a dark turn amidst the backdrop of privilege and deception.
In this episode, we explore Marie Lafarge's journey from a background of aristocratic privilege to a scandalous trial for the alleged poisoning of her husband, Charles Lafarge. We uncover the twists and turns of this captivating saga, shedding light on the complexities of justice and forensic science in the 1800s.
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This season we will be focusing on the intersection of Food & Crime. Come along with us as we investigate poisonings, discover adulterated food-stuffs, and infiltrate organized food crime circles. It should prove to be a decadently deadly, fraught with fraud, culinarily criminal journey!
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We’re wrapping Season 3 with some of our favorite things. Though it is always hard to pick a favorite episode - it’s like being asked to choose a favorite child, or cat - we each share a cookbook that has won an award from being the funniest read, to providing the newest perspective.
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Can you believe that it’s time for our Annual Pie Episode. Neither can we. But we’re super excited to have had the opportunity to talk with Kate McDermott, author of Art of the Pie and as Kim calls her, Head Baker at Pie Cottage. Join us as Kate answers some listener questions and shares the experience of writing a cookbook.
We started this season with a cookbook by Edna Lewis who recounted stories of her life and rich food traditions in Freetown, Virginia and we are ending with a cookbook that won a place in the heart of the publisher because of the stories Kate McDermott told on her first visit to their offices.
When we conceived of the idea to highlight some of our favorite cookbooks and the roles that they play in our understanding and expression of community, identity, and personal and communal foodways, I don’t think that either of us anticipated what an educational, informative, and fantastic journey it would bring to both us of.
We are very excited and honored that you decided to join us on this journey. For our final stop, we had the great fortune of having a conversation with an author who personifies baking from the heart. Kate McDermott is author of Art of the Pie, Home Cooking with Kate McDermott, and Pie Camp. But more than that, she is a dear friend, an extraordinary educator, and a fierce champion of being, doing, and living with intention.
Books We Think You’ll Enjoy ReadingArt of the Pie by Kate McDermott
Purchase: Bookshop.org OR Amazon.com
Apples of Uncommon Character by Rowan Jacobsen
Purchase: Bookshop.org OR Amazon.com
Pie Camp by Kate McDermott
Purchase: Bookshop.org OR Amazon.com
Home Cooking by Kate McDermott
Purchase: Bookshop.org OR Amazon.com
The Apple Lover's Cookbook by Amy Traverso
Purchase: Bookshop.org OR Amazon.com
Transcript🎧 Click here for the full, interactive transcript of this episode 🎧
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Join us on a journey of unexpected joy found right in Kim’s pantry, all thanks to the timeless culinary companion, "The Joy of Cooking" by Irma Rombauer. In today's episode, Leigh and Kim dive into the story of finding the inspiration to transform some stale tortilla chips and a forgotten can of green chiles into a delicious Tex Mex dish, and why Joy has earned its place as a culinary classic.
Feeling a bit discouraged by a half-bare pantry after a long week, Kim turned to "The Joy of Cooking" in hopes of finding some cooking inspiration within its 6,000 recipes - after all, its original cover artwork depicts St. Barbara, the purported Patron Saint of Cooking, deftly defying the Dragon of Cooking Drudgery. Surely the Rombauer clan could help summon some kitchen inspiration.
While thumbing through the extensive section on Egg cookery, Kim stumbled upon the perfect solution for several odd, leftover ingredients - Tex Mex Migas. Utilizing some stale tortilla chips, some eggs and cheese, a leftover can of green chiles, and some fresh chorizo - we had a tasty breakfast that, while perhaps not an original Joy recipe, made sensible use of ingredients, saved food from becoming waste, and became a joyful culinary experience.
Tracing the history of "Joy of Cooking" from its 1931 origin as Irma Rombauer's financial endeavor, we reflect on a poignant excerpt from Irma's preface before delving into the drama surrounding the 1997 edition's revisions, with an irascible book editor shifting Joy’s warm, collegial tone into newer (and trendier) health-conscious territory.
We wrap our episode debating whether a cookbook like "Joy" should be seen as a historical artifact or a practical kitchen tool. Drawing parallels with struggles in adapting recipes from older cookbooks, such as "The Women’s Suffrage Cookbook" and "The Settlement Cookbook," we ponder the role of a cookbook in reflecting its time versus being a timeless guide for preparing and serving food.
FOOTNOTE:
Kim did make the Pimento-Cheese Bread, and while she struggled with some of the chemistry of baking, the loaf was delivered and served to her colleagues. One said, “oh, I thought it was store-bought!” which had her wondering whether that was a compliment or whether she needed more practice.
Sources We Found Helpful for this Episode A Heaping Cupful of Conflict - Los Angeles Times
Does the World Need Another ‘Joy’? Do You? - The New York Times
Episodes that we RecommendEpisode 20: Grain Empires: The Wheat Belt, American Innovation, and A Kitchen Confidante
Episode 35: What’s in Your Pantry? Food Label Dates and Major Grey’s Chutney
Episode 55: Refinding Home: Edna Lewis, The Taste of Country Cooking, and Me
Episode 56: Beef A Là Mode: A recipe to bring you home
Episode 59: Bon Appétit! How Julia Child Made America Fall in Love with French Food
Episode 60: Coq au Whatever: Mastering an Iconic French Provincial Dish
Episode 61: How to Cook and Eat in Chinese: Dishing up Culture
Episode 62: Unveiling the Rich Tapestry of Chinese Cuisine with Red and White Cooking
Recipes You Really Need to TryMigas With Scrambled Eggs, Tortilla Chips, & Chiles - Serious Eats
Transcript🎧 Click here for the full, interactive transcript of this episode 🎧
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While we take a holiday break, we wanted to share a past episode that we hope will inspire your pie making endeavors for the Thanksgiving holiday.
We return to the origins of pie specialties as Leigh surveys the ingenuity of pie bakers and cooks who built empires on fairly basic pie recipes originating in Western Europe.
Next, Kim speaks on how the thrifty utilization of excess egg white plus a fictional culinary character led to one of the most favorite pies in American history - lemon meringue - and how a massive hurricane shifted Florida’s production of pineapple to its globally-known key lime, inspiration for the key lime meringue pie.
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Some of the books on our cookbook shelves wander in because they are or were all the rage, some are there because we’re interested in a particular cuisine. But some of there as part of our legacy of cooking and have become iconic. Join us as we discuss one of America’s iconic cookbooks. A cookbook that’s in its ninth edition and spans over nine decades of guiding home cooks from the oven to the table.
Transcript
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In this episode, we dive into the world of Dwarven cuisine with the 'Smoked Sausages and Kraut with Dwarven Mustard' recipe from 'Heroes' Feast.' Discover how this hearty dish comes to life, and follow our culinary journey bridging the gap between imagination and reality. Join us in celebrating the magic of food and the connections it weaves in our lives.
Transcript
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Cookbooks take many approaches to inspiring readers to try new foods or to revisit familiar ones as a way to find common ground, especially amongst people with a shared fandom. In this episode, Kim and Leigh discuss “Heroes’ Feast,” the official cookbook for the popular Dungeons & Dragons game as an example of how fandom-based cookbooks blend food and immersive storytelling to unite communities and strengthen family bonds.
Transcript🎧 Click here for the full, interactive transcript of this episode 🎧
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It would be ridiculous to suggest that one dish can represent all the mystery and majesty of human civilization, but inspiration can be a powerful force. In this episode, a single dish from the 1903 edition of The Settlement Cookbook sparked a deep conversation about the transformative power of food and its role in shaping civilizations, from the bustling immigrant communities of the late 19th century to modern-day.
Exploring the Foundation of CivilizationInspired by her experience cooking up “Steak in Casserole” from the 1903 edition of The Settlement Cookbook, Kim finds a whole recipe as a lens through which to examine the foundations of civilizations.
We begin with a snapshot of early 20th-century America, marked by post-Civil War reconstruction, industrialization, and a wave of immigration that transformed cities into diverse, bustling hubs. To address the challenges of rapid urbanization, a progressive movement centered on settlement houses aims to help immigrants navigate life in their new world. These houses not only provided better living conditions but also nurtured a sense of community by sharing knowledge, culture, and domestic skills.
Food and IdentityThe Settlement Cookbook, also known as "The Way to a Man's Heart," was originally published in 1901 from the Settlement House in Milwaukee. Organized as a series of lessons in cooking, nutrition, and food service, the cookbook aimed to modernize traditional Jewish recipes with American ingredients and techniques, promoting assimilation without forsaking cultural heritage.
Kim takes a novel approach to recipe selection by asking her partner to pick out a dish they wanted to eat. Confronted with a recipe and a dish with which she is largely unfamiliar, she realizes that food is not just sustenance; by selecting, cooking, and sharing food, we form both an individual and collective concept of who we are.
The Cultural Significance of Cooking and DiningFrom here we reflect on the idea that food and its preparation are deeply cultural, and that the act of cooking and the rituals surrounding meals are essential components of civilization, and that by embracing the culture of the host country while preserving one's own traditions contributes to the evolution of a dynamic society.
Episode Transcript🎧 Click here for the full, interactive transcript of this episode 🎧
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From a culinary guide with the goal of assimilation to a symbol of cultural recognition, we’ll dive into a cookbook that bridged cultures and funded social programs. This cookbook taught immigrant women to cook American dishes and became a cultural talisman passed down generations. It’s a story that showcases how one cookbook became a powerful tool for integration and resilience.
The changing of the seasons sets the stage for our discussion of the third wave of immigration in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As a massive wave of European immigrants hit the shores of the United States, personal, economic and social challenges crashed into established communities.
We focus on one Mid-Western community, a social service agency, and a cookbook that was much, much more than a collection of recipes.
Listen in as we discuss share the history, the impact, and our thoughts on Mrs. Simon Kandor’s The Settlement Cook Book, the way to a man’s heart.
Sources We Found Helpful for this Episode The Settlement Cookbook: 116 Years and 40 Editions LaterThis 20th Century Jewish Immigrant Cookbook Inspired the Ultimate Dinner Party, Hey Alma
Taste Makers: Seven Immigrant Women Who Revolutionized Food in America, by Mayukh Sen
Books We Think You’ll Enjoy ReadingTaste Makers: Seven Immigrant Women Who Revolutionized Food in America, by Mayukh Sen
The Settlement Cookbook, by Mrs. Simon Kander
Transcript🎧 Click here for the full, interactive transcript of this episode 🎧
We would love to connect with youAsWeEat.com, on Instagram @asweeat, join our new As We Eat community on Facebook, or subscribe to the As We Eat Journal.
Do you have a great idea 💡 for a show topic, a recipe 🥘 that you want to share, or just say “hi”👋🏻? Send us an email at connect@asweeat.com
Review As We Eat on Podchaser or Apple Podcast. We would like to know what you think.
As a member of affiliate programs, we earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. This helps us to continue to bring you stories, history, and personal musings about food, cuisines, traditions, and recipes
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Food uniquely bridges our history and culture, bearing stories of resilience, connection, and sustenance across generations. Today, we dive into the flavors and heritage of The Sioux Chef's Indigenous Kitchen through a recipe that spotlights three indigenous ingredients woven into a rich tapestry of ancestral foodways.
Hey there, it's Leigh, and I'm excited to dive into a really remarkable culinary journey with you. You know, food is so much more than sustenance; it's a vessel for stories, culture, and history. Today, my amazing co-host, Kim Baker, and I are exploring the recipe that I chose to create from "The Sioux Chef's Indigenous Kitchen" cookbook. This recipe isn't just about cooking; it's about embracing the flavors and heritage of three indigenous ingredients, and we're about to share how it deeply touched us.
Rediscovering Indigenous Foods: As I flipped through the pages of "The Sioux Chef's Indigenous Kitchen," one recipe leaped out—the Three Sisters Mash. It struck a chord because I'd learned about companion planting in school, and these sisters were familiar to me. This led me to ponder the remarkable awareness of Native Americans who recognized this planting synergy centuries ago. It's almost like they knew the secrets of nature's harmony.
The Three Sisters: A Sacred StoryThe Three Sisters, corn, squash, and beans, which work together symbiotically in the garden to support and protect each other. This story serves as a beautiful parable, emphasizing the power of collaboration and the creation of something greater than ourselves.
Chef Sean Sherman's Three Sisters Mash brings this ancient planting wisdom to life. This isn't just gardening; it's a dance of support and collaboration that echoes through the ages.
The Journey of One BeanI stumbled on the unique story of one of the sisters while in Arizona, the tepary bean.These beans were vital to the Tohono O'odham culture, but their story remained a mystery to me. Curiosity got the best of me, and I dug deeper, uncovering a tale of resilience, loss, and reclamation.
The Power of IntentionalityAlright, let's get cooking! Armed with intention, I embarked on the Three Sisters Mash recipe. Harvesting cedar for braising and selecting ingredients thoughtfully, I crafted a dish that felt like a tribute. The textures, flavors, and the surprising combination of sage and mint created a delicious dish that truly pays homage to indigenous food traditions.
Kim's Insights on Authenticity Enter Kim, my co-host, and a discussion on authenticity unfolds. We muse about the blurred lines between authenticity and intentionality. How do we respect traditions while embracing modern adaptations?
Embracing Indigenous Foodways Our conversation takes us deeper into the movement of reclaiming indigenous foodways. We uncover businesses like Indigenous Eats and All All Cafe, champions of preserving indigenous cuisines. It's a reminder that curiosity unveils treasures beyond our imaginations.
Sources We Found Helpful for this Episode * Tastemakers, Ramona Farms * Indigenous Eats, Spokane, Washington * alalcafe, Seattle, Washington * Off the Rez, Seattle Washington
Books We Think You’ll Enjoy Reading* The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen, Sean Sherman & Beth Dooley
Recipes You Really Need to Try* Cranberry Wojape * Owamni Sweet Potatoes with Maple-Chile Crisp
Transcript🎧 Click here for the full, interactive transcript of this episode 🎧
We would love to connect with youAsWeEat.com, on Instagram @asweeat, join our new As We Eat community on Facebook, or subscribe to the As We Eat Journal.
Do you have a great idea 💡 for a show topic, a recipe 🥘 that you want to share, or just say “hi”👋🏻? Send us an email at connect@asweeat.com
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As a member of affiliate programs, we earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. This helps us to continue to bring you stories, history, and personal musings about food, cuisines, traditions, and recipes
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It seems that the faster and more urban our lives grow, the more we seek ways and means to “return” to our roots - including the foods we eat. Realizing that he knew very little about the foodways of the Oglala Sioux community where he was raised, Chef Sean Sherman began the task of researching and sharing the ways and means of food indigenous to North America. In this episode, Kim and Leigh reflect on how his 2018 award-winning cookbook The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen directs our focus to the foods and foodways that have been long overlooked.
Time spent with the Huichol people near Jalisco, Mexico inspired Chef Sean to examine his own Native heritage and curiosity about the foodways of his familial heritage of the Oglala Lakota of the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. After nearly two decades in the food industry, Chef Sean felt he knew more about the popular cuisines of Europe, but none of what and how indigenous people ate before European culture spanned the continent.
His research, and subsequent cookbook, mark a turning point - even a starting point - in a long overdue conversation about the actual indigenous foodstuffs of North America - the flora and fauna that sustained people before the introduction and dietary inculcation of wheat, sugar, and beef.
Sources We Found Helpful for this Episode About The Sioux ChefFull Moon Ceremony & Teachings | Ontario Native Women’s Association
Books We Think You’ll Enjoy ReadingThe Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen by Sean Sherman and Beth Dooley
New Native Kitchen: Celebrating Modern Recipes of the American Indian by Freddie Bitsoie and James O. Fraioli
tawâw: Progressive Indigenous Cuisine by Shane M. Chartrand
Recovering Our Ancestors' Gardens: Indigenous Recipes and Guide to Diet and Fitness (At Table) by Devon Abbott Mihesuah
Recipes You Really Need to TryCorn Husk Bread from The Sioux Chef
Sean Sherman’s 10 Essential Native American Recipes from The New York Times
Owamni Sweet Potatoes with Maple-Chile Crisp from Food & Wine
Transcript🎧 Click here for the full, interactive transcript of this episode 🎧
We would love to connect with youAsWeEat.com, on Instagram @asweeat, join our new As We Eat community on Facebook, or subscribe to the As We Eat Journal.
Do you have a great idea 💡 for a show topic, a recipe 🥘 that you want to share, or just say “hi”👋🏻? Send us an email at connect@asweeat.com
Review As We Eat on Podchaser or Apple Podcast. We would like to know what you think.
As a member of affiliate programs, we earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. This helps us to continue to bring you stories, history, and personal musings about food, cuisines, traditions, and recipes
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/as-we-eat8938/donations
As We Eat continues its exploration of seminal cookbooks with tried and true attempts at some of the recipes from Clemtine Paddleford’s “How America Eats.” This monumental volume (Kim’s revised edition weighs in at 500 recipes and nearly 900 pages!) chronicles Clementine’s journey around the United States to gather stories of real people and the recipes of what they love to eat, making it a unique and fascinating cookbook worth discussing.
Published in 1960, How America Eats draws what is perhaps the first culinary roadmap of its kind, capturing the diverse flavors and traditions of American cuisine from coast to coast, from city to country. The cookbook emerged during a significant moment for food in post-World War II America when prosperity and hunger for new culinary experiences were abundant. Unlike many contemporary cookbooks, "How America Eats" focused on whole ingredients in a proto-farm-to-table manner, reflecting a prevailing attitude about food that primarily featured ingredients largely available within the communities where they were collected.
For her recipe trials, Kim selected dishes reflecting the unique food cultures from her former home state of Ohio. With rich immigrant and settlement stories of people coming from Western and Eastern Europe as the Northwest Territory takes shape and Ohio achieves its statehood and African-American and Black “Great Migration” from the southern United States, Ohio becomes a veritable “melting pot” of food traditions.
It was Clementine's visit with the Dorcas Women’s Guild of the Magyar Evangelical and Reformed Church in Elyria, where she encountered Hungarian immigrants who preserved their culinary traditions while blending them with the new American influences, that inspired Kim to attempt Stuffed Cabbage, Chicken Paprikas, and Nokedli, which was met with certain challenges and some wild success!
We conclude this episode with a vivid discussion about how Clemtine’s efforts with "How America Eats" not only showcased the vast array of American dishes but also celebrated the people and communities eating this food. The cookbook offered a glimpse into the mid-century American culinary landscape, which we conjecture may someday inspire a scholarly interest in mid-century menus.
Sources & Books We Found Helpful for this Episode How America Eats by Clemetine Paddleford, first editionThe Great American Cookbook: 500 Time-Tested Recipes; Favorite Foods from Every State by Clementine Paddleford, revised by Kelly Alexander
Recipes You Really Need to TryChicken Paprikash with Nokedli - my nokedli looked NOTHING like this!
Transcript🎧 Click here for the full, interactive transcript of this episode 🎧
We would love to connect with youAsWeEat.com, on Instagram @asweeat, join our new As We Eat community on Facebook, or subscribe to the As We Eat Journal.
Do you have a great idea 💡 for a show topic, a recipe 🥘 that you want to share, or just say “hi”👋🏻? Send us an email at connect@asweeat.com
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Giving voice, using our voice, and listening are key to community building. Leigh and Kim explore how the art of sharing recipes can give voice to a nation, as they discuss how Clementine Paddleford documented the voices that satisfy hometown appetites in her seminal cookbook, How America Eats.
All Who Wander…Join us on a journey with Clementine Paddleford and her seminal cookbook, How America Eats. Kim and Leigh discuss how sharing recipes can give voice to a nation, by highlighting Clem’s remarkable achievement of collecting regional recipes through her extensive travels - 800,000 miles of travel!
To both of us, How America Eats is a culinary masterpiece that deserves a place on every American cookbook shelf. Though sadly, due unfortunate events and dare we say poor timing she has been overshadowed by other prominent food writers like Julia Child, M.F.K. Fisher, and James Beard.
From a small town, teenage journalist to Paddleford's successful career as the food editor of the New York Herald Tribune where her weekly column reached an estimated readership of 12 million people, we discuss her accomplishments, codification of regional cuisine, and impact on food writing.
Authenticity v Accuracy - yep, that topic againIf you’ve listened to any of our podcasts, you know that this is a food touchstone topic for both of us. And this episode is no different. Clementine gives us some great fodder to engage in a thought-provoking discussion about the concept of authenticity versus accuracy in cooking. We explore how cooking at home and experimenting with different cuisines may not always prioritize strict authenticity. Instead, we believe that home cooks are more concerned with satisfaction, enjoyment and maybe a bit of entertainment as well as exploring new flavors and relishing the cooking process.
To that end, we ask a thought provoking question about authenticity and accuracy when it comes to cooking.
In the EndWhat we would really love for you to do after listening to the podcast is go out and get this cookbook. Let’s all celebrate the accomplishments of Clementine Paddleford by listening to the voices that she so thoughtfully recorded as she documented How America Eats.
Sources We Found Helpful for this Episode Hometown Appetites by Kelly Alexander and Cynthia HarrisClementine Paddleford: The Badass Lady Pilot Who Revolutionized the Art of Food Writing
Clementine Paddleford’s ‘How America Eats’ Chronicled the Tastes of a Nation
Books We Think You’ll Enjoy ReadingHow America Eats by Clementine Paddleford
A Flower for my Mother by Clementine Paddleford
Hometown Appetites by Kelly Alexander and Cynthia Harris
Recipes You Really Need to TryEpisodes We Think You’ll LikeEP 43 Food Pioneers: Life and Career Highlights of People Who Make Food Great
EP 55 Refinding Home: Edna Lewis, The Taste of Country Cooking, and Me
EP 64 Recipes for Cookouts and Culture Identity
Transcript🎧 Click here for the full, interactive transcript of this episode 🎧
Kim and Leigh explore two recipes from Nicole Taylor’s cookbook Watermelon & Red Birds that not only give a glimpse into a culture’s culinary history, but look into future culinary explorations of black culture and influence.
Episode Transcript🎧 Click here for the full, interactive transcript of this episode 🎧
We would love to connect with youAsWeEat.com, on Instagram @asweeat, join our new As We Eat community on Facebook, or subscribe to the As We Eat Journal.
Do you have a great idea 💡 for a show topic, a recipe 🥘 that you want to share, or just say “hi”👋🏻? Send us an email at connect@asweeat.com
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As a member of affiliate programs, we earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. This helps us to continue to bring you stories, history, and personal musings about food, cuisines, traditions, and recipes
Summer is full of reasons to celebrate - either for our personal victories of graduation or fatherhood but also on a more profound scale with federal holidays like Independence Day. In this new episode of As We Eat, Kim and Leigh explore how one author is not only bringing attention to the food traditions of Black celebrations like Juneteenth, but also challenging readers to look again at tradition.
Food & CelebrationFor the month of June, we decided to focus on food and celebration, and to us there was no better choice than a relatively new title - "Watermelon & Red Birds: A Cookbook for Juneteenth and Black Celebrations” by James Beard-nominated food writer Nicole A. Taylor. It was the premise of this book that really caught Kim’s interest as it is the first broadly published cookbook to focus on the foods of Juneteenth. What we found is not only a collection of recipes, but a sincere effort to explore culinary traditions that connect food-centric celebrations to a rich heritage while also making room for those traditions to bend and accommodate change.
A Bridge Between Tradition and Culinary EvolutionIn this space, Taylor aims to bridge the gap between traditional African American dishes and the evolving culinary landscape of the twenty-first century, encouraging readers to engage in conversations about Black American contributions to the country while celebrating their own cultural heritage.
While Taylor's own culinary journey began at a young age, she came into her celebration of Juneteenth as a young adult and it fueled her interest in documenting the DIY and urban food scene around her home in New York. Her debut book, "The Up South Cookbook," aimed to help home cooks recreate Southern cuisine in the North.
A critical element in Taylor’s approach is her theory that food belongs to everyone, not just professionals, and by capturing the cadence and culture of Black celebrations in her cookbook, we are offered a gateway to American history and Black American traditions. What we perceive as traditional may have evolved over time, and she invites readers to explore flavors, food, and techniques that may be either familiar or unknown, and in doing so foster discussions about how culinary traditions - especially Black food traditions - might evolve while remaining rooted in their origins.
Episode Transcript🎧 Click here for the full, interactive transcript of this episode 🎧
Sources We Found Helpful for this Episode * Nicole A. Taylor | Southern Foodways Alliance * Nicole A. Taylor's cookbook puts a spin on traditional African American food * Nicole A. Taylor's 'Watermelon & Red Birds' Is an Ode to Black Joy
Books We Think You’ll Enjoy Reading* The Up South Cookbook: Chasing Dixie in a Brooklyn Kitchen by Nicole A. Taylor * Watermelon and Red Birds: A Cookbook for Juneteenth and Black Celebrations by Nicole A. Taylor
Recipes You Really Need to Try* Nicole A. Taylor’s Recipe for Weekend Sweet Potato Hash @ The Splendid Table * Nicole A. Taylor's Black Pepper Strawberry Slab Pie @ Dash of Jazz * Nicole A. Taylor shares her Juneteenth recipes for Black celebrations @ Los Angeles Times * Juneteenth Recipes Curated by Nicole Taylor @ NYT Cooking
We would love to connect with youAsWeEat.com, on Instagram @asweeat, join our new As We Eat community on Facebook, or subscribe to the As We Eat Journal.
Do you have a great idea 💡 for a show topic, a recipe 🥘 that you want to share, or just say “hi”👋🏻? Send us an email at connect@asweeat.com
Review As We Eat on Podchaser or Apple Podcast. We would like to know what you think.
s a member of affiliate programs, we earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. This helps us to continue to bring you stories, history, and personal musings about food, cuisines, traditions, and recipes
In this episode, we continue As We Eat’s journey exploring "How to Cook and Eat in Chinese" by Buwei Yang Chao, an esteemed author who invited readers to experience what it means to both cook and eat Chinese food. As we continue our dive into the world of Chinese cooking, we peel back the layers of stereotypes that have often misrepresented this diverse and complex culinary tradition.
As We Eat Episodes Mentioned
EP 48 Dumplings Around the World: Pan Asian Dumplings from Chinese Medicine to Dim Sum
EP 49: Dumplings Around the World: European Dumplings from Saints to Holy Justice in Just One Bite
EP 50 Dumplings Around the World: The Great American Dumplings Showdown
EP 51 From Temple to Table: How Rice Built Communities Around the World
Books We Think You’ll Enjoy Reading
How to Cook and Eat in Chinese by Buwei Yang Chao
How to Order and Eat in Chinese to Get the Best Meal in a Chinese Restaurant by Buwei Yang Chao
Autobiography of a Chinese Woman by Buwei Yang Chao
Taste Makers: Seven Immigrant Women Who Revolutionized Food in America by Mayukh Sen
Other Sources
FOOD; Chinese Characters (with recipes) by The New York Times
Red-Cooked Meat and Table Manners: Decoding How to Cook and Eat in Chinese by The Margins
The Forgotten Chinese Chef Who Taught America to Stir-Fry by Mother Jones
Transcript
🎧 Click here for the full, interactive transcript of this episode 🎧
Today we’ll journey through a fascinating cookbook whose purpose was to inform, educate and break through ingrained stereotypes. How to Cook and Eat in Chinese is a cultural road map into Chinese culture through its food and culinary traditions with some humorous and personal twists and turns along the way.
From the Chinese Exclusion Act to the Boxer Indemnity Scholarship, Kim and Leigh discuss the political and social constructs that informed the creation of, if they do say so themselves, a spectacular piece of culinary literature.
How to Cook and Eat in Chinese is so, so, so much more than a book filled with recipes for Peking duck, spring rolls, and congee. It’s guide book through Chinese culture and tradition.
Written in Chinese by a Tokyo-educated female women’s doctor, translated by her English-speaking daughter, and edited by her Boxer-Indemnity-Scholarship educated husband, this book, as you might expect, is rife with multi-generational and cultural perspectives. And in the case of the footnotes, familial banter.
Buwei and crew brilliantly set the table to aid in understanding a culture through the lens of its food. As Mrs. Chao reminds us, “a little thinking and and little willingness to experiment will go very far.” Oh, what wise words!
Resources we found helpful for this episode
How to Cook and Eat in Chinese by Buwei Yang Chao
Chow Chop Suey: Food and the Chinese American Journey by Anne Mendelson
Autobiography of a Chinese Woman by Buwei Yang Chao
Chinese Exclusion Act (1882), National Archives
Red-Cooked Meat and Table Manners: Decoding How to Cook and Eat in Chinese
Books we think you should read
How to Cook and Eat in Chinese by Buwei Yang Chao
Chow Chop Suey: Food and the Chinese American Journey by Anne Mendelson
Autobiography of a Chinese Woman by Buwei Yang Chao
Episodes We Think You’ll Like
EP 59: Bon Appétit! How Julia Child Made America Fall in Love with French Food
Episode 60 Coq au Whatever: Mastering an Iconic French Provincial Dish
Episode 41 Brothers in Spoons: Odd Intersections of Food, Military, and War
As a member of affiliate programs, we earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. This helps us to continue to bring you stories, history, and personal musings about food, cuisines, traditions, and recipes
Grab your favorite glass of Burgundy and settle in as Leigh and Kim discuss what Leigh learned about making an iconic dish that epitomizes the warmth, hospitality, and culinary traditions of French culture. Leigh even shares what she discovered about herself when making coq au vin from Mastering the Art of French Cooking while Kim talks about the traditional wine used in making this dish.
Cook with any wine you have
We’ve talked at length about how Mastering the Art of French Cooking is a cookbook based on technique. Techniques that make the art of French cuisine and cooking available to the general public. And though there are prescriptions for iconic dishes, there is also some freedom granted by Julia and Co.
Coq au vin - rooster in wine - is traditionally made with red wine, but I love the fact that in the introduction of the recipe Julia notes that you can use whatever wine you cook with. This comes from a lady who painstakingly tested, re-tested, and re-tested all of the 524 recipes in the book. She understood that in order for people to cook these dishes, it was important to grant some ownership in the creative process.
On being intentional
This recipe is not for the faint of heart. Within the recipe for Coq au Vin there are an additional 3 recipes for ingredients used. But rather than look at the recipe with trepidation, I chose to recall a visit to France where I learned to understand the importance and intention that the culture places not only on ingredients but meal-times and community.
This is a country where businesses and schools shutter for two hours each day during lunch so that citizens can enjoy a meal with family and friends. Where suppers last well into the late evening hours. And where conversations are considered entertainment.
So, to dedicate a full day of intentional cooking wasn’t a hardship. It was a pleasure. A pleasure that elicited some interesting revelations about some of my cooking habits and one of the most delicious meals we had all week.
What about the wine
Although Julia and Co. indicate that you can use “whatever wine you use for cooking,” traditionally, coq au vin utilizes a wine that is local to the region, Burgundy. Kim takes us on a little tasting tour of this earthy wine made in the region since the Romans annexed this area into their empire.
Sources We Found Helpful for this Episode
Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, Simone Beck
My Life in France by Julia Child and Alex Prud'homme
Books We Think You’ll Enjoy Reading
Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, Simone Beck
My Life in France by Julia Child and Alex Prud'homme
Recipes You Really Need to Try
Episodes We Think You’ll Enjoy
Episode 14 Casseroles: Tuna Noodle, Green Bean, and Gleaming Vessels
Episode 38: Fire & Ice: Two Modern Kitchen Technologies that Changed Our Kitchens and Diets
Episode 59: Bon Appétit! How Julia Child Made America Fall in Love with French Food
Transcript
🎧 Click here for the full, interactive transcript of this episode 🎧
It’s no secret that Leigh and Kim are fans of Julia Child - a culinary icon who revolutionized the way Americans think about food and cooking. Julia Child made cooking accessible and fun, and her legacy lives on today through her timeless recipes, television show episodes, her cookbooks, and through the work of the many chefs and food lovers she inspired.
For todays’ episode, we take a good look at Julia Child’s fascinating life and the start of her storied culinary career - the 1961 publication of "Mastering the Art of French Cooking," co-authored with Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle.
Sources We Found Helpful for this Episode
Julia Child’s Kitchen at the Smithsonian Institute
Julia Child Biography from National Women’s History Museum
FOOD: Transforming the American Table at the National Museum of American History
Julia Child Video Collection at PBS
Books We Think You’ll Enjoy Reading
"Mastering the Art of French Cooking" (1961) with Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle
"The French Chef Cookbook" (1968)
"From Julia Child's Kitchen" (1975)
"Julia Child & Company" (1978)
"The Way to Cook" (1989)
"In Julia's Kitchen with Master Chefs" (1995)
"Baking with Julia" (1996)
"Julia's Kitchen Wisdom" (2000)
"My Life in France" (2006) with Alex Prud’homme
Recipes You Really Need to Try
Transcript
🎧 Click here for the full, interactive transcript of this episode 🎧
As a member of affiliate programs, we earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. This helps us to continue to bring you stories, history, and personal musings about food, cuisines, traditions, and recipes.
Today, Kim shares her experience with a recipe intended to ease the strain of entertaining and leave time for more important matters, like gaining votes for women.
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Do you have a great idea 💡 for a show topic, a recipe 🥘 that you want to share, or just say “hi”👋🏻? Send us an email at connect@asweeat.com
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You may know that the woman suffrage movement played a significant role in winning women the right to vote. But are you aware that an important tool that they employed to educate, persuade, and build community was cookbooks?
Kim and Leigh discuss how one of the movement’s self-published community cookbooks would serve as a testament to the suffragettes’ commitment to their cause and their desire to build a better world for themselves and their families.
No Ordinary Cook Book
The Woman Suffrage Cook Book is not your ordinary cookbook. Published in 1886, edited by Hattie A. Burr with recipe contributions by suffragettes, supporters, and women across America it served as a tool for fundraising, with proceeds supporting the movement. But it served an even greater purpose. It was a way to educate the public regarding the suffragettes’ goals and aspirations. By sharing family recipes and offering tips on household management and care of the sick and infirmed, it demonstrated that they were not just political activists but also wives, mothers, and homemakers.
The recipes provide a glimpse into the food culture of the time and serve as a reminder that food is more than sustenance. It can build community, shape culture, and be a catalyst of social change.
Sources We Found Helpful for this Episode
All Stirred Up, Laura Kumin
Books We Think You’ll Enjoy Reading
All Stirred Up, Laura Kumin
The Woman Suffrage Cook Book, edited by Hattie A. Burr
The Woman Suffrage Cook Book, edited by Hatties A. Burr PDF version
Transcript
🎧 Click here for the full, interactive transcript of this episode 🎧
Today, Leigh shares her experience with a recipe that embodies the feeling of home: Edna Lewis' Beef a là Mode from A Taste of Country Living.
The recipes in this auto-biographical cookbook are full of warmth, flavor, and nostalgia, and Beef a là Mode is no exception. This classic comfort food was a favorite of Edna’s family during the winter months in Freetown and was often served for special occasions.
Listen as Leigh shares personal experience with the recipe and how a dish can connect us to our past, our community, and our sense of home.
Books we think you'll enjoy
A Taste of Country Cooking, Edna Lewis
Other episodes we think you'll like
EP 43 Food Pioneers: Life and Career Highlights of People Who Make Food Great
EP 45 Cookbooks: Guardians of Culture and Cuisine
We would love to connect with you
AsWeEat.com, on Instagram @asweeat, join our new As We Eat community on Facebook, or subscribe to the As We Eat Journal.
Do you have a great idea 💡 for a show topic, a recipe 🥘 that you want to share, or just say “hi”👋🏻? Send us an email at connect@asweeat.com
Review As We Eat on Podchaser or Apple Podcast. We would like to know what you think.
As a member of affiliate programs, we earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. This helps us to continue to bring you stories, history, and personal musings about food, cuisines, traditions, and recipes
Season 3 kicks off with a cookbook with a heartfelt message of seasonality. The Taste of Country cooking by Chef Edna Lewis provides a beautifully written canvas for Kim and Leigh explore what it means to eat seasonally, and what it means to be home.
Despite growing up in a figurative cornucopia of produce in California, Kim struggled to feel a connection between herself, the food she ate, and the place she lived. It wasn’t that the luscious fruits and vegetables were bad - it just was that the easy availability and agricultural homogeneity made everything less vibrant, less succulent, and less special.
Reading Edna Lewis’s seminal work The Taste of Country Cooking helped Kim to break through a false dichotomy between the stereotypes of “city” and “country” and encouraged her to examine the development of her own foodways and traditions grown while living in seven different U.S states.
In the pages of this loving tribute to Chef Lewis’ childhood home in Freetown, Virginia and its rich traditions, Kim found inspiration to embrace the place in which she lives now and to nurture roots in her home community by exploring new foods grown locally in season.
Together Kim and Leigh explore both the fascinating life of Chef Edna Lewis, how she came to write this marvelous book, and the enduring legacy that The Taste of Country Cooking plays in defining not only a key element of American food culture, but also how it loving marks an important time and place in the author’s life.
Sources We Found Helpful for this Episode
Biography: Edna Lewis
Edna Lewis Foundation: “About Chef Edna Lewis”
Books We Think You’ll Enjoy Reading
The Taste of Country Cooking by Edna Lewis
The Edna Lewis Cookbook by Edna Lewis and Evangeline Peterson
In Pursuit of Flavor by Edna Lewis
Recipes You Really Need to Try
Edna Lewis’ White Pound Cake the Kitchn
We would love to connect with you
AsWeEat.com, on Instagram @asweeat, join our new As We Eat community on Facebook, or subscribe to the As We Eat Journal.
Do you have a great idea 💡 for a show topic, a recipe 🥘 that you want to share, or just say “hi”👋🏻? Send us an email at connect@asweeat.com
Review As We Eat on Podchaser or Apple Podcast. We would like to know what you think.
As a member of affiliate programs, we earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. This helps us to continue to bring you stories, history, and personal musings about food, cuisines, traditions, and recipes
2022 was an eventful year for Leigh and Kim, and we laid everything on the table for As We Eat this year. Across 20 episodes, we ladled out many stories about how the ways we cook, eat, and share meals make food such a key component of our homes, our communities, and our culture.
In this final episode for 2022, Leigh and Kim discuss our favorite episodes of the year and what we’ve learned. We especially enjoyed unpacking the intersection of feminism and food studies with a special focus on community cookbooks and American Suffragist movement. We also loved learning about and sharing stories of the cultural commonalities of many fundamental foods, like dumplings, stew, and rice. As We Eat also loved answering questions from our listeners about Black & White cookies and the differences between jams & jellies.
One episode in particular though has inspired how As We Eat is planning to approach our third season in 2023. Leigh and Kim agree that cookbooks have much to offer us - whether we’re kitchen novices or seasoned foodies - and so we’ll be devoting our time, curiosity, and research into unpacking how cookbooks, both ancient and modern, have impacted how we think about, talk about, and interact with the foods that we eat. Stay tuned for interviews with authors, discussion about cookbooks as literature, insight into how cookbooks define (and exclude) communities, and more.
Don’t miss these stellar episodes:
Episode 45: Cookbooks: The Guardians of Cuisine and Culture
Feminism, Food Studies, and Women’s Suffrage
- EP 36: Feminism at the Kitchen Counter From Betty Crocker to Julia Child
- Ep 37: From the Kitchen to the Voting Booth: Suffrage for Women and Community Cookbooks
The Dumpling Trilogy
- EP 48: Dumplings Around the World: Pan Asian Dumplings from Chinese Medicine to Dim Sum
- EP 49: Dumplings Around the World: European Dumplings from Saints to Holy Justice in Just One Bite
- EP 50: Dumplings Around the World: The Great American Dumplings Showdown
Episodes Inspired by Our Listeners
- EP 39: Fisherman's Stew - A Savory Representation of Region, Culture, and Flavors
- EP 40: Sailing the Umami Seas - Fishy Origins of an Ancient Recipe, Proper Pronunciation of a Pantry Staple, and our favorite Bloody Marys
- EP 44: Look to the Cookie! Black & White Cookies, Racial Harmony, and the Impact of Food In Media
- EP 46: By Jam. Jelly, or Conserve: the True Stories of Fruit Spreads
- EP 51: From Temple to Table: How Rice Built Communities Around the World
Thanks for sharing this wonderful season with us; see you in 2023!
Episode Transcript
🎧 Click here for the full, interactive transcript of this episode 🎧
Pies have claimed their stake at the feast table long before there was a national celebration of Thanksgiving. Largely originating in England, pies both small and large served royals and peasants alike with fillings of meat, fruits, and spices from faraway lands. Immigrants from Great Britain brought pie traditions over the Atlantic and expanded their repertoire with new fruits, nuts, and game.
Pecan pie - an American South classic pie - is one such newcomer. As Leigh explains it, the sweet meat inside the hardy nutshell was previously known only to the Native American people inhabiting the pecan’s peak growth areas along the Mississippi River and its tributaries north to Illinois and Iowa and south to the Gulf Coast. Pecans didn’t turn into the pie darling that we love today - the first recipes for pecan pie in the early 19th Century more closely resembled a meringue pie. A certain corn syrup merchant is credited for changing around our conceptualization of what we now consider a classic pecan pie.
Curiosity, and a misplaced sense of nostalgia, drew Kim towards a thorough examination of the mincemeat pie. Mincemeat once graced royal coronation tables and has since become synonymous with a well-provisioned Christmas table, so much so that the pastries were once banned by Puritan governments in England and the United States in the 17th Century for being too decadent! These early pies earned their name from the process and product of their creation - minced meats mixed with fruits and spices served up in trencher or coffin pies (named for their shape!) - but have since gone largely vegetarian.
Please don’t miss our other episodes devoted to pie:
Pie: Crazy Labels, Cockney Rhyming Slang, and Greek Melons (Episode 2)
Revisiting Pies: Desperation, Thrift, and Brand Campaigns (Episode 32)
And an unique take on mincemeat from our 2021 Alimentary Advent Calendar
Alimentary Advent Calendar: Door Number 9 - Mincemeat
Sources We Found Helpful for this Episode The History of Mince Pies - Historic UK
The History of Mincemeat Pies, from the Crusades to Christmas - Smithsonian Magazine
What The Heck Is Mincemeat? - Farmers' Almanac
Books We Think You’ll Enjoy ReadingOxford Companion to Food by Alan DavidsonOxford Companion to American Food and Drink by Andrew Smith Art of the Pie: A Practical Guide to Homemade Crusts, Fillings, and Life by Kate McDermott
Pie Camp: The Skills You Need to Make Any Pie You Want by Kate McDermott
Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management: The 1861 Classic with Advice on Cooking, Cleaning, Childrearing, Entertaining, and More by Isabella Beeton (contains a recipe for mincemeat)
Recipes You Really Need to TryPumpkin Pecan Pie from Family Spice
Gluten-Free Pecan Pie from Fearless Dining
Modern Mincemeat Pie | Saveur
A Pie Calendar
Leigh's 2023 Pie Calendar can be purchased here
Transcript🎧 Click here for the full, interactive transcript of this episode 🎧
Today marks the first of two festive days collectively known as Días de los Muertos, a Hispanic folk holiday to remember the souls of those departed and to temporarily welcome them home with a vibrant celebration of color, food, and music. Leigh and Kim go beyond the veil to reveal the origins of two iconic food traditions: Pan de Muerto and Calaveres du Azucar.
During Días de los Muertos, millions of Hispanic families celebrate their ancestors and deceased loved ones with special traditions and foods that acknowledge the circle of life. The air fills with sweet scents of marigolds, orange blossom, and anise to guide the family spirits home, and everywhere you turn you find pillowy sweet breads decorated with skulls & bones or brightly decorated sugar skulls. Behind these paradoxical images - macabre yet cheerful - lie the stories of ancient Mesoamerica rites transformed by European colonialism into more palatable traditions.
Sources We Found Helpful for this Episode Pan de Muerto by Mexican Food Kitchen
Oaxaca welcomes spirits home with ’bread of the dead’ | National Geographic
Books We Think You’ll Enjoy ReadingSkulls to the Living, Bread to the Dead: The Day of the Dead in Mexico and Beyond by Stanley Brandes
Llewellyn's Little Book of the Day of the Dead by Jaime Gironés
This Guera's Guide to Dia de los Muertos: An Introduction to the Holiday and Assistance on Setting up the Altar by Lauren Alaniz
Recipes You Really Need to TryPan de Muerto by Good Housekeeping
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Of the three cereal grains consumed around the world, rice is a versatile foodstuff with an interesting history. As a food staple, it nourishes more than half of the 7.75 billion people on our planet, but it means so much more to us than merely grains in a bowl - this is the stuff upon which empires are built. For this episode, As We Eat follows the story of rice from temple to terroir to table.
Confucian proverbs run the gamut from profane to profound, and about rice it is believed that he said: “With coarse rice to eat, with water to drink, and my bent arm for a pillow; I have still joy in the midst of all these things.”
Luckily for modern eaters, we can still experience joy in the midst of our eating without having to resort to coarse rice. In fact, we have four kinds of rice to enjoy from all over the world - indica, japonica, aromatic, and glutinous rice all have found roles in our kitchens, our diets, and even our spiritual practices.
Sources We Found Helpful for this Episode Domestication: The birth of rice
Ingrained: Sharing the Untold Stories of California Rice, hosted by Jim Morris
The "7 GODS" in a Single Rice Grain! Why Farmers are Considered Gods in Japan
Books We Think You’ll Enjoy ReadingRice: A Global History by Renee MartonRice: A Savor the South Cookbook by Michael Twitty
The Rice Bible by Christia Teubner
Recipes You Really Need to TryChicken Curry & Calrose Rice Stuffed Acorn Squash
Butternut Squash Risotto
One-Pot Chicken Biryani
Pork and Shiitake Mushroom Congee
Grandma’s Rice Pudding
Episode Transcript🎧 Click here for the full, interactive transcript of this episode 🎧
We would love to connect with youAsWeEat.com, on Instagram @asweeat, join our new As We Eat community on Facebook, or subscribe to the As We Eat Journal.
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Whether served fried, steamed, or boiled, dumplings can tell the story of a geography by how it's cooked and eaten . As We Eat concludes its three-part series exploring the global cuisine of dumplings with our third installment examining the twin stories of the “dumpling” darling of a classic American comfort food. Are you Team Fluffy or Team Slick?
As we’ve discovered in our three-part series, dumplings reign as a perpetual favorite in cuisines all over the world, and North America is no different. Here in the States, two different formulations of dumplings form the backbone to an All-American classic dish: Chicken & Dumplings. In many ways, the popularity of that dish is no real mystery - people have been enjoying meat stewed with vegetables for centuries - but it definitely gains an advantage from a fluffy soft or slick chewy dumplings.
Sources We Found Helpful for this Episode Don't Call Chicken and Dumplings Depression-Era Cheap EatsOxford Companion to Food by Alan Davidson
Books We Think You’ll Enjoy ReadingThe Virginia Housewife by Mary Randolph
The Kentucky Housewife by Lettice Brian
Carolina Housewife by Sarah Rutledge
Housekeeping in Old Virginia by Marion Kabel Tyre
Recipes You Really Need to TryPennsylvania Dutch Chicken Pot Pie from a Coal Cracker in the Kitchen
Southern Chicken and Dumplings from Pastry Chef Online
Nothing says comfort like homemade chicken and dumplings - Chesterfield Observer
Chicken Soup with Butter Dumplings from Chez Us
Episode Transcript🎧 Click here for the full, interactive transcript of this episode 🎧
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, we earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. This helps us to continue to bring you stories, history, and personal musings about food, cuisines, traditions, and recipes
Whether served fried, steamed, or boiled, a dumpling filled with local ingredients feeds the mind with a taste of its history. As We Eat is embarking in a three-part series exploring the global cuisine of dumplings, and our second episode takes us over Silk Road trade routes into Europe where we explore the culinary impact of such European delights as ravioli, pierogi, Matzo balls, kreplach, and floaters.
One dumpling tells many stories - its ingredients tell stories about the people that it nurtures and the techniques of its making helps recall special times and places. Each dumpling itself is a sort of “perfect bite” showcasing a world of flavor encapsulated within a pillowy cloud of dough.
As we continue our three-part journey into the global culinary phenomenon of dumplings, Leigh and Kim share the history and culture behind some of the world’s favorite dumplings to unveil some of the rhyme and reason behind their popularity and prominent place on our plates.
Sources We Found Helpful for this Episode Dauphiné ravioli
Raviole du Dauphiné from Isère, France
How St. Hyacinth miraculously fed a crowd of starving people with pierogi
Giant Perogy – Glendon, Alberta - Gastro Obscura
Great Pittsburgh Pierogy Race
Teddy Roosevelt tackled by Pierogi
Books We Think You’ll Enjoy ReadingDumplings for Beginners: 50 Recipes and Simple Step-by-Step Lessons to Make Your Favorite Dumplings by Terri Dien
The Dumpling Galaxy Cookbook by Helen You and Max Falkowitz
Matzo: 35 Recipes for Passover and All Year Long: A Cookbook
The Matzo Ball Boy (Picture Puffin Books)
Recipes You Really Need to TryLearn How to Make Raviole from France
Raviole Gratin Recipe
Ravioles (Cypriot ravioli) - Kopiaste..to Greek Hospitality
Matzo Ball Soup
Kreplach
Suet Dumplings
Episode Transcript🎧 Click here for the full, interactive transcript of this episode 🎧
We would love to connect with youAsWeEat.com, on Instagram @asweeat, join our new As We Eat community on Facebook, or subscribe to the As We Eat Journal.
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As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, we earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. This helps us to continue to bring you stories, history, and personal musings about food, cuisines, traditions, and recipes
Whether served fried, steamed, or boiled, a well-shaped dumpling offers a tasty perfect bite along with a well-intentioned wish for luck, prosperity, and good health. As We Eat is embarking in a three-part series exploring the global cuisine of dumplings, and our first episode starts with a survey of the intersection of food and medicine with a deeper exploration of two immensely popular Pan Asian dumplings - gyoza and siu mai.
Sources We Found Helpful for this Episode The origins of siu mai: how an iconic dim sum staple came to be | South China Morning PostWhat's a dim sim? How an oversized dumpling became an Australian food icon | CNN Travel
The Oxford Companion to Food, edited by Alan Davidson
Books We Think You’ll Enjoy ReadingDumplings for Beginners: 50 Recipes and Simple Step-by-Step Lessons to Make Your Favorite Dumplings by Terri DienDumplings All Day Wong: A Cookbook of Asian Delights From a Top Chef by Lee Ann Wong
Gyoza: The Ultimate Dumpling Cookbook: 50 Recipes from Tokyo's Gyoza King - Pot Stickers, Dumplings, Spring Rolls and More! by Paradise Yamamoto
The Dumpling Galaxy Cookbook by Helen You and Max Falkowitz
The Dumpling Sisters Cookbook: Over 100 Favourite Recipes From A Chinese Family Kitchen by The Dumpling Sisters (Author)
Recipes You Really Need to TryAuthentic Pork Shui Mai (Shumai) from Yum China
Episode Transcript🎧 Click here for the full, interactive transcript of this episode 🎧
With as few as three ingredients, dough can transform into some of the world’s most seminal dishes - pizza, pasta, bread, and more. Join As We Eat as we rise to the occasion and dish up some fascinating history and cultural impacts of dough.
The Limitless Capacity of DoughDough has a nearly limitless capacity depending on its ingredients, leavening or fermenting process, or how the dough is shaped and cooked. Called “the spark that led to the development of state and large political units,” a humble bowl of dough represents not only all the potential of what it might become, but also as a reminder of how much humans relied upon basic foodstuffs to imagine, build, and sustain whole civilizations. In this episode of As We Eat, Leigh and Kim take you on a journey through the history of dough and its mainstay ingredients and techniques. We also discuss how dough has its place within nearly every cuisine across the globe, and still grows its impact every day.
A Culinary Building BlockDough is a culinary building block that enriches our lives from basic nutrition to agricultural development to large-scale trade.
As a mother to all manner of popular food mainstays, a ball of dough is inherently hopeful because it could turn into so many wonderful, cherished things. It's no wonder that in the midst of a global health concern, we found space on our counters for jars of dough starters that perhaps reminded us that we could nurture and care for ourselves even as time seemed to stand still.
For today’s episode, we travel back in time to review how the mixture of a few simple ingredients influenced and was influenced by the cultures and dynasties of the people who relied upon the foods that dough created. Leigh shows how the concept of mixing flour made from wheat, rye, barley, and other cereals with water not only contributed towards the development of some of our greatest ancient civilizations, but also how long-held beliefs about the rise of agriculture were shaken by discovery of 12,000-old-old breadcrumbs
Kim enthuses about how dough represents a common, shared foodway through unleavened flatbread as a natural container for roasted meats or vegetables. This simple food is found in all corners of the planet revealing a way in which we are all alike rather than different.
We conclude with memories of a recipe for friendship bread that produce a sweet dough meant to be shared with family and friends - until it threatens to take over the house!
Sources We Found Helpful for this Episode 14,000-Year-Old Piece Of Bread Rewrites The History Of Baking And Farming
Archaeobotanical evidence reveals the origins of bread 14,400 years ago in northeastern Jordan
Friendship Bread Kitchen Website
Books We Think You’ll Enjoy ReadingYou and I Eat the Same: On the Countless Ways, Food and Cooking, Connect Us to One Another edited by Chris Yang
Considered the Fork by Bee Wilson
Bread, A Global History by William Rubel
Recipes You Really Need to TryAmish Friendship Bread Starter from Friendship Bread Kitchen
Apple Oatmeal Amish Friendship Bread from Friendship Bread Kitchen
Herman Friendship Cake from Cherished by Me
Episode Transcript🎧 Click here for the full, interactive transcript of this episode 🎧
We would love to connect with youAsWeEat.com, on Instagram @asweeat, join our new As We Eat community on Facebook, or subscribe to the As We Eat Journal.
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The story of fruit spreads and how they become staples of the breakfast table is as much about the similarities between fruit and techniques to preserve it as the story is of its differences. In today’s episode, we briefly revisit the origins of food preservation to show how the fundamental desire to be able to revisit the taste of fresh, sweet strawberries has led to the proliferation of all manners of jam, jellies, preserves, and more to our breakfast tables. We also explore how dishes revered by royalty - and whose costly ingredients were only affordable to those of an elevated class - made their way generously to breakfast tables across Great Britain and beyond.
Sources We Found Helpful for this Episode Polaner All Fruit Commercial (1989)US Supreme Court - “62 CASES, MORE OR LESS, EACH CONTAINING SIX JARS OF JAM et al. v. UNITED STATES”
De Re Coquinaria by Apicius
Books We Think You’ll Enjoy ReadingFood Swap: Specialty Recipes for Bartering, Sharing, and Giving by Emily Paster Artisanal Preserves: Small-Batch Jams, Jellies, Marmalades, and More by Madelaine Bullwinkel
Foolproof Preserving: A Guide to Small Batch Jams, Jellies, Pickles, Condiments & More by America’s Test Kitchen
The Oxford Companion to Food by Alan Davidson
De Re Coquinaria by Apicius
Recipes You Really Need to TryHot & Saucy Cocktail Meatballs (with Grape Jelly) by Betty Crocker
Red Wine Jelly by Creative Culinary
Bakewell Tarts by Scotch and Scones
Freezer Jam by Pookspantry
Orange Marmalade by Family Spice
Episodes We Think You’ll EnjoyEP 2 Pie: Crazy Labels, Cockney Rhyming Slang, and Greek Melons
EP 32 Revisiting Pies: Desperation, Thrift, and Brand Campaigns
Ep 29 Kitchen Technology: Canning, Can Openers, and Cookie Cutters
EP 45 Cookbooks: Guardians of Culture and Cuisine
By Jams, Jellies and Conserves Transcript🎧 Click here for the full, interactive transcript of this episode 🎧
We would love to connect with youAsWeEat.com, on Instagram @asweeat, join our new As We Eat community on Facebook, or subscribe to the As We Eat Journal.
Do you have a great idea 💡 for a show topic, a recipe 🥘 that you want to share, or just say “hi”👋🏻? Send us an email at connect@asweeat.com
Review As We Eat on Podchaser or Apple Podcast. We would like to know what you think.
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, we earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. This helps us to continue to bring you stories, history, and personal musings about food, cuisines, traditions, and recipes
Cookbooks provide context into a specific cuisine; allow its reader to emulate royal diets; provide meaningful instruction in how to nourish and nurture others with food; or even just whet the imagination and the appetite. This latest installment of As We Eat’s Kitchen Technology series turns our attention to the cookbook - a powerhouse culinary tool that instructs, educates, and inspires.
What does your favorite cookbook say about you? For centuries, cookbooks have not only instructed us on how to prepare a dish, but also educated, entertained, and inspired our food preferences and choices. Join us as we reflect on some of our favorites and muse about how the cookbook of the future may look.
Cookbooks form a critical backbone in how we conceptualize and communicate how a dish tastes through its headnotes, the ingredients of which it is composed (ingredient list), and the means by which to make it (technique).
For As We Eat’s latest addition to our celebrated Kitchen Technology series, Leigh and Kim delve into the history of cookbooks - the oldest dating to the First Century! - with an eye towards how cookbooks instructed and informed its readers about the diets of royalty and the foods that were both delicious and healthy. These recipes often reflect the abundance and variety of ingredients available to the wealthy.
As food scarcity decreased and variety became more accessible to all classes, cookbooks shifted focus towards the needs of the common man. Technological and cultural innovations that benefitted literacy and made home kitchens more capable of producing larger, regular meals was reflected in the variety of cookbooks published by acclaimed chefs, food pioneers, and food companies. Our grocery stores and pantries filled with both fresh and canned foods that changed the fundamental question from what to cook but how to make the most of our abundance.
Kim shared how four keystone books in her personal cookbook collection serve as historical touch points to vintage recipes and special family memories, and we conclude with speculation about how today’s technology will influence how future generations might create, share, and use cookbooks and recipes.
Sources We Found Helpful for this Episode From Betty Crocker to Feminist Food StudiesThe Ancient Mesopotamian Tablet as Cookbook
A Brief History of Cookbooks Worldwide
A History of Cookbooks
Books We Think You’ll Enjoy ReadingApicius: De Re Coquinaria Cookbook
Plain Cookery for the Working Classes
The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy
Mastering the Art of French Cooking, two-volume setComplete Indian Cookbook
Betty Crocker’s Cookbook, 1974 Ring-Bound
Episode Transcript🎧Click here for the full, interactive transcript of this episode 🎧
We would love to connect with youAsWeEat.com, on Instagram @asweeat, join our new As We Eat community on Facebook, or subscribe to the As We Eat Journal.
Do you have a great idea 💡 for a show topic, a recipe 🥘 that you want to share, or just say “hi”👋🏻? Send us an email at connect@asweeat.com
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As a member affiliate programs, we earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. This helps us to continue to bring you stories, history, and personal musings about food, cuisines, traditions, and recipes
Did Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson nibble on Black & White cookies while composing their famous “Ebony & Ivory” duet? We may never know the answer to that question, but As We Eat can tell you about the origins of the Black & White cookie (and its Half Moon cookie cousin) which became a well known metaphor for racial harmony thanks to an episode of Seinfeld. Kudos to Abby Lamb for the episode topic suggestion!
Can a Cookie Solve our Woes“Look to the cookie,” Jerry Seinfeld exclaimed in 1994 and suddenly a cookie went viral.
Thanks to a suggestion from As We Eat friend Abby Lamb, we are taking a long look into the Black & White Cookie, a sweet treat made world famous as a metaphor for racial harmony by the popular Seinfeld sitcom of the early 1990s.
In this episode, we discuss The Dinner Party episode of Seinfeld that launched the not well known black & white cookie into notoriety (without the help of social media). Leigh rounds up the history of the half chocolate / half vanilla cookie and its purported cousin, the halfmoon cookie and Kim surveys other foods that hit the mainstream with a little boost from media - brown cows, cheesecake, White Russians, and more.
Sources We Found Helpful for this Episode * Food Timeline Website * Vice Website, The Real History of Black and White Cookies,Joanne Spataro * 'Look to the Cookie': An Ode in Black and White - The New York Times
Books We Think You’ll Enjoy Reading Arthur Schwartz's New York City Food*by Arthur Schwartz
Recipes You Really Need to Try Spaghetti Tacos by Kitty Johnson on All Recipes * White Russian* on Liquor.com
Transcript🎧 Click here for the full, interactive transcript of this episode 🎧
We would love to connect with youAsWeEat.com, on Instagram @asweeat, join our new As We Eat community on Facebook, or subscribe to the As We Eat Journal.
Do you have a great idea 💡 for a show topic, a recipe 🥘 that you want to share, or just say “hi”👋🏻? Send us an email at connect@asweeat.com
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The first episode of a new As We Eat series highlights the accomplished lives and careers of Leah Chase and Edna Lewis - two African-American chefs who not only had brilliant careers but whose work in the culinary world highlights how important food culture is to community-building.
We know good food when we eat it, but how often do we know the names, faces, and lives of the chefs who make those really special dishes that warm our souls? Today’s episode is the first in a new As We Eat series highlighting the interesting lives and careers of the heroes and pioneers of food. As the United States celebrates Juneteenth, we felt it appropriate to start with two amazing chefs - Lead Chase and Edna Lewis - whose work demonstrates how food can build and sustain community, particularly in times of change.
Sources We Found Helpful for this Episode Oral History interview with Leah Chase (with video)
Dooky Chase's Restaurant Since 1941 | About the Chef
The 10 Dishes that Made My Career: Leah Chase
Books We Think You’ll Enjoy ReadingThe Dooky Chase Cookbook by Leah ChaseAnd Still I Cook by Leah Chase
Leah Chase: Paintings by Gustave Blache III
Down Home Healthy, Family Recipes of Black American Chefs by Leah Chase
Beyond Gumbo: Creole Fusion Food from the Atlantic Rim by Jessica B. Harris
The Taste of Country Cooking by Edna Lewis
The Edna Lewis Cookbook by Edna Lewis and Evangeline Peterson
Recipes You Really Need to TryGumbo 101 (Nourish with Leah Chase)
Leah Chase’s Gumbo z’Herbes (Southern Living)
Edna Lewis’ White Pound Cake the Kitchn
Transcript🎧 Click here for the full, interactive transcript of this episode 🎧
Do you have a favorite food pioneer?
We would love to connect with youAsWeEat.com, on Instagram @asweeat, join our new As We Eat community on Facebook, or subscribe to the As We Eat Journal.
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Celebrated throughout the United States since 1865, June 19th is marked by lots of good food with a particular emphasis on the colors red, yellow, and green. Kim & Leigh go behind the scenes to explore and learn more about Juneteenth and its tasty traditions.
In 2021, the federal government of the United States added a new national holiday on June 19 - Juneteenth National Independence Day (aka Juneteenth). This day, celebrated around the United States since 1865, marks the completed emancipation of enslaved Black and African-African people within the state of Texas and the last of the Confederate States. With its marked colors of red, yellow, and green, Juneteenth food traditions honor African-American foodways while evoking the diverse diaspora of cultures of enslaved people brought to the United States. Leigh and Kim dive into the color significance of the foods to discuss how they bring hope, vision, and power of community to Juneteenth celebrants.
Sources We Found Helpful for this Episode What to Eat on Juneteenth Serious Eats
Dr Fredrick Douglass Opie
Toni Tipton
Yahoo News Interview with Carla Hall and Marcus Samuelsson
High on the Hog Netflix
Books We Think You’ll Enjoy ReadingHog and Hominy Soul Food from Africa to America by Dr. Fredrick Douglass Opie
Black Smoke African-Americans and the United States of BBQ by Adrian Miller
High on the Hog: A Culinary Journey from Africa to America by Jessica B. Harris
Recipes You Really Need to TryCorn bread by Chef Curl Ardee
Southern Corn Salad by Black People’s Recipes
Grits by The Soul Food Pot
Sweet Potato Pie from Whisk It Real Gud
Sweet Potato Cheesecake from Lenox Bakery
Candied Yams by Simply Lakita
Peas and Rice from Maple Points
Black Eyed Pea Salad from Savor and Sage
Black Eyed Peas and Sweet Potato Salad by Sweet Savant
Braised Collard Greens from Tia Mowry
Collard Green Salad from Black Girls Who Brunch
Coconut Collard Greens from Open Invitation Entertainment
Smothered Okra with Chicken and Smoked Sausage from Food is Love Made Edible
Transcript🎧 Click here for the full, interactive transcript of this episode 🎧
We would love to connect with youAsWeEat.com, on Instagram @asweeat, join our new As We Eat community on Facebook, or subscribe to the As We Eat Journal.
Do you have a great idea 💡 for a show topic, a recipe 🥘 that you want to share, or just say “hi”👋🏻? Send us an email at connect@asweeat.com
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As a member of affiliate programs, we earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. This helps us to continue to bring you stories, history, and personal musings about food, cuisines, traditions, and recipes
In today’s As We Eat episode, Leigh and Kim explore how the realms of food and military intersect, both in times of war and in times of peace.
From ration cards on the home front to ceremonial cauldrons wielded by the Janissary Corps in the Ottoman Empire, the power of food affects how we grow, prepare, eat, and organize our military.
In times of peace and in times of war, food becomes of paramount interest and influence. We reflect on wartime tactics that control and reuse precious food commodities on the home front while also keeping soldiers well fed and their tools well-greased. We also discover the storied history of the Janissary Corps - elite soldiers of the Ottoman Empire whose regiments rallied around a bronze kazan (ceremonial cauldron) in a reflection of the value that food plays in a soldier’s life.
Sources We Found Helpful for this Episode Kitchen Table Conversation
Oxford Food Symposium
The Janissaries
Being an Ottoman Janissary Meant War, Mutiny, and Baklava - Gastro Obscura
The Fighting Messmates - The Curious Role of Food in Turkey's Legendary Janissary Corps - MilitaryHistoryNow.com
Did You Know: Food History - Cooking and Soldiering in the Ottoman Empire
Kitchen Organization, Ceremonial and Celebratory Meals in the Ottoman Empire
Books We Think You’ll Enjoy ReadingTaste of War by Lizzie Collingham
Finding Betty Crocker, The Secret Life of America's First Lady of Food by Susan Marks
Episodes We Think You’ll EnjoyEP 10: Super Bowl: Civil War Battles, Tailgating, and Buffalo Chicken Wings
EP 23: Dutch Ovens: Wedding Gifts, Symbols of Independence, and Members of the Family
EP 36 Feminism at the Kitchen Counter: From Betty Crocker to Julia Child
EP 37 From the Kitchen to the Voting Booth: Suffrage for Women and Community Cookbooks
Transcript🎧 Click here for the full, interactive transcript of this episode 🎧
We would love to connect with youAsWeEat.com, on Instagram @asweeat, join our new As We Eat community on Facebook, or subscribe to the As We Eat Journal.
Do you have a great idea 💡 for a show topic, a recipe 🥘 that you want to share, or just say “hi”👋🏻? Send us an email at connect@asweeat.com
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As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, we earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. This helps us to continue to bring you stories, history, and personal musings about food, cuisines, traditions, and recipes.
Listen as Betty Ann shares her memories of a special childhood Sunday meal, how it become a touchstone for her family in America, and some surprising advice on how to make Spanish-style Filipino Cocido today.
Armed with her mother's dog-eared cookbooks packed in her suitcase, Betty Ann Quirino and her family started a new life in a new country far from family and the familiar.
Spanish-style Filipino Cocido is a dish from Betty Ann Quirino's childhood in rural Philippines. The ingredients that were used for her traditional Sunday supper were gleaned from a fruitful backyard farm. A farm tended with love and respect by Betty Ann’s father. To Betty Ann’s delight, the ingredients for this heritage dish were easily accessible in their new country and provided comfort and familiarity to her family in a new and foreign country.
Spanish-style Filipino Cocido Transcript🎧 Click here for the full, interactive transcript of this episode 🎧
Books We Think You’ll Enjoy Reading My Mother’s Philippine Recipesby Betty Ann Quirino * Instant Filipino Recipes: My Mother’s Traditional Philippine Food In a Multicooker Potby Betty Ann Quirino * How to Cook Philippine Desserts: Cakes and Snacks*by Betty Ann Quirino
Recipes You Really Need to Try Spanish-style Filipino Cocido with Eggplant Hash and Tomato Sauce* - Asian in America Mag
Episodes We Think You’ll Like Fire & Ice: Two Modern Kitchen Technologies that Changed Our Kitchens and Diets * Fisherman's Stew: A Savory Representation of Region, Culture, and Flavors * Sailing the Umami Seas: What's In Your Pantry*
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In the latest episode of our “What’s in Your Pantry” series, Leigh and Kim plunge into the stories of two flavorful pantry staples that brighten up our foods and add some spark to our Bloody Mary’s - Worcestershire Sauce and Fish Sauce. Come for the correct way to pronounce Worcestershire Sauce and stay for the fish sauce suggestions!
Sources We Found Helpful for this Episode Lea & Perrins website
The British Museum
BBC Food
Bon Appetit
The Rise, Fall, and Rise Again of Garum - Can the Can
Books We Think You’ll Enjoy ReadingNatural History by Pliny the Elder
On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee
The Red Boat Fish Sauce Cookbook: Beloved Recipes from the Family Behind the Purest Fish Sauce by Cuong Pham and Tien Nguyen
The Lea & Perrins Cookbook: Worcestershire Sauce Cookbook by Paul Hartley
The Fish Sauce Cookbook: 50 Umami-Packed Recipes from Around the Globe by Veronica Meewes
Recipes You Really Need to TryBaked Eggs with Bloody Mary - Lea & Perrins UK
Red Boat Bloody Mary - David Welsh via Food52
Sticky Chicken - Mary Berry
Weeknight Pad Thai - Claire Saffitz via Bon Appetit/Epicurious
Sailing the Umami Seas Transcript🎧 Click here for the full, interactive transcript of this episode 🎧
We would love to know if you have an aha moment from this episode? Join the conversation.
Fish have played an integral part in sustaining cultures around the world. In this episode, we take a closer look at several classic fish stews and how they have come to define a specific region and represent the communities and cultures who make them. Although similar in their foundations, each stew is characterized by the unique, local ingredients used.
Kim starts out our exploration into fish stews with a brief history into fishing. The ability of our nomadic ancestors to trap, catch, and subdue protein sources, aided in the development of our brains which in turn allowed us to create better systems to trap, catch and subdue protein sources. Nomads that had access to waterways discovered ingenious ways to prepare the catch of the day.
Leigh discusses two regional classic dishes whose origins are directly related to the catch of the day, cioppino and washtub stew. These two fish stews, from opposite sides of the country, are classic examples of the influence of regional ingredients as well as the communities from which they sprung.
To continue the discussion, Kim recounts her ancestral heritage and flavor preferences of the Mediterranean. With Provence being her family's origin, bouillabaisse is the fisherman’s stew for which Kim waxes poetic, with a little help from Julia Child.
To round out our fisherman’s stew conversation, we end with a conversation about authenticity and accuracy and how these two concepts relate directly to chowders.
Please join in the conversation and let us know your thoughts on the best fisherman’s stew or your thoughts on authenticity or accuracy.
Sources We Found Helpful for this Episode* Field & Stream: How to Make a Gorge Hook * Our State Website * French Chef: Bouillabaisse A La Marseillaise * History of Chowder * In Search of the Real Bouillabaisse, Marseille’s Gift to the Fish Lover
Books We Think You’ll Enjoy Reading* History of Food by Reay Tannahill * A History of Chowder: Four Centuries of a New England Meal by Robert Cox and Jacob Walker * 50 Chowders by Jasper White
Recipes You Really Need to Try* Cioppino - Once Upon a Chef * French Bouillabaisse - Family Style Food * New England Clam Chowder - Damn Delicious * Manhattan Clam Chowder- Dinner at the Zoo
Fisherman’s Stew Transcript🎧 Click here for the full, interactive transcript of this episode 🎧
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Ever since humans first learned that most foods taste better when cooked, we sought ways to harness fire and ice. Too much heat or chill can burn and destroy our food just as much as too little can spoil all our efforts at a tasty, nutritious meal. Yet development of two of the most fundamental technologies in modern cooking - the stove and the refrigerator - took a long time to be realized in the home kitchen.
As we draw to a close on Women’s History Month, Leigh and Kim look into two modern marvels that forever shaped how we approach food, cooking, and eating - the stove and the refrigerator. Where once our foremothers struggled to cook and bake on ranges with no thermostat control or used huge blocks of river ice to keep milk fresh, todays’ cooks have the option to store and heat foods from virtually every corner of the globe.
Books We Think You’ll Enjoy ReadingHeat and Cold: Mastering the Great Indoors - Bern Nagengast
Consider the Fork - Bee Wilson
We would love to connect with youAsWeEat.com, on Instagram @asweeat, join our new As We Eat community on Facebook, or subscribe to the As We Eat Journal.
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Suffrage for women spanned seven decades; a span of time in United States history that ranged from the California Gold Rush through the American Civil War through the end of the Great War (WWI). Born from the desire to achieve political agency commensurate with the reality of women's contributions to society, there were many actions taken to draw collective consciousness to the “Great Cause.”
Many suffragists have made history for their bold acts of civil disobedience, but less discussed are the quieter tactics meant to gently persuade women and men without triggering further backlash. Building on themes of feminism and food studies, Leigh and Kim turn the pages on how suffrage cookbooks helped to build and sustain a movement.
Sources We Found Helpful for this EpisodeSeneca Falls Convention
How Suffragists Used Cookbooks As A Recipe For Subversion
The Top-Secret Feminist History of Tea Rooms
"To Make the Whole World Homelike": Gender, Space, and America's Tea Room Movement
Books We Think You’ll Enjoy ReadingFrom Betty Crocker to Feminist Food Studies: Critical Perspectives on Women and Food
All Stirrup Up: Suffrage Cookbooks, Food, and the Battles for Women’s Right to Vote
The Woman Suffrage Cookbook: The 1886 Classic
Washington Women’s Cookbook
Gifts for SuffragistsWoman's Suffrage Cookbook and Tea Towel Gift Set by Alison Gardiner Designs
19th Amendment Mug from the Unemployed Philosophers Guild Store
We would love to connect with youAsWeEat.com, on Instagram @asweeat, join our new As We Eat community on Facebook, or subscribe to the As We Eat Journal.
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In this episode, Leigh and Kim discuss the history of feminist food studies and how this particular critical lense offers uniquely modern insights into how we view traditional roles held by women in the realm of food. We discovered that until recently, topics relevant to feminism have not been addressed in depth - such as discussions about the value of food preparation in creating family identity, how community cookbooks both preserve culture and function as tools of resistance, and power dynamics behind how food is produced, distributed, cooked, and eaten.
Both of us were particularly inspired by Laura Shapiro titled “I Guarantee”: Betty Crocker and the Woman in the Kitchen which unpacks the cultural impact of a famous but fictional figure - Betty Crocker of General Mills - from packaged foods to cookbooks to television and radio. We previously covered Betty’s origins in Episode 20: Grain Empires, but dig deeper into how this character influenced the cooking habits of American homemakers as well as their perceptions about the value of their contributions to the home - especially in contrast to culinary great Julia Child.
Along the way we discuss the nature of creativity in the kitchen, and how feeding others performs the critical work of defining and creating “family life.” Leigh and Kim share perspectives on the personal work of cooking and how that dynamic can shift whether one is cooking for self or for others. Finally, discuss efforts by a now-defunct USDA Bureau of Home Economics between 1925 and 1962 to quantify the often invisible work performed by home-makers in farm and rural communities.
Sources We Found Helpful for this EpisodeThe Femisphere: Foodies and Food Politics - Ms. Magazine
A Feminist Guide to Cooking - Contexts, American Sociological Society
Recipe Digitization Project @ Food.Her.Story
Books We Think You’ll Enjoy ReadingFrom Betty Crocker to Feminist Food Studies: Critical Perspectives on Women and Food
Why We Cook: Women on Food, Identity, and Connection by Lindsay Gardner
Purity and Danger: An Analysis of Concepts of Pollution and Taboo, Mary Douglas
We would love to connect with youAsWeEat.com, on Instagram @asweeat, join our new As We Eat community on Facebook, or subscribe to the As We Eat Journal.
Do you have a great idea 💡 for a show topic, a recipe 🥘 that you want to share, or just say “hi”👋🏻? Send us an email at connect@asweeat.com
Review As We Eat on Podchaser or Apple Podcast. We would like to know what you think.
And please subscribe to As We Eat, Going Places. Eric and Leigh will be traveling in their converted van sharing stories of food culture from the road.
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As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, we earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. This helps us to continue to bring you stories, history, and personal musings about food, cuisines, traditions, and recipes.
With consumer food waste at an all-time high, and with grocery stores steadily on the rise, Leigh and Kim chew on what those sell-by, best-by, and other food “expiration” labels really mean. We also dive into the history of Major Grey’s style sweet mango chutney and how this tasty accompaniment to Indian made its way from the Indian subcontinent to grocery stores shelves around the world.
We would love to connect with youAsWeEat.com, on Instagram @asweeat, join our new As We Eat community on Facebook, or subscribe to the As We Eat Journal.
Do you have a great idea 💡 for a show topic, a recipe 🥘 that you want to share, or just say “hi”👋🏻? Send us an email at connect@asweeat.com
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And please subscribe to As We Eat, Going Places. Eric and Leigh will be traveling in their converted van sharing stories of food culture from the road.
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As We Eat, Going Places
MORE GOOD STUFFSources We Found Helpful for this EpisodeChutney Recipes and Cooking Tips - The Spruce Eats
Food Keeper App
Recipes You Really Need to TryScrap Vegetable Broth - Garlic & Zest
Left-over Squash Pancakes - Jamie Oliver
Preserved Lemons - OMG! Yummy
Mango Chutney - National Center for Home Food Preservation
Classic Major Grey’s Chutney - Saveur
South African Fruit Chutney - The Spruce Eats
Boxing Day Chutney - lovinghomemade
Idli with Almond Butter and Persimmon Chutney - Ken Albala
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, we earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. This helps us to continue to bring you stories, history, and personal musings about food, cuisines, traditions, and recipes
In Eating Across America, Kim and Leigh talk about diners and more specifically, the Harvey House concept helps to create travel communities and good manners.
To start the conversation, Leigh recalls how her hometown diner played a role in community building. She shares the definition of a diner from the sounds of conversation, diner coffee culture, serveware, and interior decor.
In an effort to understand diner culture, she discusses the evolution of the diner from a small lunch wagon in Rhode Island to pre-manufactured diners fabricated by the Worcester Lunch Car and Carriage Manufacturing Company.
These small mom-and-pop shops have weathered two World Wars, the Great Depression, by skillfully adapting themselves to the wants and needs of their communities.
A location for politicians to meet constituents, scenes from popular movies, and even subjects for songs and pieces of art, the diner has become an American icon. A place where your food comes quickly, but the conversations are slow and easy.
To continue with the theme of eating in community, Kim dives into an establishment whose purpose was to provide an eating service to railway passengers.
After testing two locations along the Kansas Pacific Railway line, Fred Harvey determined that there was a market for a high quality food service for people on the railways. This led to the development of the Harvey Houses that would dot the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway line from Kansas to Arizona.
These eating houses offered a consistently high quality experience in a very short amount of time making it easy for passengers to enjoy white table cloth experience in the time it took the train to take on necessary fuel and/or water. The service also helped to develop rail travel and would ultimately result in dining cars being introduced to passenger trains.
If you’d like to visit one of the still-standing Harvey Houses, visit La Posada in Winslow, Arizona which is also a Harvey House museum.
Whether it’s an American diner or an iteration of the Harvey House, these eateries provide travelers with a sense of familiarity.
We would love to connect with youAsWeEat.com, on Instagram @asweeat, join our new As We Eat community on Facebook, or subscribe to the As We Eat Journal.
Do you have a great idea 💡 for a show topic, a recipe 🥘 that you want to share, or just say “hi”👋🏻? Send us an email at connect@asweeat.com
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And please subscribe to As We Eat, Going Places. Eric and Leigh will be traveling in their converted van sharing stories of food culture from the road.
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As We Eat, Going Places
MORE GOOD STUFFSources We Found Helpful for this EpisodeLa Pasada Hotel
Books We Think You’ll Enjoy ReadingHarvey Houses of the Southwest, Richard Melzer
The Harvey House Cookbook, George H. Foster and Peter C. Weiglin
The American Diner Cookbook, Elizabeth McKeon
In 2021 we were delighted, bemused, beguiled, and blessed with stories that ranged from Presidential food fights to how foods can put us in the mood. We discovered beliefs of foods whose properties make us strong, lucky, or virile. We shared stories of holiday traditions that are treasured for their ability to hold within them memories or celebrations past, present, and future. And we were honored that you came along for the ride!
We would love to connect with youAsWeEat.com, on Instagram @asweeat, join our new As We Eat community on Facebook, or subscribe to the As We Eat Journal.
Do you have a great idea 💡 for a show topic, a recipe 🥘 that you want to share, or just say “hi”👋🏻? Send us an email at connect@asweeat.com
Review As We Eat on Podchaser or Apple Podcast. We would like to know what you think.
And please subscribe to As We Eat, Going Places. Eric and Leigh will be traveling in their converted van sharing stories of food culture from the road.
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For Great Britain and its Commonwealth nations, Boxing Day offers a unique proposition - a day of rest and respite after a busy holiday season full of cooking, baking, and eating to our hearts’ content. For Kim, Boxing Day is meant to be spent with new books, but for her family in South Africa, it was a day to bring leftovers to friends. Behind the final door of our 2021 Alimentary Advent Calendar lies some wild theories about how Boxing Day earned its name.
MORE GOOD STUFFSources We Found Helpful for this Episode
Happy Boxing Day, Smithsonian
Books We Think You’ll Enjoy ReadingAnything you like;
Kim has an enormous backlog of reading to do starting with:
The Cooking Gene by Michael W. Twitty
A History of Food in 100 Recipes by William Sitwell
Gastro Obscura: A Food Adventurer’s Guide by Atlas Obscura
The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister
Recipes You Really Need to TryShortbread Cookies - Pastry Chef Online
Hot Milk Tea - Sweet Steep
Whipped Coffee - Pastry Chef Online
We would love to connect with youAsWeEat.com, on Instagram @asweeat, join our new As We Eat community on Facebook, or subscribe to the As We Eat Journal.
Do you have a great idea 💡 for a show topic, a recipe 🥘 that you want to share, or just say “hi”👋🏻? Send us an email at connect@asweeat.com
Review As We Eat on Podchaser or Apple Podcast. Your thoughts are very important to us!
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Jule Kake (Christmas Bread) a sweet, rich bread spiked with citron, candied cherries and sweet raisins adorns many a Scandinavian Christmas table. This recipe has been passed down through four generations of Norwegian ladies with fortitude and a strong sense of family and community.
MORE FROM THIS EPISODESources We Found Helpful for this EpisodeCarole Bell
Books We Think You’ll Enjoy ReadingNorth Wild Kitchen by Nevada Berg
Modern Scandinavian Baking: A Cookbook of Sweet Treats and Savory Bakes
Recipes You Really Need to TryJule Kake - The Heritage Cookbook Project
Jule Kake - Savor the Flavor
We would love you to connect with usAsWeEat.com, on Instagram @asweeat, join our new As We Eat community on Facebook, or subscribe to the As We Eat Journal.
Do you have a great idea 💡 for a show topic, a recipe 🥘 that you want to share, or just say “hi”👋🏻? Send us an email at connect@asweeat.com
Please review As We Eat on Podchaser or Apple Podcast. You thoughts are very important to us!
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, we earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. This helps us to continue to bring you stories, history, and personal musings about food, cuisines, traditions, and recipes
Behind Door 24 of the Alimentary Advent Calendar is the Feast of Seven Fishes, an Italian-American Christmas Eve seafood feast that speaks to both Old Worlds and New. Acclaimed food photographer Andrew Scrivani takes Kim back to his childhood on Staten Island and forward to his own modern, multicultural celebration of Christmas Eve.
MORE FROM THIS EPISODESources We Found Helpful for this EpisodeThe Chef John Mitzewich Podcast
By Chef John Mitzewich & Andrew Scrivani
Books We Think You’ll Enjoy ReadingThat Photo Makes Me Hungry: Photographing Food for Fun & Profit
By Andrew Scrivani
Heirloom Kitchen: Heritage Recipes and Family Stories from the Tables of Immigrant Women by Anna Francese Gass with Andrew Scrivani
Recipes You Really Need to TryFrutti di Mare - Chef Dennis
Clams Oreganata - Orsara Recipes
Linguine and Calamari - My Gourmet Connection
We would love to connect with YouAsWeEat.com, on Instagram @asweeat, join our new As We Eat community on Facebook, or subscribe to the As We Eat Journal.
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Leigh’s memories of a traditional Norwegian flatbread made with potatoes includes an anxiously awaited goodie box, debates of the best (right) way to eat it and learning at the side of the best lefse maker she knew.
MORE FROM THIS EPISODESources We Found Helpful for this Episode
Foodtime
Lefse Time
Books We Think You’ll Enjoy ReadingModern Scandinavian Baking: A Cookbook of Sweet Treats and Savory Bakes
Last Word on Lefse: Heartwarming Stories and Recipes Too!
Recipes You Really Need to TryLefse - The Spruce Eats
Grandma Greene’s Rosettes - As We Eat
Sweet Soup (Sot Suppe) - As We Eat
We would love to connect with youAsWeEat.com, on Instagram @asweeat, join our new As We Eat community on Facebook, or subscribe to the As We Eat Journal.
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Fluffy popped kernels of corn are a great treat for watching movies on a cold wintry evening, and they make modest, memorable garlands for holiday trees and mantles. Today for the As We Eat Alimentary Advent Calendar, we peek behind Door 22 to reveal a magical Christmas memory from Kim’s past.
MORE FROM THIS EPISODESources We Found Helpful for this Episode
National Popcorn String Day, Foodimentary
DIY Popcorn Strands, The Pioneer Woman
Books We Think You’ll Enjoy ReadingFoodimentary: Celebrating 365 Food Holidays with Recipes, by John-Bryan Hopkins
Recipes You Really Need to TryVintage Popcorn Balls with Karo syrup - Vintage Recipes
Ornament Popcorn Balls - Michelle’s Party Plan-it
We would love to connect with youAsWeEat.com, on Instagram @asweeat, join our new As We Eat community on Facebook, or subscribe to the As We Eat Journal.
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Eggnog, A Charming Holiday DrinkHaving originated in England, it’s not surprising that the American colonists brought this drink to the new world with them. Like many dishes from their native land, it was sure to bring a sense of familiarity and comfort. And because many of the colonists kept cows, and chickens to subsist in this untamed world, eggs and cream were almost always available.
It’s charm has not worn off over the last 221 years with versions like the aged eggnog that Brandy makes each year to celebrate the season. Exclaiming, “it ain’t Christmas until this eggnog gets broken out!”
MORE FROM THIS EPISODESources We Found Helpful for this EpisodeSerious Eats
Books We Think You’ll Enjoy ReadingAn Eggnog to Die For
The Art of Mixology
Recipes You Really Need to TryAged Eggnog - Nutmeg Nanny
Aged Eggnog - Alton Brown
We would love you to connect with usAsWeEat.com, on Instagram @asweeat, join our new As We Eat community on Facebook, or subscribe to the As We Eat Journal.
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The tart, red cranberry is a beacon of brightness when the days are short and gray. We love this luscious berry in all manner of meals but also as a simple decoration to grace the holiday seasons. In today’s 20th Alimentary Advent Calendar episode, we go into a favorite recipe that has graced Kim’s holiday table for many years.
MORE FROM THIS EPISODESources We Found Helpful for this Episode2014 Botany Advent: Day Eight - Cranberry
DIY Cranberry Strands from Oceanspray
Books We Think You’ll Enjoy ReadingThe Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen, Sean Sherman with Beth Dooley
Eating in America, Waverly Root & Richard Rochemont
The Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Dodson
Recipes You Really Need to TryKim’s Favorite Cranberry & Orange Relish - As We Eat Journal
Vegan Pemmican Bars- Blissful Hiker
We would love you to connect with us
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The Tradition of TamalesTamales are a food that inherently demands community. Labor intensive and time consuming, many hands make light work of this dish. It’s a food that can bring families together both physically and metaphorically. It’s a food that contains stories of heritage and culture. A food that was once offered to the gods and is now considered an offering of gratitude to family, friends, and those less fortunate. It’s a food with religious facets and a food that symbolizes the history of a people and their culture.
We would love you to connect with usAsWeEat.com, on Instagram @asweeat, join our new As We Eat community on Facebook, or subscribe to the As We Eat Journal.
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MORE FROM THIS EPISODESources We Found Helpful for this EpisodeYolanda Marmolejo
The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink
Books We Think You’ll Enjoy ReadingToo Many Tamales
Que vivan los tamales!: Food and the Making of Mexican Identity
Tamales 101: A Beginner's Guide to Making Traditional Tamales
Recipes You Really Need to TryRed Pork Tamales - Mama Maggie’s Kitchen
Mexican Pork Tamales - Goodie Godmother
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, we earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. This helps us to continue to bring you stories, history, and personal musings about food, cuisines, traditions, and recipes
Like the people who make up the United States, holiday cookies and biscuits come in all flavors, shapes, sizes and from all corners of the world. Whether they are rolled, pressed, dropped, or cut into shapes - we seek out certain favorites because the sugar and spices recall warm memories. Grab your favorite cup of cheer and curl up with us as we go wandering down cookie Memory Lane.
MORE FROM THIS EPISODESources We Found Helpful for this EpisodeAs We Eat family
Food Timeline
Books You Might Enjoy ReadingBetty Crocker’s Cookbook (Kim’s go-to source)
Better Homes and Gardens, New Cook Book (10th Edition)
Recipes You Really Need to TryKolaczki - Season Thyme
Ranger Cookies - Real Housemoms
Buckeye Cookies - Sugar Spun Run
Spritz Cookie - Sally’s Baking Addiction
Ginger Cookies - As We Eat
Hermit Cookies - The Lemon Bowl
Pfeffernusse - Barefeet in the Kitchen
Thumbprint Cookie - Sugar Spun Run
Russian Tea Cakes - Natasha’s Kitchen
We would love to connect with you!
AsWeEat.com, on Instagram @asweeat, join our new As We Eat community on Facebook, or subscribe to the As We Eat Journal.
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As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, we earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. This helps us to continue to bring you stories, history, and personal musings about food, cuisines, traditions, and recipes
Leigh discusses her memories of Christmas Day dinner. After conferring with her sister, what the dinner actually consisted of, she shares some of the lore behind the reasons that ham graces so many holiday tables. She also offers a PSA about the importance of documenting your holiday traditions before they are lost to time.
Recipes:
Sweet Soup (Sot Suppe) - As We Eat
Lefse - The Spruce Eats
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Kim’s friend Sarah harbors a cherished memory of her family’s annual “Cookie Day.” Among the many varieties of cookies made every year - peanut butter kiss cookies, chocolate chip cookies, and more - Sarah’s father would make rosettes, filigreed cookie-like fritters made with special iron molds, that reflect his Swedish heritage.
Sources:
Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets, 2015
Recipes:
Persian Rosettes - Family Spice
Grandma Greene’s Rosettes- As We Eat
We would love you to connect with us
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When Michelle reached out to As We Eat to discuss traditions including time spent in Abu Dhabi as well as her Filipino background, we of course said, “yes, please.” She talks about sharing holidays and special occasions with her UAE “family” to deeply rooted beliefs in her Filipino culture.
Mentioned in this episode:
Recipes:
Pancit - Pickled Plum
Filipino Pineapple Ham - Kawaling Pinoy
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Christmas in the Philippines is a joyful celebration punctuated by feasts, especially on Nochebuena, or “The Good Night,” and for Filipinos living abroad, it is challenging to find or even create the familiar flavors of home. Behind today’s 14th Alimentary Advent Calendar Door is a story about what it takes to bridge the gap between your country of origin and your new home, especially at the holidays.
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Join Leigh as she shares the symbolism of a bread that is central to a Swedish holiday during the winter Season. Discover how the Silk Road, and Italian martyr, and pagan rites converge in the feast day known as St. Lucia’s Day.
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For Kim’s friend, Lacy, Christmas fruitcake is a misunderstood treat. Her family’s version is imbued with fermented brandy and fruits and a small surprise about what happens after the kids are put to bed. Today we uncover why she’s taking up the mantle of her family’s traditional Brandied Fruitcake recipe with a sentiment that is all too relatable.
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Lutefisk is a very polarizing dish. When Leigh asks friends and family to comment on this lye-soaked dish, the responses absolutely support this statement. Whether it’s loved or hated, the fact that this dish is a touchstone to community and culture cannot be argued.
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The thing about traditions is that they had to have had a beginning. Kim talks with her sister-in-law, Miranda about a very non-traditional tradition born out of necessity and creativity. There’s a little bit of lore thrown in as well. And as we’ve heard many times over through this year’s Alimentary Advent Calendar, for Miranda, “It’s just not Christmas without Fish and Chips.”
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Leigh had the distinct pleasure to talk with cookbook author, children’s book author, and freelance writer, Crescent Dragonwagon - yes, this is her real name, about a recipe for mincemeat that she adopted to her early life-style as a back-to-the-lander. She continues to make a batch every fall and adds new ways to use this deep, rich conserve in new and delicious ways.
Crescent's Cookbooks:
Bean By Bean: A Cookbook: More than 175 Recipes for Fresh Beans, Dried Beans, Cool Beans, Hot Beans, Savory Beans, Even Sweet Beans!
Passionate Vegetarian
Dairy Hollow House Soup and Bread Cookbook
Recipes:
Crescent’s Green Tomato (Meatless) Mincemeat
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Kim thought she understood the origins of one of her favorite holiday traditions, but she’s surprised to learn the “truth.” So she digs a little deeper to explain just why these juicy treats ended up in the toe of her stocking.
Mentioned in this episode:
Sources:
Smithsonian Magazine
The Night Before Christmas
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This episode, though short, is filled with lore and speculation around the origins of a cake that is synonymous with the Christmas holiday in France. From pagan fires summoning the sun to edicts meant to stave off disease, Leigh talks about the origins of the Bûche de Nöel.
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We’ve heard this phrase before, “it isn’t Christmas without…” and for Kim it isn’t Christmas with the British tradition of popping open a Christmas cracker. The wrapped cardboard cylinder not only creates an auditory opening to the celebration, but each cracker also contains a paper crown worn, an assortment of toys, and Kim’s favorite, mottos. Examples of which she gleefully shares with you.
Mentioned in this episode:
Tom Smith Cracker Company
Paris World Exhibition in 1900
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The candy cane means different things to different people. Join Kim and Leigh as they discuss visits to Santa, the best way to eat a candy cane, and a high school fundraiser that created some anxiety in the classroom.
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Mentioned in this episode:
Mrs. Beasley Doll
Sources:
Sue Benjamin founder of True Treats Historic Candy
Lisa Cron, Wired for Story
Spanglers.com
Books:
Wired for Story, Lisa Cron
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One tradition that Kim wishes would come back into fashion is caroling. She recollects her time with a youth choir in California and one of her favorite songs which leads into a discussion about wassail from the fortifying drink to the tradition of bestowing blessings on friends, family and ultimately the world.
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Leigh recounts the sorted history of gingerbread in the third installment of the Alimentary Advent Calendar. You may be surprised to learn its darker history.
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Behind door number 1 of the Alimentary Advent Calendar is Plum Pudding. This flaming, spiced cake has deep roots in the British holiday season. Listen as April Harris shares memories of a Victorian era recipe and its connection to community.
As we embark into the winter holidays, you may find yourself keen on picking up some tried-and-true tips for being a great host.
Leigh kicks off the episode with a list of hosting must-haves - such as napkins, forks, seating arrangements, and more - along with some surprising history about how each of these so-called niceties made their debuts on well-appointed tables.
Kim discovers that the good manners exhibited in hosting has much to do with the historical manners of chevaliers, otherwise known as knights or “horse soldiers.”
Leigh and Kim decide that modern hosting means ensuring your guests feel comfortable and welcome.
Finally, we also suggest what it means to be a good guest.
Let's Connect
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What does the magpie have to do with the name of a yummy baked treat? And what does a fictional character relate to desserts made from Florida citrus? In Episode 32, Leigh and Kim return to the tasty topics of pies.
First, we return to the origins of pie specialties as Leigh surveys the ingenuity of pie bakers and cooks who built empires on fairly basic pie recipes originating in Western Europe. Using the literal fruits of the land, we have created flavorful classics like apple pie, lemon meringue, and huckleberry pie. Even in times of shortages of butter and sugar, ingenuity created make-do recipes resulting in “desperation pie” and even “water pie” to help maintain a sense of normalcy at times life was anything but normal.
Next, Kim speaks on how the thrifty utilization of excess egg white plus a fictional culinary character led to one of the most favorite pies in American history - lemon meringue - and how a massive hurricane shifted Florida’s production of pineapple to its globally-known key lime, inspiration for the key lime meringue pie. This tale isn’t fully told without a peek into the life and kitchen of William Curry, who brought condensed milk to the Florida Keys and whose cook may be the originator of the original Key Lime Pie recipe.
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Mentioned in this episode:
Sources:
Food Timeline
Books:
Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani
The Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson
American Lady's Cook Book, Mrs. T. J. Crowen
Brave Tart, Iconic American Desserts, Stella Parks
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, we earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. This helps us to continue to bring you stories, history, and personal musings about food, cuisines, traditions, and recipes
AsWeEat.com, on Instagram @asweeat or join our new As We Eat community on Facebook.
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Mentioned in this episode:
Tampopo
Nissin Foods
Momofuko Ando
Wagamama, London
Sources:
Yokohama Ramen Museum
World Instant Noodle Association
Japan Names Instant Noodles Best Invention of 20th Century
Food 101, What’s In a Name
, Washington Post
Grab your plastic jack-o-lantern pumpkin trick-or-treat bucket for a trip down a ghoulishly delicious memory lane. And discover which is better: Candy Corn or Tootsie Rolls.
Break out your favorite cookie cutters and tune into As We Eat Episode 29 as we take on the fabulous origins of two kinds of cutters - one for cookies and the other for cans.
Leigh traces the origins of outline cutters from Germany and The Netherlands to Great Britain and over the seas to the new world.
In this episode, Kim recounts the genesis of canning, and we take a sharp look at the evolution of the tin opener - watch out for jagged edges!
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Mentioned in this episode:
Nicholas Appert
Peter Durand
Brian Donkin
Cookie Cutters Collectors Club
National Cookie Cutter Historic Museum
Books:
Consider the Fork
Panati's Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things, Charles Panati
How to Feed an Army, JG Lewin and PJ Huff
Fairs offer us a literal window into the world. From small county fairs to large state fairs to grand World Exhibitions, people come from all over to learn about our past and catch a glimpse into our future.
In this episode of As We Eat, Kim and Leigh explore the history of the World’s Fairs and then they dive into the curious history of famous fair foods.
To round out this frolic through the foodie fairground, As We Eat touches on the modern iteration of the World’s Fair Exposition. The latest Exposition launches this October in Dubai and promises an entire pavilion dedicated to helping visitors “discover how everything from climate change to technology will change how we source, prepare, and cook food.”
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MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
The First World’s Fair - The Great Exhibition
Chicago World’s Fair - The World’s Columbian Exhibit
Industrial Revolution
Wine Slushie - California State Fair Food
Fisher Scones - Puyallup WA State Fair Food
Corn Dogs - Illinois State Fair Food
Idaho Potato Sundae - Idaho State Fair Food
4-H
Fried Butter Balls
Pronto Dogs
Fletcher’s Corny Dogs
Epochal Banquet - Expo 2020 Dubai
Bompas & Parr
BOOKS:
The Experienced English Housekeeper
The Complete Confectioner, Pastry-Cook, and Baker: Plain and Practical Directions for Making Confectionary and Pastry, and for Baking
Charlie and Chocolate Factory
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
On our plate today we dish about school lunch boxes, federal school lunch programs and food insecurity and our best and worst school lunch memories.
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Our cupboards are full of stories. In this installment of What’s in Your Pantry, we talk about a 4,000 year old spice, modern medicine, Lewis Carroll’s famous quote about flamingos and mustard, and an invasive species that marked safe passage.
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Mentioned in this episode:
COMUM Fanzine
Gabriel Gurain
Ayurveda
Hannah Glasse
Camino Real
The Herbal Medicine, Biomolecular and Clinical Aspects
The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Simple
Alice in Wonderland
De re coquinaria
The Forme of Cury
Recipes:
Mustard Soup (Mosterdsoep)
Harnessing fire has helped to create culture, define our place in the animal kingdom, and allowed us to create some pretty tasty morsels. Join us for our 25th episode as we discuss our favorite campfire foods and the memories associated with them.
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From a craft predominantly performed by women to the effects of the Prohibition on the brewing industry, Kim and Leigh discuss the many facets of the third most consumed beverage in the world.
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Mentioned in this episode:
Dr. Patrick McGovern
Alewives
The Hymn to Ninkasi
The Recipes Project
Guinness
American Prohibition
EP 6 Grogs & Nogs: From Navy Rations to Holiday Favorites
Anti-Saloon League
EP 20 Grains Empires: The Wheat Belt, American Innovation, and a Kitchen Confidante
Coors Porcelain Company
John Barleycorn Must Die, by Traffic
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Mentioned in this episode:
Le Creuset
Staub
Lodge
Saugus Iron Works
Saugus Pot
Mary Ball Washington
Books:
Dutch Ovens, Chronicled
Recipes:
Dutch oven Cobbler
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The two items that Leigh and Kim feature in As We Eat’s first ever “What’s in Your Pantry?” are considered kitchen staples, but both have fascinating histories in addition to long shelf lives. Although we were both dealing with some very challenging life circumstances, we got together to talk about vinegar and cake flour.
Books We Think You’ll Enjoy ReadingVinegar: The User Friendly Standard Text Reference and Guide to Appreciating, Making, and Enjoying Vinegar by Lawrence Diggs
The Artisanal Vinegar Maker's Handbook: Crafting Quality Vinegars - Fermenting, Distilling, Infusing by Bettina Malle
Flour Water Salt Yeast: The Fundamentals of Artisan Bread and Pizza by Ken Forkish
My Bread: The Revolutionary No-Work, No-Knead Method by Jim Lahey
Recipes You Really Need to TryOrange Kiss Me Cake - Pillsbury
Red Velvet Cake - Pastry Chef Online
Sherry Lime Vinaigrette - Pook’s Pantry
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Mentioned in this episode:
- Escamole
- Gallus or Red Jungle Fowl
- Commemorative Egg
Like other Spring holidays of Nowruz and Easter, Passover is celebrated at the family table as a "place where we share our story as a people, and these foods help us to do this. We speak and listen, and we're nourished body and soul."
We discuss the Seder dinner and the significance of the six items placed on the Seder Plate that symbolically represent the heritage of the Jewish faithful: Zeroa, Beitzah, Morar, Charoset, Karpas, Chazeret and the three Matzot (and the four cups of wine!)
Learn how Maxwell House worked with the Jewish community to revive its flagging sales during Passover.
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Mentioned in this episode:
- Post Secret
- Afikomen
- Susanna Heschel
- Chametz
- Maxwell House’s Haggadah
Recipes:
- Charoset
- Charoset
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Mentioned in this episode:
- Zoroastrianism
- Persepolis
- White House Nowruz Celebration
- Cooking for Nowruz
- Apaosha
- Olympic Sculpture Park
Recipes:
- Kuku-ye-sabzi
- Dolmeh Barg
- Shirin, or shekar Polo
- Ash Reshte
- Kahoo Se-kan-je-bin
- Baghali Polo
Whether you roast, mash, boil, or stew them - potatoes are a culinary staple around the world.
We start with the basics: potato qualities - starchy, waxy, and all-purpose - and common varieties that we find in our groceries and pantries - Idaho and Burbank Russets, Red Norland, and Yukon Golds.
We then trace the origins of our favorite edible tuber 11,000 years into the past.
To understand the gravity of the Great Irish Potato Famine, Leigh and Kim discuss the Great Britain Acts of Union and how it impacted food history and culture in the British Isles.
Our potato exploration concludes with a survey of some of our favorite potato recipes, including Irish Colcannon, British Champ (or Bubble & Squeak), Indian Aloo Gobi, French pommes frites or American french fry, and Scandinavian lefse.
In our next episode we dive into Nowruz (or Persian New Year) and the delicious traditions celebrating the ”new day” of spring.
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When you have the winter doldrums, nothing warms the stomach - or the soul - quite like a casserole. Easy to make and easy to serve, casseroles have brought people to the dinner table for hundreds of years and certainly form the backbone of American “family-style” cuisine since World War II.
As We Eat starts our survey of casseroles with the word itself. Casserole (from Old French via Greek and Latin) describes both the vessel and the dish cooked within it.
Companies like Campbell’s Soups™ celebrated the end of rationing by creating collections of recipes utilizing its brand - like canned creamed soups and vegetables - to inspire American homemakers to buy/use their products.
We survey other favorite casserole dishes and dive into the history of several especial favorites concluding by discussing on one of the most famous casseroles and the vessel namesake - Cassoulet.
What would you put in a gift basket to help promote community and friendship within your neighborhood? Share with us at AsWeEat.com, on Instagram @asweeat or join our new As We Eat community on Facebook.
We would love to hear from you about your Lenten season traditions. Are there foods that you give up? Do you celebrate New Orleans-style or do you choose the more demure variation of Shrove Tuesday?
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We would love to hear from you about your favorite aphrodisiac foods. Connect with us at AsWeEat.com, on Instagram @asweeat or join our new As We Eat community on Facebook.
We would love to hear from you about your favorite Super Bowl rituals and foods. Connect with us at AsWeEat.com, on Instagram @asweeat or join our new As We Eat community on Facebook.
We would love to hear from you about your favorite curries. Connect with us at AsWeEat.com, on Instagram @asweeat or join our new As We Eat community on Facebook.
Mentioned in this episode:
Raghavan Iyer
660 Curries
Menus that Made History
Currywurst
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We would love to hear from you about your favorite grogs & nogs. Connect with us at AsWeEat.com, on Instagram @asweeat or join our new As We Eat community on Facebook.
We would love to hear from you about your New Year's traditions. Connect with us at AsWeEat.com, on Instagram @asweeat or join our new As We Eat community on Facebook.
Join Kim and Leigh as they discuss the origins of grogs and nogs. From British Navy rations to the farmsteads of the American colonies, these drinks have played an important role in sustaining spirits.
We would love to hear from you about your favorite grogs & nogs. Connect with us at AsWeEat.com, on Instagram @asweeat or join our new As We Eat community on Facebook.
Mentioned in this Episode:
Butter: A Rich History, Elaine Khosrova
The Food History Reader, Primary Source, Ken Albala
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Mentioned in this episode
Little Ferraro Kitchen
Weeknight Mediterranean Kitchen
Yaprak
Hanukkah
Shabbat
Latke
Bimuelos
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What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about comfort foods? It may surprise you to learn that the phrase comfort food hasn’t always been associated with foods that have a nostalgic implication attached to them. Today we share how the phrase has changed its meaning over the years, discuss comfort food from a psychological perspective, and share some listeners' thoughts on what it takes to be classified as a comfort food.
Introduced in the 1960s, the term comfort food was associated with consumer psychology and notably held a negative connotation. It wasn't until the 1980s that people started turning the dialogue around and associating it with nostalgic foods.
In her book, Comforting Food Judith Olney described comfort foods as evocative and nostalgic, rich, golden, and juicy.
Although comfort food has become a culinary genre unto itself, the way we view and describe comfort foods, individually can be quite different. Some people associate comfort foods as creamy, rich, or naughty foods. In contrast, others define it by the sensation a particular food induces. Often, we associate comfort foods with our memories of happier times. A particular food may evoke a specific memory and become a touchstone loved one or those we’ver lost.
Whether you define comfort food by its structure, the sensation that it evokes, or the memories that it stirs, there is a universality to it. As Judith Olney points out, comfort food has no social pretense. It’s simple and oftentimes what we would consider old fashioned. And true to its moniker, it brings relief to whatever seems to be ailing us.
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Mentioned in the Podcast
Comforting Foods, Judith Olney
Gastronomica
New York Times Article
In honor of Thanksgiving, we talk pie, from Harry Potter's favorite tart to recipes in American Cookery by Amelia Simmons, an American orphan. Kim shares another one of her macabre food facts and Leigh waxes poetic about her favorite Thanksgiving pie. Well, maybe not poetic, but she does share some interesting melon facts.
Food memories are often catalysts to journeys through time. Join us as we explore some fond food memories, share some outrageous food lore, and dish out some very interesting, if not disturbing, information about cinnamon.
We would love to hear from you about your favorite food memories. Connect with us at AsWeEat.com, on Instagram @asweeat or join our new As We Eat community on Facebook.
Join Kim and Leigh as they use food to take a journey that explores our human experience, share fun food facts, and some that are not so fun, food history, and how food connects and defines us.
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