On this week's episode of A Taste of the Past , host Linda Pelaccio is joined by Dr. Tim Ryan, president of the Culinary Institute of America. Dr. Ryan has served as president of The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) since 2001. He himself graduated from the CIA in 1977, and received bachelor's and Master of Business Administration degrees from the University of New Haven. He earned his doctorate degree in education from The University of Pennsylvania. With the unique background of being a Cer...
Mar 17, 2016•40 min•Ep. 229
On this week's episode of A Taste of the Past , host Linda Pelaccio is joined in the studio by author, food blogger, and design writer Elizabeth Minchilli, and Rolando Baramendi, founder of Manicaretti, an importer and seller of Italian specialty items. Tune in to hear them discuss the changing food culture in Italy, from cocktails and coffee to the price of a dish of pasta. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-...
Mar 03, 2016•41 min•Ep. 228
On this week's episode of A Taste of the Past, host Linda Pelaccio is joined by Clifford Wright and Tim McGreevy. In recognition of the UN's International Year of Pulses, they discuss the history of pulses, from 10,000 years ago to their importance in today's farming and diets."Pulse” is a derivation from the Latin words puls or pultis meaning “thick soup.” Pulse crops are small but important members of the legume family, which contains over 1,800 different species. See Privacy Policy at https:/...
Feb 25, 2016•41 min•Ep. 227
Adrian Miller is a 'recovering' lawyer, soul food scholar, and former special assistant to President Clinton and today joins Linda Pelaccio on A Taste of the Past. Explaining that after President Clinton's second term, he found himself with extra time on his hands and ended up spending the next decade or so researching soul food. Specifically commenting on macaroni and cheese, Adrian shares how it began as a food fit for royalty dating back to the 1300s. From royalty to US Presidents, soul food ...
Feb 11, 2016•29 min•Ep. 226
Ever wondered how plate size affects waist size? This week on A Taste of the Past, Linda Pelaccio is on the line with Brian Wansink, Professor and Director of the famed Cornell University Food and Brand Lab, where he is a leading expert in changing eating behavior – both on individual level and on a mass scale -- using principles of behavioral science. The author of Mindless Eating and Slim by Design as well as over 200 peer-reviewed journal articles, tune in as Brian relays how we can change th...
Feb 04, 2016•34 min•Ep. 225
Americans eat more processed foods than anyone else in the world. We also spend more on military research. These two seemingly unrelated facts are inextricably linked. If you ever wondered how ready-to-eat foods infiltrated your kitchen, you’ll love this week's episode of A Taste of the Past. Tune in as Linda Pelaccio is on the line with Anastacia Marx De Salcedo, author of the book, "Combat-Ready Kitchen: How the U.S. Military Shapes the Way You Eat," discussing the secret military history of p...
Jan 21, 2016•42 min•Ep. 224
Folklore has long explored food as a core component of life, linked to identity, aesthetics, and community and connecting individuals to larger contexts of history, culture and power. It recognizes that we gather together to eat, define class, gender, and race by food production, preparation, and consumption, celebrate holidays and religious beliefs with food, attach meaning to the most mundane of foods, and evoke memories and emotions through our food selections and presentations. Today, A Tast...
Jan 21, 2016•39 min•Ep. 223
You don't need anybody to tell you Chicago is a food city or to extol the virtues of chicken Vesuvio, deep dish pizza, a jibarito, South Side rid tips or a Vienna Beef hot dog (on a poppy seed bun, of course). Perhaps less well known is how Chicago's cuisine developed, or how the city became the first modern industrial food center, both of which are explored in Chicago: A Food Biography by Daniel R. Block and Howard Rosing. (Chicago Tribune) A fascinating food history of Chicago, revealing the r...
Dec 30, 2015•37 min•Ep. 222
"While visions of sugarplums danced in their heads..." But, what exactly is a sugarplum? On the season finale of A Taste of the Past, Linda Pelaccio is in studio with Michael Krondl and Cathy Kaufman discussing the history behind the sweets enjoyed throughout the holidays. Embarking on a great fruitcake debate, explaining the plethora of sweeteners used throughout the ages, as well as the origins of the infamous yule log and more, this episode covers it all! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.c...
Dec 17, 2015•42 min•Ep. 221
This week on A Taste of the Past, host Linda Pelaccio welcomes Lidia Bastianich to the studio discussing her newest book, "Lidia's Mastering the Art of Italian Cuisine: Everything You Need to Know to Be a Great Italian Cook." Teaching has always been Lidia’s passion, and in this magnificent book she shares the full benefit of that passion and of her deep, comprehensive understanding of what it takes to create delicious Italian meals. Lidia goes on to introduce the full range of standard ingredie...
Dec 10, 2015•42 min•Ep. 220
On a special episode A Taste of the Past, Linda Pelaccio is joined by Cathy Kaufman, the managing editor of Savoring Gotham: Celebrating the Making of the Definitive Companion to New York City’s Food. New York City boasts the world’s most diverse, fascinating, and ground-breaking food scene. Whether dining in iconic or trend-setting restaurants, noshing on vibrant street food prepared by new immigrants, or filling one’s basket at markets catering to ethnic heritage or gourmet aspirations, New Yo...
Nov 30, 2015•26 min•Ep. 219
In 1967, four-thousand Jews fled from Libya, each with one suitcase and the equivalent of $50; half of them settled in Rome. This week on A Taste of the Past, Linda Pelaccio welcomes guest Katie Parla who describes the bonds these settlers formed with their Roman ancestors’ who arrived in the 15th century and the cuisine that has survived and flourished in the restaurants of the Roman Jewish Ghetto. Tune in for a fascinating show! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Pr...
Nov 19, 2015•33 min•Ep. 218
Using restaurants as a lens to observe the city’s cuisine, Lolis Elie talks about food, culture and customs of New Orleans on this week’s edition of _ A Taste of the Past _. “There are at least two traditions in Louisiana gumbo. The New Orleans tradition, and that gumbo tends to be thinner, tends not to have as thick or dark of roux, and also, when I think of Creole gumbo I think of a mix of sausage, seafood, and occasionally some poultry.” [15:05] –Lolis Elie on A Taste of the Past See Privacy ...
Nov 12, 2015•34 min•Ep. 217
From smoked arctic char, meatball stew and savory puffed pancakes to Swedish almond wreaths, cardamom braids and whipped berry pudding, tune in as _ A Taste of the Past _ goes Nordic with Darra Goldstein. Illustrating the glorious and diverse flavors of classic Nordic cooking, Darra’s recipes in the new book “Fire + Ice” have been tailored for home cooks of all abilities. As the foremost American authority on this region, she offers readers an opportunity to discover the history, lore, and rich ...
Nov 05, 2015•41 min•Ep. 216
Zora Neale Hurston is one of the most notable authors of the Harlem Renaissance. Her extensive ethnographic research on African American foodways throughout the state of Florida remains a critical historic resource to this day. Her work provides insight into meals such as pickled pig’s feet and their rise in the southern African American community as a staple, as well as many home remedies like parched rice and bay leaves for an upset stomach and recipes to cure “loss of mind.” From Floridian fr...
Oct 29, 2015•36 min•Ep. 215
In an effort to preserve a period of America’s culinary history the National Endowment for the Humanities has funded the What America Ate Project to create an innovative website and online archive of culinary sources from the Great Depression. Materials include the far-flung papers of the WPA America Eats program, a collection of rare community cookbooks, and hundreds of food marketing and advertising materials from the 1930s. var array = eval('[{"alt":"","caption":"","description":"","href":"ht...
Oct 22, 2015•30 min•Ep. 214
Look in your kitchen cabinet, there’s no doubt a Pyrex dish in there somewhere, whether it be a glass pie plate or the ubiquitous glass measuring cup with the red incremental markings. This year marks the 100th anniversary of Pyrex, and Linda Pelaccio is celebrating on today’s episode of _ A Taste of the Past _ with guest Regan Brumagen of the Rakow Research Library at the Corning Museum of Glass. As one of the curators of the “America’s Favorite Dish: Celebrating a Century of Pyrex” exhibit, Re...
Oct 15, 2015•36 min•Ep. 213
Take a trip to the Far East long ago as host Linda Pelaccio welcomes Kian Lam Kho to the studio for a brand new episode of A Taste of the Past. Kian shares descriptive details on what banquets were like in China more than three-thousand years ago and how traditional Chinese cuisine was shaped by the worldly trading routes. Through much culinary detective work, Kian goes on to share tantalizing facts about ancient dishes and cooking techniques used before discussing a special visit to the country...
Oct 08, 2015•32 min•Ep. 212
Women of African descent have contributed to America’s food culture for centuries, but their rich and varied involvement is still overshadowed by the demeaning stereotype of an illiterate “Aunt Jemima” who cooked mostly by natural instinct. Toni Tipton-Martin describes her years of research amassing one of the world’s largest private collections of cookbooks published by African American authors, looking for evidence of their impact on American food, families, and communities and for ways we mig...
Oct 01, 2015•38 min•Ep. 211
With the harvest season in bloom, A Taste of the Past host Linda Pelaccio welcomes food historian, author, and epicure William Woys Weaver for a thorough discussion on the significance of vegetables in the colonial and revolutionary period of early America from the gardens to the table. William shares the plethora of vegetables grown during these eras and describes the process of maintaining the seeds of the heirloom plants, of which he has amassed over 4000 varieties. Tune in for a fascinating ...
Sep 24, 2015•39 min•Ep. 210
A Taste of the Past is back for a new radio season with host Linda Pelaccio welcoming guest Stephen Schmidt to the studio for a thorough talk on manuscript cookbooks. Stephen is the Principal Researcher and Writer for The Manuscript Cookbooks Survey , which catalogs pre-1865 English-language manuscript cookbooks. An ongoing project, Stephen shares that the site aims to give culinary historians, food writers, and others enhanced access to these important, fascinating materials, which too often li...
Sep 17, 2015•43 min•Ep. 209
What is Scottish cuisine? Well, it’s certainly more than haggis. Travel to the UK’s northern-most country on a brand new episode of A Taste of the Past . Host Linda Pelaccio is joined by Rachel McCormack, an expert on the subject of Scottish cuisine. She is a regular panelist on BBC Radio 4s The Kitchen Cabinet since the first pilot programme. She has also broadcast on the station’s From Our Own Corespondent, the Food Programme and appeared as an expert guest on BBC Radio 2 on both the Simon May...
Jul 30, 2015•41 min•Ep. 208
A sweet tooth is a powerful thing! This week on A Taste of the Past , host Linda Pelaccio is exploring the vast array of sweets across the globe with Darra Goldstein, the Editor in Chief of “The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets.” As Linda and Darra point out, the “science of sweet” is only the beginning of a fascinating story, because it is not basic human need or simple biological impulse that prompts us to decorate elaborate wedding cakes, scoop ice cream into a cone, or drop sugar cubes i...
Jun 11, 2015•38 min•Ep. 207
The food of the Cuban table has largely been reproduced in other countries primarily by those who left their home in an attempt to recreate the tastes and smells of their past. Now that relations are opening up again, author Ana Sofia Pelaez together with photographer Ellen Silverman traveled to Cuba to rediscover those flavors and history of the cuisine, documented in their book, The Cuban Table. Ana joins Linda today on A Taste of the Past to talk about her discoveries. This program was brough...
Jun 04, 2015•43 min•Ep. 206
Elizabeth Minchilli has been eating her way through Rome since she was 12 years old. “Eating Rome,” is her homage to the city that feeds her, literally and figuratively. This week on A Taste of the Past , host Linda Pelaccio is getting Elizabeth’s personal story which is a quirky and deliciously entertaining look at some of the city’s monuments to food culture. Strolling through her favorite open air markets along with details of amazing coffee, pizza, artichokes and grappa are just the starting...
May 21, 2015•37 min•Ep. 205
This week on A Taste of the Past , host Linda Pelaccio welcomes Eric Kayser, artisan baker, founder of Maison Kayser, and author of the book “The Larousse Book of Bread” to the show. Born into a family of French bakers, dating back four generations and recognized as one of the most talented artisan bakers of his generation, Eric Kayser has built his reputation on his passion for bread. The quality of his products and his incredible skill to combine authenticity and innovation in the world of Fre...
May 14, 2015•29 min•Ep. 204
This week on A Taste of the Past , host Linda Pelaccio is taking listeners on a journey to Iceland! Welcoming guest Jody Eddy, author of the new cookbook “North: The New Nordic Cuisine of Iceland,” to chat about one of the most beautiful and untouched places on Earth and its utterly unique and captivating food scene. Characterized by its distinctive indigenous ingredients, traditional farmers and artisanal producers, and wildly creative chefs and restaurants, Jody shares intriguing details of th...
May 07, 2015•31 min•Ep. 203
On this week’s episode of A Taste of the Past , host Linda Pelaccio takes listeners on a vivid and far-ranging journey across time and space on the ancient spice trades with Dr. Gary Nabhan. Talking about his new book, “Cumin, Camels, and Caravans, A Spice Odyssey,” Gary draws on his own family’s history as spice traders, as well as travel narratives, historical accounts, and his expertise as an ethnobotanist, he describes the critical roles that Semitic peoples and desert floras had in setting ...
Apr 23, 2015•31 min•Ep. 202
This week on A Taste of the Past , host Linda Pelaccio is talkin’ sugar and its checkered, dark past with guest Andrew F. Smith, author of “Sugar: A Global History.” It’s no surprise that sugar has been on our minds for several millenia. First cultivated in New Guinea around 8,000 B.C.E., this addictive sweetener has since come to dominate our appetites-whether in candy, desserts, soft drinks, or even pasta sauces-for better and for worse. Offering highlights of the book and other historical fac...
Apr 16, 2015•36 min•Ep. 201
This week on A Taste of the Past , host Linda Pelaccio takes listeners along to the recent International Association of Culinary Professionals Conference held in Washington, DC, and chats with the distinguished Anne Willan. Anne Willan has had an extraordinary career in the culinary arts and is recognized as one of the world’s preeminent authorities on French cooking and even founded École de Cuisine La Varenne in Paris in 1975. Inducted into the James Beard Foundation Awards Hall of Fame for h...
Apr 09, 2015•22 min•Ep. 200
