Today is the launch the 8th Winter/Spring season of A Taste of the Past . To get this season cracking Ramin Ganeshram joins me to talk all about the background, history, and folklore of coconuts. Where do they originate? How were they dispersed? And how are they incorporated in cuisines across the continents? Ramin will include a discussion on the cuisine of Trinidad & Tobago, the land of her paternal ancestors where she spent many summer vacations and family visits learning to appreciate th...
Jan 12, 2017•50 min•Ep. 259
The winter solstice is the longest night of the year. Since ancient times, people all over the world have recognized this important astronomical occurrence and celebrated the subsequent “return” of the Sun in a variety of different ways. Old solstice traditions have influenced holidays we celebrate now, such as Christmas and Hanukkah and historian Cathy Kaufman discusses the rites, rituals and recipes of many of those celebrations. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California P...
Dec 22, 2016•36 min•Ep. 258
Menus hold a vast amount of historic information on America's culture, social history, economy, and everyday life. Food and culture historian and menu collector Henry Voigt shares some of the stories old menus have to tell about 19th century America. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .
Dec 15, 2016•40 min•Ep. 257
From an accidental churning in ancient times to the modern day quest for the purest, silkiest spreads, butter has a very rich history. Historian Elaine Khosrova, author of Butter, A Rich History , shares some of her stories as we dive into the unctuous beginnings of this delicious food. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Dec 08, 2016•49 min•Ep. 256
American cuisine is often described as bland, but throughout our history flavors and spices such as pepper, vanilla, curry powder and soy sauce have crossed the ocean to define our ever-changing palate. Historic Gastronomist Sarah Lohman researched the stories of these flavors in her new book Eight Flavors, The Untold Story of American Cuisine and shares them with us. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Dec 01, 2016•46 min•Ep. 255
Intrepid traveler and writer Shane Mitchell shares her insights into the culture and regional cuisines of remote communities around the world from her book, Far Afield: Rare Food Encounters Around the World . She describes the food, farming, and fascinating people she met in these areas who are keeping some of the world’s oldest food traditions alive. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Nov 17, 2016•49 min•Ep. 254
Artist, writer, and accomplished cook Rob Chirico talks about growing up with an Italian mother who would rather be anywhere but the kitchen. In fact, he wrote an entire book about it, "Not My Mother's Kitchen." In today's discussion Rob gives Italian-American cooking its deserved place as a cuisine separate from classic Italian and explains why. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Nov 10, 2016•28 min•Ep. 253
Since ancient times Chinese cuisine has been a reflection of cultural triumph and struggle. From political battles and famines to a proliferation of gastronomic arts, food has been embedded in the national psyche and evidenced in its eight great cuisines. The Chinese authors of China, The Cookbook describe the background and evolution of their country's culinary culture. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info...
Nov 03, 2016•39 min•Ep. 252
Cakes in America aren't just about sugar, flour, and frosting. They have a deep, rich history that developed as our country grew. Cakes in some form or other have been around for millennia and were brought to America by the early settlers, primarily the English, Dutch and German. Author and cake historian Anne Byrn traces American cakes chronologically from dark, dense gingerbread and Martha Washington Great Cake to the modern California cakes of orange and olive oil. See Privacy Policy at https...
Oct 20, 2016•44 min•Ep. 251
In 1765 Richard Hennessy created the eponymous Cognac. Today, Maurice Hennessy, 8th generation, joins us to tell the story. And Kara Newman talks about the Negroni and other cocktail history from her new book, Shake, Stir, Sip . See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .
Oct 13, 2016•44 min•Ep. 250
Restaurants in America are as diverse as our population, and they speak volumes about our society according to Professor Paul Freedman, Author of Ten Restaurants That Changed America . From Delmonico's to Howard Johnson's, Freedman discusses the ten restaurants he profiles and tells how they had a sociological as well as gastronomical impact on our country. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Oct 06, 2016•49 min•Ep. 249
Elissa Altman, James Beard Award-winning writer of the blog and book, Poor Man’s Feast sits down with Linda to talk about food and memories and writing her latest memoir, Treyf: My Life as an Unorthodox Outlaw . So many of life's events are intrinsically tied to smells, tastes, or a particular meal and Elissa explains how she weaves it all into her writing. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Sep 29, 2016•36 min•Ep. 248
The Dutch were some of the earliest settlers in America, yet many of their culinary contributions remain little known. Food historian Peter Rose, who is from the Netherlands, has devoted her career to writing and educating Americans about the Dutch foodways--and especially their penchant for sweets and talks with us about the history of the foods we consider American classics. And Tom Daly talks about a Dutch cookie taking America by storm: the stroopwafel. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.co...
Sep 22, 2016•39 min•Ep. 247
Food history explores the origins of edible items, and Saveur magazine has joined the pursuit of interesting and perhaps unusual food origins. Editor-in-chief Adam Sachs shares the topics of the magazine's latest issue, The Origins Issue, which reveals some of the mysteries of the food world. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Sep 15, 2016•36 min•Ep. 246
After WWI, America went from sending food to war-starved Europe to suddenly no longer being the land of plenty. Authors Jane Ziegelman and Andy Coe discuss the culinary impact of that period which they chronicle in their new book, A Square Meal, A Culinary History of the Great Depression . See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Sep 08, 2016•39 min•Ep. 245
On the season finale of A Taste of the Past , host Linda Pelaccio is joined in the studio by Sarah Lohman, to look at the culinary traditions surrounding funerals throughout American history. Dubbed an “historic gastronomist,” Lohman recreates historic recipes as a way to make a personal connection with the past. She chronicles her explorations in culinary history on her blog, FourPoundsFlour.com, and her work has been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and NPR. Lohman’s fir...
Aug 18, 2016•37 min•Ep. 244
This week on A Taste of the Past – author and culinary historian Emelyn Rude traces the history of eating chicken, from the first domestication of the chicken nearly 10,000 years ago to its current status as our favorite meat. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .
Aug 04, 2016•41 min•Ep. 243
New York was once known as the oyster capital of the world, and was famous for the Blue Point Oyster that originated in the Great South Bay on Long Island. In 1938, that suddenly changed due to the New England hurricane known as "The Long Island Express." Inlets were cut through Fire Island, silting over oyster beds and exposing them to predators. After WWII, the wild population still hadn't recovered and the oyster industry lay dormant for decades. However, the "Blue Point" name lived on under ...
Jul 28, 2016•38 min•Ep. 242
This week on A Taste of the Past, host Linda Pelaccio is joined via phone by Patric Kuh, the multiple-James Beard Award–winning restaurant critic for Los Angeles Magazine and author of Finding the Flavors We Lost: From Bread to Bourbon, How Artisans Reclaimed American Food. Industrialization and mass production stripped many foods of their original flavors, but there's been a growing movement over the past 50+ years to get back to those flavors and restore the natural goodness of our food. In Fi...
Jun 30, 2016•46 min•Ep. 241
America's Gilded Age, the last quarter of the nineteenth century, is renowned for the excesses of robber barons and tycoons and their culture of conspicuous consumption. The lavishness of their tables impressed contemporaries and historians alike. But what about the eating habits of ordinary people at the time? Robert Dirks, author of Food in the Gilded Age , poses that question and discovers some surprising answers by peering through the lens of what then was a newly emerging science of nutriti...
Jun 16, 2016•37 min•Ep. 240
This week on A Taste of the Past , host Linda Pelaccio is joined in the studio by Fany Gerson. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Fany has worked in many kitchens, from the three-Michelin star Akelare in San Sebastian, Spain, to Eleven Madison Park and Rosa Mexicano in New York, where she developed her celebrated modern Mexican desserts. After returning from a long trip to her native Mexico to write her first book, My Sweet Mexico , she opened La Newyorkina to share and celebrate t...
Jun 09, 2016•46 min•Ep. 239
This week on A Taste of the Past , host Linda Pelaccio is joined in the studio by Chef Alex Raij. Alex Raij and her husband Eder Montero are chefs and owners of Txikito, a love letter to the Basque country in Spain – a region whose cuisine is distinguished by excellence and simplicity in both ingredients and techniques. She is also the co-author, along with Montero, of The Basque Book: A Love Letter in Recipes from the Kitchen of Txikito. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and Calif...
Jun 02, 2016•46 min•Ep. 238
This week on A Taste of the Past , host Linda Pelaccio is joined in the studio by Andrew F. Smith, author of the book Fast Food: The Good, The Bad and The Hungry . He is also the editor of the Edible Series , a revolutionary new series of books on food and drink which explores the rich history of man’s consumption. Each book provides an outline for one type of food or drink, revealing its history and culture on a global scale. Tune in to hear them discuss the history of the fast food industry, f...
May 26, 2016•44 min•Ep. 237
This week on A Taste of the Past , host Linda Pelaccio is joined by Roger Horowitz, an historian of American business, technology, and labor, and an expert on the nation’s food. He is the author of the book Kosher USA: How Coke Became Kosher and Other Tales of Modern Food (Arts and Traditions of the Table: Perspectives on Culinary History) . Horowitz traces the history and dramatic rise of kosher food products, specifically how they made their way into American food culture and were later popula...
May 19, 2016•45 min•Ep. 236
Chef Gabriel Kreuther joins us in the studio to talk about the cuisine of his native Alsace-Lorraine. A Michelin-starred chef, Kreuther was born on a family farm in Alsace and raised on his mother's traditional Alsatian cooking. After attending culinary school and working in Michelin-starred kitchens throughout Germany, France and Switzerland, Kreuther arrived in New York City in 1997 to work as a sous-chef at La Caravelle restaurant. He was named one of Food & Wine's Best New Chefs in 2003 ...
May 05, 2016•39 min•Ep. 235
Appalachian food has been sustainable and organic for generations. They have been offering “farm to table” fare forever, without needing to call it that. And the iconic dish of soup beans and cornbread is "culinary harmony," a perfect blend of the native beans with the rendered fat of the pig, an animal brought to the lower South by the Spanish in the 16th century and to the upper South by the English in the 17th. Fred Sauceman, Appalachia born and raised, tells the story. Fred Sauceman is Senio...
Apr 28, 2016•43 min•Ep. 234
On this week's A Taste of the Past , the tropical elegance and vibrant energy of Cuba's rich history and culture are recaptured in the stories of cocktails by two owners of the well known NYC rum bar, Cienfuegos – Jane Danger and Alla Lapushchik. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .
Apr 14, 2016•46 min•Ep. 233
On this week's episode of A Taste of the Past , host Linda Pelaccio is joined in the studio by Krishnendu Ray, Department Chair of the Food Studies program at NYU. A food studies scholar, he is the author of The Migrant’s Table: Meals and Memories in Bengali-American Households (Temple University, 2004). He co-edited Curried Cultures: Globalization, Food and South Asia (University of California Press, 2012). His most recent monograph is The Ethnic Restaurateur (Bloomsbury 2016). See Privacy Poli...
Apr 07, 2016•46 min•Ep. 232
On this week's episode of A Taste of the Past , host Linda Pelaccio speaks with chef and cookbook author Joyce Goldstein. For twelve years she was Chef and Owner of the ground-breaking Mediterranean Restaurant, SQUARE ONE, in San Francisco. A consultant to the restaurant and food industries, Joyce’s areas of expertise are recipe development, menu design, and staff training. She is the author of Inside the California Food Revolution , and her latest book is The New Mediterranean Jewish Table: Old...
Mar 31, 2016•34 min•Ep. 231
On this week's episode of A Taste of the Past , host Linda Pelaccio speaks with "Pope of Peppers" Dave DeWitt, a food historian, award-winning author, and founder of the National Fiery Foods & Barbecue Show, which is now in its 25th year. DeWitt has written or coauthored more than thirty books on peppers and has edited two magazines on the subject. He is one of the foremost authorities in the world on chile peppers, spices, and spicy foods. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and...
Mar 24, 2016•43 min•Ep. 230
