Why is cheese so delicious? What do you really know about fish? Can your cooking get you drunk? And room temperature eating. Why is cheese so delicious ? Well, it's pretty technical - but interesting! We delve into the various complexities of production and many flavour compounds that contribute to the delight of eating cheese. This new study shows the need for labels on Canadian seafood. For example, there’s no real nutritional difference between wild and farmed fish and seafood, and we were su...
Aug 25, 2020•26 min•Season 2Ep. 29
Sugarless juice. How do you zest? Cranberries as a cure. And pickle juice -- in beer? There's a company trying to remove sugar from juice. This got us so riled up we thought we'd better take all the juice topics this week and mix them into one juicy Hot Plate smoothie. It all stems from the outrage we feel about trying to create a sugarless juice which can be endlessly consumed… To lighten our mood from there we talked about how we zest . Moving the grater or the fruit? Fancy equipment or old-sc...
Aug 18, 2020•32 min•Season 2Ep. 28
Moose butchery in high school. Where we draw the line with meats. Reaching isolated seniors with food. And musical ice-cream cones. This makes sense for northern communities where hunting is very common, but even just from a meat eating perspective, having to face the reality of your meat consumption is key, and why not start this in high school? An Alaska high school teacher brought in a moose that he killed and then had his class of students break the beast down . In South Korea there is a lot...
Aug 11, 2020•29 min•Season 2Ep. 27
In this episode we talk with photographer Carrie Solomon (Insta: @carrie_in_paris) and culture writer Adrian Moore (Twitter @majormoore Insta @adrianelvn) about their fascinating book, Chefs' Fridges. They quite literally travelled the world to have More than 35 World-Renowned Cooks Reveal What They Eat at Home. As we discover in our chat with them, the book is a time capsule for our relationship with food right now. Then talk about what the global pandemic might have revealed about the eating h...
Aug 04, 2020•36 min•Season 2Ep. 26
Foods to cool you down in the summer heat. Is it okay to be a picky eater? And what you probably didn't know about Scotland. On this episode we're grateful to have Angela Warburton , a Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner, share her knowledge of foods to eat which are traditionally understood to have cooling properties . It might just open up a new way of thinking about what you eat! Then, a welcome tip from a listener: Joshna and Mirella struggle to understand adults who are picky eaters ....
Jul 28, 2020•36 min•Season 2Ep. 25
Prohibition and racism. A greenhouse in the North. And sexy vegetables (yes, seriously sexy vegetables!). In this episode we have the pleasure of speaking with writer and historian Christine Sismondo about her two articles for Macleans about how prohibition impacted race relations in the US and Canada. This is undeniably relevant right now right down the tactic the Anti-Saloon League employed. Christine is a Toronto-based writer and speaker who specializes in wine, spirits and their history. She...
Jul 21, 2020•35 min•Season 2Ep. 24
The power of bake sales. Can you describe your types of bitter? How to make the perfect cup of coffee. And please don't drink your hand sanitizer! This episode we delve into the connection between the bake sale and grass roots activism . Then, we'll disagree with an experiment about bitterness that seemed to misunderstand beer drinkers. We'll stop for a cup o' java and explore how to make the perfect, just-so-bitter, coffee . Finally, beer and spirits companies are backtracking after their sudde...
Jul 14, 2020•35 min•Season 2Ep. 23
Do you remember menus without prices for women? How the brewing slow-downs is affecting Marmite production. Do you treat recipes as scripture? And a brand moving on. We re-tell the story of the price-less "ladies menu" in LA which led to a high profile lawsuit after a business-woman was refused a menu showing prices (yes, you read that!). Already incensed by the story, Mirella takes aim at a whole host of tired hospitality practices. Then, our favorite umami-full spread, Marmite , is going to be...
Jul 07, 2020•34 min•Season 2Ep. 22
Should we let the restaurant industry die? Diving deep into seafood. Could you survive the hospital quarantine food? And, a sandwich hitting the bliss the point. We kick this one off with a look at Tunde Wey, known well in the restaurant industry known for his performance art and activism. Recently Wey has made the case for letting the restaurant industry die - to save it. Diving deep (pardon the pun) into the issues seafood faces due to climate change . Eating seafood is often held up as a solu...
Jun 30, 2020•37 min•Season 2Ep. 21
The Guerilla Grafters. Community fridges. Alinea's edible art at home. And are you eating ice cream wrong? You've heard of guerilla gardeners but have you heard of guerilla grafters ? Folks are grafting fruit trees onto city-maintained decorative trees in order to provide food to the hungry. It's compelling activism but is it a realistic fix for the hungry? We also talk about organizations doing similar work . We love this new hyper-local movement of providing community fridges . Through and thr...
Jun 23, 2020•27 min•Season 1Ep. 20
The mental health crisis in the hospitality industry. A device to make you taste anything. How Norway is helping The Cherokee save their seeds. Hassel Aviles of Not 9 To 5 joins us for a discussion prompted by this article about the crisis of mental health in the hospitality industry. Her work, with co-founder Ariel Coplan, focuses on empowering hospitality, food and beverage service workers by mobilizing education and support for mental health and substance use - a problem likely to get a whole...
Jun 16, 2020•35 min•Season 2Ep. 19
Do you love your Drive-thrus? Who cares about the taste of corn? How to freeze your food with confidence. Anti-hangover plants. One part pandemic related and one part general fascination, a symbol for American life and culture is the Drive-thru . Funny enough Mirella has never actually bought food at one, so she relies on Joshna to explain exactly why Drive-thrus are about a whole lot more than just convenience as well as add a Canadian perspective . As of last year breeders of corn in Africa st...
Jun 09, 2020•34 min•Season 2Ep. 18
Our take on the Premier's cheesecake. The Food Professor weighs in on milk at Starbucks. Indian efficiency in the kitchen explored. And meet your new guilty pleasure: the bath beer! Ontario Premier Doug Ford decided to share his family recipe for cheesecake . The video is a hot mess, but we applaud encouraging family time in the kitchen and the good news that stemmed from it . We welcome back Dr. Sylvain Charlebois to discuss Starbucks' move to add plant-based milk alternatives which are cheaper...
Jun 02, 2020•34 min•Season 2Ep. 17
Are you drinking too much? Will computers shape the future of flavour? The urban gardening revolution. And do you want VR with your dinner? British writer Pete Brown wrote about everyone's number two concern, behind avoiding COVID-19 itself, which is, "Are we drinking too much?" The answer may surprise you. We dig into an Indian organization's work determining pleasing flavour pairings based on molecules. We talk about gardening as city activism and how Ron Finley has cultivated a movement start...
May 26, 2020•32 min•Season 2Ep. 16
Mirella tries to join an Aspic Appreciation Group. What are Poland's Milk Bars and why don't we have them? What's behind the frenzied seed buying? And how restaurants are monetizing their cellars. Underground food movements are one of our favourite topics because we love it when people get nerdy about their food. Led by "Jiggle Daddy," one popular Facebook group, “Show Me Your Aspics,” is focused on encasing food in aspic (like gelatin) and appreciating the highest quality jiggles… now we can't ...
May 19, 2020•29 min•Season 2Ep. 15
What is Joshna's new book about? When should we re-open our pubs? How did Chinese take-out containers come to be? And our favorite recipes - according to Google. Joshna has been managing change-making projects in the food industry for 13 years, and now she's launched a best-selling book about her experiences: Take Back The Tray . It's all about institutional food and how it needs to change dramatically. Schools, hospitals, and other public institutions need to rethink how they procure, cook, and...
May 12, 2020•35 min•Season 2Ep. 14
Should you uninstall your delivery apps? How much would you pay for fake meat? Do you have a sweet tooth? And which YouTube Cooking Channels are worth your time? Needless to say delivery is part of our lives in a new way during 'corona-times'. Unfortunately the latest moves by delivery app titans seem pretty bad for restaurants, with both fees and discounts docking the restaurants' bottom line in the toughest of times. There's a new player, Tock , which may the best interest of both restaurant a...
May 05, 2020•33 min•Season 2Ep. 13
Eating with your hands, the bliss point, molecular coffee, and bacon for snacking on. This episode was recorded in our regular Frequency studio session just prior to the pandemic lockdown. We delayed its release a few weeks to focus on pertinent lockdown issues, but we promise it's still timely! After all, when is bacon not timely? First up, Mirella and Joshna talk about eating with your hands. A new study showed people enjoy their food more when they eat with their hands but have difficulty wit...
Apr 28, 2020•33 min•Season 2Ep. 12
Tips for a clean and functional kitchen, how to make natural cleaners, sparking joy in your kitchen, and storing booze. Do you have the Spring cleaning itch? Is your kitchen next but you don't know where to start? You're not alone! Lucky for us, Mirella recently followed this particular kitchen cleaning plan and together with Joshna dives into the latest tips & tricks to keeping a functional kitchen as well as what they've learned about keeping a fresh, inviting kitchen you'll never want to ...
Apr 20, 2020•35 min•Season 2Ep. 11
The chocolate-brewing witches of colonial Latin America, why those fermented foods you love might not be probiotic, why there's always room for dessert, and the world's first pea-based gin. Hot off a trip to Mexico, Joshna brought us Mexican brewing chocolate to taste (thicker and bitter compared with most North American hot chocolates). This same brewing chocolate has a long history in Latin America, including when women who brewed it were persecuted by the Inquisition. Have we been assuming fe...
Apr 14, 2020•32 min•Season 2Ep. 10
Factory farming and zoonoses, the cilantro gene's supertasting connection, how variety matters to your diet, and are we losing craftmanship? In this episode we start with a Coronavirus topic but for the first time in weeks move beyond it. How factory farming may in fact be responsible for this virus - contrary to current popular belief. Then, does cilantro taste like soap to you? It might mean you're in the rarified "supertaster" club . It may seem obvious but varying your natural foods can be a...
Apr 07, 2020•40 min•Season 2Ep. 9
Obsessing over take-out safety, the obsessive need to bake bread, opening closed farmer's markets, and new alcohol delivery options. The pandemic is revealing a lot about us, in particular our real dependence on food take-out and delivery. But is it safe? Mirella and Joshna turn over the myriad of opinions out there and delivery their own verdict. Next we tackle the curious lack of flour on store shelves, and our apparent obsession with baking bread. In particular isolation seems to have us all ...
Mar 31, 2020•35 min•Season 2Ep. 8
Coming to you from our homes amidst self-isolation: stocking your pantry for a crisis, the impacts of coronavirus on bars, restaurants, and farms, and how a resilient industry is adapting fast. Our personal fortitude is being tested in a big way right now as we all try to "social distance" and isolate ourselves during the global COVID-19 outbreak. During this stressful time it can ease our minds to know the right items are stocked in our pantries. We take you through what you might want to have ...
Mar 24, 2020•32 min•Season 2Ep. 7
Rooftop groceries, setting the table, drinking alone, and a salty spread making its comeback. Up first, there's an IGA grocery store in Quebec that is growing produce on its roof and selling it in store ! It's a brilliant innovation, encouraged by some municipal legislation, and they've reported a 50% increase in produce sales from 2017-18 as a result. We love it love it love it! Then, can table cloths make food taste better ? The answer, you might guess, is of course! We dive into choosing the ...
Mar 17, 2020•33 min•Season 2Ep. 6
Rethinking Kool Aid, reworking your spice drawer, reducing bacon cravings, and a beer-full cure. This week on Hot Plate we look at a piece by a chef in the U.S. about Kool-Aid, and all of the weighty stigma that comes with it - particularly for black Americans. This issue is complicated for sure. Then, to the lighter issue of how to de-clutter and sort your spice rack . An organized spice cupboard is an inspiring spice cupboard! While most of us were contemplating how to organize our cupboards, ...
Mar 10, 2020•33 min•Season 2Ep. 5
Ordering chèvre, the carbon footprint of anchovies, where tomato juice tastes best, and CowTech (not CalTech) innovations. We launch into Mirella's latest pet peeve: using foreign words presumably just because it sounds pretentious. 'Chèvre' could be 'goat cheese', 'charcuterie' could be 'cold cuts'. Fear not, Joshna has her own take. Then, we dig into diets for climate change . What are the pitfalls of changing your diet because you want to have a lesser environmental impact. As counterpoint, f...
Mar 03, 2020•31 min•Season 2Ep. 4
Smell training for the anosmatic, reading between the lines of big food press releases, a conversation about dollar stores with The Food Professor, and registering your beer as an emotional support animal. One year ago Joshna took her anosmia public on this very podcast, on the heels of a surgery that would help her regain her smell. Now she's 'smell training' and she tells us all about this weird and hopeful process. Then, reading an announcement about Big Food and Herbicides caught our attenti...
Feb 25, 2020•33 min•Season 2Ep. 3
Changing the system starting with milk - Should kids be in pubs? - A new use for beer waste - And when kitchen hacks go bad… The relentless march of capitalism to drive prices for consumers down has a nasty habit of favoring conglomerates while leaving many smaller producers in the dust. A new movement has emerged in France to raise the price of milk to combat this market force and to support sustainable production and fair pricing. And guess what? People love paying more. You can follow along t...
Feb 18, 2020•33 min•Season 2Ep. 2
Welcome to Season 2 of Hot Plate: a post-foodie podcast! We're celebrating Valentine's Day by talking about sexy foods, about drinks potentially making things sexy, and with a guided sensual chocolate tasting. Aphrodisiacs people! It's that time of year! Do foods actually raise or encourage sexual desire? Or, are we building arousal by eating in a certain context? Mirella and Joshna dive into the long list of unusual foods considered to be aphrodisiacs around the world. Chickpeas anyone!? Next, ...
Feb 11, 2020•36 min•Season 2Ep. 1
In our holiday special we make a very special announcement - Hot Plate will be back in the New Year with Season 2. Mirella and Joshna talk all things turkey, plan for a holiday hangover, and share recipes to make you the star of your next holiday party. Hot Plate has been on hiatus since summer but we're back now… and we're we have a new exciting partnership with the Frequency Podcast Network! This means more episodes are coming soon in 2020. Until then, we've put together a sweet little holiday...
Dec 19, 2019•29 min
