A Taste of the Past

In his recently published book, Creole Italian, Justin A. Nystrom explores the influence Sicilian immigrants have had on New Orleans foodways. His culinary journey follows these immigrants from their first impressions on Louisiana food culture in the mid-1830s and along their path until the 1970s. Sicilian immigrants cut sugarcane, sold groceries, ran truck farms, operated bars and restaurants, and manufactured pasta. Citing these cultural confluences, Nystrom posits that the significance of Sicilian influence on New Orleans foodways traditionally has been undervalued and instead should be included, along with African, French, and Spanish cuisine, in the broad definition of “creole.” A Taste of the Past is powered by SimplecastSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Graham Kerr, aka The Galloping Gourmet, wrote a very modern and revolutionary cookbook in 1969, which was overshadowed by his huge success as one of the early TV cooking personalities. Matt and Ted Lee have resurrected the book and added Kerr's own handwritten commentary. Graham and Matt join Linda to revisit the newly republished book and early stardom of TV food. A Taste of the Past is powered by SimplecastSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In the 1980s, Montgomery County, Maryland set aside one-third of the county—93,000 acres—for agricultural uses. It was a remarkable act of stewardship, especially in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, where land is at a premium. Since then more than 500 farm operations produce food for local residents and for people around the world. The Reserve has become a national model for land preservation and has created space for food production, but also for clean air and water, recreation, and history. Independent writer, Claudia Kousoulas and producer, Ellen Letourneau have created a cookbook whose recipes, profiles, essays and photographs trace the Reserve’s history. A Taste of the Past is powered by SimplecastSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Food is a many layered topic in most cultures and none more so than in Sicily, where the bitterness found in the flavors of almonds and wild greens are also present in the emotions of Sicily's past. Fabrizia Lanza, born and raised in Palermo, left to study and live in northern Italy as an art historian for many years. She returned to carry on her mother's work at pre-eminent Anna Tasca Lanza Cooking School on the family property and winery, and realized the roots of so many of those bitter feelings were imbued with love for the land, people and food. She has made it her mission to promote Sicilian cuisine and bitter flavors through her books and films. Her newest film project called Amaro (bitter) is raising funds through a Kickstarter campaign and she hopes to have it completed by next fall. She shares her story with Linda on this episode. A Taste of the Past is powered by SimplecastSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

America has long had a love affair with cookies which led big business to get in the game and the choices of commercially made sweets seem endless. Several years ago Oreos, the iconic, #1 American cookie, celebrated their 100th birthday. Food writer and culinary historian Michael Krondl talks with Linda about their history and Nabisco - world's largest cookie factory that transformed cookie and cracker manufacturing. *A Taste of the Past* is powered by [Simplecast][1] See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Kanz al-fawāʾid fī tanwīʿ al-mawāʾid, a fourteenth-century cookbook, is unique for its variety and comprehensive coverage of contemporary Egyptian cuisine. It is the only surviving cookbook from a period when Cairo was a flourishing metropolis and a cultural haven for people of diverse ethnicities and nationalities. Now available for the first time in English, it has been meticulously translated and supplemented with a comprehensive introduction by scholar Nawal Nasrallah. She joins Linda on this episode to discuss the discoveries, delights, and difficulties of the task of making this important work accessible. A Taste of the Past is powered by SimplecastSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mary Randolph wrote The Virginia Housewife Cookbook, first published in 1824. But who was she and who was in the kitchen doing the cooking? Dr. Leni Sorensen, a writer, chef, and Jefferson's Monticello resident culinary historian, joins Linda to talk about the kitchens, cooking methods, and enslaved cooks who influenced the recipes and methods of cooking in one of America's oldest printed cookbooks. A Taste of the Past is powered by SimplecastSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Trying to pinpoint origins of cuisines from the Caribbean is not an easy task. The many traders, invaders, colonists, and travelers left bits and pieces of their cuisines that became incorporated in the island food cultures. And Like most Caribbean islands, Jamaican foods are derived from many different settlement cultures, including British, Dutch, French, Spanish, East Indian, Portuguese, Chinese, and importantly, West African. Writer Rochelle Oliver takes us back to the 1500’s to learn about the origins of the favorite Jamaican food preparation – Jerk. A Taste of the Past is powered by SimplecastSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Profoundly intertwined with human civilization, milk has a compelling and a surprisingly global story to tell, and historian Mark Kurlansky, author of the new book "Milk! A 10,000 Year Food Fracas" is the perfect person to tell it. HRN's Kat Johnson interviewed Mark last month at MOFAD, (Museum of Food and Drink) and shares it here with us. In this diverse history from antiquity to the present, he details milk's curious and crucial role in cultural evolution, religion, nutrition, politics, and economics. A Taste of the Past is powered by SimplecastSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

From the 1920s through the 1940s "Aunt Sammy's Housekeeper's Chat" was a hit food radio program created by the USDA Bureau of Home Economics. Aunt Sammy doled out recipes, kitchen tips, and other household advice. She was so popular that the spin-off recipe book stayed in print for 50 years. But who was she? Justin Nordstrom, editor of the newly annotated version of Aunt Sammy's Radio Recipes, joins Linda to introduce and explain the phenomenon of Aunt Sammy. A Taste of the Past is powered by SimplecastSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.