A Taste of the Past

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 might use that knowledge to inspire community wellness of every kind. “This idea that there is a ‘Jemima Code,’ for me it’s this idea that actions, thoughts, behaviors, opinions, are all crafted and generated out of this trademark image that was based on a myth.” [3:45] –Toni Tipton-Martin on A Taste of the Past  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 show and learn why maintaining the seeds of history is essential! “The heirloom breeds of animals and vegetables are really where it’s happening at the moment.” [12:40] “During the Victorian period, the breeders created round, smooth, red tomatoes which sort of became the ideal tomato.  The old ones didn’t look like that.  Over time the physical appearance of the plant or fruit changed because we imposed new criteria on them.” [14:30] –William Woys Weaver on A Taste of the Past  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 lie neglected in libraries, historical sites, and other public institutions. Have recipes really changed that much through the eras? Tune in for a fascinating discussion! This program was brought to you by Whole Foods Market. “A manuscript cookbook is a cookbook that exists in a manuscript, meaning that it is hand-written.  These cookbooks go back to the fourteenth and thirteenth century.” [4:00] “The truth about it is, the printed recipes reveal a much more sophisticated cooking than is done today in homes.” [23:15] –Stephen Schmidt on A Taste of the Past  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 Mayo show and the Chris Evans show. Rachel’s writing and broadcasting has covered a variety of topics from the politics of hunting, to tasting whisky in remote distilleries, to how to make Catalan doughnuts. She has written for, amongst others, the Evening Standard, the BBC Vegetarian Food Magazine, the New Statesman, the Financial Times, RED magazine and the Guardian. This program was brought to you by Heritage Foods USA “We make everything with oats – we make drinks with oats, there’s porridge in the morning, etc.” [08:00] –Rachel McCormack on A Taste of the PastSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 into coffee. These are matters of culture and aesthetics, of history and society, and we might ask many other questions. Why do sweets feature so prominently in children’s literature? When was sugar called a spice? And how did chocolate evolve from an ancient drink to a modern candy bar? Tune in to this intriguing episode and check out the Facebook page! This program was brought to you by Bonnie Plants. “The plants that tended to be bitter would be toxic, or likely… the entire verge of survival depended on the sweet.” [6:00] “They are making a fabric now of lightly sweetened green tea… it’s meant to be worn!” [23:25] “Frisbee actually originated with a pie tin.” [24:20] —Darra Goldstein on A Taste of the PastSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 brought to you by Bonnie Plants. “There’s a lot of focus on the ingredients so it was very much about having these vegetables, fruits, and spices that you put together quickly and you can walk away from it… it’s about the technique.” “It always has to be sweet, sour, and savory – you want to hit all your points!” —Ana Sofia Pelaez on A Taste of the PastSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 points for mouth-watering stories about this ancient city. If you are planning your first trip to Rome or if you’ve been a dozen times, tune in as Linda spends this episode traveling through the region with Elizabeth as the perfect travel guide. This program was brought to you by Bonnie Plants. “The thinking is that the last thing in the world you would want after a big lunch [in Rome] is a big cup of warm milk, which is basically what cappuccino is… so they’ll give it to you but they’ll be very disapproving.” [8:22] “These [farmer’s] markets which are only open on Saturdays and Sundays are really crowded. I think that shows a rebirth of this interest in buying quality food from the source.” [16:35] —Elizabeth Minchilli on A Taste of the PastSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 French artisanal bakeries and tells Linda how he came up through the culinary world and his philosophy behind baking. With four shops in New York City (with three more on the way) and over eighty scattered across the world, Maison Kayser has an impressive training program for new shops opening paired with unique recipes that make each trip to Maison Kayser the best it can possibly be. Tune in for Eric’s trade secrets to amazing breads and highlights from his new book “The Larousse Book of Bread: 80 Recipes to Make at Home.” This program was brought to you by Whole Foods Market. “We say that a baker is an alchemist, you need to work with few ingredients.” [9:00] “If you want to do a good bread, you cannot work with a machine, you need to do it by yourself. This is why we decided to write this book.” [24:31] —Eric Kayser on A Taste of the PastSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 the Icelandic plate featuring chef Gunnar Gíslason’s Restaurant Dill. This book is Gíslason’s wonderfully personal debut: equal parts recipe book and culinary odyssey, offering an unparalleled look into a star chef’s creative process. But more than just a collection of recipes, “North” is also a celebration of Iceland itself—the inspiring traditions, stories, and people who make the island nation unlike any other place in the world. Tune in for highlights and more from Jody! This program was brought to you by Bonnie Plants. “One thing that maybe confuses people about Nordic cuisine is, well, what is it? It’s just about appreciating the place, the ingredients and traditions.” —Jody Eddy on A Taste of the PastSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 the stage for globalized spice trade. Gary relays to Linda his travels along four prominent trade routes—the Silk Road, the Frankincense Trail, the Spice Route, and the Camino Real (for chiles and chocolate)—and follows the caravans of itinerant spice merchants from the frankincense-gathering grounds and ancient harbors of the Arabian Peninsula to the port of Zayton on the China Sea to Santa Fe in the southwest United States. His stories, recipes, and linguistic analyses of cultural diffusion routes reveal the extent to which aromatics such as cumin, cinnamon, saffron, and peppers became adopted worldwide as signature ingredients of diverse cuisines. With the idea that spices are viewed as political, religious, and cultural tools, Gary and Linda also touch upon how a more virtuous multicultural globalized society may be achieved in the future. Tune in to this fascinating episode! This program was brought to you by Whole Foods Market. Photo via US Library of Congress “I think we have to learn of the costs embedded in our own history to get right the balance between local and global.” —Dr. Gary Nabhan on A Taste of the PastSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.