A Taste of the Past

Latest Episodes:

Episode 314: The Cries of Street Food Vendors: 19thC Public Culture of Food in New Orleans Dec 06, 2018

Show notes

Ashley Rose Young, Historian of the American Food History Project at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, has long been interested in the foodways of America’s past. And when she’s not hosting live cooking demos to explore that history at the Smithsonian Museum, she is immersed in her study of the alternative foodways and food economies—specifically of New Orleans—which relied heavily on street vendors. This street vending became the domain of the enslaved or newly freed, disenfranchised population. And, like so many street vendors in cities around the world, their sing-song cries heralding the fruits, vegetables and sweets in baskets often carried on their heads, became the street music of late 19th and early 20th century New Orleans. Listen in for a sample of some of the cries.

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Episode 313: Katie Parla Talks Classic Comebacks Nov 29, 2018

Show notes

On a recent trip to Rome, I met up with Katie Parla, Italian food and culture writer, to talk to her about her thoughts on the recent renaissance of old classic Roman dishes, particularly pasta dishes. She spoke about past, present, and what she sees in the future for the food of Rome.

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Episode 312: Sicilian Influence in New Orleans Food Culture Nov 08, 2018

Show notes

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.”

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Episode 311: Galloping Gourmet Redux Nov 01, 2018

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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.

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Episode 310: Historic Foodways in Montgomery County, Maryland Oct 25, 2018

Show notes

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.

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309: The Bitter Flavors of Sicily Oct 18, 2018

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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.

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Episode 308: Oreos and the Giant Cookie Factory, Nabisco Sep 27, 2018

Show notes

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.

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Episode 307: Treasures of Medieval Egyptian Cooking Sep 13, 2018

Show notes

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.

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Episode 306: The Virginia Housewife: Cooking Mary Randolph Sep 06, 2018

Show notes

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.

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Episode 305: Some Like it Hot--Jamaican Jerk History Aug 02, 2018

Show notes

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.

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