A Taste of the Past
Culinary historian Linda Pelaccio takes a journey through the history of food. Take a dive into food cultures through history, from ancient Mesopotamia and imperial China to the grazing tables and deli counters of today. Tune in as Linda, along with a guest list of culinary chroniclers and enthusiasts, explores the lively links between food cultures of the present and past.
- Update frequency
- every 17 days
- Average duration
- 39 minutes
- Episodes
- 409
- Years Active
- 2009 - 2025
Talking Turkey: History of the Turkey Talk Line
On Thanksgiving, more than 46 million turkeys will be the centerpiece of American holiday tables. And, as usual, home cooks across the country will have questions and concerns about how to best prepa…
00:49:15 |
Thu 10 Nov 2022
Marion Nestle: An Unexpected Life in Food Politics
Marion Nestle is one of the original food activists in America. For nearly half a century, as she tells it in her recently published memoir Slow Cooked, she has been teaching and writing about the ef…
00:54:28 |
Fri 21 Oct 2022
The Cookie Bible
Legendary baker Rose Levy Beranbaum made history when she pioneered the reverse creaming technique for baking cakes. She wrote about it in her award-winning book, "The Cake Bible," 34 years ago. Now,…
00:47:53 |
Fri 14 Oct 2022
History and Art of Dim Sum
When the Michelin starred chef Andrew Wong was on a working tour of China, it ignited a burning curiosity in not just exploring the vast cultural and regional differences that have come to define the…
00:43:59 |
Thu 22 Sep 2022
The Cuban Sandwich: History in Layers
According to the authors of a new book on the history of the Cuban Sandwich, "Hiding beween the thin slices of its fillings are invisible layers of meaning, the spirit of a people, and the story of a…
00:44:15 |
Thu 15 Sep 2022
The Genealogy of Chicago's 'Italian Beef'
Every city has its own iconic food, particularly a sandwich. And in Chicago, it's the 'Italian Beef,' made even more well-known by the recent TV series "The Bear." Historian Anthony Buccini shares th…
00:51:33 |
Thu 08 Sep 2022
County and State Fairs: An American Tradition
Last year, Capri Cafaro, host of HRN’s Eat Your Heartland Out, recorded a show about the summer State and County Fairs. I thought it would be a terrific way to get to know her podcast, and what could…
00:42:18 |
Thu 11 Aug 2022
Juneteenth: History and Food of the Celebration
President Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act making it an official holiday 154 years after it was first celebrated in Texas in 1866. And that was two years after Abraham Lincol…
00:54:45 |
Thu 09 Jun 2022
Taiwan Noodle Culture and the 100yr-old Recipe
A-Sha Noodles is the cult-favorite noodle brand known for its patented, 100-year-old legacy noodle recipe from Tainan, Taiwan. Starting in one market in 1977, the company's product is now recognized …
00:40:26 |
Thu 02 Jun 2022
Tabletop Politics: Fascism in the Kitchen
Over the past decade, Diana Garvin has conducted extensive research in Italian museums, libraries, archives, and first-hand interviews to examine the role of women's food work in relation to the poli…
00:49:51 |
Thu 12 May 2022
Taste Tibet: Food of the Himalayas
Tibetan cuisine cannot be described without talking about the geography of place, or the tradition of Buddhist or shepherd culture. Husband and wife team Yeshi Jampa and Julie Kleeman talk about the …
00:57:27 |
Thu 14 Apr 2022
Italian Rice: Long History of a Short Grain
Italy is the largest rice production country in Europe, with a cultivation area of well over a half million acres and 1.6 million tons of total grain production. And they have been cultivating rice s…
00:43:55 |
Thu 24 Mar 2022
Mothers' Ruin
The gin myth of “Mother’s Ruin,” which was depicted in William Hogarth’s 1751 print, Gin Lane, has colored the perception of alcohol consumption by women for nearly 300 years. Dr. Nicola Nice, who bu…
00:43:05 |
Thu 03 Mar 2022
The General's Cook: the Life of Hercules Posey
It was well known in diplomatic circles that one ate very well at President George Washington's table, thanks to his very talented, but enslaved cook Hercules. Stories abound about the fate of the fa…
00:40:59 |
Fri 18 Feb 2022
Forgotten Past of Green Tea in America
It’s a little known fact that in the nineteenth century, Americans favored green teas consumed hot with milk and sugar. The teas were imported from China until Japan developed an export industry cent…
00:42:49 |
Thu 09 Dec 2021
The Women Left Out of Cocktail History
The history of cocktails in America is heavily skewed toward the male’s tale when, in fact, that is only half of story of the cocktail’s rise to social prominence. Women are largely absent from the t…
00:54:57 |
Thu 04 Nov 2021
American Cider
Cider is delicious and it is historic. It is America’s first popular alcoholic beverage, made from apples brought across the Atlantic from England in colonial times. And over the past fifteen or so y…
00:51:50 |
Fri 15 Oct 2021
History of Sourdough Culture
Sourdough bread has a history that goes back at least 6,000 years and the earliest cultures--or sourdough starter--were likely an accident. Professor and amateur baker Eric Pallant shares the history…
00:46:54 |
Fri 24 Sep 2021
Kitchen Whisperers with Dorothy Kalins
The cooking lessons that stick with us are rarely the ones we read in books or learn through blog posts or YouTube videos. They’re the ones we pick up as we spend time with good cooks in the kitchen.…
00:41:36 |
Fri 10 Sep 2021
From Cloth Oil to Extra Virgin: A History of Olive Oil
Although there is archeological evidence and historical writings about olive oil in the ancient world, the popularity, demand, and production of olive oil as we know it today has a very recent histor…
00:51:11 |
Thu 15 Jul 2021
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