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
Episode 310: Historic Foodways in Montgomery County, Maryland
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 a…
00:38:00 |
Thu 25 Oct 2018
309: The Bitter Flavors of Sicily
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. …
00:46:44 |
Thu 18 Oct 2018
Episode 308: Oreos and the Giant Cookie Factory, Nabisco
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 co…
00:38:45 |
Thu 27 Sep 2018
Episode 307: Treasures of Medieval Egyptian Cooking
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 …
00:55:14 |
Thu 13 Sep 2018
Episode 306: The Virginia Housewife: Cooking Mary Randolph
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 Monticel…
00:53:44 |
Thu 06 Sep 2018
Episode 305: Some Like it Hot--Jamaican Jerk History
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 …
00:33:52 |
Thu 02 Aug 2018
Episode 304: The Embattled History of Milk
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" i…
00:56:21 |
Thu 26 Jul 2018
Episode 303: 1920's Food Radio with "Aunt Sammy"
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 hou…
00:50:59 |
Thu 12 Jul 2018
Episode 302: Magic Bean: History of Soy in America
America's agriculture has undergone many changes in the past century. One of the major changes is the growth of soy bean farming and how the little-known Chinese transplant became the nation's larges…
00:43:25 |
Thu 28 Jun 2018
Episode 301: Power of the Press: History of Restaurant Reviewing
The adage "Power of the Press" is never truer than when it comes to restaurant reviews. A review can make or break a business, and more than that, it serves as a reliable guide to diners' experiences…
00:40:55 |
Thu 07 Jun 2018
Episode 300: Food of the Islamic World
Arabs have always been great traders, collecting spices and ingredients from the early Silk Road routes right through the expansion of Islam from North Africa to South Asia. With the ingredients cam…
00:40:12 |
Thu 31 May 2018
Episode 299: Halal Food: a History
Food trucks announcing "halal" proliferate in many urban areas but how many non-Muslims know what this means, other than cheap lunch? Middle Eastern historians Febe Armanios and Boğaç Ergene provide …
00:42:19 |
Thu 17 May 2018
Episode 298: Something Fishy: Garum, Liquamen and Muria – What’s in a Name?
Many Ancient Roman dishes included the use of fish sauce—garum or liquamen—made from fermented fish parts. Sally Grainger, one of the foremost authorities on Roman fish sauce and foods of the Roman…
00:49:01 |
Thu 10 May 2018
Episode 297: 150th Anniversary of the Feminist Lunch that Broke Boundaries
Until the mid-19th Century, it was not acceptable--and in some cases not allowed--for women to out and about unescorted. They would not be served even at elite restaurants. But in 1868, a journalist …
00:39:07 |
Fri 20 Apr 2018
Episode 296: The Greedy Queen: Dining in the Time of Victoria
On this episode, historian and regular voice on BBC Radio 4's Kitchen Cabinet, Annie Gray, joins Linda to talk about the enormous culinary changes during the Victorian era and the birth of modern foo…
00:43:59 |
Thu 12 Apr 2018
Episode 295: Hot on the Trail: Tracing Peppers of the Americas
Few ingredients have had greater influence on the cuisines and foodways of the world than peppers. Their diaspora spans millenia and has shaped the way generations of cooks create flavor. On this ep…
00:44:34 |
Thu 05 Apr 2018
Episode 294: Raising Cane
On this episode, Linda welcomes Kat Johnson, HRN's Communications Director, to share an panel she moderated at the 2018 Charleston Wine + Food festival. Kat welcomed Jerome Dixon and Doc Bill Thomas …
00:43:33 |
Thu 22 Mar 2018
Episode 293: What Makes a Cookbook a Classic?
Marvin Taylor, Director and Archivist of NYU Fales Library and Special Collections, has been instrumental in building one of the top culinary collections in the nations. He and Linda discuss the mea…
00:49:09 |
Thu 15 Mar 2018
Episode 292: History and Evolution of the American Restaurant Chef
In his book Chefs, Drugs and Rock & Roll, Andrew Friedman takes us back in time to witness the remarkable changes in the American dining scene and evolution of the American restaurant chef in the 197…
00:50:51 |
Thu 08 Mar 2018
Episode 291: Hidden Cooks in the White House
African Americans have worked in presidential food service as chefs, personal cooks, butlers, stewards, and servers for every First Family since George and Martha Washington. Award-winning author and…
00:38:50 |
Thu 01 Mar 2018
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