A Taste of the Past

American food writer Betty Fussell joins Linda Pelaccio this week on “A Taste of the Past” for a conversation on culinary history, cultural identity and food literature. Betty is an award-winning writer and is the author of eleven books, ranging from biography to cookbooks, food history and memoir. Learn how she discovered food through travel and writing and became an “accidental” food historian....

This week on A Taste of the Past, host Linda Pelaccio is joined by Canadian food writer Noami Duguid, who has authored seminal books such as “Seductions of Rice” and “Burma: Rivers of Flavor”. Tune in and hear what it’s like being an outsider in a foreign land and how Noami navigates cultures and communities to learn about the cuisine that lives amongst them. Find out how the politically oppressed...

What’s more American than apple pie? Answer: apple cider! On this week’s episode of A Taste of the Past, Linda Pelaccio is talking with “apple evangelist” and author of Cider, Hard and Sweet, Ben Watson. Where did the tradition of American cider originate? Hear about how grafting has caused the amount of apple varieties to diminish, and learn about the role of the Industrial Revolution in cider’s...

Grains take center stage on this week’s episode of A Taste of the Past as host Linda Pelaccio is joined by Bruce Weinstein, cooking instructor and author of “Grain Mains: 101 Surprising and Satisfying Whole Grain Recipes for Every Meal of the Day”. Tune in for a lively discussion on grains and their place in culinary history. From quinoa to millet, learn about how whole grains were essential in ea...

Did you know that most Americans did not eat tuna until the 20th century? On this week’s episode of A Taste of the Past, Linda Pelaccio sits down with Andrew F. Smith, a food historian and author of the recent book, American Tuna: The Rise and Fall of an Improbable Food. Learn about how Mediterranean immigrant populations popularized the fish in the United States, and how the Japanese made it a st...

Cooking with chocolate is the theme on this week’s episode of A Taste of the Past, as Linda Pelaccio is joined by “The First Lady of Chocolate”, businesswoman, baker and cookbook author Alice Medrich. Alice explains how she found her way to baking and chocolate, and how she’s adapted to thinking in terms of home cooking instead of complex kitchen baking. Learn some tips for making world class dess...

What differentiates an herb from a weed? And what historical significance do herbs hold? Today’s episode of A Taste of the Past is a culinary history of herbs. Linda Pelaccio is joined by Gary Allen, herbalist and author of the recent book, Herbs: A Global History. Tune in to hear the difference between herbs and spices. Learn about extinct herbal plants and their ancient uses. Hear about the exch...

This week’s episode of A Taste of the Past is a dedication to Craig Claiborne, legendary New York Times restaurant critic. Linda Pelaccio is talking with Tom McNamee, author of the recent Craig Claiborne-focused book, The Man Who Changed the Way We Eat. When Craig Claiborne began his career, there was no outlet for critical review of restaurant and food culture. Tune in to hear about how Craig Cla...

On this episode of A Taste of the Past, Linda Pelaccio is joined in the studio by Rebecca Federman of the Culinary Collections at the New York Public Library. Today, they are discussing the NYPL’s old menu collection and the new What’s on the Menu? program. Hear about old menus from the inauguration of President McKinley to the dedication of the Statue of Liberty. Help out the NYPL by helping to d...

This week on A Taste of the Past, Linda Pelaccio is on the phone with Giuliano Hazan, cooking instructor and author of a new book entitled Hazan Family Favorites. Giuliano comes from a tradition of fine Italian cooking. His mother, Marcella Hazan, is a famous Italian cookery writer. Tune in to hear Giuliano recount stories of frying with his grandmother, and being teased because of his Italian sch...

On this episode of A Taste of the Past, Linda Pelaccio is talking with cooking instructor, author and founder of LaVarenne Cooking School, Anne Willan. Anne’s cookbook, The Cookbook Library, includes cooking instructions from four centuries of recipe history. Tune in to hear about cooking instructions from all over Europe throughout the ages, the history of dining utensils, and the role of illustr...

On this week’s episode of A Taste of the Past, Linda Pelaccio is talking about ancient and whole grains with Maria Speck, IACP award winning author of the NYTimes notable book Ancient Grains for Modern Meals. Topics include Maria’s upbringing with whole grains, the health benefits of eating grains, and why ancient grains have become fashionable in the food world. Quinoa has been back on the scene...

On this episode of A Taste of the Past, Linda Pelaccio is in the studio with Tim Sullivan, sake educator and founder of the site UrbanSake.com . Tune in to hear about how rice processing and milling determines sake quality, why sake is more similar to beer than wine, and why sake is unlikely to give you a hangover. Did the tsunami affect sake quality and production in Japan? Is the sake contaminat...

This week marks the 100th episode of A Taste of the Past; congratulations to our hostess, Linda Pelaccio! To celebrate her 100th episode, Linda is remembering Julia Child’s 100th birthday with food writer and author of Julia Child: A Life, Laura Shapiro. Julia was one of the most natural television personalities, and her joy for teaching cooking was more than apparent. Linda and Laura recall Julia...

“Each time a good cook dies without passing down recipes, family dishes become suddenly lost forever.” – Unknown. This week on A Taste of the Past, Linda Pelaccio talks with food writer Donna Pierce about preserving the past through cuisine and recipes. Donna Pierce started Skillet Diares , a website dedicated to “remembering, preserving, and passing down the flavors of home.” Tune in to hear Lind...

Is milk “nature’s perfect food”? This week on A Taste of the Past, Linda Pelaccio is joined by cookbook historian Anne Mendelson to debunk this myth. Anne is the author of Milk: The Surprising Story of Milk Through the Ages, a cookbook and overview of milk’s history. Learn about milk’s volatile chemistry, the differences between different mammals’ milks, and Anne’s thoughts on the raw milk debate....

This week on A Taste of the Past, Linda Pelaccio talks with Sheilah Kaufman, author of The Turkish Cookbook: Regional Recipes and Stories. The Ottoman Turks controlled areas from Egypt to Austria, and all of the foods of these regions are incorporated into the Turkish palette. Tune in to hear how history and conquest has shaped Turkish cuisine; here’s fish from the Aegean, pistachios from Anatolia...

What staple food feeds over 500 million people, and is gluten-free? Answer- the manioc root, and it’s this week’s topic on A Taste of the Past. Linda Pelaccio sits down with Teresa Corção, chef/owner of O Navegador restaurant and co-founder of Instituto Maniva- a group that promotes the heritage root called manioc. She is an active governing member of Slow Food Brazil, and has been honored by IA...

In this episode of A Taste of the Past, Linda Pelaccio talks kosher wine with Jay Buchsbaum of the Royal Wine Corp. Tune in to hear Linda and Jay define kosher wine, the history of wine in Israel, the caliber and standards for kosher wine and its place among wine connoisseurs. Forget what you know about Manischewitz; these are some high-quality wines! Listen in as Linda samples three of the wines...

This week on A Taste of the Past we’re talking about the history of bread with hostess, Linda Pelaccio, and her guest, William Rubel. William authored the hearth-cooking book The Magic of Fire, and now has a new book called Bread: A Global History. Listen in as Linda and William discuss the ancient roots of bread making, the social and class implications of certain types of flour and bread, and br...

How do you indigenize a food? What are the hummus wars? Tune in to a food identity themed episode of A Taste of the Past as Linda Pelaccio chats with Ari Ariel, Assistant Professor of Hebrew and Judaic Studies at NYU. Tune in to learn how cuisine is shared and sometimes protected in different countries and cultures. Learn what makes a dish “authentic” and how hummus has caused such a fuss between...

Hooked on Downton Abbey? Curious what food was like during the Edwardian Period? Tune in to an especially historic episode of A Taste of the Past with Linda Pelaccio as she is joined by Cathy Kaufman, chair of the Culinary Historians of New York. Find out why English food has a rich tradition and why it gets such a bad reputation these days. Learn about early haute cuisine, table settings, cookboo...

It’s Linsanity on A Taste of the Past!! Tune in as Linda discusses the cuisine and culture of Taiwan with Jessica Chien and Joanne Liu, freelance pastry chefs. Learn the differences between China, Japan and Taiwan when it comes to food and hear what makes Taiwanese cuisine stand out from the rest. From their bountiful produce and livestock options to the creative cultural dishes, listeners will co...

This week on A Taste of the Past, Linda Pelaccio is joined by food writer and journalist Toni Tipton-Martin for a discussion on imagery, stereotypes and African American cuisine and culture as it relates to the famous and controversial image of Aunt Jemima. Learn more about the history behind the trademarked character and hear what Toni thinks “soul food” actually means in the context of African A...

From food culture in 800BCE to the present day, this week’s episode of A Taste of the Past will take you there. With the help of New School professor of food studies, Fabio Parasecoli, host Linda Pelaccio takes you on a world tour of food globalization throughout major world time periods. Parasecoli, who has also edited an encyclopedic 6-volume tome on the subject– A Cultural History of Food — dis...