The History of American Food

Did you know there was no "stew" before the 18th Century? OK - there was stew, it's just that it went by all sorts of other names.  While the concept of stew is old, the word "stew" itself is only about 300 years old.  I know I was shocked as well. To find out about stew, gravy, soup, braise and all sorts of other words - and more importantly how YOU can make your stews better, come along and list...

This week’s bonus episode is an interview I did with Rich Napolitano of the delightfully dark and decidedly educational podcast highlighting the Age of Sail - Shipwrecks and Sea Dogs - Tales of Mishaps, Misfortune, and Misadventures Bring along all the Cabin Girls & Boys - this one is for everyone. Rich does me the favor of quoting vivid primary sources to back up all these things I’ve been sa...

Can I just be a black cat now? Anyway - what are Baked Beans really, how did they come about, and why, in my opinion are they America's first influential fusion food?  Also, why did America pass up the chance to become a pottery power house - and give it all up in favor of steel and glass (is it becasue we think art is secretly decadant and a waste of time?) Come along for the journey, give pork a...

Look - I should really plan better when I take an unexpected trip to Romania. But I did not.  Enjoy all the same. #NSFW Things just get more. More more.  Oh you were confused last week?  Well it doesn't get any better this week.  If anything it gets worse... more soupy, more sloppy, more salacious. Greta badly speaks more Spanish - but mainly in the service of the 2! DOS! Zorros issue. Jamie is ba...

Have you ever thought about how there are so few North American foods that are globally available - or even regular foods for people living in North America? Well wonder no more.  Or at least slightly less - and explore some of the major items that are native to Norht America, and yet almost made it to "famous because they are yummy" but not quite.  Also - what are the possible global superstars i...

As long as you remember... this is the NSFW Bonus part, come on along. We are back in Alta California when the wine was Spanish, and the churches were all adobe.  Americans were eyeing the other side of the continent... but only in a desultory manner. Snd the richest people of the land - were giant jerks with no thought of the little people actaully doing all the labor, or the local tribes who had...

This week - First a tribute to the forever changed Blue Ridge Parkway. But mainly a look at how little American Diet Culture has changed in almost 200 years.  We came up with some very sticky ideas about how diets should work - including general cluelessness about complex ideas, fuzzy recolections of a fantastic past and the fact that you need more money than you have to follow it correctly. Sylve...

In case you are new here - these are the NSFW Eps.  Not serious food content, fit for sharing with everyone.  Instead, we are being silly about media - mostly about the 19th Century.   And there are swears.  Sharing this becasue this Zorro series wonderful escapist nonsense. Catch Season 1 of Zorro on Amazon Prime Video to watch along This episode is where this show goes mask off and shows it’s Te...

Women's Work - The Untold Story of America’s Female Farmers has its PBS Premier on September 26 on KSPS serving the Spokane, WA area! And heads up Western Washington - it will be out on KBTC (Broadcast Channel 28) in November  How long has America been following diets to improve our health and gain ever more vitality and possibly super-human powers?  Almost since the beginning of the country. Whil...

May 8, 1886. American pharmacist John S. Pemberton sells the first glass of Coca-Cola at a pharmacy in downtown Atlanta, a drink he originally bills as a cure-all tonic. This week - here's a cross post from History Daily , presented by (not that) Lindsay Graham.   In this episode we jump ahead a very little bit to when soda fountains and health elixirs are both starting to travel across the countr...

A BUSY WEEK! 1st hooray - Women's Work - The Untold Story of America’s Female Farmers has its PBS Premier on September 26 on KSPS serving the Spokane, WA area! But seriously - let's talk about jelly.  Yeah - I definitey learned great disdain for Jell-O as I grew up - cheap and ceerful, and it seemed like tawdry empty calories.  The research for this episode showed me it has a long and proud histor...

In case you are new here - these are the NSFW Eps.  Not serious food content, fit for sharing with everyone.  Instead, we are being silly about media - mostly about the 19th Century.   And there are swears.  Sharing this becasue this Zorro series is very joyously fun. Catch Season 1 of Zorro on Amazon Prime Video to watch along After watching the movie Zorro - it became clear, we need more of Zorr...

Join me for a journey through the end of old world cake to find what the first true American cake would really be. Find out what is at the root of American cake mixes - and why it is essentially an American idea.  Just older than you think - much older than I thought for sure. And a nice assortment of cakes you can try out to taste the early 19th century scene. Bavarian Zwetschgendatschi (fresh pl...

In case you are new here - these are the NSFW Eps.  Not serious food content, fit for sharing.  Instead, we are being silly about media - mostly about the 19th Century.  Though here, about the new SHOGUN becasue - so VERY COOL! So we've come to the end of Shogun - a story that both haunted and informed us in our younger years.   Racist, Orientalist - as a book, YES!  But this version. as far as I'...

We still have all the puddings - we just came up with more awsome names for them.   Popover is way more awesome than "drippings pudding" and nobody ever turns down a proper coconut cream pie.  And it's nice to not get confused over whether that pudding on the table is a sweet one or is it actually sausage.   That's right - America became the disambuigation machine for puddings.  You are Welcome. N...

In case you are new here - these are the NSFW Eps.  Not serious food content, fit for sharing.  Instead, we are being silly about media - mostly about the 19th Century.  Though here, about the new SHOGUN becasue - so VERY COOL! With that out of the way - Are Jamie & Greta fighting?  Is Mariko sad about her son no longer being hers - or did she just eat some bad fish, and never really cared?  ...

Why is American bread like that? Why did we swoon of "Old Fashioned Bread" during the pandemic?  What happened so that our bread is these nice neat rectangular loaves with close textured middles and soft crust perfect for sandwiches - while so much of the rest of bread world is more interesting? The answers - surprisingly enought lie in the start of the 19th century when the New Americans got itch...

This is NSFW or small children.  You know the drill. If you want to get to the end - and to more fun stuff - go check out the regular feed at Prizefighters, Circus Freaks & Gangsters. I dunno what is up with this episode, but the comparrisons are flying fast and thick.  But what really matters is Greta's synopsis of Romeo & Juliet along with the implication that Toronaga is actually a bit...

So there are a few fish we eat... and a few ways we eat them.  Breaded and fried of course, but as sushi, and then baked in the oven or fried on the stove - with this spice mix or that.  And that's... that's about it. But what if I told you that for a time there we at lots of fish in lots of ways.  So many that it starts to sound ridiculous. If you want to hear about all the different ways and the...

This is NSFW or small children.  You know the drill. If you want to get to the end - and to more fun stuff - go check out the regular feed at Prizefighters, Circus Freaks & Gangsters. Curious George should have taught us - be wary of the man in the unusual hat.  But we just won't learn. Good stories, expert kneeling and why does everyone feel the need to share their relationship woes in the mi...

If we are ever going to cryogeneically preserve humans, we have got to learn a lot more about Oyster Liquor.  Sci-Fi aside, come along and discover how much 19th cenurty America - not just American food is built upon the oyster harvest.  Everybody everywhere was eating them - by the barrel and bucket full.  It was common to find recipes that blithely started with a gallon of oysters or a hundred o...

As long as you know... ehhhhh not so safe for work.  But this means something even when there's no ep this week! TIme to do the WAR! And come join us over on Prizefighters, Circusfreaks & Gangsters - so you can get to the end of the series! Join us to find out WHO IS CORRECT! Jamie says there's no fighting this episode. Greta says there's lots of fighting - you just have to listen for it. And...

Is it just too hot?  Then come along for this talk about Frostbite by Nicola Twilley on the history & future of refrigeration.   You can read up on some outtakes and extra stuff at the blog: https://www.ediblegeography.com/ And order your own copy of the book here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/551601/frostbite-by-nicola-twilley/ Of course, if you have your favorite local bookshop -...

Histroy Cookbook you say? Check out The History of the World in 10 Dinners by Victoria Flexner & Jey Reifel to figure out how to make your dinner table a time machine.  Appreciate how we can travel through time and space through the grocery store & our refrigerators.  And give thanks for the wire whisk while you're at it. ----------- ICE!  How did we ever get by without it?  Well, turns ou...

Now that America is on the road to getting involved with the world and becoming a mechanical, industrial company, it's time to ramp up salt production and get in on the chemical revolution.   It's not just salt that matters but all the associated sodium compounds or sodas. So it's a turn about the kitchen chemistry kit, an explanation of where they all work - and the arrival of actual modern bakin...