The Spicecast

On this Spice Oddities episode, learn about the earthy, nutty, and woody priprioca root, which has its origins in Brazilian folklore. Spice Oddities is a shorter-form series that highlights uncommon spices and ingredients from around the world. Follow The Spicecast on social media! Facebook: https://facebook.com/thespicecastpodcast Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/thespicecast.bsky.social Subscri...

On this episode of What Spice Means to Me, Reuben speaks with Bruno and Melissa of brus.and.mels about their project to learn about every country, territory, and disputed region of the world through the lens of food and drink. Follow brus.and.mels on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brus.and.mels/ Namibian kapana spice blend recipe: https://www.esterkocht.com/namibian-spice-blend-kapana-spice-...

On this edition of The Herb Blurb, co-hosts Reuben and Dee discuss bay leaves, the most common of which is Laurus nobilis. The episode explores the classical and modern history of bay leaves as well as culinary and medicinal uses for the herb. There is also a tasting of basic chicken soups, no bay vs. dried bay vs. fresh bay. Will the pair be able to tell the difference? Follow The Spicecast on so...

On this Spice Oddities episode, learn about the lemony, gingery, and peppery Litsea cubeba fruit, which is somewhere between black pepper and Sichuan pepper. Spice Oddities is a shorter-form series that highlights uncommon spices and ingredients from around the world. Follow The Spicecast on social media! Facebook: https://facebook.com/thespicecastpodcast Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/thespice...

On this edition of Spice Oddities, hear about the long and storied history of juniper berries and why they're essential to the creation of gin and other delicious beverages and foods! Spice Oddities is a shorter-form series that highlights uncommon spices and ingredients from around the world. Follow The Spicecast on social media! Facebook: https://facebook.com/thespicecastpodcast Bluesky: https:/...

On this episode of Spice Oddities, learn about why water pepper is called arse smart, how it's used in Japanese cooking, and more! Spice Oddities is a shorter-form series that highlights uncommon spices and ingredients from around the world. Follow The Spicecast on social media! Facebook: https://facebook.com/thespicecastpodcast Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/thespicecast.bsky.social Subscribe...

Happy New Year from The Spicecast! This holiday season, learn about the rhizome that could potentially replace cloves in your recipes, and why it might not be a good guard against the Black Plague. Spice Oddities is a shorter-form series that highlights uncommon spices and ingredients from around the world. Follow The Spicecast on social media! Facebook: https://facebook.com/thespicecastpodcast Bl...

Happy Thanksgiving! Explore the far-reaching territory of the turkey berry with Reuben, including culinary and medicinal uses from around the world. Spice Oddities is a shorter-form series that highlights uncommon spices and ingredients from around the world. Follow The Spicecast on social media! Facebook: https://facebook.com/thespicecastpodcast Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/thespicecast.bsky...

Blast off to the world of lemon verbena with Reuben! This episode includes culinary and medicinal uses for lemon verbena, as well as some historical context. Spice Oddities is a shorter-form series that highlights uncommon spices and ingredients from around the world. Follow The Spicecast on social media! Facebook: https://facebook.com/thespicecastpodcast Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/thespice...

Join Reuben for a quick journey into the world of lemon balm, including historical context and culinary and medicinal uses. Spice Oddities is a shorter-form series that highlights uncommon spices and ingredients from around the world. Follow The Spicecast on social media! Facebook: https://facebook.com/thespicecastpodcast Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/thespicecast.bsky.social Subscribe to, rat...

Listen in as Reuben describes the history of and culinary and medicinal uses for salad burnet, a beautiful summer herb. Spice Oddities is a shorter-form series that highlights uncommon spices and ingredients from around the world. Follow The Spicecast on social media! Facebook: https://facebook.com/thespicecastpodcast Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/thespicecast.bsky.social Subscribe to, rate, a...

Join Reuben for a quick look at Moldavian dragonhead, a lemony-minty herb from temperate regions of Asia. Spice Oddities is a shorter-form series that highlights uncommon spices and ingredients from around the world. Follow The Spicecast on social media! Facebook: https://facebook.com/thespicecastpodcast Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/thespicecast.bsky.social Subscribe to, rate, and review The...

Listen along as Reuben explores zedoary, a spice that is related to ginger and turmeric and used mostly in South Asia. Spice Oddities is a shorter-form series that highlights uncommon spices and ingredients from around the world. Follow The Spicecast on social media! Facebook: https://facebook.com/thespicecastpodcast Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/thespicecast.bsky.social Subscribe to, rate, an...

Ajwain is both a spice and herb used in South Asian and Middle Eastern cuisines. Join Reuben as he touches on culinary and medicinal uses for this tasty oddity. Spice Oddities is a shorter-form series that highlights uncommon spices and ingredients from around the world. Follow The Spicecast on social media! Facebook: https://facebook.com/thespicecastpodcast Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/thesp...

On this episode of What Spice Means to Me, Dee and Reuben are joined by special guest Vina Patel to discuss her latest book, The Spice Collector's Cookbook. The conversation ranges from traveling for food and spices to why particular flavors evoke such strong memories to tips and tricks for home cooks to create healthy, easy, and delicious dishes. Vina's knowledge of and experience with many diffe...

On this edition of The Herb Blurb, co-hosts Reuben and Dee discuss common sage, salvia officinalis. The episode explores the classical and modern history of sage as well as culinary and medicinal uses for the herb. There is also a sage tea tasting. Follow The Spicecast on social media! Facebook: https://facebook.com/thespicecastpodcast Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/thespicecast.bsky.social Sub...

Korean mugwort or Japanese mugwort (artemisia princeps) is useful both in traditional medicine and cooking, and is key to an ancient Korean creation myth. Join Reuben and Dee for a slightly less brief dive into the world of Korean mugwort, which is unusual in most of the world but fairly common in east Asia. Spice Oddities is a shorter-form series that highlights uncommon spices and ingredients fr...

On this episode of What Spice Means to Me, Reuben speaks with his father, Joshua, about his experience with horticulture, with wild plants, and as a home cook. The conversation touches on scent memory, favorite cookbooks, Joshua's soup kitchen, and more! Follow The Spicecast on social media! Facebook: https://facebook.com/thespicecastpodcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/thespicecast Subscribe to,...

Episode 63 - Spice Oddities: Vietnamese Balm by The Spicecast

Dootsi is an herb that is similar to celery in flavor and look, but primarily used in Georgian cuisine. Tune in for a quick dive into the culinary and medicinal uses for dootsi. Spice Oddities is a shorter-form series that highlights uncommon spices and ingredients from around the world. Follow The Spicecast on social media! Facebook: https://facebook.com/thespicecastpodcast Twitter: https://twitt...

Sweet woodruff is a flowering herb in the coffee family that is most popular in German cuisine. Listen in as Reuben briefly explores the history and uses for sweet woodruff. Spice Oddities is a shorter-form series that highlights uncommon spices and ingredients from around the world. Follow The Spicecast on social media! Facebook: https://facebook.com/thespicecastpodcast Twitter: https://twitter.c...

Lesser calamint, though closely related to mint, has a number of different uses. Join Reuben for a quick overview of the (mostly Italian) culinary uses for lesser calamint and more. Spice Oddities is a shorter-form series that highlights uncommon spices and ingredients from around the world. Follow The Spicecast on social media! Facebook: https://facebook.com/thespicecastpodcast Twitter: https://t...

Does fish mint really taste like fish? Find out with Reuben on this month's Spice Oddities! This episode also covers numerous culinary uses for fish mint in various cuisines. Spice Oddities is a shorter-form series that highlights uncommon spices and ingredients from around the world. Follow The Spicecast on social media! Facebook: https://facebook.com/thespicecastpodcast Twitter: https://twitter....

Clary sage has been used as a curative herb for thousands of years. Join host Reuben for a brief dive into the history and culinary uses for this remarkable, medicinal herb. Spice Oddities is a shorter-form series that highlights uncommon spices and ingredients from around the world. Follow The Spicecast on social media! Facebook: https://facebook.com/thespicecastpodcast Twitter: https://twitter.c...

On this edition of The Herb Blurb, co-hosts Reuben and Dee converse about many different varieties of and uses for mint. The episode explores mint of all sorts in history, cooking, medicine, pop culture, and beyond, and finishes with a tasting of mint tea and sweets. Credits: Cover Art - "Red hot pepper with fire vector" by freedesignfile (CC-BY) Music - "Running Out" by Patrick Patrikios (CC0)