The Spicecast

On this episode of Spice Oddities, Reuben talks about the tonka bean, a legume that has been used as a substitute for vanilla. Briefly learn about the history of and culinary uses for this strong, bitter flavoring. 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://www.facebook.com/t...

On this episode of Spice Oddities, Reuben discusses njangsa, the seed of the ricinodendron tree. Listen for a brief explanation of njangsa use in cooking, medicine, and pop culture. Spice Oddities is a shorter-form series that highlights uncommon spices and ingredients from around the world. Follow The Spicecast on social media! Facebook: www.facebook.com/thespicecastpodcast Twitter: twitter.com/t...

On this edition of Spice Oddities, Reuben talks about quassia, a neotropical, bitter plant that can be used both as an herb and as a spice. Learn about the history and varied uses for quassia in this short episode. 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://www.facebook.com/t...

On this episode of Spice Oddities, Reuben discusses musk mallow, a versatile plant that can be used both as an herb and as a spice. Learn about the many and varied uses for musk mallow in this bite-sized minisode. 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://www.facebook.com/th...

Happy new year from The Spicecast! On this edition of Spice Oddities, Reuben explores mastic, the dried resin of a tree in the cashew family. The episode focuses on culinary uses for mastic and also touches on its history and some 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! Face...

In this second installment of The Herb Blurb, Reuben is joined by special guest Kayla to discuss oregano in all of its forms. The show goes into oregano in cooking, medicine, and pop culture, as well as the history of oregano. Follow Kayla on Twitter at https://twitter.com/kaylalouwho and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/kaylalouwho22/. Follow The Spicecast on social media! Facebook: http...

On this episode of Spice Oddities, Reuben highlights paracress, a plant in the aster family that is used as an herb and as a spice. The episode focuses on various culinary and medicinal uses for paracress, as well as some of its more unusual characteristics. Spice Oddities is a shorter-form series that highlights uncommon spices and ingredients from around the world. Follow The Spicecast on social...

On this episode of The Spicecast, Reuben is joined by special guests Nick and Stephen to talk about The Spice Melange (commonly known as spice), a fictional substance from the Dune universe. The show goes into what The Spice Melange is, then continues with various uses for The Spice Melange, effects of The Spice Melange as a drug, and The Spice Melange in pop culture. Follow The Spicecast on socia...

On this episode of Spice Oddities, Reuben focuses on wattleseed, a legume that is extracted from Australian Acacia plants. The episode discusses various culinary uses for wattleseed as well as its nutritional benefits. 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://www.facebook.c...

On this episode of The Spicecast, Reuben is joined by special guest Sofia to talk about sumac, a tangy and delicious spice with many applications, culinary and otherwise. The show discusses what sumac is, then dives into culinary uses, pauses for a brief sumac tasting, then goes into the history of sumac and its medicinal uses. The final segment focuses on sumac in pop culture. Correction: At 19:4...

On the inaugural episode of The Herb Blurb, Reuben is joined by special guests Louis and Alex to talk all things cilantro (AKA coriander). The show discusses cilantro's culinary applications and history before a brief tasting of cilantro and culantro. Later in the show, the trio dives into medicinal uses for cilantro and cilantro in pop culture. Follow The Spicecast on social media! Facebook: http...

On this episode of Spice Oddities, Reuben focuses on grains of Selim, a spice that is common in some parts of Africa but fairly rare in most of the rest of the world. The episode discusses where grains of Selim are grown and used, as well as various culinary uses for this peppery pod. Spice Oddities is a shorter-form series that highlights uncommon spices and ingredients from around the world. Fol...

In the premiere of a new Spicecast series, What Spice Means to Me, Reuben speaks with Evan Foster about his journey growing chilis and fermenting his own hot sauce. The conversation touches on Evan's experience, favorite hot peppers and recipes, some of the more technical pieces of pepper fermentation, and how peppers, fermentation, and hot sauce have impacted Evan's life. Follow The Spicecast on...

The Spicecast is excited to announce three new series on this month's episode! Spice Oddities will be a shorter-form series that highlights uncommon spices and ingredients from around the world. The first episode of Spice Oddities, focused on kokum, is included in this episode. What Spice Means to Me will be an interview series where guests talk about a spicy ingredient, dish, or technique that ha...

On this episode of The Spicecast, Reuben is joined by special guests Nathan and Stephen to discuss a misunderstood spice, onion powder. The show dives into how to make onion powder, culinary uses for onion powder, the history of onion powder, and some health benefits of onion powder. Perhaps, by the end of the episode, your views on onion powder will have changed for the better! Interested in mana...

On this family episode of The Spicecast, Reuben is joined by special guests Ashley and Clint to talk about allspice. The show begins by describing allspice and discussing some common culinary uses, then dives into the history of allspice before finishing with brief segments on allspice's medicinal uses and its appearances in pop culture. Follow The Spicecast on social media! Facebook: https://www....

Happy holidays from The Spicecast! Reuben is joined by special guests Stropheum and Jess to discuss many of the varied styles of hot sauce. The episode begins with a segment on our personal experiences with hot sauce, moves on to define hot sauce very broadly (and then disagree with that definition), and delves into some of the chemistry behind hot sauce and botany behind pepper cultivation. In th...

Reuben is joined by special guests David and Aaron for a discussion of chili con carne. The trio talks about what makes chili chili (spoiler alert: it's the chilis) before moving into dishes made with chili, variations on chili, the history of chili, and, finally, chili (and various spellings thereof) in pop culture. Credits: Cover Art - "Red hot pepper with fire vector" by freedesignfile (CC-BY)...

Reuben is joined by special guests Brent and Kenny for a discussion of super-hot peppers. The episode starts with a definition of super-hot peppers, goes through the fairly short history of super-hots, then pauses for the first remote tasting on The Spicecast before proceeding with a segment on uses for super-hot peppers before finishing with a conversation on super-hot peppers in pop culture. Cor...

Content warning: This episode of The Spicecast contains adult language and may not be suitable for children. Reuben is joined by special guests (and redheads) Heidi and Ashley for a long conversation about ginger. The show begins with a discussion of red hair and society, then continues with what ginger is, culinary uses for ginger, and the history of ginger before diving into medicinal uses for g...

Reuben is joined by special guests Kaylee and Dee to talk about coriander seeds. The episode begins by discussing what coriander is and some of its most common uses in cooking, then goes into the history of coriander. Later in the show, we discuss medicinal uses for coriander and references to coriander in pop culture. Credits: Cover Art - "Red hot pepper with fire vector" by freedesignfile (CC-BY...

"Live your dreams, eat your garlic" - Ancient proverb Reuben is joined by special guests Layne and Sophie to talk about garlic. Though garlic is technically a vegetable, it is commonly used like a spice, so The Spicecast is covering it in this episode. The episode begins by discussing what garlic is and the many types of garlic that are grown worldwide, then ventures into common culinary uses for...

Black lives matter, now and always. Since long before the murder of George Floyd late last month, black people in the United States have been systemically marginalized, oppressed, and killed by white people in positions of power. The act of murder that was committed by police officers in Minneapolis on May 25th, 2020 is the direct result of the white supremacy that continues to pervade our governm...

Reuben is joined by special guests Justin and Lishan to talk about turmeric. The episode dives into what turmeric is and its history before a long segment on the medicinal uses of turmeric and a very short one on turmeric in pop culture. We also hear about the turmeric tasting that Lishan ran for her coworkers and share a number of fun facts and semi-relevant tangents. Lots of links this episode:...

Content warning: This episode of The Spicecast contains adult language and themes and may not be suitable for children. Reuben is joined by special guests Dee and Chris to talk about cumin. The episode distinguishes between common cumin and various species of black cumin, delves into the history of cumin, discusses the medical uses of cumin and black cumin (nigella sativa), and features a brief se...