According to the Oxford English Dictionary, “comfort food” is “food that comforts or affords solace;" It is the food people turn to in a crisis or time of uncertainty. And the current coronavirus pandemic has people eating those foods that evoke a psychologically comfortable state. Prof. Lucy Long speaks about the history and broader theories of comfort food.

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How and why has the COVID-19 pandemic affected our Food Supply Chain? And where are all the dried beans? They've been around for thousands of years and now the shelves are empty. Maybe it's a sign that Americans are cooking real food and know what's nutritious. Natalie Rachel Morris joins Linda to talk about the History of Beans and their importance.

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Often blamed for the rising rates of obesity and diabetes among black Americans, fast food restaurants like McDonald’s have long symbolised capitalism’s villainous effects on our nation’s most vulnerable communities. But how did fast food restaurants so thoroughly saturate black neighbourhoods in the first place? Historian Marcia Chatelain whose new book is Franchise, The Golden Arches in Black America, traces the history of the relationships between the struggle for civil rights and the expansion of the fast food industry.

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In her travels to the Russian North award-winning cookbook author and Russian scholar Darra Goldstein discovered the extraordinary in the ordinary. In her search to find truly Russian flavors she found that many of the old foods seemed new again in the context of modern cuisine. She shares her poetic sensibilities and sense of adventure and research on this episode.

Photo Courtesy of Barry Goldstein

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Technology and industry put more food on the shelves and in markets by extending the life of perishable goods with canning and processing methods. But was the food safe? By the late 19th century, the American food supply was rife with frauds, fakes, and deadly chemicals. It affected everything from milk and beef, black pepper and mustard to candy, whiskey and soda. It took one man, Dr. Harvey W. Wiley, chief chemist of the USDA, his entire career to campaign for food safety and consumer protection, and the ultimate creation of the Food and Drug Act in 1906. Award winning writer and science journalist Deborah Blum talks about the stories and struggles to safe food from her book, The Poison Squad, which is now a PBS documentary.

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Who ever thought a video series about watching old Italian grandmothers making pasta would become a hugely successful YouTube channel? Food writer Vicky Bennison saw something special and spent over five years filming and interviewing the women who became "Pasta Grannies." Traditional regional recipes and techniques will be preserved thanks to her foresight and work. And now there's a companion cookbook that shares not only the recipes but also the extraordinary stories of these endearing women. And Vicky shares with us the behind-the-scene tales.

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Charles Feltman, a German immigrant, invented the hot dog in Coney Island during the summer of 1867 as a convenient way for beachgoers to enjoy quality sausages on a bun without plates and silverware. The business closed in 1954, but the name lived on.  Now entrepreneur and historian Michael Quinn and his brother have resurrected the brand FELTMAN'S OF CONEY ISLAND and tell us all about the history.

The holiday season is all about food and community. There’s no better time to show your support for food radio by becoming a member! Lend your voice and help HRN continue to spreading the message of equitable, sustainable, and delicious food – together, we can change minds and build a better food system. Go to heritageradionetwork.org/donate  today to become a crucial part of the HRN community.

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There are certain iconic restaurant dishes that defined the course of culinary history over the past 300 years, known as a chef's signature dish. Now an international team of culinary experts has featured 247 of those dishes in a new book, Signature Dishes That Matter. LInda's guest, writer and editor Christine Muhlke, wrote the texts that describe the dishes' histories as well as providing context and connections between chefs and culinary movements to create an innovative and fascinating history of gastronomy.

The holiday season is all about food and community. There’s no better time to show your support for food radio by becoming a member! Lend your voice and help HRN continue to spreading the message of equitable, sustainable, and delicious food – together, we can change minds and build a better food system. Go to heritageradionetwork.org/donate today to become a crucial part of the HRN community.

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LIVE FROM INDUSTRY CITY: Linda interviews Ed Levine, food writer, author, and founder of one of the top food and cooking websites, SeriousEats.com. From a serious pizza taster to a serious website founder, Ed Levine had one mantra: “YOU ARE ONE OF THOSE people who refuse to lose who end up finding success.” It is the mindset that Levine carried with him throughout the ups and downs of his career. This tumultuous journey is also the primary focus of his latest book Serious Eater: A Food Lover’s Perilous Quest for Pizza and Redemption. 

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Restaurant guides have been around for centuries since Grimod de La Reyniére published his Almanach des Gourmandes in1804. These guides were usually opinions of one writer about upscale restaurants or coupled with travel guides. Then along came Zagat in 1979, a restaurant guide for the people by the people founded by Tim and Nina Zagat. Forty years since its launch it is enjoying a resurrection of sorts. After having been dormanat for a few years TheInfatuation.com bought the rights to Zagat and has just published the first new NYC edition, and plans for more. The editor-in-chief Hillary Reinsberg joins Linda to share the story of its rebirth.

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