For Nashville native Anne Byrn, baking is an art, and everyone who mixes, measures and bakes is an artist in their own right — whether that means following a beloved recipe to the letter, or improvising to get the taste just right. Her own mother was an excellent home cook who only had to read a recipe to know what it would taste like. And she was an early influence on Anne, who is now a bestselling cookbook author.

Her latest book, Baking in the American South, is much more than a cookbook; it's also a story anthology, tracing the history of 200 recipes — everything from creamed chicken on egg bread to cantaloupe cream pie — through the diverse cultures and foodways of the region. For Anne, a former food editor at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (and onetime Banner intern), sometimes the story is just as sweet as the food.

Guest: Anne Byrn, cookbook author

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Steve Haruch and Andrea Tudhope

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