If This Food Could Talk

We are putting together a show all about the special dishes in our lives. Be they elaborate all day affairs or quick and simple we know it's not just about nutrients and taste, it's about people and story. So, we want to hear from you! As we are nearing the holidays and the end of the year, we are thinking about the food in our own families and lives. We all have recipes that have been passed down… or even meals that … stay with us. What do these dishes say about who we are, and where we come from? 

That’s the question we want YOU to answer. We’d like you to share a recipe and story about a dish you love. And we want to hear specifics: How did this dish find its way into your life? Is it served on a special occasion or in a special way? Can you tell us about a time that you made it – or it was made for you? Who was it with, and why was it special for you? 

Please record a voice memo for us. Include your name, the dish or meal you’re thinking about, and the backstory. We’d also love for you to email us the recipe! Send your voice memo and recipe to [email protected]

We may use your voice and story in an upcoming episode and the recipe on our website. We can’t wait to hear from you! 

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As a child in eastern France, Jacques Pépin learned never to waste a scrap of food. Raised during and after the rationing of WWII, he watched closely as his mother, Jeanette, built a successful career as a restaurateur by the skin of her teeth (and her chickens). Today, Jacques is a beloved celebrity chef. And yet he’s never forgotten what he knows about keeping food, and life delicious, without squandering ingredients or time. Jacques sits down with Host Claudia Hanna to explain how what he calls “miserly” cooking became his philosophy and his superpower. He shares how this approach has served him in the humblest, and the highest, of kitchens, and how you can apply it in yours, too. Plus – over Jacques’ long career, there have been some pretty radical changes in people’s attitudes about food waste. Food Historian Helen Veit joins us to explain why what we eat, and what we throw away, has changed so much in just a few generations. 

Hosted by Claudia Hanna

Episode Guests:

Jacques Pépin is a chef, author, television personality, educator, and artist, and has starred in twelve acclaimed American Public Television cooking series. His dedication to culinary education led to the creation of the Jacques Pépin Foundation in 2016. He is the winner of sixteen James Beard Awards and author of more than thirty books, the most recent of which is Jacques Pépin: Cooking My Way.

Helen Veit specializes in the history of food in the U.S. Her first book, Modern Food, Moral Food: Self-Control, Science, and the Rise of Modern American Eating in the Early Twentieth Century was a 2014 James Beard Award finalist. 

Recipes:

Claudia’s Homemade Caesar Dressing

Leftover Hacks

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In recent years, more and more fermented foods like kimchi, probiotic yogurt and kombucha have hit supermarket shelves in America, along with news of their purported health benefits. But where did fermentation come from, and how did this ancient practice help change the landscape of our world?

Today, on If This Food Could Talk, we are taking a deep dive into the art and science of fermentation – a food practice with a universal history. One that is deeply intertwined with the evolution of humanity itself. 

We’ll meet New York Times bestselling author and fermentation expert Sandor Katz, and follow his journey from New York City to the hills of Tennessee. Along the way we’ll discover how fermentation has changed the landscape of our world. And we’ll hear why Sandor believes reclaiming these ancient practices may have an important role to play in our collective future.

We’ll also speak with James Beard Award winning chef Ann Kim, about the traditional Korean fermentation practice that helps her celebrate her heritage. 

Hosted by Claudia Hanna

Episode Guests:

Sandor Katz, fermentation expert and author of New York Times Bestseller “The Art of Fermentation” 

Ann Kim, James Beard Award-winning chef and restaurateur. Owner of Pizzeria Lola, Hello Pizza, Young Joni and Sooki & Mimi

Recipes:

Authentic Tzatziki 

Make your Own Yogurt from Scratch! 

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In the Mediterranean, olive oil is more than an ingredient. It’s a way of life. For thousands of years, the humble olive has been used for everything under the sun. It’s been made into a cooking oil, a holy offering, a balm, a bite-sized snack, and even sunscreen. Today, we’re taking you to the ancient Greek isle of Crete to explore the early life of one of the oldest living olive trees in the world and to uncover its sacred relationship with the Minoan people. We’ll then follow olive oil’s influence from past to present with a guided tasting from an olive oil sommelier. Plus, we share a few tips on how to choose and store your olive oil, and a roasted olive recipe that will be the star at your next dinner party.

Hosted by Claudia Hanna

Episode Guests:

-Diane Kochilas (Cookbook author, Host of My Greek Table)

-Tassos Kyriakides (Olive Oil Sommelier & Associate Professor, Yale School of Public Health)

-Anaya Sarpaki (Archaeologist and Olive Oil Preservationist)

Recipe:

Roasted Black Olives

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Americans can’t seem to get enough pizza. We eat billions of pies every year. So, how did this love affair with pizza begin? Look back with us to the Persian Empire, where young soldiers fill their bellies with flatbread cooked over an open flame. Then travel to 18th century Naples, as pizzaiolos slice thick wedges of pizza on Napoli streets. Plus, meet a modern-day pizzaiolo in the Midwest and learn to bake the perfect pizza crust, with just the right amount of chewiness and crunch.

Hosted by Claudia Hanna

Guests: 

Carol Helstosky, history professor at the University of Denver and author of Pizza: A Global History 

Brian DiCintio, founder of DiCintio’s Pizza Cucina in Marlow, Oklahoma 

Recipes from this episode:

Persian Flatbread Recipe

Pizza Dough Recipe

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America loves ice cream and we think we know the story of the delicious treat, but join us as we explore the ties of this frozen dessert to surprise and delight us during different eras of our country’s past. We'll venture back in time to the diplomatic dinner parties of the founding fathers, where ice cream took on mesmerizing disguises using molds reminiscent of "Is It Cake." Discover how ice cream's evolution intertwined with the rise of nutrition science, pharmacy innovations, and the temperance movement, transforming soda fountains into sanctuaries for women and children. And don't miss the inspiring story of the U.S. Navy's ice cream barge, a floating morale booster during WWII. As a cherry on top, we'll share a tantalizing rum raisin recipe that bridges the gap between history and your taste buds. Tune in for a scoop of history that'll leave you craving more.

Hosted by Claudia Hanna

Guests:

-Sarah Wassberg Johnson, food historian (https://www.thefoodhistorian.com) 

-Samantha Brown, host of Samantha Brown's Places to Love on public television ( https://samantha-brown.com/)

Recipes:

Homemade Rum Raisin Ice Cream

Vegan Rosewater Muhallebi

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Everything we eat has a story to tell. What does our food say about who we are, where we come from, and about the way we live? How does it help us connect with neighbors and understand foreign cultures? Aside from being delicious, why do we care so much about food? American Public Television (APT) – the public media home of acclaimed lifestyle series like America’s Test Kitchen and The Best of the Joy of Painting with Bob Ross – has launched APT Podcast Studios with their first original production: If This Food Could Talk, history for everyone who eats. Each episode, Mediterranean lifestyle expert Claudia Hanna takes a look into the world’s pantry and comes back with incredible, savory, and sound-rich stories of how much food means and has meant to all of us, ranging from the million-dollar ice-cream-making barge that was deployed by the US Navy during WWII, to the olive oil used to mummify Egyptian royalty.

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