It’s been nearly ninety years since Irma S. Rombauer self-published the first edition of Joy of Cooking in 1931.  It quickly rose in popularity and soon became the “kitchen bible,” shaping the recipes and techniques of home cooks. Irma’s daughter, Marion Rombauer Becker, revised and wrote the 6th edition in 1975, now considered a classic.  Today there is a new, modern edition which reclaims many of the lost recipes over the years and adds a few new ones. John Becker, Marion's grandson and great-grandson of Irma , and his wife Megan Scott spent nine years revising and updating the recipes and information for the newest Joy of Cooking.  They share their stories of that effort with Linda on this episode.

Episode 340: Joy of Cooking - Redux

Culinary historian Linda Pelaccio takes a journey through the history of food. Take a dive into food cultures through history, from ancient Mesopotamia and imperial China to the grazing tables and deli counters of today. Tune in as Linda, along with a guest list of culinary chroniclers and enthusiasts, explores the lively links between food cultures of the present and past.

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Peruvian gastronomy is one of the most diverse cuisines in the world, consisting of an extensive variety of distinctive dishes characteristic of each city in the country, stemming from the bio diversity of their agriculture. Robert Bradley, author of Eating Peru, talks about the history of the cuisine.

Gastronomic Journey of Peru

From growing up in a Kibbutz, to a life in New York City where her work sits at the intersection of food, culture, community building, and art, landing her in a profile article in Vogue, Naama Shefi is a leader in promoting the foods of Israel and archiving the recipes of Jewish communities around the world. On this episode, we speak with Naama about her many projects, including the newest: a beautiful new book, The Jewish Holiday Table.

Jewish Food Society: Preserving the Jewish Culinary Heritage from Around the World

Drawing on Slow Food's Ark of Taste, a list of endangered foods throughout the world, culinary historian Sarah Lohman decided to look closer at the American local culinary traditions and rare, cherished foods that are in peril of becoming lost. She shares the stories of her travels and the people who work with these foods in her new book, Endangered Eating, and talks about them on this episode of A Taste of the Past.

Endangered Foods

Based on years of observation, ethnographic fieldwork, and countless shared meals, mother and son Merry White and Ben Wurgaft explore how our foods reach our plates and how every bite is part of a complex web of social meaning and value. From the Venetian spice trade to the Columbian Exchange, from Roman garum to Vietnamese nớc chấm, from the origins of agriculture to contemporary debates over culinary authenticity, they uncover new ways to understand food and the social rules that shape our meals.

Ways of Eating

Fasting from food is a controversial, dangerous, and yet utterly normal human practice. Christine Baumgarthuber discusses our fascination with restrictive eating in cultural history from her new book, Why Fast? If fasting offers few health benefits, why do people fast? Why have we always fasted? Does fasting speak to something deep and immutable within us? Why are our bodies so well adapted to intermittent fasting? And, what might this ancient, ascetic ritual offer us today?

Episode 340: Joy of Cooking - Redux

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