Masters of Social Gastronomy

Masters of Social Gastronomy fearlessly takes on food topics, breaking down the history, science, and stories behind hiding behind them. Up this month: ice cream!

Sarah will unearth the stories behind our favorite ice cream treats and share some of history’s wildest bygone flavors – that may be due for a revival. By the end of the night, you’ll be able to answer questions like: which came first, chocolate or vanilla? The ice cream sandwich or the ice cream cone? Neapolitan or liquid nitrogen?

Meanwhile, Soma will show you the science behind making the perfect batch at home, and Big Ice Cream’s tricks for plumping up their profit margins. We’ll also track frozen desserts across the globe, from Italian gelato to dondurma, the magically stretchy ice cream from Turkey.

The Masters of Social Gastronomy podcast is back! The third Monday on every month, we bring you our LIVE show, taped at Caveat NYC!

This month, Sarah and Soma tackle BODEGAS. Explore the history of bodegas and their connection to the origins of New York City itself. Hear how wave after wave of immigrants – Germans, Dominicans, Koreans, and more – each left their mark upon this New York institution.

We also stories some of your favorite bodega products. What exactly is hiding in that Boar’s Head deli meat, and why is it the undisputed king of New York sandwiches?

And bodega cats. Lots of bodega cats.

Photo by Flickr user Matt MacGillivray

Sarah covers the history of Chinese take out, whisking you away on a tour of Chinatown a century ago, where chop suey houses served entrees considered exotic by droves of hungry New Yorkers. Soma reveals the stories behind our modern American Chinese food experience, from the man behind General Tso’s to who put the magic in your fortune cookie.

Sarah tells you the real history of Thanksgiving, with historic recipes and the stories behind your favorite side dishes! Soma's gonna help you cook your turkey right! Plus: why you should serve eels this year, and what's spatchcock?

We’ll track the history of chocolate from its roots as an ancient Mesoamerican beverage to its current world-championship status. You’ll learn how a yellow, football-shaped tropical fruit transforms into high-end dark chocolate and what “Mexican Hot Chocolate” actually has in common with what Montezuma drank. Burning questions of modern confectionery will be answered: What’s better, milk or dark? Why does Hershey’s have its own theme park? Is imported European chocolate worth the price? Why does white chocolate suck?

What's a timber doodle? How do you make a gin sling? Where did the cocktail straw come from?

The cocktail is credited as one of America’s greatest inventions. Sarah and Soma will examine the dawn of the cocktail and trace the origins of some of our country’s most beloved imbibements. You’ll learn how to make the drinks that got your ancestors drunk: the sherry cobbler, the mint julep and more. We'll talk blue blazers and Jerry Thomas, and Soma reveals tips for making the best modern cocktails: the secrets of the right ice and shaken vs. stirred.

On this week’s Masters of Social Gastronomy podcast, we’ll look at the culinary world’s experiments with illicit substances.

Let’s get high with the Victorians! From patent medicines to absinthe, Coca-Cola to laughing gas, we’ll look at all the forms of socially acceptable substance abuse during the 19th century.

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This time on the Masters of Social Gastronomy podcast, we’re talking about **sugar and artificial sweeteners**

If you’ve ever crossed the Williamsburg Bridge, then you’ve surely noticed the towering structures of the defunct Domino’s Sugar factory. In this month’s MSG we’ll explore Brooklyn in an era when sugar was king, as well as take a behind-the-scenes peek at its modern day inheritor Sweet n’ Low.

But is giving in to our sweet tooth digging our own graves? Let’s break down the science behind the fear of sugar, from carcinogenic artificial sweeteners to the possible perils of that ubiquitous high fructose corn syrup.

On this week’s Masters of Social Gastronomy podcast, we’ll look at the culinary world’s experiments with illicit substances.

Let’s get high with the Victorians! From patent medicines to absinthe, Coca-Cola to laughing gas, we’ll look at all the forms of socially acceptable substance abuse during the 19th century.

Later, we’ll fast-forward to modern-day America, and explore the little known true history of the pot brownie. We’ll survey the range of altered-state culinary concoctions and see what both science and chefs have to say about creating the most effective epicurean euphoria.

This month on the Masters of Social Gastronomy podcast, we break into the secret world of hot peppers to pull back the curtain on everyone’s favorite Rooster-branded hot sauce and the worldwide affection for spicy, spicy food.

Follow Sriracha from its humble baby-food-jar beginnings to its current status as a Tabasco-challenging juggernaut. We’ll take a behind-the-scenes look at its California factory and see how sriracha just might be as American as apple pie.

Once you escape the potatoes-and-cream tyranny of European cuisine, a culinary dedication to heat can be found everywhere. We’ll examine what makes Thai food tick and where Indian vindaloo gets its muscle. From mild jalapeños to record-holders like the Ghost Pepper and Trinidad Moruga Scorpion, find out what makes a veggie pack such a powerful punch!