Smy Goodness Podcast : Food History & Food Art

Goose - the squatted, more flavourful, dark meat alternative to their dry, white-melted fowl cousin the turkey. The custom and popularity of eating a goose during autumnal and winter harvest and holidays stretches from when they were domesticated by the Egyptians over 4000 years ago. This episode looks at traditions throughout the ages including the long-running Tavistock Goosey Fair, Michaelmas, the Smithfield's Market Christmas Eve Sale and the goose/turkey dynamic of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.

It works sweet or savoury and can be oh-so overpowering if you let it. It's not my favourite spice and is one that I use sparingly so that it doesn't dominate a dish, but properly balanced, cinnamon brings warmth and depth of flavour to dishes all year round but particularly at Christmas. We'll look at its importance throughout the ancient world, how beneficial it is in terms of health and how it is only recently enjoyed by the masses. Artwork from 'Tractatus de Herbis' by Dioscorides, 15th century.

These small, round, bright-red berries are more tart than sweet which makes them a perfect accompaniment to roast meat and dinners bringing a nice bright dash of Christmas red to ones plate. This week we look at how these North American fruits have become part of Christmas, gained status as a superfood and the many ways they can be enjoyed throughout the holidays and year-round.

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When I was little I was sure that someone with magical powers had shrunk cabbages into bite size portions. If you don't think they taste delicious, you're probably cooking them wrong! And if you're just eating them at Christmas…well lots of people do but they deserve a place at the table beyond the Christmas holidays and sprouts are a £650,000,000 business with loads of varieties to try and inventive pairings and ways to prepare them. Artwork from Amedee Varin.

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Mincemeat and mince pies are markers of Christmas. Mincemeat is the filling baked inside pies and they originally contained dried fruit, spices, vinegar and meat when they first appeared in the 15th century. There's the old wives' tale that you should eat a mince pie on each of the 12 days of Christmas for good luck in the upcoming year...if I eat two per day will it bring me double the good luck next year? Listen for a brief look at the history, art and design of mincemeat.

This week I sat down with Tim Parker the Web Developer, Designer, DJ and host of the NTS radio programme You'll Soon Know. We discussed food and music memories, travel, design and how we approach and share all of the above.

Before my chat with Tim I look at the history of plates from our pre-history days as humans and their quick evolution from functional pieces to decorative, artistic and even space exploring items. The work of Judy Chicago, Chloe Wise, Dr Amanda Furman's The Ascent of Woman, the Voyager Golden records and more are discussed.

Figs are one of the earliest if not our earliest cultivated plant. Their reverence surely stems from their historic connection to our own agricultural journey and they are a symbol of abundance and important to ancient peoples, cultures, art, cookery and religions. They are symbols of fertility, wealth, youth and the brevity of life. This episode will look at the Greek etymology behind 'sycophancy' and the Roman Apicius' recipe for fegato. Artists discussed include Giovanna Garzoni, Albrecht Durer, Clara Peeters, Suzanne Valadon, Vivienne Westwood and Figs in Wigs.

They occur all over the world in some shape or form - you might know them as ravioli, empanada, gyoza, fufu, piroges, tortellini - pastries filled with savoury meat and/or vegetables or even sweet versions filled with fruit. They can be steamed, boiled, broiled, baked or fried.

This episode will focus on the Chinese dumpling, and look at how this ancient food is the epitome of a food so steeped in art, history and design that, when done properly, is a little edible works of art. I will focus specifically on jiaozi, guotie, zongzi and wonton dumplings and look at stories of the Silk Road, the Chinese physician Zhang Zhongjing, the poet Qu Yuan and how dumplings, family and festivals are always linked together. I will be talking with Tongtong (Tungtong) Ren and Peiran Gong - the owners and chefs of Chinese Laundry Room. We'll discuss the originality behind both their restaurant and the path that has taken them from their native China to London. Art by Shaoqiang Chen, Qi Baishi, Yiying L and more.

Grapes are one of the first plants to be grown domestically by people and their cultivation cycle has been embedded deep within us. One only needs to look at the symbolic, religious and cultural importance of grapes to get a small fathoming of what they must have meant to the early peoples who first fermented them to what they mean across the world today. Since Ancient Greece artists have used grapes to show off their artistic skills by capturing the beauty held within both the individual grapes and as a whole bunch on their vines. Grapes are symbolic of harvests, abundance, fertility and luxury. Grapes feature in association with Dionysus, the Greek God and his Roman equivalent Bacchus, who were the both Gods of wine, vegetation, pleasure, festivity, madness and wild frenzy. We'll look at the art of Zeuxis, Juan Fernandez El Labrador, Louise Moillon, Luca Forte, Georgia O'Keeffe, Alfred Steiglitz and Grimanesa Amoros. Their impact cannot be downplayed; grapes are intertwined with humans as the vines that they grow on. An allegory to life and times of abundance and drought, hard work, establishing roots and pruning for the future, and just generally the beautiful outcomes of all of the above and the celebrations and things shared alongside it.

Show Notes: 0-2.30 - Episode Intro 2.30-7.30 - Ice cream, history and design 7.30-10.15 - Picasso, Axell, Burman - artists and ice cream depiction 10.15 - 57 - Tara Esperanza of T.O.I.C. interview 57-59 - episode closing comments

This week it's ice cream! Listen above to hear how, why and when ice cream became the world-wide popular dish that it is is. Everyone has their own memories and preferences relating to this frozen treat that it delicious served with fruit, cake in a cone or on its own - I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream. We'll uncover where ice cream originated and how design helped it to go from a food reserved only for the wealthy elite to a food enjoyed by people of all ages, backgrounds all over the world. We'll look at artworks that celebrate this food that is so connected to our pleasure senses. I'll be looking at the artwork of Pablo Picasso, Evelyne Axell and Chila Kumari Burman. Tara Esperanza owner of TOIC Tara's Organic Ice Cream

artwork by Tara Esperanza

Picasso - Man with A Straw Hat and an Ice Cream, 1938

Evelyne Axell - Ice Cream, 1964

Agnes B Marshall, the Victorian culinary businesswoman aka "The Queen of Ices" (1855-1905)

Alfred L. Cralle, African American businessman and inventor of the ice cream scoop and shaper(1866-1920)

Chila Kumari Burman - Cornet and Screwballs go Vegas, mixed media, 2010

Tara Esperanza of Tara's Organic Ice Cream and I chatted about ice cream, food culture, memories, trends and the artistry of food. Tara and I go way back and her passion is such an inspiration as a friend, artist, woman and businessperson. You can find Tara's Organic Ice Cream at their two California shops, one in Oakland and one in Berkeley. They have a loyal following owing to their ethos of organic, hand-crafted, quality and sustainability and their offering of over 173 flavours which are made with limited availability or seasonal ingredients.

Smy Goodness 6 Pepper Jelly ice cream in a brownie bowl