The Sporkful

Back in 2017, a far-right politician in France angered his supporters and caused a small scandal. The faux pas? Enjoying a plate of couscous. Couscous is one of the most popular dishes in France, and it’s also a symbol of North African immigration. So how does the food of a former colony become “French” — and how much credit should France get for its culinary influence on former colonies? Reporter Samia Basille tells the story of two dishes that have crossed borders as a result of French colonialism: couscous and banh mi. Samia is an Algerian-French woman whose mother grew up in a French colony, so for her, these stories are personal.

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell, with production this week by Samia Basille and voiceover by Isabelle Duriez.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

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On today’s show, we’re featuring two new cookbooks that we’re excited about, and the stories of the authors behind them. James Park’s new cookbook Chili Crisp: 50+ Recipes To Satisfy Your Spicy, Crunchy, Garlicky Cravings is a testament to how he’s never really followed the rules — and why that’s his secret weapon. Then we talk with Adeena Sussman, whose new book is Shabbat: Recipes and Rituals From My Table To Yours. Adeena spent years helping to write recipes for other peoples’ best-selling cookbooks, including Chrissy Teigen’s. Only recently did she start putting her own name on the cover — we talk about why.

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The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

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Breeders at Washington State University spent 20 years developing a completely new variety of apple: Cosmic Crisp. What exactly does it take to create a new kind of apple? And how do they come up with a name for it? We team up with Helen Zaltzman of The Allusionist podcast to learn about this apple innovation — and to heap a deserving amount of scorn on the ubiquitous, flavorless Red Delicious. Then we ask, four years after the apple’s launch, was it a success?

This episode originally aired on September 30, 2019, and was produced by Dan Pashman, Anne Saini, Ngofeen Mputubwele, Harry Huggins, John DeLore, and Jared O’Connell. The Sporkful production team now includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We asked for your food fights and hot takes, and you delivered! We hear about a 20-year dispute over a garlic aversion (with unsavory origins), get to the bottom of the best way to eat a pint of ice cream, and challenge Dan’s long-standing feud with spaghetti. Joining Dan to dish out wisdom are two opinionated, food-obsessed women of letters: Jiayang Fan and Samantha Irby. Jiayang and Sam also come with their own hot takes on Sichuanese beef jerky, mayo, and store-bought vs. homemade food.   

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell, with help this week from Nick Liao and Casey Holford.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

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Foraged ingredients have become all the rage in high end restaurants, part of the move toward hyperlocal, farm-to-table ingredients. Of course, we humans have been foraging pretty much forever. And though it’s less common in America today, Jay Marion’s family never really stopped. Now he’s carrying on that family legacy in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, where he searches the woods and fields for all kinds of wild ingredients, to sell, and to eat. Dan joins Jay for a foraging walk, and hears the story of how his business got to where it is today. Jay might have gotten in early on a growing trend — but he never expected what happened next.

This episode originally aired on November 11, 2019, and was produced by Dan Pashman, Ngofeen Mputubwele, Harry Huggins, Tracey Samuelson, Hali Bey Ramdene, and Jared O'Connell. The Sporkful production team now includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

While the villages to the east and west have charming Main Streets, the small town of Greenlawn, sandwiched in between, has pickles. Dan stops by the annual Pickle Festival before diving into the story of Samuel Ballton, the formerly enslaved man who became Greenlawn’s Pickle King. Dan meets some of Samuel’s descendants as they celebrate the recognition he’s started to receive, and hears how learning about his story has affected them.

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell, with production this week by Johanna Mayer and editing this week by Kameel Stanley.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

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Today we tackle news in the world of food that’s at turns substantive, silly, and surprising in a new series we’re calling Salad Spinner! Take a spin with us as Dan chats with journalists Amanda Mull (The Atlantic) and Dennis Lee (The Takeout) about Instant Pot’s parent company declaring bankruptcy, Burger King’s rollout of a cheese sandwich monstrosity in Thailand, and what it means that the World Health Organization now deems aspartame “possibly carcinogenic.” Then the Spinner speeds up for a lightning round.

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A few years ago, Tommy Pico, a queer indigenous American poet, and lover of junk food, set out to learn how to cook. He wanted to get healthier, but also, he wanted a food culture to replace the one that was wiped out when the federal government forced his ancestors onto a reservation. Rather than turn to the past to connect with that culture, Tommy turned to friends to build a new one. His book Feed, an epic poem, is the result of that journey. Tommy and Dan chat about the horrors of airport vegetarian options (pesto-basil-mozzarella with soggy bread smh), what it’s like when the food you grow up with is connected to trauma, and how queerness and looking to the future creates an opportunity to make your own legacy. Tommy also reads his poem, “I See The Fire That Burns Inside You.”

This episode originally aired on November 4, 2019, and was produced by Dan Pashman, Ngofeen Mputubwele, Peter Clowney, Tracey Samuelson, and Jared O’Connell. The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

When the first Barbie Dreamhouse came out in 1962, it didn’t have a kitchen. Fast forward to today and there are a dozen chef Barbies. What does that say about Barbie, and about American food culture? We talk with Helene Siegel, author of The Barbie Party Cookbook (1991), about why Mattel resisted having Barbie cook for so long. Then Dan dines with food writer Helen Rosner at the pop-up Malibu Barbie Cafe in New York City. They debate whether a breakfast burrito is Barbie food and receive a show-stopping pink dessert.

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Once known for its glacial pace, ice news today is breaking. In the wake of Starbucks’ recent announcement that they’re changing their ice, we’re devoting an entire episode to the drink chiller in all its forms: pellet ice, giant ice cubes, bagged ice, and more. Ice cube reporter Camper English, author of The Ice Book, tells us about his breakthrough method for making crystal-clear ice, and which shapes work best for which drinks. Plus he helps us distill the Starbucks news, and we carve out some time to learn about ice history.

The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, and Jared O'Connell, with production this week by Johanna Mayer.

Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.