THE HISTORY OF FOOD

Everyone knows the saying about what the world’s “oldest profession” is, but you will find a very close runner up in the kitchen. The history of those who cook professionally to make their living goes way, way back to the origins of civilization itself. It’s another epic journey across the ages, this time with a … Continue reading "HOF Episode 28: The Ancient History of Chefs"

Have you ever wondered if there’s more to history than dates and major events, what some of the stories and daily lives of regular people looked like? Do you need a reminder that history is populated with real people, who had lives just like we do? Come take a sweeping journey back into the past … Continue reading "HOF Episode 27: A Day in the Life (of a Peasant Farmer)"

When Britain industrialized in the late 1700s and the rest of the western world soon followed, humans were transformed to a degree not seen for 10,000 years when we first settled into farming life. But it wasn’t some simple flick of the switch, where some entrepreneurs decided to build some factories and invent the modern … Continue reading "HOF Episode 26: Factory Food (Industrial Revolution)"

Who founded America? George Washington? Thomas Jefferson? America had founding fathers alright, but they aren’t the ones you’re thinking of. Would you believe that African slaves and Indians were the true minds and bodies behind birthing America’s culture? It’s all true. Come listen to the story of how American ingredients , cooked by African Slaves, … Continue reading "HOF Episode 25: The Soul of American Cooking (Colonial USA)"

Is good cooking defined by ingredients, skill in preparation, style of cuisine, or is it something even more fundamental and deeply human? We left out of Africa all the way back in Episode 1, and rarely looked back, but in this episode we finally return to the vast continent, specifically south of the Sahara desert, … Continue reading "HOF Episode 24: The Feeling of Fullness (Sub Saharan Africa)"

Save this episode to go with your morning coffee. Sip that dark and bitter brew, maybe with cream and/or sugar, maybe not, and listen along as you learn of coffee’s origins, how it came to Europe, displaced alcohol and sobered everyone up, and how it would foster revolutions in finance, science, and philosophy. Thanks to … Continue reading "HOF Episode 23: The Great Sobering (Coffee and Colonialism)"

The “American Melting Pot” is far older, larger, and even more diverse than most people imagine. After Columbus reconnected Eurasia and Africa with the Americas, the world began to change in ways it never had before. Europeans, Africans, Asians, and American Indians began migrating out of their landmasses of origin. Some movement was voluntary, much … Continue reading "HOF Episode 22: Melting Pots and Fusion Foods (Globalization)"

What does it mean for one culture to “steal” from another? How often does it happen? Is it a bad thing when it does? Listen to explore those questions and more, as we visit the Far East once again, this time even farther east. . . to Japan and Korea. Also known. . . by … Continue reading "HOF Episode 21: Umami and Kimchi (Japan and Korea)"

For millions of years, the two main hemispheres of planet earth were separated by an impassible ocean. North/South America and Eurasia/Africa, two divergent ecosystems, food chains, and human civilizations. . . Then one day in 1492, a guy named Columbus passed that impassible ocean, and began the momentous and tumultuous process of bringing the Old … Continue reading "HOF Episode 20: The Columbian Exchange"

Did Europeans suddenly wake up one day, tired of Medieval living, and decide to change course, to rebirth themselves in modern ideas and start creating good art? Or, as usual, is the story something much more complicated, gradual, and subject to the influence of other cultures from outside? Hmm, I wonder?… Come listen for an … Continue reading "HOF Episode 19: Europe Wakes Up (The Renaissance)"

How did Europe get out of its dark ages? It’s not a wholesome story, as the secret to their success was mainly the conquest and plunder of other peoples’ luxury goods, namely their foods and spices. Classic Europe. Would it surprise if I told you that the Black Death did a lot to help as … Continue reading "HOF Episode 18: Crusades and Plagues (later Middle Ages)"

What makes humans special? What makes us rise above all the other animals across the planet, to discover and make great things? Before you answer with the obvious, ” our big brains and intelligence”, take a listen to this episode, for the surprising truth behind humanity’s success. In short, it’s not smarts that drive us, … Continue reading "HOF Episode 17: The Power of Tradition (China revisited)"

In Late Antiquity, without the Roman Empire around to control everything, forest and wilderness reclaimed Europe and its people went local. Start with that, then stir to combine with a rising Catholic Church, and you’ve got a recipe for a brand new culture, one that just might be the foundation of the modern western world. … Continue reading "HOF Episode 16: The Dark Bread Ages (Medieval Europe)"

Which ancient civilization made the most flavorful cuisine? Perhaps you could make a case for any of the cuisines and civilizations we’ve covered thus far, and no doubt each one has been best at something. But when it comes to pure, impact of flavor? Nobody beats India. Thanks to its geography, history, and available ingredients, … Continue reading "HOF Episode 15: Princes of Flavor (India)"

In what capacity can food serve a spiritual need? The answer is a whole lot! A little over two thousand years ago, the way people thought about themselves and the Universe was beginning to change. Ancient gods, pagan rituals, and beliefs were going out of style, no longer compatible with new, more modern ways of … Continue reading "HOF Episode 14: People of the Book"

Many great moments in civilization happened when cultures of the Far East, interacted with those in the West. Through all those moments, there was one region which sat between them, one which was always happy to be in the middle, mediating and facilitating exchange of culture, goods, and cusine. That region is Iran! Persia, Parthia, … Continue reading "HOF Episode 13: Empire of Shepherds (Iran)"

Welcome to the second Season of the History of Food! To kick things off, we’ll be walking ground we’ve tread before. The history of pastoral nomadism, that is the animal herders in Europe, Asia, and Africa, has frequently come up in our studies of urban civilizations, but until now, we’ve always looked at them from … Continue reading "HOF Episode 12: Herders of the Old World"

Rome. Probably what most people think of when they think “Ancient World”. In this episode, however, we discover that in terms of the culinary, the Roman Republic and then Empire was most distinguishable as a lens into the diets and cooking of the wider ancient World before it. Come listen to find out more. Music … Continue reading "HOF Episode 11: Bread and Circuses, but Mostly Bread (Rome)"

Of all the food discoveries made across the ancient world, few are more impressive than the domestication and then nixtamlization of maize (corn) in the lands that would one day be called Mexico and Central America. Mesoamerica is one of just three places where urban civilization evolved from scratch. Come listen, and be amazed how … Continue reading "HOF Episode 10: Hombres de Maíz (Mesoamerica)"

What does it mean to be a raw (barbarian) person vs. a cooked (civilized) person? To find out, our culinary and historical journey heads east. Far East, to the lands of the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers. Ancient China. Guzheng music for this episode performed by musician Bei Bei in Los Angeles, California and by Sound of … Continue reading "HOF Episode 9: Raw and Cooked (China)"