Milk - the quintessential wholesome beverage. But in 1930s New York City, it sparked a decade-long battle of epic proportions. Pitting dairy farmers against corporations, unions against consumers, this "Milk War" plunged the city into chaos as supplies dwindled and public safety hung in the balance over...a glass of milk? Listen in to this utterly …

Milk - the quintessential wholesome beverage meant to "do a body good." But what sinister secrets lie beneath the pure white surface? Listen as Kim and Leigh tell the shocking tale of a scandal that plagued 19th century New York, when corrupt dairies were essentially poisoning the city's children for profit. This diabolical saga exposes the dark un…

Dig into the seedy underbelly of the food world, where corporate titans wage secret wars over seemingly innocent products like eggless mayonnaise and hot coffee. From multi-million dollar legal battles to covert smear campaigns, this episode exposes the cloak-and-dagger tactics used by Big Food to protect profits - even if it means burning victims …

From daring bootleggers to shocking corporate misdeeds and culinary espionage we uncover the criminal underbelly of oleo misadventures. Crimes Against Butter and the Margarine Misdeeds Who knew that something as innocent as butter could ignite a war between industries and the public? The latest episode of the As We Eat podcast dives into the crimin…

Unveiling the Dark Side of Love: Food & Crime In the lavish courts of 17th century France, where opulence danced hand in hand with intrigue, one woman held sway over the hearts of the elite. Her name was Catherine Monvoisin, but history remembers her as La Voisin, a figure shrouded in mystery and infamy. Join us as we peel back the layers of decept…

Come with us on a journey of deadly liberation as a popular apothecary brews a recipe for freedom, liberating over 600 women from abuse at the hands of those who should have protected them. Sources We Found Helpful for this Episode A Woman to Know: Giulia Tofana Guilia Tofana: World’s Most Dangerous Apothecary The Role of Women During the Italian R…

Indulge your senses and delve into the dark world of food and crime in our latest episode. Join us as we unravel the chilling tale of Christiana Edmunds, forever etched in history as the Chocolate Cream Killer of Brighton. From obsession to poisonings, this Victorian-era saga will keep you on the edge of your seat, questioning the thin line between…

Welcome to Season 4 of the As We Eat podcast, where we'll be delving into the intersection of Food & Crime, unearthing fascinating stories from history. Today, we journey back to 19th century Paris, France, to uncover the enigmatic tale of Marie Lafarge, a young woman whose life took a dark turn amidst the backdrop of privilege and deception. In th…

This season we will be focusing on the intersection of Food & Crime. Come along with us as we investigate poisonings, discover adulterated food-stuffs, and infiltrate organized food crime circles. It should prove to be a decadently deadly, fraught with fraud, culinarily criminal journey! Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/as-we-eat8938…

We’re wrapping Season 3 with some of our favorite things. Though it is always hard to pick a favorite episode - it’s like being asked to choose a favorite child, or cat - we each share a cookbook that has won an award from being the funniest read, to providing the newest perspective. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/as-we-eat8938/don…

Can you believe that it’s time for our Annual Pie Episode. Neither can we. But we’re super excited to have had the opportunity to talk with Kate McDermott, author of Art of the Pie and as Kim calls her, Head Baker at Pie Cottage. Join us as Kate answers some listener questions and shares the experience of writing a cookbook. We started this season …

Join us on a journey of unexpected joy found right in Kim’s pantry, all thanks to the timeless culinary companion, "The Joy of Cooking" by Irma Rombauer. In today's episode, Leigh and Kim dive into the story of finding the inspiration to transform some stale tortilla chips and a forgotten can of green chiles into a delicious Tex Mex dish, and why J…

While we take a holiday break, we wanted to share a past episode that we hope will inspire your pie making endeavors for the Thanksgiving holiday. We return to the origins of pie specialties as Leigh surveys the ingenuity of pie bakers and cooks who built empires on fairly basic pie recipes originating in Western Europe. Next, Kim speaks on how the…

Some of the books on our cookbook shelves wander in because they are or were all the rage, some are there because we’re interested in a particular cuisine. But some of there as part of our legacy of cooking and have become iconic. Join us as we discuss one of America’s iconic cookbooks. A cookbook that’s in its ninth edition and spans over nine dec…

In this episode, we dive into the world of Dwarven cuisine with the 'Smoked Sausages and Kraut with Dwarven Mustard' recipe from 'Heroes' Feast.' Discover how this hearty dish comes to life, and follow our culinary journey bridging the gap between imagination and reality. Join us in celebrating the magic of food and the connections it weaves in our…

Cookbooks take many approaches to inspiring readers to try new foods or to revisit familiar ones as a way to find common ground, especially amongst people with a shared fandom. In this episode, Kim and Leigh discuss “Heroes’ Feast,” the official cookbook for the popular Dungeons & Dragons game as an example of how fandom-based cookbooks blend food …

It would be ridiculous to suggest that one dish can represent all the mystery and majesty of human civilization, but inspiration can be a powerful force. In this episode, a single dish from the 1903 edition of The Settlement Cookbook sparked a deep conversation about the transformative power of food and its role in shaping civilizations, from the b…

From a culinary guide with the goal of assimilation to a symbol of cultural recognition, we’ll dive into a cookbook that bridged cultures and funded social programs. This cookbook taught immigrant women to cook American dishes and became a cultural talisman passed down generations. It’s a story that showcases how one cookbook became a powerful tool…

Food uniquely bridges our history and culture, bearing stories of resilience, connection, and sustenance across generations. Today, we dive into the flavors and heritage of The Sioux Chef's Indigenous Kitchen through a recipe that spotlights three indigenous ingredients woven into a rich tapestry of ancestral foodways. Hey there, it's Leigh, and I'…

It seems that the faster and more urban our lives grow, the more we seek ways and means to “return” to our roots - including the foods we eat. Realizing that he knew very little about the foodways of the Oglala Sioux community where he was raised, Chef Sean Sherman began the task of researching and sharing the ways and means of food indigenous to N…

As We Eat continues its exploration of seminal cookbooks with tried and true attempts at some of the recipes from Clemtine Paddleford’s “How America Eats.” This monumental volume (Kim’s revised edition weighs in at 500 recipes and nearly 900 pages!) chronicles Clementine’s journey around the United States to gather stories of real people and the re…

Giving voice, using our voice, and listening are key to community building. Leigh and Kim explore how the art of sharing recipes can give voice to a nation, as they discuss how Clementine Paddleford documented the voices that satisfy hometown appetites in her seminal cookbook, How America Eats. All Who Wander… Join us on a journey with Clementine P…

Kim and Leigh explore two recipes from Nicole Taylor’s cookbook Watermelon & Red Birds that not only give a glimpse into a culture’s culinary history, but look into future culinary explorations of black culture and influence. Episode Transcript 🎧 Click here for the full, interactive transcript of this episode 🎧 We would love to connect with you AsW…

Summer is full of reasons to celebrate - either for our personal victories of graduation or fatherhood but also on a more profound scale with federal holidays like Independence Day. In this new episode of As We Eat, Kim and Leigh explore how one author is not only bringing attention to the food traditions of Black celebrations like Juneteenth, but …

In this episode, we continue As We Eat’s journey exploring "How to Cook and Eat in Chinese" by Buwei Yang Chao, an esteemed author who invited readers to experience what it means to both cook and eat Chinese food. As we continue our dive into the world of Chinese cooking, we peel back the layers of stereotypes that have often misrepresented this di…

Today we’ll journey through a fascinating cookbook whose purpose was to inform, educate and break through ingrained stereotypes. How to Cook and Eat in Chinese is a cultural road map into Chinese culture through its food and culinary traditions with some humorous and personal twists and turns along the way. From the Chinese Exclusion Act to the Box…

Grab your favorite glass of Burgundy and settle in as Leigh and Kim discuss what Leigh learned about making an iconic dish that epitomizes the warmth, hospitality, and culinary traditions of French culture. Leigh even shares what she discovered about herself when making coq au vin from Mastering the Art of French Cooking while Kim talks about the t…

It’s no secret that Leigh and Kim are fans of Julia Child - a culinary icon who revolutionized the way Americans think about food and cooking. Julia Child made cooking accessible and fun, and her legacy lives on today through her timeless recipes, television show episodes, her cookbooks, and through the work of the many chefs and food lovers she in…

Today, Kim shares her experience with a recipe intended to ease the strain of entertaining and leave time for more important matters, like gaining votes for women. We would love to connect with you AsWeEat.com, on Instagram @asweeat, join our new As We Eat community on Facebook, or subscribe to the As We Eat Journal. Do you have a great idea 💡 for …

You may know that the woman suffrage movement played a significant role in winning women the right to vote. But are you aware that an important tool that they employed to educate, persuade, and build community was cookbooks? Kim and Leigh discuss how one of the movement’s self-published community cookbooks would serve as a testament to the suffrage…

Today, Leigh shares her experience with a recipe that embodies the feeling of home: Edna Lewis' Beef a là Mode from A Taste of Country Living. The recipes in this auto-biographical cookbook are full of warmth, flavor, and nostalgia, and Beef a là Mode is no exception. This classic comfort food was a favorite of Edna’s family during the winter month…

Season 3 kicks off with a cookbook with a heartfelt message of seasonality. The Taste of Country cooking by Chef Edna Lewis provides a beautifully written canvas for Kim and Leigh explore what it means to eat seasonally, and what it means to be home. Despite growing up in a figurative cornucopia of produce in California, Kim struggled to feel a con…

2022 was an eventful year for Leigh and Kim, and we laid everything on the table for As We Eat this year. Across 20 episodes, we ladled out many stories about how the ways we cook, eat, and share meals make food such a key component of our homes, our communities, and our culture. In this final episode for 2022, Leigh and Kim discuss our favorite ep…

Pies have claimed their stake at the feast table long before there was a national celebration of Thanksgiving. Largely originating in England, pies both small and large served royals and peasants alike with fillings of meat, fruits, and spices from faraway lands. Immigrants from Great Britain brought pie traditions over the Atlantic and expanded th…

Today marks the first of two festive days collectively known as Días de los Muertos, a Hispanic folk holiday to remember the souls of those departed and to temporarily welcome them home with a vibrant celebration of color, food, and music. Leigh and Kim go beyond the veil to reveal the origins of two iconic food traditions: Pan de Muerto and Calave…

Of the three cereal grains consumed around the world, rice is a versatile foodstuff with an interesting history. As a food staple, it nourishes more than half of the 7.75 billion people on our planet, but it means so much more to us than merely grains in a bowl - this is the stuff upon which empires are built. For this episode, As We Eat follows th…

Whether served fried, steamed, or boiled, dumplings can tell the story of a geography by how it's cooked and eaten . As We Eat concludes its three-part series exploring the global cuisine of dumplings with our third installment examining the twin stories of the “dumpling” darling of a classic American comfort food. Are you Team Fluffy or Team Slick…

Whether served fried, steamed, or boiled, a dumpling filled with local ingredients feeds the mind with a taste of its history. As We Eat is embarking in a three-part series exploring the global cuisine of dumplings, and our second episode takes us over Silk Road trade routes into Europe where we explore the culinary impact of such European delights…

Whether served fried, steamed, or boiled, a well-shaped dumpling offers a tasty perfect bite along with a well-intentioned wish for luck, prosperity, and good health. As We Eat is embarking in a three-part series exploring the global cuisine of dumplings, and our first episode starts with a survey of the intersection of food and medicine with a dee…

With as few as three ingredients, dough can transform into some of the world’s most seminal dishes - pizza, pasta, bread, and more. Join As We Eat as we rise to the occasion and dish up some fascinating history and cultural impacts of dough. The Limitless Capacity of Dough Dough has a nearly limitless capacity depending on its ingredients, leavenin…

The story of fruit spreads and how they become staples of the breakfast table is as much about the similarities between fruit and techniques to preserve it as the story is of its differences. In today’s episode, we briefly revisit the origins of food preservation to show how the fundamental desire to be able to revisit the taste of fresh, sweet str…

Cookbooks provide context into a specific cuisine; allow its reader to emulate royal diets; provide meaningful instruction in how to nourish and nurture others with food; or even just whet the imagination and the appetite. This latest installment of As We Eat’s Kitchen Technology series turns our attention to the cookbook - a powerhouse culinary to…

Did Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson nibble on Black & White cookies while composing their famous “Ebony & Ivory” duet? We may never know the answer to that question, but As We Eat can tell you about the origins of the Black & White cookie (and its Half Moon cookie cousin) which became a well known metaphor for racial harmony thanks to an episode…

The first episode of a new As We Eat series highlights the accomplished lives and careers of Leah Chase and Edna Lewis - two African-American chefs who not only had brilliant careers but whose work in the culinary world highlights how important food culture is to community-building. We know good food when we eat it, but how often do we know the nam…

Celebrated throughout the United States since 1865, June 19th is marked by lots of good food with a particular emphasis on the colors red, yellow, and green. Kim & Leigh go behind the scenes to explore and learn more about Juneteenth and its tasty traditions. In 2021, the federal government of the United States added a new national holiday on June …

In today’s As We Eat episode, Leigh and Kim explore how the realms of food and military intersect, both in times of war and in times of peace. From ration cards on the home front to ceremonial cauldrons wielded by the Janissary Corps in the Ottoman Empire, the power of food affects how we grow, prepare, eat, and organize our military. In times of p…

Listen as Betty Ann shares her memories of a special childhood Sunday meal, how it become a touchstone for her family in America, and some surprising advice on how to make Spanish-style Filipino Cocido today. Armed with her mother's dog-eared cookbooks packed in her suitcase, Betty Ann Quirino and her family started a new life in a new country far …

In the latest episode of our “What’s in Your Pantry” series, Leigh and Kim plunge into the stories of two flavorful pantry staples that brighten up our foods and add some spark to our Bloody Mary’s - Worcestershire Sauce and Fish Sauce. Come for the correct way to pronounce Worcestershire Sauce and stay for the fish sauce suggestions! Sources We Fo…

Fish have played an integral part in sustaining cultures around the world. In this episode, we take a closer look at several classic fish stews and how they have come to define a specific region and represent the communities and cultures who make them. Although similar in their foundations, each stew is characterized by the unique, local ingredient…

Ever since humans first learned that most foods taste better when cooked, we sought ways to harness fire and ice. Too much heat or chill can burn and destroy our food just as much as too little can spoil all our efforts at a tasty, nutritious meal. Yet development of two of the most fundamental technologies in modern cooking - the stove and the ref…