Every week, Milk Street Radio travels the world to find the most fascinating stories about food—a detective who tracks down food thieves and a look inside the most famous (and often scandalous) restaurant kitchens—and interviews with culinary icons such as José Andrés, Padma Lakshmi, Jacques Pépin, and Marcus Samuelsson. And on Milk Street Radio you can always find the unexpected: the comedian who ranks apples using an elaborate 100-point system, the scientists who study if vegetables have s ...
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Podcast by Peppered: A Food and Beverage Marketing Podcast
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Emeril Live! Up Close and Personal with Emeril Lagasse
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50:58This week, we’re looking at the pioneers of food television. Emeril Lagasse reflects on his unlikely start at the Food Network, how he’s different from his on-screen persona and why he just opened his first Portuguese restaurant. Plus, Michelle T. King tells the story of Fu Pei-mei, Taiwan’s first cooking TV star, our very own co-host and food TV s…
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Tamar Haspel of the Washington Post is here to share 10 truths about food that nobody wants to believe. From diet soda to organic vegetables to one overlooked fish, nothing is sacred. Plus, Amanda Herbert brings us inside history’s wildest dinner parties; Adam Gopnik reveals what your drink of choice says about you; we make Thai Coconut and Chicken…
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Everything You Need to Know about Sourdough (But Were Afraid to Ask)
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51:02Richard Hart is here with the hottest takes in bread baking and sourdough—why he doesn’t care about your old sourdough starter, what everyone gets wrong about supermarket bread, and why the bread in Paris is, well, lacking. Plus, antique bookseller Don Lindgren reveals the history of community cookbooks, J. Kenji López-Alt discovers the perfect way…
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Chocolate Flan, Cactus Sorbet and Guava Doughnuts: The Amazing World of Mexican Desserts
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51:02This week, we taste the sweeter side of Mexican cuisine with chef Fany Gerson. Traveling from Mexico City to Veracruz to Oaxaca, we explore regional confections like chili-flavored paletas and guava and cheese doughnuts. Plus, we take a seat at the Noir Bar with writer and television host Eddie Muller, who infuses classic cocktails with a cinematic…
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Food Predictions 2025: NYT's Kim Severson Speaks Out
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51:02Kim Severson of the New York Times predicts the biggest food trends of 2025—from dirty sodas and whiskey ketchup to the new supermarket and the ingredient of the year. Also up this week, we get a lesson in southern Thai cooking from Nok Suntaranon, we make Bread Dumplings in Broth, Adam Gopnik examines what happens when we quit the foods we love, a…
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Eat, Drink, Read: Dwight Garner's Obsession with Word and Table
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51:50We’re joined by New York Times book critic and author Dwight Garner. He presents food quips from his favorite writers, as well as John Updike’s lunch routine and Hunter S. Thompson’s party tricks. Plus, anthropologist Manvir Singh helps us digest the world of “meat-fluencers” and their all-meat diets; A Way with Words give credit to the Old Norse w…
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Best of 2024: Food Lies, Veggie Souls, Restaurant Secrets and Favorite Calls
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50:36We’re looking back at some of our favorite moments from 2024. We’ll share the surprises—from the secret lives of vegetables, to the underworld of restaurant reservations—and the best culinary advice we received from guests like José Andres and Stella Parks. Plus, Christopher Kimball and Sara Moulton revisit the most memorable listener questions of …
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Holiday Lollapalooza! Cronuts, Cocktails, Baking Q&A and the Best Books of 2024
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51:00It’s an all-out holiday hour of Milk Street Radio! We check in with French baker Dominique Ansel about how the invention of the cronut changed his life, his secret trick to a perfect fruit soufflé and why you shouldn’t buy cookies in France. Plus, author Julia Georgallis offers three tips for how to eat (and drink!) your Christmas tree; Adam Gopnik…
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Extended Interview: Al Roker Dreams of Turkey!
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19:06In this special episode, we’re sharing an extended interview with Al Roker. Al makes his return to Milk Street to discuss his latest cookbook — a collaboration with his daughter, Courtney Roker Laga — as well as the jobs he worked prior to landing at NBC and the food he uses as a test to determine whether or not someone can be his friend. You can f…
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Al Roker is back on Milk Street with family recipes and television stories to share. He recalls celebrity-filled lunches at the NBC commissary and the holiday meal he dreamt of while recovering from surgery. Plus, Ben Mims reveals the secret history of cookies; Grant Barrett and Martha Barnette of “A Way With Words” express holiday gratitude with f…
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Baking Special: Magic Cakes, Muffin Madness and Computer Cookies
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46:21In this special episode, we share a few of our favorite moments about baking. Cheryl Day—cookbook author, co-owner of Back in the Day Bakery in Savannah, Georgia, and now Milk Street Radio guest co-host—reveals her tips for perfect biscuits, cakes and cookies. Plus, a computer designs the ultimate chocolate chip cookie; Chris Kimball and Dan Pashma…
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The Cake Whisperer Solves Your Baking Problems!
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51:30We’re kicking off the holiday season with Rose Levy Beranbaum and Woody Wolston in celebration of the 35th anniversary of “The Cake Bible.” Beranbaum and Wolston reveal their tricks for génoise, their secret ingredient for perfect chocolate cake and their full-throated defense of fondant—yes, fondant! Plus, we explore the delightfully strange world…
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Waiter Tells All: The Dark Side of Parisian Dining
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51:01This week, we go behind the scenes of French restaurants with writer and former waiter Edward Chisholm to experience the chaotic rush of Sunday brunch, discover where waiters go on their time off and find out what happens to your food before it reaches the plate. Plus, we investigate a street food mystery in India with journalist Barkha Kumari, Ada…
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Thanksgiving Hotline, Plus the 2-Hour Turkey!
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51:02It’s our annual Thanksgiving special, and we’re dedicating the hour to solving your toughest problems. Jet Tila has ideas for reimagining vegetable side dishes, Cheryl Day solves the issue of overflowing pies, Christopher Kimball defends mini marshmallows on sweet potato casserole, and much more. Plus, we’ll get a Thanksgiving poetry reading from A…
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Madhur Jaffrey: Sucking Mangoes and Chewing Bones
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51:00Madhur Jaffrey joins us and shares memories from mountain picnics in the Himalayas, her favorite way to enjoy a mango and stories from her career as a film and food star. Plus, we make Turkish-Style Flaky Flatbreads and journalist David Johns tries to find out—could ice cream actually be good for you? (Originally aired November 9, 2023.) Get this w…
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Superhot Chili Peppers: The Agony, the Ecstasy, the Insanity!
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51:01Matt Goulding shares stories from his new documentary series, “Omnivore.” We find out why he followed a tuna on a journey around the world, what Big Ag can learn from Mexican corn farmers and what happened when René Redzepi served one of the world’s hottest chili peppers at Noma. Plus, Sonoko Sakai reveals how to “wafu” your cooking, J. Kenji López…
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The Vegan Nightmare! Do Vegetables Have Souls?
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51:00According to journalist Zoë Schlanger, your garden isn’t just full of plants that are alive, but plants that can think—like the rice plant, which recognizes its own family members. Schlanger takes us inside a hotbed of scientific controversy: the study of plant intelligence. Plus, the Washington Post’s Joe Yonan masters the art of plant-based cooki…
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Trick or Treat! Celebrate Halloween with a Dinner for the Dead
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51:01This week, we’re celebrating the holiday of tricks and treats with Halloween scholar Lesley Bannatyne. She teaches us how to emulate the romping Halloween parties of the Victorian era, complete with matchmaking games and dinners for the dead. Plus, we discuss Cotton Candy Grapes and other new candy-inspired flavors in fruit breeding; Dan Pashman ha…
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Corn Dogs, Donuts and Tamales: Eating to Win on the Campaign Trail
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50:17Some of the most memorable moments in politics haven’t happened at speeches or debates—they’ve been all about food. Today, we talk about food on the campaign trail with New York Times food correspondent Kim Severson. Plus, Gary He studies the menu at McDonald's locations around the world; Alex Aïnouz reveals his quest for potato chip perfection; an…
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Restaurant Confidential: Tom Colicchio Tells All
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50:18Before there was “Top Chef,” Tom Colicchio worked for and launched some of the greatest restaurants in New York. This week, he shares his best stories and takes us inside the kitchens of some of the hottest restaurants of the last 30 years. Plus, Emily Monaco reveals the best places to eat in Paris right now, Tamar Haspel decodes supermarket labels…
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Writer and historian Michael Twitty share the stories and foods of the African and Jewish diasporas. Plus, we explore the wide world of breakfast cereals with Gabe Fonseca, make spaghetti with parsley pesto and consider the apple with Dan Pashman. (Originally aired September 8, 2022.) Get this week’s recipe for Spaghetti with Parsley Pesto here. We…
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Smuggling Baby Eels: The New Black Market
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49:53
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49:53This week: Suitcases full of contraband. A smuggler who writes poetry in jail. And the chance to make thousands of dollars in one night. Reporter Otis Gray brings us the story of America’s eel fishing boom—and what happened when it got out of hand. Plus, Kenji López-Alt discusses the surprising science of salting scrambled eggs, and we make kefta i…
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The Secrets of Cooking Fish with Eric Ripert
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50:58This week, we get a seafood masterclass from one of the world’s greatest chefs, Eric Ripert. He also explains why sauce is the hardest technique to master and reflects on the moment he decided to change the way he ran Le Bernardin. Plus, Milk Street’s science editor, Guy Crosby, joins us to answer our most pressing food science questions, and we un…
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BraveTart is back! Stella Parks is here to set the record straight on baking. From buttermilk to pie dough, Parks reveals what can go so wrong and how to get it right. And we’re not done with the sweets yet: We also get a taste for real Vermont maple syrup with veteran sugarer Peter Gregg, we take the anxiety out of baking with blender cakes, “A Wa…
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The Most Dangerous Wine: A Smuggler's Story
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49:49We interview Jason Wise about his film “Somm: Cup of Salvation,” which tells the story of winemaker Vahe Keushguerian, who smuggled ancient grapes from Iran to make the first Persian wine in over 40 years. Plus, food scientist Anwesha Sarkar explains how she built a 3D-printed human tongue to study food texture; we cook up the original Spaghetti an…
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Chef Carla Hall is here to change the way we think about soul food. Plus, we explore cooking with cannabis; Adam Gopnik tells us how to cope when our favorite restaurants close; and we serve up Sweet Fresh Corn Pudding. (Originally aired May 17, 2019). Get this week’s recipe for Sweet Fresh Corn Pudding here. We want to hear your culinary tips! Sha…
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Refrigerator Revolution: The Surprising Art of Keeping Cool!
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50:37This week, it's all about food inventions and innovations. Nicola Twilley reveals the secret history of refrigeration, from ingenious fridge designs to Rwanda’s pioneering “coldscape.” Plus, meat scientist Chris Calkins invents new cuts of steaks, and Dan Pashman wonders if the food tech takeover is actually a bust. Finally, we share a recipe for t…
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Rent a Falcon, Save Your Vineyard! The New Airborne Security Guards
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51:01Falcons are smart, fast and lethal––but they can also be a farm’s greatest defense against losing an entire harvest. Master falconer Alina Blankenship tells us about protecting fields of grapes and blueberries with her flock of highly-skilled birds, from the falcon that operates like a jet-fighter to the hawk that patrols crops like a bouncer. Plus…
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The Dark World of Restaurant Reservations: How to Cheat the System
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51:02Journalist Adam Iscoe takes us inside the underworld of restaurant reservations. Plus, Viola Buitoni teaches us about weeknight Italian cooking, Adam Gopnik shares Mark Twain’s favorite American foods, and Cheryl Day returns to answer baking questions. We want to hear your culinary tips! Share your cooking hacks, secret ingredients or unexpected te…
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Dinner SOS: I Need to Feed My Friend Group
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35:23Today, we're sharing an episode from our friends at “Dinner SOS.” “Dinner SOS” is the podcast where Bon Appétit answers desperate home cooks' cries for help. This week we’re sharing the episode “I Need to Feed My Friend Group.” Caller Maggie invited a group of old friends to her small upstate New York house, expecting some to drop out last minute. …
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Vive La France! Jacques Pépin, Parisian Cakes and Bourguignon Burgers
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51:01In honor of the Paris Olympics, we’re celebrating French cuisine. Jacques Pépin offers a masterclass in deboning chicken and recalls his early days tending the coal stove at the Plaza Athénée. Plus, Aleksandra Crapanzano provides tips for effortlessly Parisian cakes; Alex Aïnouz puts a very French spin on the classic American burger; and we learn h…
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Welcome to Our Cocktail Hour! Bourbon Myths, Martini Crawls and Mixology Tips
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51:04It's a very happy hour of Milk Street Radio: Chef Edward Lee returns for a tour of Kentucky’s bourbon distilleries, where the water is sweeter, the barrels are (accidentally!) charred, and the rickhouses are sacred territory. Plus, Gary Shteyngart recounts his wet, dry, twisted and dirty martini tour of New York City; Grant Barrett and Martha Barne…
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Butter Cows, Ugly Cakes and Blue Ribbons: Welcome to the State Fair!
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51:04We dive into the world of state, county and agricultural fairs with Marla Calico to learn about their history, impact and why roast beef sundaes are all the rage at fairgrounds across the country. Plus, we head to the Iowa State Fair to meet the woman who carves cows out of butter and the kids striving to create the world’s ugliest cake. We also ge…
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The Glory Days of In-Flight Dining: From Smorgasbord to Baked Alaska
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51:00Is airplane food bad on purpose? Historian Richard Foss takes us through the turbulent history of food in flight, from extravagant meals aboard zeppelins, to the flaming Baked Alaskas once served en route to Singapore, to the truth about mediocre food service on planes today. Plus, Rebecca Rupp tells us how carrots won the Trojan War, Amanda Herber…
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Back Streets Italy: Pizza School, Fried Artichokes, Island Hopping and "Dirty" Pasta
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51:01This week, we’re exploring Italy’s best recipes and stories. Leah Koenig brings us inside the Roman Jewish kitchen for fried artichokes as crisp as potato chips, a cherry pie that has a secret and the beef stew that made her break vegetarianism. Plus, Katie Parla gives us a tour of Italian island cuisine, Matt Goulding infiltrates the secret societ…
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July Fourth Jubilee: Weiner Wisdom, Mustard Madness and Flag Cake Confections!
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51:01Fire up the grill: This week, we’re covering all of your July Fourth favorites. We unravel the history of the hot dog with author Bruce Kraig and hear from Hot Dog Ambassador John Champlin about one unforgettable frankfurter. Plus, Ken Zuckerman of the National Mustard Museum touts mustard as the ultimate condiment; J. Kenji López-Alt takes grilled…
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Live From Las Vegas! Dive Bars, the Best Table in Town and Old-Time Vegas Faves
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41:43It’s our first live episode of Milk Street Radio, recorded at The Beverly Theater in Las Vegas! In this special episode, Su Kim Chung shares Las Vegas’s most fascinating restaurants from history; “Top Chef” contestant and Black Sheep chef/owner Jamie Tran answers live cooking questions; and Neon Feast creator Al Mancini takes us on his ultimate foo…
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Inside the Experimental Kitchen with Shola Olunloyo
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52:02We chat with research chef Shola Olunloyo about the cutting-edge culinary projects he undertakes at his experimental food laboratory, Studiokitchen. He tells us about mashing up tortellini and soup dumplings, how to make bread that tastes like a malted milkshake and why he looks to jazz musicians for culinary inspiration. Plus, New Zealand chef Mon…
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Grilling Special: Wheelbarrow BBQ, the Perfect Steak, and Your Cookout Questions
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37:39In this special episode, we chat with Meathead about how to grill the perfect steak; Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich of Honey & Co. share grilling traditions from across the Levant; Dan Pashman brings on the controversy and tells us why he thinks grilling is overrated; and Chris and Sara take your cookout questions. We want to hear your culinary …
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Food Fights: I Love You But I Hate Your Cooking
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51:05Forget the bedroom: the kitchen is where relationships are made and broken. Journalist Ella Quittner reveals the many ways the kitchen causes problems in our love lives, and what psychologists say we can do about it. Plus, listeners call in with their own culinary feuds; writer Crystal Wilkinson recalls the kitchen ghosts and family recipes of her …
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Dining Disasters and a Michelin-Starred Nightmare: True Restaurant Stories
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51:01This week, we share stories from the world of fine dining. Maître d' Michael Cecchi-Azzolina has encounters with mobsters, fainting celebrities and unruly guests at New York’s top restaurants and reveals the secrets to great service. Writer Geraldine DeRuiter sits down for the world’s strangest Michelin-starred meal: She eats rancid cheese, slurps …
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Can Jesse Tyler Ferguson Really Cook? (Yes!)
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51:46This week, we’re sitting down with “Modern Family” star Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who once scored an invite to Passover at Joan Rivers’ house and can’t stop eavesdropping at restaurants. Plus, we hear the music of the Vienna Vegetable Orchestra; A Way With Words teaches us the language of the grill; and we prepare Yucatecan Citrus-Marinated Pork Tacos,…
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Summer Show! Ice Cream, Tomatoes, Watermelon, Corn and Fruit Crostata
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51:03This week, we’re diving into the foods of summer. Culinary historian Tonya Hopkins tells us about the Black innovators who made ice cream what it is today; Bill Alexander reveals the history and fate of the tomato; artist Ana Inciardi tracks down a tomato from her family's past; Dan Pashman gives us a lesson on his favorite ways to eat watermelon a…
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The Woman Who Discovered Julia Child: The Secret Life of Judith Jones
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50:08Sara Franklin shares the life story of Judith Jones, the legendary editor behind some of the greatest cookbooks of the 20th century. We hear how she discovered Julia Child, why Edna Lewis sent her a box of squirrels and what happened when she was told to reject the diary of Anne Frank. Plus, historian Stephen Puleo recounts the sticky disaster that…
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Claire Ptak Is in Love (with a Pink Cake)
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51:02We’re joined by baker Claire Ptak, whose desserts are a winning combination of California flavor and London style—and even royalty agrees. She shares her favorite recipes and reveals the behind-the-scenes details of being chosen to bake the cake for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding. Plus, Rowan Jacobsen crash-lands into the Amazon for an up…
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Love, War and Slow Noodles: How Chantha Nguon Survived the Khmer Rouge
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50:07Chantha Nguon, co-author of “Slow Noodles,” shares her story of survival as a Cambodian refugee. Also this week: We learn about the world’s first fast-food chain from Kansas City reporter Mackenzie Martin, and Alex Aïnouz ranks the best pastas at the grocery store. We’re working on a story about the battles we have in our kitchens at home, and we w…
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Pro Secrets of Homemade Pasta with Missy Robbins
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50:08Missy Robbins, chef and founder of Lilia and Misi in Brooklyn, teaches a masterclass in making pasta at home—she explains why her noodle recipes include a copious number of egg yolks, why she often leaves salt out, and her secret to cacio e pepe. Plus, Romy Gill takes us on a food tour of Kashmir; Adam Gopnik explains the rules of time in the kitch…
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Dune, Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet and ... Bordeaux? Kyle MacLachlan Gets Serious About Wine
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50:09If you’ve turned on your TV in the last 30 years, you’ve seen Kyle MacLachlan: Think “Twin Peaks,” “Sex and the City” and “Desperate Housewives.” But when he’s not starring in Hollywood, he’s wandering vineyards in Washington. This week, MacLachlan joins us for memories from the set of “Blue Velvet,” the food of “Twin Peaks” and the reason why Napa…
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Spearfishing for Dinner: Grilled Fish, Pine Needle Mussels and Pickled Fish Eyes
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50:10Valentine Thomas goes spearfishing—though she calls it ocean hunting. She dives in without a tank—up to 170 feet deep—and holds her breath for minutes at a time. Today, she tells us about her best and scariest deep-sea adventures and her favorite ways to eat fish. Plus, Roger Horowitz explains how Oreos became kosher; Alex Aïnouz reveals three tips…
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Why Does Parmesan Taste Like Pineapple? Harold McGee Answers Food's Big Mysteries
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51:03Food science expert Harold McGee helps us separate food science fact from fiction and explains our most profound questions about taste and smell. Why do oysters taste like cucumbers? Is there such a thing as the smell of raspberries? McGee has the answers! Plus, we learn about 30-foot longevity noodles from Jason Wang, the co-founder of New York’s …
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