Podcasts about food non fiction

In this Food Non-Fiction podcast episode, we talk about the origins of Nutella - starting from when cocoa met hazelnut!

In this Food Non-Fiction podcast episode, we talk to one of the authors of Trappist Beer Travels. Caroline Wallace and her two co-authors visited the 11 Trappist monastery breweries, learning the stories and history behind each of these breweries.  Here is a link to the book website for Trappist Beer Travels

In this Food Non-Fiction episode, we talk to Peter Brears about what it was like to work in King Henry VIII's kitchen.  Thank you to our interviewee: Peter Brears - author of "Cooking & Dining in Tudor & Early Stuart England" Thank you to Looperman artists: Bright Absurdity - Hip-hop Piano by JulietStarling xxiii Sampled Medieval Italian Acoustic Guitar by Julietstarling Artisticstrings HD Part 1 by Jawadalblooshi Dusted Jazz Loop by LeuNatic Brass - 10 - 130 Bpm by SoleilxLune AV Melody Loop 4 by Angelicvibes

In this Food Non-Fiction podcast episode, we talk about the beginning of Cadbury. We go right back to a time before Cadbury even existed. Thank You to Looperman Artists for the Music: happily ever after strings perfect for movie score by nbeats26 oboe 65 70 bpm by soleilxlune Funky Guitar by Neems 1 by Neems For more information on the topic, we recommend this book: "Chocolate Wars: The 150-Year Rivalry Between the World's Greatest Chocolate Makers" by Deborah Cadbury

This is a very special Food Non-Fiction podcast episode. We had the immense pleasure of interviewing one of Time's 100 Most Influential People in the Heroes category of 2010. Her name is Temple Grandin. She is a professor of animal science at Colorado State University. In North America, over half the cattle are handled in the humane systems designed by Dr. Grandin. Thank You to Our Esteemed Guests: Temple Grandin Christopher Monger Mark Deesing Special Thanks to: David Porter and Rachel Winks of Cabi.org for all your help. Thank You to Looperman Artists for the Music: Memories Acoustic 1 by BradoSanz  Ambellient by Danke Primitive Piano by Danke  Nasty Patterns 4 by flsouto Funky Guitar by Neems 1 by Neems Whats Goin Down by rasputin1963 Concert Cello - Heaven by kickklee Piano Quality Cajsa by MINOR2GO SynCato by DesignedImpression Credit to Rosalie Winard for the photos of Temple Grandin

In this Food Non-Fiction podcast episode, we tell the incredible true story of The Poison Squad. Thanks to Looperman Artists for the Music: SynCato by DesignedImpression 1950s Rock N Roll Piano Riff by rasputin1963 Food non-fiction 1 & 2 Funky Guitar by Neems 1 by Neems Special thanks to the musician, truekey, for writing music for Food Non-Fiction: Soundcloud Twitter: @truekeymusic

In this Food Non-Fiction podcast episode, we tell the incredible true story of Henry John Heinz - the founder of the H.J. Heinz Company and the maker of everybody's favorite ketchup. Special Thanks to Looperman Artists for the Music: Liar Piano - 1 of 5 Sounds by RicoBeatz Funky Guitar by Neems 1 by Neems Bright Absurdity - Hip-hop Piano by JulietStarling Liar Guitar FLEX - 4 of 5 Sounds by RicoBeatz Piano Quality - Love Confession 2 by MINOR2GO Piano Quality - Love Confession 1 by MINOR2GO If you'd like to know more about this topic, we strongly recommend the book "H.J. Heinz: A Biography" by Quentin R. Skrabec - we relied heavily on this source for this episode.

In this Food Non-Fiction podcast episode, we tell the incredible true story of ketchup. Thank you to this Looperman Artist for the Music: 1950s Rock N Roll Piano Riff by rasputin1963 Special thanks to the musician, truekey, for writing music for Food Non-Fiction: Soundcloud Twitter: @truekeymusic

In this Food Non-Fiction episode, we tell the incredible true story of the Tupperware Party. Every few seconds, someone somewhere in the world is hosting a Tupperware Party. In a world where everything is sold online, Tupperware sells their product through Tupperware Parties. If you haven't attended a Tupperware party, it's unlikely that you own actual Tupperware brand Tupperware. That's right - Tupperware is a brand. It's one of those brands, like Frisbee and Kleenex, with a name that has become synonymous with the product. If Tupperware Parties didn't exist, it's possible that tupperware would not exist. And without tupperware, we might still be covering our dishes in shower caps. When tupperware first hit the market, it was a huge dud. Even with tons of marketing, the inventor, Earl Tupper, could not increase sales. However, while no one was buying tupperware from stores, people were buying tupperware from independent sales people hosting parties, utilizing the "party plan" sales method. This is because back when people were not familiar with tupperware, it had to be demonstrated for people to recognize what a great product it was. Brownie Wise was a superstar at selling tupperware through Tupperware Parties. Earl Tupper hired her to create a sales force and she created a huge and loyal network of salespeople.  Special Thanks To Our Interviewee: Caroline Schoofs Thank You To Looperman Artists for the Music: Funky Guitar by Neems 1 by Neems Bright Absurdity - Hip-hop Piano by JulietStarling

In this Food Non-Fiction episode, we go nerdy and cover a paper titled "Simply Walking into Mordor: How Much Lembas Would the Fellowship Have Needed?" by Skye Rosetti and Krisho Manaharan. The paper calculates how many pieces of lembas (elvish waybread) the Fellowship of the Ring would have had to pack for the journey from Rivendell to Mordor. Special Thanks to Looperman Artists for the Music: Concert Cello - Heaven by kickklee Apollo by SANTIAGOO Amazing Strings by BakoBone

In this Food Non-Fiction podcast episode, we tell the rollercoaster story of the birth of instant noodles. On March 5, 1910, Momofuku Ando was born in Taiwan and raised by his grandparents. This was during the 50 years of Japanese rule that started after Japan won the First Sino-Japanese War in 1895. He was a natural entrepreneur and started a clothing business when he was only 22. With his success, he moved to Japan the next year and expanded his clothing company while still attending university. But during WWII, he lost everything when Osaka was firebombed by American forces. It was a tragedy that informed his world-view. He saw the hungry all around him. In a 1988 interview, he said, “the world is peaceful only when everyone has enough to eat. Everything starts with food.” With his strong respect for food, he made his first attempt at entering the food industry by producing salt and nutritional products but it was too competitive. Instead, he worked as chair of a credit union until it went bankrupt in 1957. He was 47 that year, and had once again lost his livelihood. But Ando was not one to give up. He saw every failure as muscle added to his body. He thought once more about food and remembered a day when he had seen people waiting in a long line for a bowl of noodles. He thought that it would be wonderful if the hungry could have a bowl of warm noodles whenever they needed it. So, he began searching for a way to make instant noodles. To prepare, he built a shed in his backyard that was to be his makeshift lab for creating instant noodles. He bought a used noodle making machine, a chinese wok, some flour and cooking oil. He set his criteria right from the start. His noodles had to be tasty, nonperishable and ready in less than 3 minutes. He knew he had to figure out two things to create instant noodles - first, he had to find a way to remove all moisture from the noodles, in order to make them nonperishable. Second, he had to find a way to revive the noodles by putting the moisture back in. He worked for a year in his backyard shed until he finally got the creative insight that he needed. This happened while he watched his wife making vegetable tempura. Ando once said that, “Perspiration might lead to inspiration, but only if you set clear goals”. He set clear goals, he worked hard, and he got the inspiration he needed. When Ando watched that tempura batter enter the frying oil, he recognized two important things. One was that the oil pushed the water out of the batter. Two was that water exiting the batter created little pores in the it. So dipping noodles in hot oil would remove all the water from the noodles, making the noodles nonperishable AND create pores in the noodles, so that water could re-enter the them and moisten them up again. The year was 1958 and Ando had created the world's first instant noodles. Unfortunately, when Ando approached wholesalers, they told him it was too expensive for consumers, because at the time, it cost 6 times as much as a serving of fresh noodles. So, undaunted, he took matters into his own hands and organized tastings around the city The tastings were successful and within a year, he had a factory and was producing 100,000 packs of instant noodles a day. Right from the very first packs of instant noodles, Ando had planned to go international. He knew he was going to sell his product in the west. That’s why the very first flavor of instant noodles was flavored like Chicken Noodle Soup. Not soy sauce flavored, but chicken noodle soup flavored, because Ando knew that people in the west might find soy sauce flavoring too foreign. He famously said “Let them eat it with forks!" showing that he wanted to spread his product to the west and was going to accommodate western norms. In 1966, Ando traveled to Los Angeles to promote his product. According to an article by Karen Leibowitz, he saw the supermarket executives he was meeting with reuse their styrofoam coffee cups to hold instant noodles. At this point, he already knew that making portable bowls was the next step to improving the convenience of instant noodles, and now he knew that the bowls should actually be shaped like cups! Cups would be the trendy new way to eat noodles. Bowls were outdated. Cups you could carry around with one hand without soup spilling! Ando chose young adults as his target market. In order to reach his target market, he again used tasting events. This time he set up tasting events in Ginza, the fashion district in Japan. It was a successful tactic and cup noodles took off. Ando’s cup noodles were brilliantly designed. Because manufacturing equipment at the time lacked the finesse to evenly wedge the noodles into the cups, he had the machines put the cups over the noodles instead. We should also note that the noodles went in the mid portion of the cups, so they did not sit at the bottom. Having noodles in the mid portion of the cups made them more structurally sound, a great asset for shipping. As well, the noodles had room to expand on both sides when hot water was poured in. Ando’s innovations took off. By 1973, Nissin had opened its first factory in the US. Today, Nissin continues to innovate. Ando had wanted his product to feed the masses - he never intended his noodles to be considered cheap, unsubstantial food. So these days, his company is working on adding nutrients to the centre layer of their noodles. Nissin has created a line of healthier noodles called Raoh that are not fried. These noodles consist of 3 layers of different textures to mimic fresh noodles - the outer layers are silky and the inner layer is chewy. They’ve achieved these different textures by changing the levels of gliadin and glutenin that combine to form the gluten in the noodles. The chewy center layer is where they are working on adding nutrients.   Special Thanks to Looperman Artists for the music! Ambellient by Danke Piano Quality Cajsa by MINOR2GO Piano Quality Make A Wish 2 by MINOR2GO Poppy Acoustic 2 by BradoSanz Poppy Acoustic 4 by BradoSanz

In this Food Non-Fiction podcast episode, we tell you how the accountant, Walter Diemer, ended up creating the world's first commercially available bubble gum. Walter worked for the Frank H. Fleer Corporation founded by Frank H. Fleer who had invented the world's first (not commercially available) bubble gum. After Frank died, his son in law, Gilbert Mustin, eventually took over the company. There are few sources on how Walter became involved with making bubble gum, but according to a book titled, "It Happened In Philadelphia", Mustin had set up a lab for working on a gum base. This lab happened to be near Walter's office. Walter helped watch over a gum concoction one day and became fascinated with the idea of making a successful bubble gum. He played around with recipes and eventually created Dubble Bubble. Thank you to Looperman artists for the music: edm pluck for intro by capostipite Drum Loop Republic by attackyak Japanese Vibes Rhodes Only by raphael29 Thank you to Bob Conway for the interview Website    

In this Food Non-Fiction podcast episode, we talk about the spork.  Thank you to the Looperman artist BradoSanz for the music! We used these wonderful songs: Poppy Acoustic 1 Poppy Acoustic 2 Poppy Acoustic 3 Poppy Acoustic 4

This is the first Food Non-Fiction episode of 2016, so we are going to talk about food trends. This episode will cover how to spot food trends, how to track food trends and what food trends we can expect in 2016. Using the New York Times' Chronicle tool, writer Neil Irwin came up with the Fried Calamari Index to track food trends by looking at the frequency at which the NYT mentioned various foods. Culinary trendologist, Christine Couvelier, forecasts food trends by going to food shows around the world, talking to chefs, visiting grocery stores/gourmet retail stores, and looking at food magazines. Christine says that food trends start at industry food shows around the world where food companies show their new food ideas. Some ideas are adopted in restaurant menus and the successful flavours then become available in specialty stores and magazines. From there, certain foods make it to grocery stores, thus becoming widespread and easily available to the average consumer. This is the path that balsamic vinegar has taken and this item is now commonplace in kitchens. In 2016, we can expect to see the flavour combination of sweet and heat. We can also expect new flavours of hummus, as well as vegetable yogurts. Continuing on from 2015, vegetables will be more and more central to dishes. Rather than simply being the healthy option or a garnish, vegetables will be used in enticing new ways - grilled, charred, roasted and smoked. 2016 has been deemed the International Year of Pulses by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, so we'll be encouraged to use pulses like chick peas, beans and lentils.  Thank you to our fascinating interviewees: Christine Couvelier of the Culinary Concierge Dr. Sylvain Charlebois of the University of Guelph Special thanks to the musician, truekey, for writing music for Food Non-Fiction: Soundcloud Twitter: @truekeymusic   

In this Food Non-Fiction podcast episode, we talk about the creation of the Rice Krispies Treats. In 1928, Kellogg’s introduced the Rice Krispies cereal to the public. In the same year, the company hired a recent home economics graduate of Iowa State University - her name was Mildred Day. Her job was to test recipes for Kellogg’s and she also travelled around the country conducting cooking schools for the company’s customers. Kellogg’s recipe testers were asked to develop recipes using Kellogg’s cereals. So Mildred Day and her friend Malitta Jensen put their heads together to create something delicious. They created what we now know as Rice Krispies Treats or Rice Krispies Squares, but back then they called it “marshmallow squares”. By the way, they didn’t create the recipe from thin air, it’s likely they tweaked the recipe using either the Puffed Wheat Squares recipe in the 1938 cookbook, It’s Fun to Cook, or they may have used an older recipe from 1916 which was a recipe for something called Puffed Rice Brittle. Either way, the molasses and vinegar were removed from the original recipe and Campfire Marshmallows were added. One source said that Mildred Day chose to replace molasses with marshmallows because marshmallows are less sticky. You should also note that Mildred Day and Malitta Jensen were part of the Campfire Girls organization. The Campfire Girls sold boxes of Campfire Marshmallows back then, much like how Girl Scouts sell Girl Scout Cookies. So perhaps that inspired the use of marshmallows in the recipe. Soon after the marshmallow squares recipe was created, the Campfire Girls organization needed to raise some money to support their summer camp and activity programs. So, Kellog’s, being a company with a reputation for helping out in the community, lent a hand. It was a good opportunity for them to test out their new marshmallow squares on the public after all. They set up a temporary kitchen to produce batches of marshmallow squares for the Campfire Girls to sell as part of a fundraiser. Mildred Day worked in the temporary kitchen for two intensive weeks, every day from 6:30AM to 10PM. She was a dedicated Campfire Girls Troop leader and her scouts were able to sell hundreds of Rice Krispies Treats in Michigan during that summer in 1939. Kellogg's executives noted how much families loved the marshmallow squares. Kids loved them because of the taste and parents loved them because of the price. Remember, this was 1939 - the back-end of the Great Depression and the front-end of the second world war, so price was important. So, Kellogg's trademarked the Rice Krispies Treats name in 1940 and added the recipe to the back of the Rice Krispies cereal boxes in 1941. In 1995, Kellogg's started making the packaged version of the treats for grocery stores. We spoke with Malitta Jensen's grandson, Jay Hewlett about his grandmother. She was a determined and successful businesswoman and a loving grandmother.   Special Thanks to Our Guest: Jay Hewlett   Thank you to Looperman Musicians: What’s Goin Down by rasputin1963 Visuality by danke 140 BPM Acoustic Guitar by ferryterry

In this Food Non-Fiction podcast episode, we tell the story of how Las Vegas became a destination market for gambling, how the nature of destination markets created competition amongst the many casinos, how casino food amenities were used as a competitive tool, and how casino restaurants have changed over time from buffet to gourmet. In October of 1929, the stock market crashed. October 29th was the worst day of this crash. It was named “Black Tuesday”. On Black Tuesday, over 16 million shares were traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Billions of dollars were lost and the economy was on a downward spiral into the Great Depression of the 1930’s. So, in 1931, Phil Tobin, a 29 year old freshman member of the legislative assembly introduced a bill to legalize gambling in Nevada. He wasn’t a gambler himself, in fact, he was a cowboy, but he knew that legalizing gambling would bring the state of Nevada some much-needed revenue. The revenue would come from gaming taxes. At this time, in 1931, the Hoover Dam was scheduled for construction. It was built between 1931 and 1936. This meant that thousands of workers would be coming to Nevada. And these would be federal workers, so it was likely that a lof of the illegal casinos would be shut down. So instead, of having the casinos shut down when the workers came, legalizing casinos would bring in a ton of tax revenues. Phil Tobin’s bill made financial sense. So, on March 19 of 1931, the Governor signed Assembly Bill 98 into law. Assembly Bill 98 legalized the following games: Faro Monte Roulette Keno Fan-Tan Twenty-One Blackjack Seven-and-a-half Big Injun Craps Klondyke Stud Poker Draw Poker Slots The bill is also known as the “Wide Open Gambling Bill”. After World War II, there were strict gambling laws in most states, so Nevada really became the center of gambling in the U.S. - especially, of course, in the Las Vegas strip - which is, by-the-way, located south of the actual city of Las Vegas. The Las Vegas strip was, and still is, a destination market. People travel there specifically to experience the gambling and entertainment. Destination markets offer a lot of the same thing. For example, you go to Hawaii to surf so there are a lot of surfing schools and they need to compete. Same thing with going to Las Vegas to gamble - there are so many places you can gamble that these places need to compete for your dollars. So casinos, over time,  have offered more and more amenities. Casino resorts started popping up in the 1940’s. You could go to a casino resort, and not only gamble, but have your hotel, live shows and food, all in one place. Casino restaurants were designed to bring people to the casinos. The strategy back in the middle of the 20th century was to offer cheap food, sometimes even free food. The logic was that if you could offer great price value for food at your casino, then people might choose to come to your casino, rather than go to a standalone restaurant or another casino. So casino restaurants used to operate as what is called “loss leaders” - casino restaurants would lose a little money, but then gain that money back and more when customers played the gambling games. There are 2 ways that having a restaurant at a casino can increase revenue. One - is that the restaurant draws in more players Two - is that it gets each player to spend more while they’re at the casino. The Vegas strip is the ULTIMATE gambling destination, but the relationship between casino restaurants and gambling spending is different in Vegas. Certainly, your average Vegas casino restaurant is not operating at a loss anymore. This shift in Las Vegas from the days of cheap casino buffets, designed for the convenience of gambling clients, to high end, big profit restaurants has been gradual. Thank you to our interview guests: Dr. Sarah Tanford Dr. David G. Schwartz Thanks to the Looperman Artist for the Music: Chillwave bass and synth by djpuzzle

In this Food Non-Fiction podcast episode, we reveal how bacon became a breakfast food. In 1925, the Beech-Nut Packing Company asked Edward Bernays to help increase bacon sales. Why did they ask Edward Bernays? Because Bernays was a master of influencing public opinions. His campaigns increased smoking amongst women, the use of disposable Dixie cups instead of washable glass cups, and more. Back then, breakfasts were very light meals. For example, a breakfast could be a cup of orange juice, some coffee and a roll. So Bernays asked his physician whether a heavier breakfast would be better for the body, given the logic that the body needs to replenish energy lost during sleep. After his physician concurred with the idea, Bernays asked the physician to write to 5000 other doctors to get their opinion. Bernays then published the findings in magazines and articles, concluding that bacon and eggs would make a great healthy breakfast. He succeeded in increasing bacon sales. References: The American Table Baltimore Post-Examiner Bloomberg Business Burpy Daily Dawdle Music Thanks to Looperman Artists: Big Room Lead by djpuzzle EDM Trap 808 by 7venth12 pop drums acoustic drumset 1 by martingunnarson progressive house melodic synth for intro by capostipite Lookin For This by FLmoney

In this Food Non-Fiction podcast episode, we look into the origins of the ice cream sundae. About a dozen towns claim to be the birthplace of the ice cream sundae, but there are 3 main contenders that are always mentioned. By chronological order, we share the stories from 1. Two Rivers, Wisconsin in 1881, 2. Evanston, Illinois in 1890 and 3. Ithaca, New York in 1892. In Two Rivers, the ice cream sundae was created when a man named George Hallauer asked for chocolate syrup on top of his ice cream. The Berners' Soda Fountain owner, Edward C. Berners, obliged.  In Evanston Illinois, the passing of the Blue Law prevented people from consuming soda water, because it was considered too frivolous. That meant that people also couldn't buy ice cream sodas, which were already invented. So one inventive pharmacist. Mr. Garwood, who had a thriving business in ice cream sodas, removed the soda water from the ice cream treat, calling it a "Sunday soda". The name was later shortened and the spelling was changed to be more respectable of the lord's day. So it became known as the "sundae". In Ithaca, New York, the first sundae was created at Platt & Colt Pharmacy. The pharmacy's co-owner, Chester Platt, often got together with the pastor, John M. Scott, from the Unitarian Church after services. One day, when the two were together, he served up ice cream with cherry sauce and they loved it so much that they named it Cherry Sunday after the flavor and the day of the week. We present the evidence for each and you can decide which story you want to believe.    Sundae Fight Song lyrics: In Two Rivers, in Winsconsin, History was made. And our pride in that first sundae, it will never fade. Made right here by old Ed Berners Eighteen eighty-one Now we celebrate that sundae And have lots of fun Others try to claim the sundae started in their towns But the story of our sundae turns their smiles to frowns Evanston and Ithaca, They are among the worst, but confronted with our facts, Concede that Ed was first. Topped with chocolate, or with cherries and with lots of nuts Try to claim our sundae and we’ll kick you in your butts! On Two Rivers! On Wisconsin. It’s with pride we burst as we shout out to the whole world Ed was first! Two Rivers, Puh-leeze lyrics: Two Rivers, why live in denial, The story you compile, won't play. Your sign maker, a truth faker, without sundae proof your claim's melting away. Ed Berners off to fool the world. There's such a lot of fools you see. Though sometimes the truth may offend- still you can pretend, my sweet Wisconsin friend, Two Rivers-puh-leeze. Special thanks to: Ithaca recording artists, "Rock Beats Paper" Arrangement: Robert Dietz Engineering: James Cannon/Panic Room Studios Music Thanks to Looperman Artist: 1950s Rock N Roll Piano Riff by rasputin1963 Special Thanks to our Interviewees: Eden Juron Pearlman - Executive Director of the Evanston Historical Center in Evanston Illinois Bruce Stoff - Director of Ithaca/Tompkins Convention & Visitors Bureau Gregory Buckley - Two Rivers City Manager Ron LaQuaglia - Owner of Glenburn Soda Fountain and Confectionery References: Book: A Month of Sundaes by Michael Turback Visit Ithaca What's Cooking America  

In this Food Non-Fiction podcast episode, we find out the truth behind Halloween candy poisonings. Our guest, Dr. Joel Best, is the world's leading expert on Halloween sadism (Halloween sadism is the term that describes poisoning Halloween candy). He became interested in the topic when he was in graduate school and spending his term reading about deviant behaviours. What he noticed was that criminals always have a motive. He didn't believe that strangers would poison candy because what would be the motive behind that? In fact, there has been no cases of random acts of Halloween candy poisoning in all the years that Dr. Best has been scouring the news for data (1958 onwards). The real danger is sending kids out into the dark with costumes that could limit visibility or cause them to trip.  Dr. Joel Best notes that "an urban legend is harder to kill than a werewolf" because people continue to believe that Halloween candy gets poisoned each year, even though the overwhelming evidence says otherwise. Special Thanks to our guest, Dr. Joel Best. Music is thanks to Looperman artists: Bass Like Skrillex by TOSHYO Cutie Pie Anxious Rhodes by JulietStarling Nice Orchestral Beat HD by jawadalblooshi Ambellient by Danke Lookin For This by FLmoney

In this Food Non-Fiction podcast episode, we talk about scurvy and its Vitamin C cure. Although the cure for scurvy was discovered a long time ago, changes in the understanding of science, medicine and the human body, caused people time turn away from the tried and true cure of fresh fruits and vegetables time and time again. We discuss the various events that brought the fresh produce cure in and out of favor. Thanks to Looperman artists for the music: Nerves Drums Part 1 & 2 by Lodderup Nerves Part 1 & 2 by Lodderup Never Again by Jawadalblooshi Thought of You by Jawadalblooshi Sad Piano by Danke  References: Mental Floss Jason Allen Mayberry About.com Article: Advancements, challenges, and prospects in the paleopathology of scurvy: Current perspectives on vitamin C deficiency in human skeletal remains Article: Lind, Scott, Amundsen and scurvy (Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine) Article: Scott and Scurvy (Canadian Medical Association Journal) Article: Scurvy: Historical Review and Current Diagnostic Approach Article: Scurvy in the Antarctic (The Lancet Vol 300, Issue 7787) Article: Sailor's scurvy before and after James Lind - a reassessment Article: Scurvy: Forgotten but definitely not gone Article: Scurvy on sea and land: political economy and natural history, c. 1780 - c. 1850 Article: Scurvy: Past, present and future (European Journal of Internal Medicine)  

In this podcast episode of Food Non-Fiction, we continue our discussion of Space Food from part 1. This episode features Dr. Louisa Preston, an astrobiologist who discusses with us how realistic the book/movie The Martian was in depicting the growth of potatoes on Mars. We also talk to Chris Patil who is part of the Mars One mission that is hoping to send human colonists to Mars. Finally, we finish our interview with astronaut Chris Hadfield who reveals his favourite space food. Thanks to our guests Chris Hadfield, Dr. Louisa Preston and Chris Patil for the insightful interviews. Thanks to Looperman artists for the music: 140BPM Acoustic Guitar by ferryterry HiGuitar by EpicRecord Going up by LarsM

In this Food Non-Fiction podcast episode, we begin our interview with astronaut Chris Hadfield (concluded in part 2 of the space episode). We also speak to Andy Weir, author of The Martian (film adaptation out in theatres Oct. 2, starring Matt Damon). We ask Chris Hadfield what breakfast lunch and dinner are like in space and we ask Andy Weir about how he came up with the idea for his book.

In this Food Non-Fiction podcast episode, we talk about marshmallows! Marshmallows used to be made with marshmallow plants (Althaea Officinalis). When marshmallows were made with marshmallow plant sap, they had some medicinal properties. They were used like lozenges, to soothe sore throats. We also talk about the first printed S'mores recipe in the 1927 Girl Scouts handbook. References: Guild of Food Writers How Stuff Works Madehow.com Smithsonian.com Campfire Marshmallows Boyer Candies Book: Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs        

In this Food Non-Fiction podcast episode, we tell you about ancient Egyptian honey. Did you know that honey that archaeologists have uncovered from tombs that are thousands of years old remain edible? We tell you all about beekeeping from ancient Egypt. References: Smithsonian Eurasianet Reshafim Ancient Origins Book: The World History of Beekeeping and Honey Hunting Book: Letters from the Hive: An Intimate History of Bees, Honey, and Humankind Music from Looperman thank you to: 40A Jensmuse  

This is a Food Non-Fiction bonus episode! Lillian the host went on a BBQ boat with her friends today and recorded the experience to share.  Thanks to Joe, the owner of Joe's BBQ Boat for the interview

In this bonus Food Non-Fiction podcast episode, we talk about giant apes and bamboo. In a National Geographic article, we read that perhaps giant apes competed with giant pandas for bamboo. To learn more about this, we spoke to the gigantopithecus (giant ape) expert, Dr. Russel Ciochon. In an enlightening interview, the professor informed us that there is no evidence of competition between gigantopithecus and giant pandas and that gigantopithecus is more likely to have become extinct because they were large animals and could not adapt during more extreme climate change. Researchers know what gigantopithecus ate because of phytolith ("phyto" meaning plant and "lith" meaning stone) found in gigantopithecus teeth. Our knowledge of phytolith shapes let us recognize the phytolith as coming from bamboo and durian. Special Thanks: to Professor Russell Ciochon References: National Geographic article  

In this Food Non-Fiction podcast episode, Lillian visits Dark Table in Vancouver and Fakhri visits O'Noir in Montreal. We speak to the founder of Canada's 3 dark dining restaurants and find out how to run a restaurant in pitch black. We also had a guest, Jaycelyn Brown, keyboardist from the Juno award winning band, Said the Whale. She dined with us and this episode has been a blast!

This is a mini episode from Food Non-Fiction. Because Lillian is getting ready for her Master's defence! This episode is a brief look at deep fried desserts. We talk about doughnuts, deep fried ice cream and even deep fried coke! References Smithsonian About.com

In this podcast episode of Food Non-Fiction, we are talking about popcorn! Popcorn is made out of any variety of corn that can be popped. Corn was selectively bred from a wild grass called Teosinte, which was a very tough plant. So right from the beginning of the cultivation of corn, people were making popcorn, because corn kernels were a lot harder and popping it was one of the easiest ways to eat it. Corn spread over Central and South America because it was traded. One of the civilizations that ate popcorn was the Aztecs. They even had a word for the sound of kernels popping - "totopoca". During the Depression, popcorn was one of the few foods that actually rose in sales. This is because it became considered an affordable luxury. So vendors sold popcorn outside of theatres. Eventually, theatres started charging vendors to sell either right outside their doors or even inside the lobby. And then by around 1938, theatres started having popcorn machines inside. References: New York Times Livestrong PBS Popcorn Origins

In this podcast episode of Food Non-Fiction, we speak with world champion sumo wrestler, Byamba. He is 6'1'' and 350lb but he has gotten his body fat percentage down to 11%. Sumo wrestlers may look fat, but they have more fat free mass (this includes the weight of internal organs and skeletal muscle) than body builders. This means that underneath the external fat is a wall of dense muscle. We talk about chankonabe, otherwise known as sumo stew. This is the sumo wrestler's staple food. It is a healthy stew that is filled with meat and vegetable. Special Thanks to Byamba and his manager Andrew for the fascinating interview! References: Byamba website Impressive match video Music by: Hearbeat

In this Food Non-Fiction podcast episode, we tell the insane but true story of when Parisians ate zoo animals to survive the 1870-1871 Siege of Paris. We transport you back in time to those five months when Prussian soldiers surrounded Paris to starve the city into surrendering. The five months started in September, 1870. As the months went by, people went from eating cows, pigs and sheep to eating horses. Then they resorted to eating street rats, as well as their own pet dogs and cats. Finally, in December, the zoo put its animals up for sale and the rich bought the meat for exotic meals. The 2 elephants, Castor and Pollux were sold together for 27,000 francs. In one of the most fascinating historical meals, chef Choron created an epic Christmas dinner made of zoo animals. All this was paired with the finest wines. The very rich managed to feast in the midst of starvation. References: Engines of Our Ingenuity Defeated Flesh: Welfare, Warfare and the Making of Modern France by Bertrand Taithe Chronicles of Old Paris: Exploring the Historic City of Light by John Baxter Historynet.com Translated Memoir of Balloon Pilot The Medical Times and Gazette, Volume 2

In this Food Non-Fiction podcast episode, we tell the origin story of chopsticks. During a 1993-1995 excavation of Neolithic ruins in North China, archaeologists found sticks made of bone. They believe that these bone sticks are the first versions of chopsticks. Previous bone sticks were considered to be hairpins but these bone sticks were placed close to the hands, alongside other things used by the hands, such as pots and tools, whereas previous bone sticks were more polished and placed near the head at burial sites. The first chopsticks may have only been used to cooking, but eventually it became the norm to use them to eat as well. This isn't surprising given some context. North China was dry and cold, so people ate foods that were both juicy and hot - foods like stews. They likely ate their stews while the food was still piping hot, so the time between cooking and eating was minimal. Chopsticks were used to stir the food while cooking and then people could have simply used those same chopsticks to just begin eating right away. The chopsticks norm would have been spread, because North China happened to be the political and cultural centre of China at the time. Spoons actually came before chopsticks, but as the popular foods changed from millet porridge to the foods of dim sum (eg. dumplings), spoons became less important. How to hold chopsticks (quoted from the book "Chopsticks: A Cultural and Culinary History") “First, chopsticks users generally believe that the most effective and elegant way to hold the sticks is to place the lower one at the base of the thumb and secure this position by resting it between the ring and middle fingers in order to keep the stick stationary. Then the upper stick is to be held like a pencil, using the index and middle fingers for movement and the thumb for stabilization. In conveying food, the two sticks are worked together to grasp the food for transportation and delivery. References: The book "Chopsticks: A Cultural and Culinary History" by Professor Q. Edward Wang Special thanks to Professor Wang for granting us an interview!

In this podcast episode of Food Non-Fiction, we talk about the baker's dozen. When someone says "a baker's dozen" they mean 13. But why is it 13 when a dozen is actually 12? The history of "a baker's dozen" goes back to medieval England. In 1266, King Henry III revived an old statute called the "Assize of Bread and Ale", which set the price of bread in relation to the price of wheat. To make sure that even the poorest of citizens could buy bread (because it was a staple food), bread was priced at a quarter penny, a half penny or a penny. In years when wheat prices went up, the loaves got smaller, but you could still always buy bread for a quarter penny. The Worshipful Company of Bakers was the name of the baker's guild - one of the oldest guild in England. They were given the power to enforce the Assize of Bread and Ale and would punish bakers that sold underweight bread. In order to make sure they wouldn't be punished for selling underweight bread, bakers gave customers extra bread. Extra slices were called "inbreads" and extra loaves were called "vantage loaves". References: The Worshipful Company of Bakers Phrase Origins Bakers in the Middle Ages Wonderopolis

This week we have Andres Davila and Tony Grigorio from the Chicago-based, synthwave/Nu-disco band, Unplugged and Reborn joining us with a special segment where they explain how they created their latest album, "Midnight Drive", followed by the artrepreneur himeself, Heath Armstrong, sharing his thoughts on creativity. Last up is Lillian Yang of the podcast Food Non-Fiction talking about the unique combination of neuroscience and gastronomy. ---------------------- Episode 47 - Music, Creativity, and Science Editor/mixer -Michael Belancourt Narrator -Bashir Harrell Contributors -Andres Davila and Tony Grigorio "Midnight Drive" -Heath Armstrong "Creativity" -Lillian Yang "The Brain and Flavor" If you liked Andres and Tony's segment, be sure to check out their music and latest album: http://unpluggedandreborn.com/ If you liked Heath's segment, be sure to check out his podcast: http://artsynow.com/ And if you liked Lillian's segment, check out her awesome podcast: http://www.foodnonfiction.com/ If you liked the music be sure to check out Michael Belancourt, Mr. Alexander, Hong Kong Express, CVLTVRΣ, Unplugged and Reborn, and Lamitina: http://soundcloud.com/enfinity http://soundcloud.com/mr-alexand-er https://soundcloud.com/hongkongexpress http://hkedream.bandcamp.com/ https://soundcloud.com/cvltvre http://cvltvre.bandcamp.com/ http://unpluggedandreborn.com/ http://dreamcatalogue.bandcamp.com/album/atlas-radar https://soundcloud.com/lamitina If you liked Hong Kong Express and Lamitina, be sure to check out the other artists on their label, Dream Catalogue: http://dreamcatalogue.bandcamp.com/ If you want to have your music featured on Comatose, send us an email at ComatosePodcast@gmail.com or tweet us @ComatosePodcast.

Hello from Food Non-Fiction. This episode introduces the hosts of this podcast, Lillian Yang and Fakhri Shafai. Through this podcast, we will take you on a food journey through history and around the world. We can't wait to entertain you with stories about food - its creators, its venues, its composition and more - using interviews, storytelling and discussion.