Gastropod: a store of food knowledge for omnivores

Journalists Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley serve up a bi-monthly podcast that takes everyday food and looks at its origins. For example, they look at the cranberry, which will soon be making its appearance in bottled jam/sauce form on our Christmas dinner table.

They look at how the cranberry was already being consumed by indigenous Americans in a food known as pemmican: cranberries and meat pounded together into a protein-rich meal that resembles beef jerky.

Now, Europeans consume pre-packaged cranberry sauce, following the American Thanksgiving tradition that started out with colonists of the New World substituting cranberries for gooseberries and redcurrants.

Other episodes focus on olive oil (technically, it is the juice of the olive fruit), cannibalism (the other other white meat), and a visit to the world’s first theme park for Italian food lovers, Eataly World, where revellers can learn to make bread and cheese, pet some cute farm animals or enjoy authentic Italian cuisine from the many restaurants and shops.

[ gastropod.com ]