The Delicious Legacy

Hello!Italian food: What comes to mind first when you hear this? A Neapolitan pizza, warm with bubbly tomato sauce and mozarella? A cotoletta alla Milanese, or a Roman cacio e pepe pasta? A lovely bottle of chianti wine or a pasta pesto?But for all our knowledge -or lack of - how did the food of the Italian peninsula came to be? And why it become so popular?In his new book, "Al Dente - A History of Food in Italy" Fabio Parasecoli writes "Foodies are enraptured by its endless diversity and its capacity to intrigue and to always offer something new and ‘hot’. Tourists and travellers, often pleasantly surprised by their meals and the warm manners that surround them, end up projecting healthy amounts of romanticism on to dishes and ingredients, enriching Italian food with their own desires and longings. Writers also do their bit to perpetuate the myth..."So who's better to explain the food history of Italy and what it means other than Fabio Paresecoli himself?Let's listen to him, today!The paperback edition of the book is out on 1st of May and you can pre-order here:https://reaktionbooks.co.uk/work/al-denteFind more about Fabio on his website here:https://fabioparasecoli.com/about/EnjoyThom & The Delicious Legacy

Hello and welcome back to another culinary adventure my curious and hungry archaeogastronomers!How, when and why the first potatoes were domesticated? Who were the people who did it?The tough, inhospitable terrain, the extreme climate and the improbably high altitude plateau of the Andean altiplano is the home of the potato. A tuber that was a staple of the diet of the Andean people for thousands of years; then went not only to conquer the world, but be the friend of peasants, farmers, poor people too and save millions from starvation around the world! How did that come about? And what was the genius systems of the Incas that helped grow this amazingly tasty and nutritious food?Let's find out on today's epic adventure!Recommendations for the week:The Puratos Sourdough Libraryhttps://www.questforsourdough.com/puratos-libraryPeople | Planet | Food, a Scigest podcast series exploring the intersection of sustainability, agriculture, and our global food system.https://www.plantandfood.com/en-nz/people-planet-foodCradle of Gold:The Story of Hiram Bingham, a Real-Life Indiana Jones, and the Search for Machu Picchuhttps://www.christopherheaney.net/cradle-of-gold/descriptionEnjoy!The Delicious Legacy

Hello!The island of Corfu was legendary since the homeric times for it's agreeable climate and the lush green forests. Food was abundant and the inhabidants wealthy.So what's the traditional food of Corfu and the influnces in the island?And how come and it has over five million olive trees and almost a million of them centuries and centuries old?Let's find on todays episode!With music from Pavlos KapralosThe Delicious Legacy

Hello!In today's episode we have an Interview with Dr Christina Wade, author of the newly released book "Filthy Queens - A History of Beer in Ireland."Irish stories, myths and legends are full of spirits and ghosts. The history of beer in Ireland is no different; many of these shadowy echoes are still reverberating in the modern brewing history. Beer and ale can bring us together, and importantly understand the past, our past, better, as well as bring us closer to our ancestors, who also drunk beer. And they did so to celebrate, commiserate and of course to socialise with friends and family just as we do.But beer has a secret. For centuries, women brewers remained key participants in the beer trade, up to the Industrial Revolution when increased mechanisation, alongside Victorian societal constraints, conspired to push a lot of them out. This was true in England, and many other places and it is no different for Ireland. Saints, nuns, wives, queens; the stories of Irish women and ale are countless.Join me today as I talk with Dr Christina Wade about her latest book Filthy Queens A History of Beer in Ireland, to find out more of the amazing history of women brewers of the Emerald Isle!You can buy the book here:https://ninebeanrowsbooks.com/en-gb/products/filthy-queensand Dr Wades substack: https://substack.com/home/post/p-151378197This week's recommendations:Musician and poet of ancient music Bettina Joy De Guzman:https://www.bettinajoydeguzman.com/https://www.youtube.com/@bettinajoydeguzman1981The Ancient Crops We've Forgotten How to Grow:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjFT4PC8YIQ&t=3sJonny Garrett:https://www.goodbeerhunting.com/authors/jonny-garretthttps://www.waterstones.com/book/the-meaning-of-beer/jonny-garrett/9781838959944Enjoy!Much love,Thom & The Delicious Legacy

Lenten fasting became law at the Council of Aix in 837AD. Charlemagne was determined to see that it was observed, by force if necessary. Any baptised Lombard or Saxon chieftain who failed to do proper penance had his head cut off, an uninviting prospect for any budding Christian!Hello,Enjoy this updated version of an older episode about feasting and fasting in the desert nearly 2000 years ago from the first Christian fathers, the monks who made the religion of Christianity what it is.How did they live, survive and thrive? What did they eat? And how this strict lifestyle evolved to monasticism as we know it in Europe medieval period?All the above and much more, with recipes from the past in this updated marathon episode!Enjoy!Music by Pavlos KapralosThe Delicious Legacy

Hello!How did the ancient Greeks and Romans ate turnip? And what was the position of this vegetable at the dinner table? How important was it?And what the heck is a skirret, how do you cook it and why did we stop cultivating it on a large scale?All this and more on this weeks episode!This week's recommendations areA is For Apple Podcast:https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/s2e2-b-is-for-buttery-bistro-bournville/id1743840806?i=1000691341726Kentwell medieval gardenshttps://www.kentwell.co.uk/Charlie Taverner Street Foodhttps://charlietaverner.com/street-food/Chiara Vigo: The last woman who makes sea silk:https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-33691781Music on this episode by Pavlos Kapralos and Miltos BoumisEnjoy!Much love,Thom

Hello my lovely archaeogastronomers!A new episode is out!"Aedepsus in Euboea, where the baths are, is a place by nature every way fitted for free and gentle pleasures, and withal so beautified with stately edifices and dining rooms, that one would take it for no other than the common place of repast for all Greece. Here, though the 'earth and air yield plenty of creatures for the service of men, the sea no less furnisheth the table with variety of dishes, nourishing a store of delicious fish in its deep and clear waters."So Plutarch tells us in his book, Moralia.How much fish did the ancient Greeks eat? Was it popular? Expensive? What are the surviving recipes?Let's explore on this episode the story of fish eating in the ancient Greek World!Music by Pavlos KapralosLove,Thom & The Delicious Legacy podcast

Hello!A brand new episode for your delight!How does one deconstruct a meal to it's historical components? What is the truth behind the myths of a dish, the stories we tell about its origins, and how interconnected is the world's history with the cuisines, the spices, the ingredients we use on each country of ours?On this episode I interviewed Andreas Viestad, about his book "Dinner in Rome- A History of The World in One Meal". A meal in a restaurant in Rome, can provide all the inspiration that one needs to travel though millennia of human history and across the oceans in search for the ingredients that constitute the meal.Andreas Viestad's book is out now from Reaktion books and you can get it here:https://reaktionbooks.co.uk/work/dinner-in-romeIf you want access to the bonus bits of this episode, please join me on Patreon! www.patreon.com/thedeliciouslegacyMuch love,The Delicious Legacy