Episode 307: Treasures of Medieval Egyptian Cooking

09/13/18 • 53 min

The Kanz al-fawāʾid fī tanwīʿ al-mawāʾid, a fourteenth-century cookbook, is unique for its variety and comprehensive coverage of contemporary Egyptian cuisine. It is the only surviving cookbook from a period when Cairo was a flourishing metropolis and a cultural haven for people of diverse ethnicities and nationalities. Now available for the first time in English, it has been meticulously translated and supplemented with a comprehensive introduction by scholar Nawal Nasrallah. She joins Linda on this episode to discuss the discoveries, delights, and difficulties of the task of making this important work accessible.

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Episode 306: The Virginia Housewife: Cooking Mary Randolph

Mary Randolph wrote The Virginia Housewife Cookbook, first published in 1824. But who was she and who was in the kitchen doing the cooking? Dr. Leni Sorensen, a writer, chef, and Jefferson's Monticello resident culinary historian, joins Linda to talk about the kitchens, cooking methods, and enslaved cooks who influenced the recipes and methods of cooking in one of America's oldest printed cookbooks.

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Episode 308: Oreos and the Giant Cookie Factory, Nabisco

America has long had a love affair with cookies which led big business to get in the game and the choices of commercially made sweets seem endless. Several years ago Oreos, the iconic, #1 American cookie, celebrated their 100th birthday. Food writer and culinary historian Michael Krondl talks with Linda about their history and Nabisco - world's largest cookie factory that transformed cookie and cracker manufacturing.

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