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Eight Flavors: Punjabi-Mexican Cuisine and the Roti-Quesadilla

A roti quesadilla with a side of curry sauce and refried beans.

While writing my first book, Eight Flavors: The Untold Story of American Cuisine, I researched the eight most popular flavors in American cooking: black pepper, vanilla, chili powder, curry powder, soy sauce, garlic, MSG, and Sriracha. When I dived deep into each of these eight topics, I often found fascinating new information and…

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#california #indian #mexican #quesadilla #roti

Traditional Chinese Pastry Isn't Baked--So What's Up With Chinatown "Bakeries"?

Traditional Chinese Pastry Isn’t Baked–So What’s Up With Chinatown “Bakeries”?

An assortment of Chinese pastries. All photos by Dressler Parsons.

I’m so excited to share this post by my lastest intern, Dressler. She’s launched a blog called Bitter Butter: The Unsweet History of Pastries and you can also hire her for all things copywriting.

“That’s $12.50,” said the woman behind the counter.

Sarah and I exchanged a look. We had just spent the last several minutes poring over…

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#baking #bread #chinese #hong kong #new york #pork

Beaver Butt, Chili Powder, and MSG

Dried castoreum on display in a museum. Wikimedia // CC BY-SA 3.0

This summer was a whirlwind of food activity! I’ve got a new piece up on Mental Floss about the history of a vanilla substitute found in the glands of a beaver’s butt, and why you shouldn’t be that worried about it sneaking into your vanilla ice cream.

“In September 2013, popular blogger “The Food Babe” released a video…

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#castoreum #chili powder #msg

Eight Flavors Book Club Discussion Questions!

If Eight Flavors: The Untold Story of American Cuisine is on your summer reading list, then here are some very official discussion questions to help you along!

Lohman mentions omitting certain prominent American flavors from the book, such as chocolate and coffee, because of the wealth of existing coverage and research on them. Why else do you think she specifically chose to feature these eight…

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Podcast: The Science Enthuiast

I recently appeared on the The Science Enthusiast podcast, talking FOOD SCIENCE, natch. Tune in to hear me chat MSG, GMOs and much more. But don’t listen if you don’t like cussing, we do that a lot.

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#gmo #msg #science

The History Dish: "Barida," A Medieval Arab Recipe with Ancient Roman Roots

The History Dish: “Barida,” A Medieval Arab Recipe with Ancient Roman Roots

Barrida, an herby-chicken dish.

This is a special guest post from Intern Andrew! We just wrapped working together for the past five months, and as a result, he’s launched a new blog: Pass The Flamingo, which focuses on ancient cuisine. Read on to learn more about a unique recipe from the Islamic world.

Over its long history, the Arab world has become a unique crossroads, the site of centuries of…

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#ancient #baghdad #chicken #islam #roman

The History of Garlic: From Medicine to Marinara Garlick, from The Herbal by John Gerard, 1597. I've got a guest post up on Books, Health and History,

#eight flavors #garlic

Mental Floss: Why Early America was Obsessed with Nutmegs

I’ve got a post up on Mental Floss, unwrapping the mystery of the wooden nutmeg!

Although today we’re primarily familiar with nutmeg as a powder that comes in little plastic bottles, it’s actually the pit of the fruit of a tree native to the Banda Islands of Indonesia. Throughout the 18th century, the Dutch controlled the Banda Islands, keeping nutmeg scarce and prices high in international…

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#18th century #19th century #nutmeg #spice

Origin of a Dish: Steak au Poivre

Black pepper-crusted steaks. Photo by Alan Tran.

While writing my first book, Eight Flavors: The Untold Story of American Cuisine, I researched the eight most popular flavors in American cooking: black pepper, vanilla, chili powder, curry powder, soy sauce, garlic, MSG, and Sriracha. When I dived deep into each of these eight topics, I often found fascinating new information and recipes–some of…

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#black pepper #julia child #meat #steak #venison

Lapham’s Quarterly: Mild, Medium or Hot? Curry powder illustration by Peter Van Hyning I've got a new piece up on the Lapham's Quarterly blog…

#barbecue #curry #lapham&039;s quarterly

A Peek into my Next Book--and a Chance to Help Fund it!

A Peek into my Next Book–and a Chance to Help Fund it!

I’ve been hard at work on my next project! The working title is OHIO 1910, and the concept combines food history and true crime. I wanted to share with you how it’s going so far, and if you’re interested, you can help support my work by donating (and get yourself some perks in the process.) If you’re interested, there’s more info about what your donation funds here.

I’ll be telling the story of…

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#19th century #20th century #beer #brewing

Eight Flavors: James Beard's Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

Eight Flavors: James Beard’s Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

Chicken. With 40 cloves of garlic.

While writing my first book, Eight Flavors: The Untold Story of American Cuisine, I researched the eight most popular flavors in American cooking: black pepper, vanilla, chili powder, curry powder, soy sauce, garlic, MSG, and Sriracha. When I dived deep into each of these eight topics, I often found fascinating new information and recipes–some of which didn’t…

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#20th century #chicken #garlic #james beard

My Audio Book of Eight Flavors is out now!

Guess what? You can now LISTEN to Eight Flavors: The Untold Story of American Cuisine on audio CD or Audible–including whispersync, which allows you to switch back and forth between e-book and audio book without losing your place!

AND GUESS WHAT ELSE. I read the book! It’s 11-ish hours of my sweet, sylvan voice telling you tales about Edmond Albius, a 12-year-old slave who discovered the…

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mental_floss: A Brief History of Sushi in the United States A PLATE OF SUSHI IN THE 1970S, VIA GETTY IMAGES I've got a new article up on…

#20th century #fish #japan #sushi

Eight Flavors: My Book is on Sale NOW!

My first book, Eight Flavors:The Untold Story of American Cuisine, DROPS TODAY! You can get it direct from the publisher, on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, indie bookstores–or anywhere else books are sold! For a full list of retailers, click here.

“A unique and surprising view of American history… richly researched, intriguing, and elegantly written.” – The Atlantic

“A breezy American culinary…

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Eight Flavors: Country Captain Chicken

A chicken curry from the 1850s.

To create my first book, Eight Flavors: The Untold Story of American Cuisine, I researched the eight most popular flavors in American cooking: black pepper, vanilla, chili powder, curry powder, soy sauce, garlic, MSG, and Sriracha. When I dived deep into each of these eight topics, I often found fascinating new information and recipes–some of which didn’t make it…

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#chicken #curry #immigrants #india #tenement museum

The Perils of Assimilation: How what we eat makes us American, for better or worse.

I’ve got a new post up on Notes from the Tenement, The Lower East Side Tenement Museum’s blog, that gives more context to the Eating Like an Italian Immigrant Family experiment I did a few weeks ago. The piece takes a close look at the attitudes of American social workers and nutritionists at the turn-of-the-century regarding the diets of new Italian immigrants, and finds some striking parallels…

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#health #immigration #tenement museum

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