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In this bonus episode Sam explores the Instagram sensation that is the avocado and why this berry that takes its name from the Aztec word for testicle makes some people rather anxious. This is the full interview with author and environmental journalist Louise Gray, who’s book Avocado Anxiety tracks the stories of our five-a-day from farm to fruit bowl and uncovers the impact that growing fruits and vegetables has on the planet.
You can follow Louise on Instagram and X or find out more about her work here.
You can follow the A is for Apple Podcast on Instagram and X (Twitter).
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In this episode - the last of the A series! - Alessandra, Neil and Sam take on listeners’ suggestions to create quite the pot pourri mix of anchovies, alewives and avocados.
If you have any suggestions for season ‘B’ let us know! You can find A is for Apple on Instagram and X (Twitter) or email us at [email protected]
Useful links and things mentioned in the episode
Neil Buttery, Knead to Know, Icon Books, out this September 2024!Fresh, (2022)Food Standard Agency Food additives British Food: a History, Scotch woodcockMarine Conservation SocietyNeil Cooks Grigson, To Make a Nice Whet Before DinnerOrtiz anchovies Sally Granger , The Story of Garum (2020)The Epic of Gilgamesh (c.2150-1400 BCE)William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew (1594)Women in BeerElaine Dundy, The Dud Avocado (1958)Bee Wilson, Swindled: From Poison Sweets to Counterfeit Coffee (2008)Hannah Glasse, The Art of Cookery (1747) Elizabeth Raffald, The Experienced English Housekeeper (1769)Judith M Bennett, Ale, Beer and Brewsters in England (1996)William Langland, Piers the Plowman (1887)Charlie Taverner, Street Food: Hawkers and the History of London (2023) -
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In this extra bonus episode, Neil talks with Sam and Alessandra about why getting plenty of nitrogen in the soil is good for making amino acids and therefore protein.
You can follow the A is for Apple Podcast on Instagram and X (Twitter).
Sam Bilton also hosts the Comfortably Hungry Podcast and is the author of First Catch Your Gingerbread, Fool’s Gold: A History of British Saffron and The Philosophy of Chocolate. You can find her on Instagram and X.
Dr Neil Buttery also hosts the British Food History Podcast and is the author of A Dark History of Sugar and Before Mrs Beeton: Elizabeth Raffald Britain’s Most Influential Housekeeper. You can find him on Instagram and X.
Dr Alessandra Pino also co-hosts the Fear Feasts Podcast and is the co-author of A Gothic Cookbook. You can find her on Instagram and X.
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In this episode Allie gives Sam and Neil a topic to sink their teeth into as we discuss all things meaty. We chat about fake birds, meat jellies and learn why certain molecules make savoury food so irresistibly scrumptious.
Useful Links and things mentioned in the episode
Neil cooks Jane Grigson’s recipe for Guards of Honour
Eating Ortolans - Gastro Obscura
Neil’s woodcock recipe
Neil’s snipe recipe
Alouette, Gentile Alouette
Neil’s recipe for Seftons (savoury custards)
Neil cooks Jane Grigson’s recipe for Hindle Wakes
Jurassic Park Lysine Scene
What Should We Call Frankenmeat? The Cut by Edith Zimmerman (2018)
Carry on Screaming Reel (sadly this doesn’t show the ‘victims’ getting encased in wax but it gives you an idea)
Han Solo frozen in Carbonite
Suggested Reading
The Inferno (1265-1321), by Dante Alighieri
Forme of Cury (c.1380)
Fool’s Gold: A History of British Saffron (2023) by Sam Bilton
‘The Sit Down’ in Medium Raw by Anthony Bourdain (2010) for the description of eating Ortolans
A Gothic Cookbook (2024) by Ella Buchan and Dr Alessandra Pino
Before Mrs Beeton: Elizabeth Raffald, England’s Most influential Housekeeper (2023) Neil Buttery
The Constance Spry Cookery Book (1956) by Rosemary Hume and Constance Spry
Mrs Beeton and Mrs Marshall (2023) by Emma Kay
Rebecca (1938) by Daphne du Maurier
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Here is an extra helping of the A is for Apple podcast following on from our last episode on vegetables. If you listened to the last 'A' episode, you’re probably thinking that we were on our best behaviour. But you should know us better than that by now!
As ever Allie, Neil and I talked for ages about our vegetal A’s and inevitably we strayed onto our pet subjects of aphrodisiacs and sex. So here are the saucy bits we couldn’t fit into the previous episode on vegetables. But we start by continuing our discussion on the perils of recipe testing.
Suggested Reading
English Food (1998) by Jane Grigson
Good Savouries (1934) by Ambrose Heath
Royal Cookery or the Compleat Court Cook by Patrick Lamb (1726)
Put Out More Flags (1942) by Evelyn Waugh
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In today’s episode we will be discussing what many a child dreads encountering on their dinner plate. So prepare yourself for a wrinkled nose or two, an impromptu visit to the sick room and a few prickly surprises as Allie, Neil and I explore the verdant world of vegetables.
Useful Links
Sam’s Recipe for William Verrall’s Sweetbreads With Asparagus (1759)
Sam’s interpretation of Hannah Glasse’s Asparagus in a French Role (sic) on Instagram (essentially a quiche in a loaf of bread)
Neil’s Butter Sauce (a classic accompaniment to asparagus)
You can also find Neil’s talk on 'Navigating 19th Century English meals through Worcester porcelain' for the Museum of Royal Worcester onYouTube
Lindsay Middleton’s project Dishes for the Sickroom examines the links between food, health, education and international ingredients in the culinary collections of the Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) Archive Centre.
Suggested Reading
Emma by Jane Austen (1815)
The Diner’s Dictionary by John Ayto (1993)
Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management by Isabella Beeton (1861)
The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter (1993)
The Fruit, Herbs and Vegetables of Italy by Giacomo Castelvetro (1614)
‘Crumbs! A history of biscuits in 15 fantastic facts – from flatulence cure to phenomenal fuel’ by Lizzie Collingham in The Guardian, 18 October 2020
The Art of the Asparagus by Daisy Dunn in the Spectator, 15 May 2021
Acetaria. A discourse of sallets by John Evelyn (1706)
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In today’s baking themed episode, Alessandra looks into that classic piece of kitchen kit, the Aga, Neil investigates hyper-regional Welsh biscuits called Aberffraw cakes and Sam goes oh-so-retro with a deep-dive into angelica.
Books and other things mentioned in this episode:
Joanna Trollope A Village Affair (1989) Televised version (1995)
Book on Archive.org Television adaptation on YouTube
Mary Berry New Aga Cookbook (1999) Book on Archive.org
Ambrose Heath First Aga cookbook: Good Food on the Aga (1933) Book on Persephone Books
Sussex Pond Pudding Recipe on Neil Cooks Grigson blog
Cassel’s Dictionary Link on Wellcome Collection
Laura Mason and Catherine Brown The Taste of Britain (2010) Book on HarperCollins
Aberffraw Traditional Biscuit Company Website
Tale of Thormod and Thorarin translated in The Sagas of Kormak and The Sworn Brothers. Trans. Lee M Hollander, New York: Princeton University Press, 1949 pp179
'Angelica: From Norwegian Mountains to the English Trifle' by Ove Fosså in Wild Food: Proceedings of the Oxford Food Symposium on Food and Cookery 2004. Totnes: Prospect Books, 2006, 13 PDF link
Edward Daniel Clarke Travels in Various Countries of Europe, Asia and Africa (1810-1823)Link on Wellcome Collection
John Parkinson Paradisi in sole paradisus terrestris (1629) Link on Wellcome Collection
Robin Weir Ices: The Definitive Guide (1995) Book on Amazon
Curnonsky La Table et l’Amour (1950) Book on Untje.com
Contact us
email: [email protected]
linktree: linktr.ee/aisforapplepod
Social media
twitter/X: @aisforapplepod
Instagram: @aisforapplepod_
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Things start to get fruity in this third episode. Neil chooses almonds, fuelling a historical debate that goes a bit nuts. Apricots are more Allie’s jam as she looks at their use in literature and Sam takes the less beaten track of the aubergine, sparking memories of the time she made a parmigiana…on TV!
Useful Links
Neil's recipe for - or, rather, interpretation of - medieval blanc mange and modern, sweet blancmange.
‘Almond trees in Ancient Greek lore’ on the Greek News Agenda website
History of the Bimberlot Festival. ‘A French Party 600 Years in the Making’ by Hugh Thomas on the Smart Mouth Substack.
‘The "pretty art" of detecting pregnancy in The Duchess of Malfi’ by Claire McEwen Duncan via University of British Colombia Open Collections.
‘Eggplant (aubergine) — A Mad Apple with a Dark Liaison’ on the Vegetarians in Paradise website
‘Eggplant (aubergine) Symbol Timeline in Love in the Time of Cholera’ on the LitCharts website
Suggested Reading
In Search of Lost Time (1913) by Marcel Proust
The Experienced English Housekeeper (1769) by Elizabeth Raffald
A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1605) by William Shakespeare
Apricot Jam and Other Stories (2008) by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Elinor Fettiplace's Receipt Book: Elizabethan Country House Cooking (1987) by Hilary Spurling (based on the late sixteenth century manuscript notebook belonging to Elinor Fettiplace)
The Duchess of Malfi (1613) by John Webster
Pride and Pudding: The History of British Puddings, Savory and Sweet (2016) by Regula Ysewijn
Anything to add? Don’t forget we want to hear your suggestions for future topics.
Contact us
email: aisforapplepod.gmail.com
linktree: linktr.ee/aisforapplepod
Social media
twitter/X: @aisforapplepod
Instagram: @aisforapplepod_
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Ever wondered what the origins of the word jerk are? Or how you can tell whether your allspice is fresh? Sam, Neil and Allie seek answers to these questions in this mini bonus episode.
Suggested Reading
Hans Sloane, A voyage to the islands Madera, Barbados, Nieves, S. Christophers and Jamaica, with the natural history ... (Volume 1) (1707)
Hans Sloane, ‘A Description of the Pimienta or Jamaica Pepper-Tree, and of the Tree That Bears the Cortex Winteranus,’ in Philosophical Transactions (1686)
Melissa Thompson, Motherland: A Jamaican Cookbook (2022)
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We’ve been fine tuning our olfactory organs and immersing ourselves in a cloud of wonderful scents. In this episode Neil explains why asafoetida is a substitute for garlic and onions by some religious groups; Sam chats to food writer and broadcaster Melissa Thompson about jerk seasoning (which includes allspice) and Allie has a gripe about a literary misappropriation of aniseed.
Useful LinksFor more information on Melissa Thompson visit the FOWL MOUTHS: Food & Recipe Project website or Instagram. Melissa’s book Motherland is a great read as well as being packed with mouthwatering recipes.
Neil’s recipe for Yorkshire Curd Tart and Seed Cake
Dogs and anise
Pepper cake recipe on Traditional Yorkshire Recipes blog
‘The Wandering Womb’ article in the New Yorker
Suggested ReadingThe History and Natural History of Spices: The 5,000-Year Search for Flavour by Ian Anderson, (2023)‘Christopher Columbus, Gonzalo Pizarro, and the Search for Cinnamon’ by Andrew Dalby. Gastronomica, (2001)1(2), 40–49. https://doi.org/10.1525/gfc.2001.1.2.40 The English Huswife (1615) by Gervase MarkhamAllspice Pepper Seasoning: Mexican Case by Miguel Angel Martinez Alfaro Virginia Evangelista Oliva, Myrna Mendoza Cruz Cristina Mapes and Francisco Basurto Peña‘A Description of the Pimienta or Jamaica Pepper-Tree’ by Hans Sloane, in Philosophical Transactions (1686)A Natural History of Jamaica (1705) by Hans SloaneThe Hobbit (1937) by JRR TolkienSpice: The History of Temptation by Jack Turner. London: Harper Perennial (2004). Turner says that in Le Paradis sexuel des aphrodisiaques (1971) Marcel Rouet advocated rubbing your penis with pepper oil and allspice before intercourse (as an alternative to raw chillies) to drive your partner wild with excitement!
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In this bonus episode, Allie interviews apple detective Tom Adams to discuss his work in uncovering forgotten and nearly extinct apple varieties, and why preserving them is crucial.
Contact us:
email: aisforapplepod.gmail.com
Find our Substack, social media & various other bits and bobs via our Linktree: linktr.ee/aisforapplepod
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In the very first episode, Neil is presenting and gives everyone a free choice as to what topic they want to talk about, as long as it begins with A of course. Alessandra goes for apples, Neil chooses absinthe and Sam looks into adulteration.
Links to things mentioned in this episode:
‘13 Magical Ways to Use Apples’
Glyn Hughes’ Alan Turin sculpture
‘Lancashire man poisoned after eating cherry seeds’ article on BBC News
‘How Did La Belle Époque Become Europe’s Golden Age?’ article on The Collector
‘Site of "The Absinthe Murders"’ article on Atlas Obscura
The Apple Tree (1952) by Daphne du Maurier
Hallowe’en Party (1969) by Agatha Christie
The July Ghost (1982) by A.S. Byatt
Join our free Substack to get extra bonus features: https://substack.com/profile/147444179-sam-bilton
Anything to add? Don’t forget we want to hear your suggestions for future topics.
Contact us:
email: aisforapplepod.gmail.com
Social media:
twitter/X: @aisforapplepod
Instagram: @aisforapplepod_
