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The History of American Food: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Margaret Hardin
Starting with the first English settlements in the 17th Century, this podcast traces how we went from barrels of salted meat & peas to Korean bbq tacos and the largest grocery store selections ever seen anywhere in the world. We'll go everywhere - and it is full of surprises.
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- 6 days ago32 min
173 Potatoes for Frontier & Factory
How did America become the land of Meat & PotatoesI don't have all the answers yet - but I think I've found the well spring of the "& potatoes" portion. I'm about to sneak up on the big answer to the meat.But in the meantime, we look at whether you can have factory culture at the same time you pushing out a wild frontier - and what the potato has to do with it.Side quests - the origin on the French Fry, the Potato Chip and Breakfast Hash - not to mention why didn't America get the potato blight. (short answer... actually, we did)Tune in for lots of Potato NewsMusic Credit: Fingerlympics by Doctor TurtleShow Notes: https://thehistoryofamericanfood.blogspot.com/Email: TheHistoryofAmericanFood at gmail dot comThreads: @THoAFoodInstagram: @THoAFood& some other socials... @THoAFood
- 1 weeks ago34 min
172 The Potato - A History
Po-tay-toesWhere are they from? Why do we call them Irish? Are they poisonous? And what was the blight? I answer all these questions and more - as well as providing you with a link to a really cool paper published about the origins of potatoes 9 Million Year Ago!Cell September 2025 Full Text Article on the Origin of PotatoesCell Press Release on Potato Origins (less technical)Music Credit: Fingerlympics by Doctor TurtleShow Notes: https://thehistoryofamericanfood.blogspot.com/Email: TheHistoryofAmericanFood at gmail dot comThreads: @THoAFoodInstagram: @THoAFood& some other socials... @THoAFood
- 2 weeks ago29 min
171 Iron Has New Jobs in Food
Iron is back and it has a bunch of new tricks up it sleeves. Sure we still cook on it - but it's doing lots of other new things it has never done before.And that is going to change the way we eat - because what food we get, and how much we have to work to prepare it, and how fast we - and the food can travel is going to upset everything.So much of how long we think things should take is about to change in a big way.Hop on - don't miss the train.Music Credit: Fingerlympics by Doctor TurtleShow Notes: https://thehistoryofamericanfood.blogspot.com/Email: TheHistoryofAmericanFood at gmail dot comThreads: @THoAFoodInstagram: @THoAFood& some other socials... @THoAFood
- 3 weeks ago18 min
Season 6 Preview - I Wanna Go Fast
Let's Go Season 6(last season was way more dreary than I had thought)All I can say is Ice Cream for Everyone - and let's road trip... Rail Trip?The end of the 19th Century is exciting, colorful and yeah full of mistakes. But we are Doing Things, Building Things and Going Places.Let's Go.Music Credit: Fingerlympics by Doctor TurtleShow Notes: https://thehistoryofamericanfood.blogspot.com/Email: TheHistoryofAmericanFood at gmail dot comThreads: @THoAFoodInstagram: @THoAFood& some other socials... @THoAFood
- May 13, 202627 min
170 Prisoner of War Food for - Wait How Many Guys? The Long Tail of War
The LAST Civil War Episode becasue I'm writing this - and have decided that is ENOUGH Civil War.And, yes I'm not happy about writing about war while there is a "we are pretending it's not a war" going on. My poor brain has said enough.That said - it's an interesting topic. And despite how dire it is - things are actually better now than they used to be. Eat your veggies, brush your teeth, wash your hands.The American Battle Field Trust article on Andersonville: Hell Hath a New NameMusic Credit: Fingerlympics by Doctor TurtleShow Notes: https://thehistoryofamericanfood.blogspot.com/Email: TheHistoryofAmericanFood at gmail dot comThreads: @THoAFoodInstagram: @THoAFood& some other socials... @THoAFood
- May 6, 202630 min
169 Not Enough Railroads Will Make You Salty in the Bad Way
Every seasone needs a salt episode! And here it is. It's mainly about why the South was without salt - and how that meant they couldn't keep food around. That is - if they had been making enough. Which they were not.This is also the last time I will blather on about the difference in railroad plans and how it helped back the Confeds into a corner they built themselves.Don't invest in your people and pay attention to technology and you will be left behind. Especially if you are attempting to run your little corner of the world. It happened before, It's happening now - and it will happen again.Music Credit: Fingerlympics by Doctor TurtleShow Notes: https://thehistoryofamericanfood.blogspot.com/Email: TheHistoryofAmericanFood at gmail dot comThreads: @THoAFoodInstagram: @THoAFood& some other socials... @THoAFood
- Apr 29, 202624 min
168 If Music Be the Food of Love, Are Drugs the Food of War?
How long has America been dealing with Opiod Epidemics? If you said - since the 1860's you get a piece of Hardtack!Yes - just as war came up with more destructive weapons, the medical profession came up with the hypodermic syringe. While the ability to inject and extract things with this tool have been largely amazing, it also brought in the addictive rush of injected drugs. And one of the first injected drugs was opium.Even crazier than that was the fact the the US Government contracted with Chinese Immigrant farmers in Mexico to grow a large part of the supply of opium used in the war.America has always used drugs to make America go - has depended on the sale of drugs - nicotine and cafffeine for starters - to make American farmig profitable.Come find out about America's strange relationship with drugs - and how much we seem to not want to talk about it.Music Credit: Fingerlympics by Doctor TurtleShow Notes: https://thehistoryofamericanfood.blogspot.com/Email: TheHistoryofAmericanFood at gmail dot comThreads: @THoAFoodInstagram: @THoAFood& some other socials... @THoAFood
- Apr 24, 202638 min
167 The American Civil War, Thanksgiving & Eating Our Feelings
Yeah yeah - why a Thanksgiving Episode in April? Is this worse than Christmas in July? No, really, it makes sense. Especially becasue during the Civil War, when everything was an Agrairain Society, Thanksgiving planning was on the mind in April (well prboobly earlier)But follow along as to why Thanksgivng really came to National Attention during the Civil War either as something to get behind - or something to hate.And - look you have to start raising your Turkey in the Spring if you want one in Novenber (April is actually probobly too late - maybe?)Anyway - Here's the Link to Lincoln's Address. Johnson had to submit it b/c well, you know...Lincoln's 1863 Thanksgiving ProclamationMusic Credit: Fingerlympics by Doctor TurtleShow Notes: https://thehistoryofamericanfood.blogspot.com/Email: TheHistoryofAmericanFood at gmail dot comThreads: @THoAFoodInstagram: @THoAFood& some other socials... @THoAFood
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About The History of American Food
Starting with the first English settlements in the 17th Century, this podcast traces how we went from barrels of salted meat & peas to Korean bbq tacos and the largest grocery store selections ever seen anywhere in the world. We'll go everywhere - and it is full of surprises.
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