If you know me at all, you know I love food – making it, eating it, and writing about it. I also enjoy a good podcast, which were first added to the Apple Store in in 2005, and have seen a resurgence in popularity in recent years. Because I am not alone in my love of food, there are dozens of food podcasts out there, many of them available for free. What are six that you should start listening to right away?
Created by Food52, the food website, “Burnt Toast” has been on a hiatus for about a year, and is returning on March 8th with new episodes. Hosted by Michael Harlan Turkell, this podcast covers a variety of topics that have anything to do with food, including where the gag of slipping on a banana peel came from, and the worst food in the White House. In 2015, the podcast won the James Beard Award for Best Food Podcast, so it’s got to be good!
Spilled Milk
Hosted by Molly Wizenberg and Matthew Amster-Burton, this light-hearted and funny podcast benefits from the fact that its hosts have great chemistry. If you’re wondering if they are authorities on food, they definitely are that, too. Molly writes Orangette, which was named the best food blog in the world by the London Times (and won a James Beard award), while Matthew has written for Gourmet and been included in the yearly “Best Food Writing” anthology five times.What’s nice about the podcast is that it moves quickly, and isn’t too long. The Arnold Palmer episode clocks in at just over 20 minutes.
What Doesn’t Kill You
On the not-so-light side of things, this podcast is for people who watched “Food, Inc.,” and needed to know more. With host Katy Keiffer and expert guests and authors, the podcast explores environmental, political, and economic issues that impact the food industry. If you are concerned about stuff like food waste and water rights, this podcast will educate you and maybe scare you a bit.
The Slow Melt
Chocolate lovers, rejoice! There’s a podcast just for you. Hosted by Simran Sethi, author of Bread, Wine, Chocolate: The Slow Loss of Foods We Love, this podcast explores everything there is to know about chocolate, a $100 billion industry. Simran talks to everybody who knows anything, including bean farmers, social justice activists, chocolate makers, and scientists.
Gastropod
A podcast for people (like me) who obsess about collecting information on the history and science of things, Gastropod uses interviews, field trips, and other research to uncover the truth about chile peppers, sourdough, cannibalism, seaweed farming, and more. It’s currently in its 9th season. Co-hosts Nicola Twilley and Cynthia Graber release a new episode every two weeks.
A Taste of the Past
Another podcast for history-lovers, “A Taste of the Past” features host Linda Pelaccio, a culinary historian, discussing anything to do with food with experts, authors, and others. Topics include the eating habits of ancient cultures and, in a recent episode, the history and evolution of noodles. Released weekly, the show is hosted by Heritage Radio Network, which has produced content since 2009.
———
Want to try something new this year? Check out this list of new foods to check out in 2018.
