It’s a little known fact that in the nineteenth century, Americans favored green teas consumed hot with milk and sugar. The teas were imported from China until Japan developed an export industry centered on the U.S. Author Robert Hellyer explores the forgotten American preference and traces the trans-Pacific tea trade from the eighteenth century forward in his book, Green with Milk and Sugar (discount code: cup20). He shares his insights on how the interconnections between Japan and the United States have influenced the daily habits of people in both countries. Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support A Taste of the Past by becoming a member!A Taste of the Past is Powered by Simplecast. 

The history of cocktails in America is heavily skewed toward the male’s tale when, in fact, that is only half of story of the cocktail’s rise to social prominence. Women are largely absent from the tales of the cocktail until the late 20th century, but they were making, serving, and writing about the scene and its art long before Jerry Thomas’s famed bartender’s guide. Dr. Nicola Nice recognized the history gap while working in market research advising liquor companies. Now, along with her entrepreneurial gin liqueur business and website, she has extended her research to historical liquor literature in which she strives to fill that gap of the missing women. Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support A Taste of the Past by becoming a member!A Taste of the Past is Powered by Simplecast.

Cider is delicious and it is historic. It is America’s first popular alcoholic beverage, made from apples brought across the Atlantic from England in colonial times. And over the past fifteen or so years it has been enjoying something of a revival. To appreciate the differing tastes of cider one needs to know more about the apples and the history as “Cider embodies the best and worst of America’s history and agricultural practices.” Cider specialists and authors Dan Pucci and Craig Cavallo delve deep into the topic in their recent book, American Cider: A Modern Guide to a Historic Beverage.Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support A Taste of the Past by becoming a member!A Taste of the Past is Powered by Simplecast.

Sourdough bread has a history that goes back at least 6,000 years and the earliest cultures--or sourdough starter--were likely an accident. Professor and amateur baker Eric Pallant shares the history and his own introduction to his storied starters from his new book Sourdough Culture.Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support A Taste of the Past by becoming a member!A Taste of the Past is Powered by Simplecast.

The cooking lessons that stick with us are rarely the ones we read in books or learn through blog posts or YouTube videos. They’re the ones we pick up as we spend time with good cooks in the kitchen. Dorothy Kalins, founding editor of Saveur magazine, calls the people who pass on their cooking wisdom her Kitchen Whisperers. Consciously or not, they help make us the cooks we are—and help show the way to the kind of cooks we have the potential to become. She has put her stories into a book, The Kitchen Whisperers, a beautifully written tribute to the people who teach us to cook and guide our hands in the kitchen.Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support A Taste of the Past by becoming a member!A Taste of the Past is Powered by Simplecast.