How did content creator Sarah Ahn reconnect with her Korean identity through food? Why does food taste so good at the top of a mountain? Does salt really make tea taste better? We answer these questions and more on the new season of Proof from America's Test Kitchen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the final episode of our Best of Proof: Travel Edition series, we find out what it looks like when you uproot yourself from a familiar culinary place to an unknown city. The Moth performer and writer Aaron Pang dives in with this audio diary that chronicles his move from San Francisco to Iowa City. Make Dumplings at home with our recipe for Chinese Pork Dumplings. Get a 14-day free trial for an America’s Test Kitchen digital subscription at atkpodcast.com. All new episodes of Proof return in April! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Melipona honey from Mexico is prized for its taste and its medicinal qualities. But melipona bees are under threat; not just from deforestation, pesticides, or habitat loss, but also from the dwindling number of beekeepers who know how to cultivate these special hives. Reporter Maya Kroth takes us to the Yucatan region to chronicle the quiet fight to revive a dying craft. Proof will back after Thanksgiving on December 5th. Make a simple lemonade with a floral twist with our recipe for Lemonade with Honey. Get a 14-day free trial for an America’s Test Kitchen digital subscription here. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This season, we’re bringing you food stories from all over--from South America to the South Side of Chicago. We travel to Colombia to find out why leaf cutter ants–a common snack in the country–are disappearing. We drive around Chicago in search for one of the city's most famous culinary exports (and no, it's not deep-dish pizza or hot dogs). And we ask: Why does a Dungeons and Dragons recipe book have almost as many positive reviews as America’s Test Kitchen’s best-selling title? All that, and so much more on Season 11 of Proof from America’s Test Kitchen. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we're bringing you a collection of some of our favorite Proof episodes. Our friends at Hark Audio curated this list so you can relive or be introduced to some of the best moments from our feed. Hark editors pick and choose these compelling podcast moments and transform them into one-of-a-kind playlists--kind of like creating a special mixtape of all of your interests in podcast form. Download the Hark app and check out our host Kevin Pang's Harklist on the origins of fast food chains. You can also check out the Forbidden and Dangerous Foods, Cocktail Histories, or Little Known New York Food History Harklists. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here’s a special preview of Not Lost, a new podcast about finding yourself in places you’ve never been from our friends at Pushkin Industries! Host Brendan Francis Newnam takes us around the world, learning about new places by getting invited to a stranger’s house for dinner. From Montréal to Mexico City, Brendan and his guests drink, dance, and eat, learning as much about themselves as the places they visit. In this preview, Brendan and his friend Danielle Hendersen head to the Big Easy and discover that it’s anything but. Carousel bars, gospel choirs, voodoo readings, and a visit to a slavery memorial plunge the duo into conversations about the good life with local luminaries like jazz-great Kermit Ruffins, voodoo priestess Madame Cinnamon, and a chef who dreams about gumbo. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For the season finale, we're bringing you three short stories on the theme: One person's trash is another person's treasure. Reporter Stephen Calabria digs into the story of a famous half-eaten piece of toast, ATK assistant editor Eden Faithful goes dumpster diving, and reporter Eliza Rothstein traces the life cycle of a pastry that turns into a spirit. Proof will be back for Season 11 late July, and in the meantime, we'll post other exciting content in our feed! You can view what items Christie's auctioned off from Sue Houghton's Beatles collection here. And if you’re curious about what Misadventure's vodka tastes like, head to misadventure.com and use the code PROOF2022 for 15% off vodka bottles. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Baskets of bok choy, galangal, collard greens, epazote. We often take these United Nations of produce for granted, but it’s the deliberate work of farmers cultivating heritage seeds that ignites the growing diversity of fruits, grains, and vegetables. In this episode, reporter Jean Trinh chronicles the lives of three farmers who have made it their mission to plant seeds that sow a sense of home, cultural preservation, and belonging. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The McDonald’s vegan cheese slice. Botanical flavors for your next latte. A patent to cure meats with...celery juice. Many of the next it-food innovations are engineered by a company you’ve probably never heard of but touches almost food product you know: The Kerry Group. Reporter John Ringer goes behind the scenes at this food factory and lab, as he traces the history of Kerry’s humble roots as an Irish dairy cooperative to a worldwide ingredients company. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Black Americans have deep historical connections and ownership over vegan and plant-based cuisines. But after the Great Migration, many left farms and the Jim Crow South to cities where urbanization and the advent of fast food changed the landscape of accessibility to fresh foods. In this episode of Proof, writer Gabrielle Lawrence-Cormier reconnects with their family's pre-Great Migration gardening traditions and reclaims their plant-based culinary roots. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many of us have family recipes that have been passed down for generations. For reporter Anh Gray, it's her late mother's piping hot bowl of beef pho. But what do we do when we need to amend these recipes? Is something lost when we make substitutions, or can we iterate and build upon that which is sacred? Anh dives in. Thanks to our sponsor, Naked Lunch. It's a new podcast hosted by Phil Rosenthal of Netflix's Somebody Feed Phil, and music journalist David Wild. Listen and subscribe to Naked Lunch wherever you get your podcasts. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Who were some of the first people ever to make wine? Images of ancient people of the Caucasus or France might come to mind. But what if we told you that wine was being made in ancient Japan, around the same time--or even earlier--than it was in the Caucuses? And even before sake was being made in Japan? Reporter Hannah Kirshner investigates. You can read Hannah's article on the history of winemaking in Japan for Food & Wine, and her latest book is Water, Wood, and Wild Things: Learning Craft and Cultivation in a Japanese Mountain Town. Eric C. Rath’s latest book is Oishii: The History of Sushi. Edward Slingerland’s is Drunk: How We Sipped, Danced, and Stumbled Our Way to Civilization. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Bear Grass, North Carolina, where moonshine, tobacco, and bootlegging were once king. Today, a storied dish called chicken mull is a staple of the town's identity and for years, Bear Grass held an annual chicken mull-making contest to see who made the best mull. What happens though, when this humble dish almost tears the small, close-knit community apart? Reporter Allison Salerno reports. Interested in making chicken mull? Find our Cook's Country recipe here. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Writer and former restaurant owner Dionne Reid investigates White Claw's rapid ascendance and its prowess as a gay icon. If you don't have a White Claw in your fridge, make your own vodka soda drink with our recipe for Peach-Basil Vodka Spritzer. Get a 14-day free trial for an America’s Test Kitchen digital subscription here. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Black walnuts are probably nature's toughest nut to crack. But one man--television producer and newbie farmer Mike Trinklein--is determined to prove that it's a crop worth farming for. In this episode of Proof, Mike walks us through the history and benefits of these nuts, and shares his own scheme to get rich...slow off the land. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Proof from America's Test Kitchen returns Thursday, April 21st! We kick off Season 10 by traveling to the midwest in search of a tough-to-crack crop. We ask: Who has the right to tweak a national dish? We also try to solve the mystery of The Beatles' George Harrison's piece of toast. All that, and much more on the new season of Proof! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Muhidin Libah was living in Syracuse, New York when he received a call from a Somali Bantu community in Maine. They wanted his help setting up a non-profit organization that would run a farm aimed to serve the growing Somali Bantu émigré community in the Pine Tree State. As Muhidin answered the call, he wondered whether they should stick to setting the organization up with a strictly for-us-by-us mentality, or whether they needed allies in a place that had shown hostility to his people. What does it mean to set up a farm--for and by a minority community--in a predominantly white region? Reporter Ashia Aubourg digs in. This story is based on Ashia's story in Cuisine Noir. Visit the Somali Bantu Community Association of Maine's website to find out more. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does it look like when you uproot yourself from a familiar culinary place to an unknown city? The Moth performer and writer Aaron Pang dives in with this audio diary that chronicles his move from San Francisco to Iowa City. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One day in 2012, Proof host Kevin Pang received an email from his father, urging Kevin to watch a video on YouTube that he'd just sent. Reluctantly, Kevin opened it to discover that somehow, his retired father had created a YouTube cooking channel that had nearly a million views. This would kick off a series of events that would forever change Kevin's relationship with his father. This week's episode is a story about family, what happens when immigrants move to a new country, and how Kevin's dad became an unlikely YouTube star. (This story is based on Kevin Pang's article in the New York Times Magazine.) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Around the world and throughout history, we’ve celebrated the departed with rituals that involve food. Pharaohs were buried with feasts. We pour out drinks in honor of fallen friends and family. But the precision and thought that Zoroastrian priest Marziban Hathiram puts into preparing meals for the departed is in a league of its own. Author Varud Gupta takes us through the intricacies of the stum death ritual in Gujarat, India, and walks us through what foods are--and aren’t--appropriate for the afterlife. Read more of Varud's journey in his book, Bagwaan Ke Pakwaan: Food of the Gods. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Charlotte Gill was anguished by the way the lobsters at her lobster pound died a slow death in vats of boiling water. ‘There must be another way,’ she thought. ‘How about getting them high?’ In this episode of Proof, science reporter Sarah Vitak tracks Gill’s quest, invokes David Foster Wallace, and considers the lobster. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jewish delis are a staple of many American cities and neighborhoods. But even before the COVID-19 pandemic devastated the restaurant industry, Jewish delis were already on the decline. In 1931, there were an estimated 2,000 delis in the Big Apple. Today--almost a century later--there’s fewer than a few dozen. So what accounts of this deli decline? Reporter Rebecca Rosman samples delis across the United States in search for answers. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We kick off the new season by asking: Why are Jewish delis disappearing? We consider the lobster, and the most humane way to treat them before we eat them. We look at literal soul food--food that's served to the departed, and you'll hear a story from host Kevin Pang about how his dad became an unlikely YouTube cooking star. All that, and much more on Season 9 of Proof from America’s Test Kitchen. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we have a special episode from our friends over at Mystery Recipe, a podcast from America's Test Kitchen Kids for young chefs ages 4-10. This episode features Proof host Kevin Pang! If you like Mystery Recipe, you can find their fourth season anywhere you get your podcasts. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How did a Cold War-era American food aid program help ignite the rise of the modern Asian pastry and lead to the creation of milkbread? Clarissa Wei reports. Learn how to make Shokupan or Japanese White Bread at home with our tested recipe. Get a 14-day free trial for an America’s Test Kitchen digital subscription here. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Old Bay Seasoning is a hallmark of mid-Atlantic food culture. The yellow and red branding has stood the test of time, and remained unshakably present in grocery stores across the country. It's sprinkled on seafood, fries, and even used in ice cream. But despite its renowned fame and recognition, very few people actually know the man behind this iconic seasoning and his battle with the spice industry. Reporter Claudia Rosenbaum digs into the the David-and-Goliath origins of Old Bay Seasoning, and how the spice blend has endured today. Take our season 8 survey to get a 30% off coupon code at the America's Test Kitchen online shop. A note from our sponsors: Listeners get 15% off of their first order at porterroad.com/proof. Get high quality cured meats and charcuterie in stores and online at Veroni USA. Use code ATK15 for 15% off on OXO.com. Visit nakedwines.com/summerproof for $100 to spend on wine. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How we speak, what we wear, and what we eat are influenced by our upbringings, our cultures, and our roots. But what happens when we peel the curtain back on all the things we thought we knew about ourselves? What would we find? In this episode, reporter Sheila V Kumar interrogates her own vegetarianism and asks what consequences our food choices have in the political sphere and in our own lives. Take our Season 8 survey here. A note from our sponsors: Get high quality cured meats and charcuterie in stores and online at Veroni USA. Use code ATK15 for 15% off on OXO.com. Visit nakedwines.com/summerproof for $100 to spend on wine. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Few drinks have gone through the ringer the way Chartreuse has. Since the 1700s, a silent group of monks in the Southeast of France have produced and protected this elixir-turned-liqueur through evictions, natural disasters, and other trials and tribulations of history. Today, Chartreuse is a crucial ingredient that helped spur the modern craft cocktail movement. Proof's managing producer and self-professed "pro-sumer" of cocktails, Yumi Araki, digs into the history of the spirit that just wouldn't die. Take our Season 8 survey here. For further reading on the history of Chartreuse: Chartreuse the Liqueur. A note from our sponsors: Listeners get 15% off of their first order at porterroad.com/proof. Get high quality cured meats and charcuterie in stores and online at Veroni USA. Use code ATK15 for 15% off on OXO.com. Visit nakedwines.com/summerproof for $100 to spend on wine. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The smell of certain foods imprint themselves in our brains and can transport us to different places and our past. One scent in particular--the smell of za'atar--brought two Palestinian women together through social media. Nadia Tommalieh and Lulu Abura instantly shared a bond over their love for the herb and the spice blend that reminds them of their homeland. Reporter Haley Gray reports. Take our Season 8 survey here. Follow Nadia Tommalieh on Instagram here. Follow Lulu Abura on Instagram here. A note from our sponsors: Get high quality cured meats and charcuterie in stores and online at Veroni USA. Use code ATK15 for 15% off on OXO.com. Visit nakedwines.com/summerproof for $100 to spend on wine. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On a cold night in January 2017, five comedians gathered around a table in the back of a cramped restaurant in New York’s Greenwich Village called the Olive Tree Cafe. The comedian weren't scheduled to perform at the downstairs Comedy Cellar that night, but they had come to hang out at a place they called home: a family dinner around the most important table in American stand-up comedy. This restaurant--and the famous comedian's table--have long served as home base for comedians like Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock, Amy Schumer, Aziz Ansari, and Dave Chappelle--the five comedians who ended up performing at what would be remembered as the Billion Dollar Comedy Night. Reporter Stephen Calabria digs into the history of the Olive Tree Cafe and how it fuels some of America's most famous stand-up comedians. A note from our sponsors: Listeners get 15% off of their first order at porterroad.com/proof. Get high quality cured meats and charcuterie in stores and online at Veroni USA. Use code ATK15 for 15% off on OXO.com. Visit nakedwines.com/summerproof for $100 to spend on wine. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

June Pinks. Candy Stripes. Leather Britches, and Fall Roses. These are the names of just a few apple varieties that have been lost to time. But one man, Tom Brown, is on a mission to find them—and especially one variety called the Junaluska—before it’s too late. Will Tom Brown succeed? Claire Donnelly reports. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pineapple cakes. Pork-wrapped pineapple. Pineapple bento boxes, and beef pineapple noodle soup. Reporter Kai McNamee started seeing the spiky fruit everywhere—at restaurants, at convenience stores and at bakeries—after China banned pineapple imports from Taiwan earlier this year. A pineapple-related hashtag also took social media by storm. So what was the #FreedomPineapple campaign all about? Kai investigates in this episode of Proof. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ethereal, contained, and rife with ingredients like cottage cheese, whipped cream, and fruit. The Jello salad was a mainstay of many American households throughout the 1950s and the '60s. They were a feast for the eyes, with mixed results about whether they were a feast for the stomach. Still, housewives made them, until a shift happened that upended the way women--and men--thought about cooking. In the season eight premiere of Proof, producer Karen Given tells us about the rise and fall of Jello and gelatin. It’s a story that begins in the Middle Ages, features handsome door-to-door gelatin salesmen on horseback, and goes all the way to Julia Child. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This season, we're back with a new lineup, and a new host, Kevin Pang! We kick off the season with a story about gelatin and the heyday of Jell-O. We ride along an apple hunter’s journey in search of a lost apple variety. We look at the place--and the food--that’s nurtured some of the best comedians in America, and how a drink made by a silent group of monks has survived over centuries, against all odds. All that, and more on season 8 of Proof from America’s Test Kitchen. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the town of Yamanaka in Western Japan, wild boars are a threat to local farming. With the extinction of natural predators, the boars run rampant, leaving hunters like Sakura Yoshida to patrol the area. This pits boars against humans, but Sakura approaches the boars with veneration and a deep understanding of the ecosystem they both inhabit. In this episode of Proof, author Hannah Kirshner takes us along for a ride with Sakura and recounts the history of meat eating in Japan. This episode draws on the "Year of the Boars" chapter in Hannah Kirshner's Water, Wood, and Wild Things. For further reading about human-wildlife relations in Japan, read The Lost Wolves of Japan by Brett L. Walker and Waiting For Wolves in Japan by John Knight. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does it mean to impart the "taste of space" into our ice creams, juices, cheeses and even fruit? Reporter Julie Carli dives into the history of foods that have both been made for and inspired by outer space. Make your own Ice Cream at home, using one of our recommended Ice Cream Makers. Get a 14-day free trial for an America’s Test Kitchen digital subscription here. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our five senses--sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell--can feel intrinsically linked to who we are. But when aspiring chef Molly Birnbaum lost her sense of smell in a traumatic accident, she resolved to get it back through smell training and learning how our olfactory systems are connected to the brain. In this episode of Proof, Editor-In-Chief of ATK Kids Molly Birnbaum, walks us through her journey, and talks to others who lost their sense of smell--from Covid-19 and other causes--along the way. Read Molly's book, Season to Taste: How I Lost My Sense of Smell and Found My Way. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hospitality and and serving others were at the heart of Damián Diaz and Othón Nolasco's bar consulting business in Los Angeles. When the pandemic hit, the duo noticed that undocumented workers, who serve as vital back of house staff at restaurants and bars, weren't eligible or able to get the help that they needed. The two decided to start a nonprofit organization and called it No Us Without You. In this episode of Proof, reporter Jean Trinh talks to two individuals who have been helped by No Us Without You and chronicles how Damián and Othón resolved to serve those who have served us for years. A version of this story was originally reported in The Washington Post. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Baloney is one of the most well-known--and divisive--meat products in the United States. Many synonymize it with "fake" or "synthetic," but there are some who defend the maligned meat to its core. What makes this iconic American food so controversial, and how did it fall from its former glory? In this episode of Proof, Reporter Rebecca Rosman travels to Bologna, Italy to trace the origins of the city's namesake meat, and talks to the people in the United States who are at the forefront of revitalizing the meat's reputation. Take our show survey here: https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/6274752/Proof-Season-7-Survey See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tortillas, tortilla chips, and tamales—these are all foods that are easy to enjoy but not as easy to make from scratch. There's a process called nixtamalization that occurs, which unlocks nutrients from corn and makes it ready to use in the foods we love. Nixtamalization is a crucial step, yet it's not well-known. It's a testament to the ingenuity of Indigenous science, which has been subject to erasure throughout history. In this episode of Proof, Navajo reporter Andi Murphy walks us through her journey of nixtamalizing blue corn, and embarks on an Indigenous information exchange with chefs, scholars, and poets in the process. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For many of us, food and family are an intertwined bridge of our identity. We can trace so many things about ourselves and personalities to our family members and the meals we’ve shared. There are the dedicated feeders of the family, the thankful eaters, and the confusing neithers--they neither eat nor feed. Writer Ahmed Ali Akbar was a neither. At an early age, he didn’t eat or prepare much of his family’s Pakistani food. However, an unexpected meal changed his entire perspective. In this episode of Proof, Ahmed confronts his pickiness while solidifying an undeniable connection he shared with a beloved feeder. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Food Timeline has been a valuable resource for food professionals and laypeople alike. The website chronicles the origins of everything from emmer grain (which, dates back to 17,000 BC), to the modern-day cake pop. Most impressively, the Food Timeline was the creation of one single individual: Lynne Olver. In 2015, however, the future of the Food Timeline suddenly becomes uncertain. In this episode of Proof, we go back in Internet history to witness the Food Timeline's birth and learn about the amazing woman behind it. Explore the Food Timeline for yourself here: http://foodtimeline.org/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Canned foods are an essential part of our pantries. From pasta sauce, to pumpkin puree, to corn and beans, these ready-to-open options give cooking more ease. That is exactly what Nicolas Appert wanted when he invented the airtight art of food preservation. During the 19th century, this French chef identified ways to hold nature’s greatest gifts in bottles year-round. Yet, after this transformative discovery, Appert’s legacy is still unknown by the majority of the world. In this episode of Proof, we unpack the story of Appert’s non-perishable contributions to society. Read Malcolm Summers' biography of Nicolas Appert here. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Who was the man who helped revolutionize the way we eat? What does it mean to be an ambassador of a food culture and a pickiy eater at the same time? Why is a boar hunter in Japan conflicted? Tune in to find out on Season 7 of Proof beginning April 22. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dan Pashman is on a mission to make--and sell--a new pasta shape. Our friends at The Sporkful have a new five part series on Dan's journey (and in this episode, find out why he hates Spaghetti). You can find the rest of the series in The Sporkful feed wherever you listen to podcasts. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our friends a Transmitter Media have a body-positive and unapologetically food-positive show that is about breaking up with diet culture. Host Virgie Tovar talks to amazing ‘rebel eaters’ who will change the way you think about food and your body. Their second season just launched and features great conversations with guests like Francis Lam from The Splendid Table, as well as fascinating stories about why we eat what we eat. Listen now in your favorite podcast app or at rebeleatersclub.com See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What if we told you that one of the earliest third places—spots outside of the home and workplace where people can convene and commune with others; often over food—was a tea room? Reporter Lindsey Polevoy traces the history of one such third place run by Polish immigrant, Eve Adams. Bring the fanciness of the tea room home with our recipe for Tea-Infused Crème Brûlée. Get a 14-day free trial for an America’s Test Kitchen digital subscription here. Special thanks to the following ATK Staff for their lending their voice acting skills to this episode: Charlotte Errity Eric Haessler Elizabeth Kaufman Angelica Quintanilla Karen Tran Ian Watson See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nichols Electronics has a monopoly on the ice cream truck music box market. When you hear the familiar sound of ice cream truck music ringing through your neighborhood, chances are extremely high that it’s coming from a box that Mark and Beth Nichols created. For decades, they’ve been in the business of evoking nostalgia and happy memories. Until recently, when it was revealed that one of the most popular songs on their boxes has a dark history. Today on Proof, we tell the story of how one small family business faced the biggest controversy to rock the ice cream truck industry. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When you see “not from concentrate” on a carton of OJ, you might assume it’s healthier than other brands. But actually, that’s a relic of a decades-long juice brand battle and deceptive marketing that sold customers the promise of a "balanced breakfast." In fact, the behemoths behind orange juice popularity have constantly shape-shifted and reinvented themselves in order to bring our favorite breakfast juice to the proverbial table. In this episode of Proof, we chronicle Minute Maid and Tropicana’s decades-long tête-à-tête, that firmly solidified orange juice as a permanent fixture of the American diet.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The color blue doesn’t really occur naturally in food. Think about it: when was the last time you ate something blue? Maybe a piece of candy or an ice pop that was “blue raspberry” flavored. Food marketing teams have steered their companies away from blue labels and blue colored foods (except in a few cases), often citing studies on the psychology of color and perception of taste. But one popular study might not be all it’s cracked up to be. This week we teamed up with Slate’s Decoder Ring podcast to dig deeper and find out why blue isn’t a common color on our plates. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices