• BONUS EPISODE: Avocado Anxiety with Louise Gray
    Jul 22 2024

    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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    18 mins
  • A is for Anchovy, Alewife & Avocado
    Jul 17 2024
    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 aisforapplepod@gmail.comUseful links and things mentioned in the episodeNeil 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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    1 hr and 11 mins
  • BONUS EPISODE: Amino Acids, Nitrogen and the Soil
    Jul 12 2024

    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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    9 mins
  • A is for Aloes, Aspic and Amino Acids
    Jul 4 2024
    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 episodeNeil cooks Jane Grigson’s recipe for Guards of HonourEating Ortolans - Gastro ObscuraNeil’s woodcock recipeNeil’s snipe recipeAlouette, Gentile AlouetteNeil’s recipe for Seftons (savoury custards)Neil cooks Jane Grigson’s recipe for Hindle WakesJurassic Park Lysine SceneWhat 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 ReadingThe Inferno (1265-1321), by Dante AlighieriForme 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 OrtolansA Gothic Cookbook (2024) by Ella Buchan and Dr Alessandra PinoBefore Mrs Beeton: Elizabeth Raffald, England’s Most influential Housekeeper (2023) Neil ButteryThe Constance Spry Cookery Book (1956) by Rosemary Hume and Constance SpryMrs Beeton and Mrs Marshall (2023) by Emma KayRebecca (1938) by Daphne du Maurier
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    1 hr and 14 mins
  • S1 E5: Vegetables - Bonus Bits!
    Jun 11 2024

    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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    9 mins
  • A is for Asparagus, Arrowroot and Artichoke
    May 31 2024

    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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    1 hr and 3 mins
  • A is for Aga, Aberffraw Cakes & Angelica
    May 14 2024

    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: aisforapplepod@gmail.com

    linktree: linktr.ee/aisforapplepod


    Social media

    twitter/X: @aisforapplepod

    Instagram: @aisforapplepod_

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    1 hr and 1 min
  • A is for Almond, Apricot & Aubergine
    May 1 2024

    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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    1 hr and 2 mins