Eat This Podcast

In Search of the Real Cheeses

06 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

A six-year journey to learn about, document and share artisanal cheese-making around the world.

Old Modern Olive Oil in Provence

23 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Old-fashioned oils rely on up-to-date equipment and the skill of the miller

The unstoppable rise of extra virgin olive oil

09 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Today, a bigger problem than fraud is transportation and storage.

The Food System Is Not Broken

23 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

“You are more likely to find the raw ingredients for a better future for the food system at the Waffle House than you are at your local farmers’ m...

Food Notes from an American Prison

09 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The freedom Italian prisoners enjoy around food came as a shock

Cooking in Maximum Security

29 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This is a way also to say “I’m a subject” in a place that tries to transform me into an object. I’m a subject. As a subject, I want to eat wha...

Cash remains a most effective gift

15 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Poor people need money and they know what to spend it on

A Berliner Speaks

01 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 2005, Luisa Weiss launched The Wednesday Chef, an early food blog. Today she has three books to her credit and continues to write about food.

A Fresh Look at Domestication

17 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Selection had nothing to do with transforming grass into wheat, or any other aspect of domestication.

Revolutions are Born in Breadlines

04 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Anti-communists sent food and medical assistance. Communist sympathisers sent tractors. And both countries had much to learn from the other.

The Spice Bag

20 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The after-hours dish that conquered Ireland and the Irish everywhere.

Revisiting Historical Recipes

05 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the end we can never know what people in the past tasted in their food, but a new method aims to come closer.

The Miracle of Salt

22 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A new book shares more information about salt and ways to use it than you can imagine

New Light on Neanderthal Diets

08 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

“You yourself like caribou meat, and what are these maggots but live caribou meat? They taste just the same as the meat and are refreshing to the mo...

Pellagra

23 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

“There was no treatment for pellagra, aside from an improved diet, and ... we can’t improve the peasants’ diet. That’s not our job. We’re do...

Quinoa in the Po Valley

09 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

I didn’t realise, when I booked a brief holiday in the Po Delta, that I would be staying at the heart of the Italian quinoa supply chain

Eat This Gets Advice

26 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Tara Schmidt, lead dietitian for the Mayo Clinic Diet, shares her thoughts on diet, diets and dietary advice

Puglia

12 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the past few decades Puglia has improved its food, wine and olive oil almost beyond recognition

The Paradox of Plenty

28 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For much of the world, food has never been as abundant or as inexpensive as it is now, but at what cost?

Farming’s Overlords

14 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Size and market concentration lock farmers onto a technological treadmill that does nobody any good, excpet for the giant corporations and their share...

Quinoa’s rise and fall

17 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A new book looks beyond the hype to chronicle the effect of an unsustainable boom on the entire quinoa trade in Peru

Forbidden: Jews and the Pig

03 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

“The more that the pig comes to signify Jewish identity, the more it comes to signify Christian identity, and vice versa.”

Food facts are not the answer to fear of foods

17 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

“What kind of food system do we want for the future? What kind of questions should we be asking? Whose questions matter? What kind of questions matt...

Food, folklore and St Brigid

03 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

“On the eve of a quarter day, the time is liminal, so there’s kind of a thinning of the space between the real world and the other world.”

Sensual, Salty, and a Little Bit Spicy

23 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Gilda; how Rita Hayworth might have inspired the original anchovy-on-a-toothpick

Better Diets for All

09 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

“In a way, the multinational food industry is providing solutions for women.”

Bennett’s Law

25 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What foods do poor people buy when they have a bit more money? What you might expect, but not as much of it as you might expect.

The Cost of a Healthy Diet

11 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

“Is it because of high prices? Is it because of low incomes? Or is it because ... you can’t see, taste, or smell the nutritional composition of fo...

Anchovies Part 2

28 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

”You know, anchovies are in our blood. My family’s been eating them for 500 years.” Er, no. Not really.

Anchovies Part I

14 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

To some, they’re stinky little fish in a tin can. To others, they’re a deep hit of umami delight that honour the work of women.

Crunch Time: Insects Are Not Going to Save Us

30 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

”Insect farming mostly adds an inefficient and expensive layer to the food system we already have.”

Olives Reborn in the Salento

16 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The diease that has already killed 11 million olive trees in the south of Puglia might be a blessing in disguise

Avocado Anxiety: how to choose what to eat

02 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Louise Gray’s new book dives deep into the trade-offs that accompany every food choice we make, where nothing is as simple as it seems.

Palatable is not Potable

17 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Why are some people tap-water hesitant and what do we expect water to taste like anyway?

Women Butchers

03 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

“I thought, okay, I’m eating meat, but am I supposed to be eating meat? Would I ever kill an animal myself? Would I ever butcher an animal?”

Leftovers Through History

13 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Throughout history, people repurposed food leftovers and surplus and animal byproducts, challenging the modern perception of them as waste.

What is Chametz?

29 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the end, the meaning of chametz rests on history and tradition, and new traditions are possible.

Passover and Easter Revisited

15 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

God’s original instructions for Passover did not include one of the crucial items on the Seder plate.

Malta Besieged & Black-market Intrigues

01 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Ordinarily, evading food rationing in times of war is considered a crime. There are times when it must be accepted as a necessity.

The Case for Folic Acid Fortification

18 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The European Union has failed to implement one of the most effective public health interventions, one that the United Kingdom is now able to contempla...

Anthony Mongiello, Inventor of the Stuffed Crust Pizza

04 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Pizza Hut says it invented the stuffed crust pizza. A judge agreed. But Anthony Mongiello has US patent 4,661,361, no matter what the law says.

Prehistoric cooking pots

19 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In many respects the diets of farmers and hunter-gatherers were more alike than different

The Invention of Baby Food

05 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Commercial baby food was perhaps the original industrial food product, with all that that entails

Black Stoneflower: A unique Indian spice

18 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A lichen, which has no taste of its own, contributes hugely to the flavour of many Indian dishes

A New Story for Maize Domestication

04 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A close look at more than 1000 varieties of maize solves a mystery about how the crop evolved from its wild relatives.

Honey and Adulteration

13 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Why is honey the world’s third most-adulterated food? Because adulteration delivers profits.

Fat, Sugar, Salt

30 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Before he uncovered "Nutrition Science's Most Preposterous Result," David Johns had already dug into reports on salt and sugar.

Jewish Food in Rome

16 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Jewish Community of Rome arrived before the Christian Era and has never left. Its cuisine was created by hardship and ingenuity.

Small Dairy

02 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

If you’re lucky enough to live in the right place, you may be able to experience real, fresh, whole milk.

Food Riots in England

18 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When you’ve got nothing, you’ve got nothing to lose ... except your life

Milk is not a Superfood

04 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The first celebrity doctor's fad diet is still going strong today, 300 years later, and it has a lot to answer for.

Pomegranates & Artichokes

05 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

“It is about migrations: of ingredients, of recipes, of stories — but most importantly of the people who make them.”

Why Did the Artist Cross the Chicken?

22 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Accumulating the genetic diversity of birds around the world in a population of truly cosmopolitan chickens

Feeding the People in Wartime Britain

08 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Once upon a time, government made it possible for people to get a good meal at a reasonable price.

What is Wrong with Biofortification

24 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Yields are generally lower than those of unfortified varieties and there’s little evidence it works. Biofortification is a waste of land and money.

Making Mr Song’s Cheese

10 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The standard story is that ethnic Chinese don’t eat cheese or drink milk because they are lactose intolerant. They do, but it’s complicated

What Price Chicken Wings?

27 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A chicken has two wings, two legs, two breasts; how does the market cope when all people want is wings?

Patrik Johansson, the Butter Viking

13 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Patrik Johansson blends ancient knowledge and modern science to craft exquisite butter: hand-made, intensely flavourful and scarce.

Food Security in Egypt

06 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The price of subsidised bread in Egypt has not changed in decades, though the bread shrunk. That remains a huge challenge to security, for the governm...

Fully Tested Tuna

23 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

One tin of tuna may contain 10 times more mercury than another, and there’s no way to tell them apart.

Biodiversity at Liberty

09 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How farmers in Belgium and the south of France are taking advantage of new a EU regulation to become more sustainable

Feed Your Baby Like a Fascist

24 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Mussolini made the trains run on time, but that doesn’t work for hungry infants

Some thoughts on markets and such

12 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Speculators can actually drive prices higher, which was news to me

A Restaurant’s Reckoning

28 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

“The corollary to white innocence is white passivity, the feeling that what one’s ancestors did was so messed up that it couldn’t possibly make ...

How to be a good host and a good guest

14 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Asking for a doctor’s note when your guest says they are allergic or intolerant is not an option

Feeding children well

31 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

There’s a huge difference between neophobia and picky eating, just as there is between food and nutrition. How best to undertake the tricky business...

In search of tomato gold

17 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Organic growers and breeders in Europe are preparing to take advantage of their new freedom to sow biodiversity

Mothers and Milk

03 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

How can the simple and vital connection between mother and baby possibly be considered shameful?

Fad diets

20 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The average American starts in on a fad diet four times a year. A quarter give up after two weeks. What are they hoping for?

Empire and grain

04 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The ability to tax wheat moving through choke points gives empires their power, even today.

Grain and finance

27 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Wheat was money, when a store was no more than a store of goods to be exchanged for wheat.

Grain and transport

20 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Moving wheat from where it grows to where it is eaten shaped the world

Persephone’s secret

13 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Why did the participants in the Eleusinian Mysteries leave no trace of what it was about?

Peanuts, Senegal and Slavery

16 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

France abolished slavery in 1815 but the practice continued long after that in its west African enclaves

Garum: Rome’s new library and museum of food

02 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

On the slopes of the Palatine Hill, supposedly on the site where the she-wolf suckled Romulus and Remus, a new food museum.

Tomatoes: domestication and diversity

18 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

New studies make sense of tomato’s transformation from teeny-fruited weed to diversity diva.

Aaron Vallance — 1dish4theroad

04 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A doctor in London chronicles his eating adventures through fact and fiction

Yes, we have no plantains

14 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What you call a plantain is probably an accident of history

Food Philosophy

21 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Discussions about food often “bump up against philosophy” according to an actual philosopher, whose book helped me to think more clearly about foo...

Unconditional cash to improve nutrition

07 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Giving people cash improves dietary diversity and child growth

Ten thousand years of yoghurt

24 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Yoghurt is good for you, no doubt about that, although it probably will not confer eternal life.

High Art

20 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As an artist, looking down on Google Earth, Mishka Henner saw things that made him wonder — and that have the power to make all of us think, a bit.

A visit to an ancient Roman bakery

06 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Farrell Monaco has studied, and brought back to life, the canonical bread of Ancient Rome. Now she brings an ancient bakery back to life.

The true history of the potato in Europe

15 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It may not contain wily aristocrats or superstitious peasants, but the true history of the potato is much more interesting.

Rachel Roddy: An A–Z of Pasta

25 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Rachel Roddy had no intention of producing an encyclopaedia of pasta. Her book is more informative than that, and more readable.

Midnight’s chicken: Indian food evolution

11 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A dish that is today an icon of Indian food dates back only to 1947, using an ingredient that became widespread only in the 1920s

Sushi

27 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The story of perhaps the greatest transformation in the history of food and how it continues today

Italian coffee: a temporary triangle

13 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

"The cups might break, but the images recycle endlessly."

Food in post-independence India

21 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

India gained independence in 1947 with nationalist politicians promising food for all and an end to the rapacious imperial administration. What happen...

The original global food system

07 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Diet for a Large Planet shows how the world is still living with free trade policies from the 19th century

Can Fixing Dinner Fix the Planet?

24 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Jess Fanzo takes a close look at what’s wrong with global food systems and how it might be possible to change them.

A very modern spice merchant

10 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Green Saffron is a new kind of spice merchant, that cares as much about how its spices are grown as their taste.

Coffea stenophylla tastes terrific

26 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Coffee that tastes of light black tea — a good thing — and is able to cope with warmer climates.

The Great Re-Think: What is agriculture for, really?

12 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Skill and craft over automation, complexity over simplicity, and diversity over monoculture

What is the value of functional foods?

29 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

There’s one group of people that functional foods and superfoods can definitely help: the people who grow them.

Naomi Duguid: Exploring the World through Food

15 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

There may not be a recipe, but there’s always someone sitting behind your shoulder going tsk, tsk, tsk.

The cost is too damn high

01 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Three billion people couldn’t afford a healthy diet even if they wanted to.

Still ticking

15 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

These days, population is barely considered as a factor in food security. That doesn’t mean the problem is solved.

The quest to conserve rare breeds

01 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Using land that could be used to feed people to feed animals is a terrible waste, but for today’s modern breeds it is absolutely essential.

The International Year of Fruits and Vegetables

18 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Emojipedia understands: 🍅 is both a fruit and a vegetable