food

For Celebrity Chef Carla Hall, This Will Not Be A Typical Thanksgiving

6:19am November 25, 2020

NPR's David Greene talks to chef and cookbook author Carla Hall about how she is celebrating Thanksgiving this year. She also offers ways to make easy versions of Thanksgiving classics.

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Families May Celebrate This Thanksgiving With Smaller Turkeys, Fewer Sides

6:19am November 25, 2020

by Dalia Mortada

Food is central to bringing people together for Thanksgiving. Some people are finding creative ways to share the flavors and dishes of the holiday, even when they're celebrating far apart this year.

Arts

The Holidays Won't Be Traditional, But The Recipes Still Can Be

5:46pm November 22, 2020

Many will miss out on their favorite family meals this holiday season. We discuss how to recreate those traditional recipes for a lockdown feast.

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Jasmine Surti (far right) and three generations of her family celebrating Thanksgiving in Philadelphia in 2018. From left, front: Louise Aucott, Gabe Aucott with Juniper Chamberlin, Rachel Aucott, Sandhya Surti, Anjali Surti, Hemant Surti, Jasmine Surti 2

Arts

How To Plan – And Even Be Grateful – For A Socially Distanced Thanksgiving

8:28am November 22, 2020

by Neda Ulaby

It's not a normal Thanksgiving and holiday planning has gotten more complicated for many families and friends figuring out safe, socially distant ways to share favorite foods and treasured recipes.

Joe and Rachel Shenk hope to add cows in the near future as they continue to farm full-time in Newport, N.C.

Small Turkeys Are In Demand As Americans Downsize At Thanksgiving

7:56am November 21, 2020

by Emma Peaslee

As families across the U.S. scale back on how they traditionally celebrate the holiday, it's been a challenge for turkey producers as they figure out how to adapt to the changing market.

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In these polarizing times, we've decided to lean into the most controversial ingredient in Mama Stamberg's cranberry relish: the two tablespoons of horseradish.

Arts

We Trace Mama Stamberg's Cranberry Relish Back To Its Horseradishy Roots

7:18am November 20, 2020

by Susan Stamberg

This pandemic year, we need traditions more than ever, so we travel back to 1961, when Susan Stamberg first tasted her mother-in-law's now (in)famous, Pepto Bismol pink cranberry relish.

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Comedian Matt Lucas — top left — joins cohost Noel Fielding and judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith in the tent for the new series of The Great British Baking Show (as it's known in the U.S.)

Arts

'I'm Happy To Eat The Cakes': Matt Lucas Joins The 'Bake Off' Tent

4:41pm November 17, 2020

by Ari Shapiro

The newest host of the Great British Baking Show says he'd never even seen it before he was asked to try out. But then he binged a few episodes and thought to himself, "this show's brilliant!"

National

Grandmother Uses Zoom To Share Thanksgiving Recipes With Family

5:23pm November 15, 2020

NPR's Michel Martin talks with Erica Simon and her grandmother, Cora Whitlock, about sharing family recipes via Zoom and an unusual Thanksgiving during a pandemic.

Katie Workman, a chef and writer, says cooking fatigue during the pandemic is "no joke."

Arts

Once Enthusiastic, Americans' 'Cooking Fatigue' Simmers As Pandemic Drags On

7:53am November 15, 2020

Months into the coronavirus pandemic, the tedium of daily meal prep is catching up with many people. Chef and writer Katie Workman says people miss the joy of cooking for others.

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Butyric acid gives some cheeses their distinctively strong scent.

From Stinky Cheese To Cat Pee, Author Takes A 'Nose Dive' Into The Science Of Smell

12:46pm November 11, 2020

by Terry Gross

Harold McGee talks about how our sense of smell affects taste, why things smell the way they do and the ways different chemicals combine to create surprising (and sometimes distasteful) odors.