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Perhaps the only thing most people know about Jewish dietary laws is that pork is forbidden. A new book asks why the pig — rather than any of the other animals banned by the Hebrew bible — should have become so inextricably bound up with Jewish identity. Author Jordan Rosenblum points out that at the time of the Roman occupation, the pig was “simply the most commonly encountered nonkosher quadruped.” The imagined qualities of the pig and those of the Jews aligned, a link that still survives in anti-semitic propaganda.

I didn’t want to rehash the history of anti-semitism but I did want to know more about the relationship between pork and Jewish identity. I hope you will too.

Notes

1. Forbidden: A 3,000-Year History of Jews and the Pig is published by New York University Press.
2. Jordan D. Rosenblum is the Belzer Professor of Classical Judaism at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
3. Cover art is a reproduction from a 19th century book about customs of the Middle Ages. The banner image is from a campaign by the Debby Agency for Burger King. I am told (by ChatGPT) that the Hebrew says “And may the house be filled with the smell of turkey bacon”.
4. Here is the transcript.

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A new book takes a close look at people’s concerns about processed foods and how the processed food industry has failed to respond to them. The author, Charlotte Biltekoff, says she wanted to try and understand what was happening around her, as people in her milieu came more and more to demand real food rather than processed foods, while the makers of processed foods failed to understand the deeper reasons underpinning those demands. Industry wants consumers who, reassured on questions of safety and risk, will buy and eat its products. People want answers to questions beyond safety and risk. And never the twain shall meet.

Notes

1. Real Food, Real Facts: processed food and the politics of knowledge is available from the University of California Press.
2. Other effects notwithstanding, a primary reason to avoid UPFs is that they encourage you to eat more.
3. Here is the transcript.
4. Thanks ChatGPT for sharing your stereotypical vision of a Mom and a Female Scientist.

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St Brigid of Kildare is one of the three patron saints of Ireland and has a strong connection with food and farming. St Brigid’s day falls on 1 February and traditionally marks the beginning of spring and the start of the agricultural year.

In 2023, the Republic of Ireland designated the day a public holiday if it falls on a Friday, and failing that the first Monday of February, but the day has long been celebrated in a variety of ways. People make St Brigid’s crosses to a variety of traditional designs, using them to protect farm animals and ensure a good harvest. There are special foods too, and other ritual celebrations, some of which delve in the pagan past.

Caitríona Nic Philibin has studied the folklore surrounding St Brigid and shared some of the stories with me.

Notes

1. I am indebted to Caitríona Nic Philibin and Máirtín Mac Con Iomaire for their work on food and folklore in Ireland, and especially An exploratory study of food traditions associated with Imbolg (St. Brigid’s Day) from The Irish Schools’ Folklore Collection. They offered a summary of their work: What food is associated with St Brigid’s Day?. And Pishogues, Brídeogs And Butter Witches at The Common Table gives a great deal more detail on food and folklore in Ireland.
2. The music at the start is from St. Brigid’s Jig by Louise Mulcahy. Another fine tune from the same set is St. Brigid’s Day by Caitlín Nic Gabhann.
3. Images of St Brigid’s crosses from the National Museum of Ireland. The icon of St Brigid I lifted from The Brigidine Sisters.
4. Here is the transcript.

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No apologies for once again casting my net in the fruitful waters of Basque cuisine and history.

There is a pintxo — those tasty bites of stuff on a toothpick — that consists of a plump Cantabrian anchovy, a pickled guindilla pepper and an olive. Some people reckon it is the original pintxo, invented by one of the regulars at a bar in San Sebastián. Others are not so sure. Everyone agrees, however, that it owes its name — the Gilda — to Rita Hayworth, who starred in the movie of that name.

Last time I spoke to Marcela Garcés, we didn’t have time to talk about the Gilda. This episode fixes that omission.

I also had to contact Chris Beckman again, to see if he could enlighten me on what he calls the Swedish Anchovy Conundrum.

Notes

1. Here, again, is Marcela Garcés’ paper: In Defense of the Anchovy: Creating New Culinary Memories through Applied Cultural Context.
2. Christopher Beckman’s book is A Twist in the Tail: How the Humble Anchovy Flavoured Western Cuisine.
3. What’s in a name? Mislabeling fish since the 16th century offers more information of the history of Swedish “anchovies”.
4. Here is the transcript.
5. Still Life with Anchovies by Antonio Sicurezza. Piparra for Gilda by Javier Aramburu, and thanks to Marcela for the photo. I’d love to credit the photographer of the cover and banner image, but none of the places where I might have stolen it saw fit to give credit. If it is yours, let me know.

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A thorough trawl in 2020 brought to light more than 40 different kinds of policies around the world designed to improve diets to deliver better nutrition and health. And yet, the vast majority of people do not eat within dietary guidelines. If anything, diets — and with them health — are getting worse in many places. What’s the problem? Maybe, it is that the people who devise the policies are too far away from the lives of the people they’re trying to help.

That’s the gist of a new paper from a group of researchers in the UK. They argue that “a fresh approach is needed, one that considers the full picture of people’s realities”. Corinna Hawkes, lead author on the paper, took me through some of those realities.

Notes

1. The published paper is The full picture of people’s realities must be considered to deliver better diets for all.
2. The earlier podcast, with Corinna Hawkes, Patrick Webb and Eileen Kennedy is We need to talk about diets.
3. Here is the transcript, thanks to generous supporters.

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