Supernatural Suppers: An Icelandic Ghost Story
This week, we're bringing you the story of a ghostly banquet straight from the sagas of medieval Iceland. A mix of fact and fiction, sagas provide some of the only clues we have about early Icelandic cooking. Today, the island's cuisine may be famous for its fermented shark and its luscious skyr, but we'll learn what was on the menu 1,000 years ago when a dead woman decided to play chef for the night. Find out what happens when you eat the food of the dead and what to do when ghosts show up for their own funeral feast.
Complicating Kosher:How the Trefa Banquet Changed American Judaism
This week we’re discovering the meal that changed the face of American Judaism. Featuring Dr. Jonathan Sarna of Brandeis University, we’ll learn how a lavish banquet in 1883 Cincinnati kicked off a fierce debate about what it means to keep kosher. How did a dish of frogs’ legs bring about one of the largest religious arguments the US has ever seen? We’ll explore how a dispute over regional Jewish foodways changed the face of the religion at the end of the 19th century- from a dream of a single united Jewish American faith to the numerous denominations we know today.
