End-Of-Year Feast

Cheese science, cilantro phobia, and fork usage: we’ve covered it
all on Gastropod. And, for our special end-of-year episode, we’re
bringing you updates on some our favorite stories. Join us to find
out what happened next… Ever wondered what happened to
those researchers in Colombia who discovered they could grow
five times more food by adding specially-bred microbes to the soil?
Or what’s new in cheese microbiology? This is your chance to find
out! To celebrate the end of 2015, we’ve created a tasting menu to
update past episodes. Listen in for news from the front lines of
fork etiquette and for the science behind Camembert’s color change
from minty-green to today’s white rind. We’ve also included your
stories of successful cilantro conversion techniques as well as
your suggestions for state dishes—including plenty that we’d never
even heard of, from Benedictine sandwiches to Cincinnati chili.
There’s even a mezcal-tasting party featuring Cynthia’s mom. And,
as we share a toast and head into 2016, we’d love to hear from you.
Do you have a question about some aspect of food history or
science? Ever wondered why tonka beans are banned in the United
States, despite being a popular spice in much of the rest of the
world? Maybe your teeth feel weird after eating spinach, and you
want to know why—and whether anyone else has the same reaction? Or
perhaps you’re curious about how tomatoes, which don’t seem as if
they should store particularly well for long boat-rides, succeeded
in making the leap from the Americas to become a staple in European
cuisine? Send us an email or a voice memo, or leave us a message at
+1 310.876.2427, and we’ll see what we can do! Finally, a huge
thanks to you, our listeners, for a great year. We wouldn’t exist
without you, and we’re so grateful for your support. If you enjoy
listening to Gastropod, please tell your friends and relatives: we
need to build our audience in order to thrive in the future. You
can also write a review at iTunes, which helps other podcast
lovers find us. Don’t forget to like us on Facebook, follow us
on Twitter, and sign up for our email list. And, if you’re feeling
particularly generous at the end of the year, please consider
making a donation to support future episodes of Gastropod. It’s not
tax-deductible, but you’ll be helping to make sure we can serve up
another year’s worth of delicious food science and history. Thanks
for all you’ve done to help make this show a success, and here’s to
2016!EPISODE NOTESThe Golden Spoon Our very first episode, The
Golden Spoon, was a deep dive into the history and science of
cutlery: you can listen to it here. For this episode, we spoke to
Guardian columnist Tim Dowling about the shocking findings from a
new survey on British fork usage.The Microbe Revolution Back in
November 2014, we spoke with scientists Ian Sanders and Alia
Rodriguez about their successful field trials, in which they found
that coating cassava roots in a gel containing specially bred
mycorrhizal fungi increased the final harvest by up to five times.
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