Episode 114: Betty Fussell, The Accidental Food Historian

American food writer Betty Fussell joins Linda Pelaccio this week on “A Taste of the Past” for a conversation on culinary history, cultural identity and food literature. Betty is an award-winning writer and is the author of eleven books, ranging from biography to cookbooks, food history and memoir. Learn how she discovered food through travel and writing and became an “accidental” food historian. Listen as Betty describes the American cuisine she discovered throughout her life and elaborates on everything from corn fields to Mexican markets. Find out why Betty fell in love with New York City as she reads one of her literary passages live on-air! This program was sponsored by S. Wallace Edwards & Sons.

“The food of my family was absolutely terrible – the land of the bland! It was Midwestern bible belt food in California. The discovery of the drama of what food could be was enormous!” [07:08]

“Corn created settlements, it’s the basis of our agriculture in the Western world. It’s totally different from the plow culture of Europe.” [12:15]

“I have two romances – one is the California landscape I grew up in, two is New York City. The wonder of New York City has never left me, it’s the last of the great cities of the last two centuries.” [21:20]

–Betty Fussell on A Taste of the Past