Category Archives: masters of social gastronomy

Masters of Social Gastronomy: All-American Pie!

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Wednesday, November 19th

FREE FREE FREE, 21+ RSVP
Doors at 7:30pm, talks start at 8pm
Littlefield, 622 Degraw Street in Gowanus

Each month, Masters of Social Gastronomy takes on a curious food topic and break down the history, science, and stories behind it. This time we’re tackling the twin pillars of the American pie kingdom: the gentle apple pie and its heavily-spiced cousin, pumpkin pie. Stop on by if you want to learn how to bake the best apple pie and the origin story behind the pumpkin spice craze. Please RSVP SO I HOW MANY FREE PIE SAMPLES TO BRING.

If you need some pie recipes to keep you satisfied in the meantime, try this recipe from 1763 for pumpkin-apple pie, or this mid-20th century pumpkin pie that uses sweetened condensed milk!

Podcast: The Rise of Chocolate

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Just in time for Halloween, a Masters of Social Gastronomy podcast all about chocolate!

We’ll track the history of chocolate from its roots as an ancient Mesoamerican beverage to its current world-championship status. You’ll learn how a yellow, football-shaped tropical fruit transforms into high-end dark chocolate and what “Mexican Hot Chocolate” actually has in common with what Montezuma drank. Burning questions of modern confectionery will be answered: What’s better, milk or dark? Why does Hershey’s have its own theme park? Is imported European chocolate worth the price? Why does white chocolate suck?

Podcast: Cocktails! The Blue Blazer, Shaken not Stirred, and More!

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It’s our off month for our live Masters of Social Gastronomy event, so I bring you our latest podcast! It’s all about the history and science of cocktails, and listening to it will make you a better cocktailer: whether you like making ’em, or simply enjoy drinking ’em.

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Podcast: Cooking with Illicit Substances

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One more in the podcast bonanza! Whilst Masters of Social Gastronomy is on our summer break (we’ll be back next month with the history & science of soda) I give you ILLICIT SUBSTANCES.

On this week’s Masters of Social Gastronomy podcast, we’ll look at the culinary world’s experiments with illicit substances.

Let’s get high with the Victorians! From patent medicines to absinthe, Coca-Cola to laughing gas, we’ll look at all the forms of socially acceptable substance abuse during the 19th century.

Later, we’ll fast-forward to modern-day America, and explore the little known true history of the pot brownie. We’ll survey the range of altered-state culinary concoctions and see what both science and chefs have to say about creating the most effective epicurean euphoria.

Podcast: Sriracha, Ghost Peppers, and The History of Heat

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This month on the Masters of Social Gastronomy podcast, we break into the secret world of hot peppers to pull back the curtain on everyone’s favorite Rooster-branded hot sauce and the worldwide affection for spicy, spicy food.

Follow Sriracha from its humble baby-food-jar beginnings to its current status as a Tabasco-challenging juggernaut. We’ll take a behind-the-scenes look at its California factory and see how sriracha just might be as American as apple pie.

Once you escape the potatoes-and-cream tyranny of European cuisine, a culinary dedication to heat can be found everywhere. We’ll examine what makes Thai food tick and where Indian vindaloo gets its muscle. From mild jalapeños to record-holders like the Ghost Pepper and Trinidad Moruga Scorpion, find out what makes a veggie pack such a powerful punch!

Event: Masters of Social Gastronomy and the Rise of Chocolate

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Chocolate by Windell Oskay

MSG PRESENTS The Rise of Chocolate: The Heated History of the World’s #1 Candy

Tuesday, March 25th
FREE
Doors @ 7:30
Littlefield, Gowanus, Brooklyn
RSVP PLZ
This month MSG tackles the world’s most popular candy: chocolate!
We’ll track the history of chocolate from its roots as an ancient Mesoamerican beverage to its current world-championship status. You’ll learn how a yellow, football-shaped tropical fruit transforms into something Whole Foods can charge you $10 for, and what “Mexican Hot Chocolate” actually has in common with what Montezuma drank.
Peek at Europe’s decades-long war about British chocolate and uncover why the whole continent seems to have it out for its American counterpart. Burning questions of modern confectionery will be answered: What’s better, milk or dark? Why does Hershey’s have its own theme park? Do M&M’s actually melt in your hand?
And of course, it wouldn’t be spring without a discussion of Easter candy, including everyone’s favorite, the Cadbury Mini Egg. In fact, I may have just purchased $50 in mini eggs to share at the event…RSVP HERE!