Flavorphiles

Why do we crave comfort food? Is it the butter, the carbs, or the memories of the people who made it for us?<br><br>This week on Flavorphiles, Tanner and Jerry are getting cozy! They dig into the science behind our favorite comfort foods, from why certain flavors remind us of childhood to why our brains can't resist a good mac and cheese.<br><br>Then, cookbook author and TV personality <b>Mary Berg </b>joins the show to talk about her new book, Mary's Comfort Classics, and shares her secrets for making delicious food without making life more complicated.<br><br>Plus, it's Canada vs. America in the ultimate comfort food showdown! Poutine or chili cheese fries? Kraft Dinner or Southern mac and cheese? Butter tarts or pecan pie? Tanner and Jerry pick their winners, and one country walks away with bragging rights.<br><br>Finally, we're digging through grandma's recipe box to revisit the comfort foods we've left behind. From Jell-O salads to salmon loaf, should any of these forgotten favorites make a comeback?<br><br>Grab a blanket, pour yourself something warm, and get comfortable. This one's going to be delicious.<br><br>Thank you for listening! Join us again every weekend for more food inspired fun. Have questions you want answered, comments to make the show better, do you want to join our growing list of radio stations partners, or just keep in touch? Let us know at Flavorphiles.com.&nbsp;<br><br>Follow on Instagram:<br>Flavorphiles: https://www.instagram.com/flavorphilespod/<br>Tanner: https://www.instagram.com/tagaragar/<br><br>Follow on Tik Tok:<br>https://www.tiktok.com/@flavorphiles<br><br>All episodes produced and owned by Tanner Agar. All rights reserved.

Happy Diwali! Jerry and Tanner Agar head into Indian food for the Festival of Lights. Like Bourdain, but with lower stakes: two curious eaters finding it out together, with some real experts to keep them honest.<br><br>Tanner starts with an amuse booze, a Masala Chai Old Fashioned. (Also, &ldquo;chai tea&rdquo; just means &ldquo;tea tea.&rdquo;) Then eTalk host Sonia Mangat, whose new podcast Silk &amp; Savage spotlights prominent South Asians, explains what Diwali means to Hindu and Sikh families. She covers why you should eat at a Sikh temple (cover your head, and no, a Jays hat doesn&rsquo;t count), the one dish she won&rsquo;t celebrate without, and the case for big multigenerational households.<br><br>Next, Jerry and Tanner taste a pile of Diwali sweets their Indian friends picked out: jalebi, gulab jamun, laddoo, barfi, milk cake and more. One savory snack from "the twins" steals the show.<br><br>Then celebrated Canadian chef Vikram Vij talks about opening Vij&rsquo;s in 1994. He refused to serve butter chicken, told doubtful diners &ldquo;if you don&rsquo;t like it, I&rsquo;ll pay for it,&rdquo; and explains why it&rsquo;s time to drop the word &ldquo;authentic.&rdquo;<br><br>To finish, Tanner builds your first Indian restaurant order, from samosas and pakoras to paneer, biryani and naan, plus tips for your first visit.<br><br>Thank you for listening! Join us again every weekend for more food inspired fun. Have questions you want answered, comments to make the show better, do you want to join our growing list of radio stations partners, or just keep in touch? Let us know at Flavorphiles.com.&nbsp;<br><br>Follow on Instagram:<br>Flavorphiles: https://www.instagram.com/flavorphilespod/<br>Tanner: https://www.instagram.com/tagaragar/<br><br>Follow on Tik Tok:<br>https://www.tiktok.com/@flavorphiles<br><br>All episodes produced and owned by Tanner Agar. All rights reserved.

It&rsquo;s actually Halloween, and Tanner and Jerry Agar are in full costume (Frankenstein and Little Bo Peep, for those listening on the radio) to dig into how Halloween, and its candy, went from homemade to store-bought.<br><br>Tanner opens with the Stone Fence, an 1862 Jerry Thomas cocktail of rye, hard apple cider and bitters. Then we trace trick-or-treating from Celtic roots to popcorn balls to the 1954 Milky Way ad that made Halloween a candy holiday, and where the poisoned-candy panic really came from.<br><br>Does candy taste worse than when you were a kid? Tanner gives four reasons it might: changing recipes, shrinking sizes, your own taste buds, and nostalgia. Plus the Canadian origin of Sour Patch Kids and the science of why sour candy hurts so good.<br><br>To close, Tanner takes on the candies still made exactly like they used to be, from candy corn to circus peanuts, and how a chef would save them. (Mostly by melting them down. Except one: the wax bottles, which are beyond saving.)<br><br>&nbsp;Happy Halloween. Don&rsquo;t be the house that gives out raisins.<br><br>Chapters:<br>00:00 Happy Halloween from Flavorphiles<br>00:52 Amuse booze: the Stone Fence<br>02:00 Where trick-or-treating came from<br>03:23 Popcorn balls and homemade treats<br>04:07 The 1954 ad that made Halloween a candy holiday<br>06:12 The poisoned candy panic<br>08:24 How much candy is in that bucket?<br>10:37 Does candy taste worse than it used to?<br>12:11 Reason 1: Recipes change<br>14:50 Reason 2: Shrinkflation and shapes<br>17:23 Reason 3: Your taste buds grew up<br>19:05 Reason 4: Nostalgia<br>22:00 Why sour candy hurts so good<br>28:23 Making sour candy at home<br>31:48 Candies that need to change (and how to save them)<br>40:58 The one candy that can&rsquo;t be saved<br><br>Thank you for listening! Join us again every weekend for more food inspired fun. Have questions you want answered, comments to make the show better, do you want to join our growing list of radio stations partners, or just keep in touch? Let us know at Flavorphiles.com.&nbsp;<br><br>Follow on Instagram:<br>Flavorphiles: https://www.instagram.com/flavorphilespod/<br>Tanner: https://www.instagram.com/tagaragar/<br><br>Follow on Tik Tok:<br>https://www.tiktok.com/@flavorphiles<br><br>All episodes produced and owned by Tanner Agar. All rights reserved.