Show Notes
In this bonus episode of A is for Apple, Allie looks into the unexpected Britishness of bagels, their nostalgic ties to celebrations, and even their royal connections. In this episode: Discover how bagels earned a place in Good Housekeeping's 2024 best street party food list Learn about bagels' links to Queen Elizabeth’s Silver Jubilee and William and Kate's visit to Brick Lane's famous Beigel Bake Explore inventive modern bagel fillings, from peanut butter and strawberries to chicken katsu Hear from Debs Rinkoff of the iconic Rinkoff Bakery, who reveals their all-time best-selling bagel fillings - salmon and cream cheese, and salt beef with gherkins and mustard - and shares her thoughts on bagels' growing popularity
Please note: This episode was recorded on location at Rinkoff Bakery, so the audio may be less polished than usual, but the insights (and bagel talk) are well worth it. We’d love to hear from you. Connect with us at: Twitter: @aisforapplepod Instagram: @aisforapplepod_ Email: [email protected] BlueSky: @aisforapplepod Enjoy this tasty bonus bite of food history!
More from A is for Apple: An Encyclopaedia of Food & Drink
Hello and welcome to a little bonus minisode all about this year’s Serve it Forth Food History Festival 2026, which is online and on Saturday 17 October 2026. The team, made up of the A is for Apple crew - Sam Bilton, Alessandra Pino and Neil Buttery - plus The Delicious Legacy's Thomas Ntinas, go through the day’s sessions to whet your appetite before the big day. This episode also includes an interview by Sam Bilton with Kevin Booth of English Heritage ahead of her session on the Bayeux Tapestry, all about the skeleton and facial reconstruction of Conquest Man. We can’t wait to see you there!
It’s a Listener Choice special as the team tackle three very different culinary favourites. Sam champions custard in all its forms, from medieval recipes to modern puddings. Allie investigates the mischievous history of Sicily’s “Chancellor’s Buttocks” pastry. And Neil celebrates the crumpet, exploring the history of those hole-filled griddle cakes that have become a staple of the British tea table.
The team return to the theme of vegetables for this episode. Neil champions the much maligned cabbage which he calls the ‘dog of vegetables’. Sam expresses her beef with celery and why it needs a lot of help from its friends to make it more palatable. And Allie delves into the anthropomorphic qualities of cauliflower. Sources/Useful Links Cabbage Jane Grigson’s Vegetable Book (1978) A Nievve Herbale, or Historie of Plantes by Dodoens (translated by Henry Lyte; 1578) Regula Ysewijn’s Cabbage Pudding on CKBK
As promised in the last episode of A is for Apple, here is the full interview with Tom Tibbits and Lydia Crimp of Artistraw Cidery and Orchard in Herefordshire. Lydia and Tom go to great efforts to make a natural cider and perry using fruit from their own orchards, fermented the natural way without pitching any yeast. You can find out more about Artistraw on their website www.artistraw.co.uk, where you can also sign up to their newsletter, or follow them on Twitter, Instagram and Bluesky @artistrawcider. Today, we talk about the basic process of natural cider making, and how it is both an art and a science, what makes a good cider apple, terroir, and the folklore associated with cidermaking. I’ll be back in a week with Alessandra Pino and Sam Bilton with the next regular episode of A is for Apple. See Artistraw on BBC Countryfile: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002kw2w
Drink is the theme for this episode! Sam explores the (reputedly) perfect beverage to drink while giving birth. Neil chats to Tom and Lydia from Artistraw who make natural cider and perry. And Allie reveals there is a whole lot more to a cappuccino than a frothy top. You can listen to the latest episode here or wherever you get your podcasts. This is the penultimate episode before our Listener’s Choice finale so don’t forget to send us your suggestions for the culinary ‘C’s that we’ve overlooked and tell us why we should cover them! Sources/Useful Links Early modern stuffed carrots video (from around 29 mins 10 secs) Sam’s cameline sauce post on Substack Caudle Forme of Cury (1390) also don’t forget to check out Jennie Hood’s Substack, Medieval Food with Jennie Giving Birth in Eighteenth Century England by Sarah Fox (2022) Mrs Caudle’s Curtain Lectures by Douglas Jerrold (1866) A New System of Domestic Cookery by Maria Rundell (1806) Liquid Nourishment: Potable Foods and Stimulating Drinks edited by C. Anne Wilson (1993)