Learn about the history of Antarctic exploration and cuisine on this week’s episode of A Taste of the Past. Linda Pelaccio is talking with Jason Anthony, author of the recent Hoosh. But what is ‘hoosh’? Antarctic explorers used ingredients like pemmican and melted snow to create a stew that they named hoosh; find out how a diet of hoosh lead to vitamin deficiencies on the cold continent. Tune in to hear about Jason’s seasons in Antarctica, and what food he packed for a hundred-day excursion into the center of the continent. What foods are most desired by Antarctic explorers? Also, tune in to hear about early explorers’ roasted penguin recipes, and find out how Jason and his colleagues preserved fresh produce in their sleeping bags! This program has been sponsored by Whole Foods. Thanks to Idgy Dean for today’s music.

“Antarctica went from being an unknown blank spot on the map to a known blank spot on the map.” [7:00]

“Explorers knew from Arctic exploration that you needed more calories in cold temperatures, but the problem was that they were unable to bring enough supplies to Antarctica on their ships to sustain themselves.” [8:50]

“I think the unstated thesis of my book is: the worse the food, the better the story!” [15:55]

— Jason Anthony on A Taste of the Past