Should you really add olive oil or salt to your coffee, or microwave your tea? Can rice and bread be that bad for us if we’ve been eating these staples forever?...
Seafood: Cooking inspiration, mercury magnet, cultural storyteller
Our taste for seafood goes back a long time. We’ve been snacking on shellfish for more than 100,000 years. And the foods we gather from the ocean (whether it’s mussels or seaweed) are typically loaded with nutrients. But today, people might reconsider these staples because of environmental, ethical or health concerns – so should you limit your consumption of ingredients that are hauled from the sea? In this episode Lee Tran Lam speaks with chefs Ben Shewry and Chris Jordan, as well as Dr Evangeline Mantzioris.
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33:18
Cheese: Calcium source, place marker, vegan inspiration
Our love of cheese is so vast, it can be plotted across the planet. From Gorgonzola in Italy to Oaxaca in Mexico, many places are famous for their wedges and wheels. But can you go overboard with a cheese board? And what if you don’t eat dairy at all? Lee Tran Lam wheys it all up with cheesemaker Giuseppe Minoia, chef Shannon Martinez and dietitian Dr Evangeline Mantzioris.
Around the world, people drink coffee – whether it’s sweetened with condensed milk in Vietnam or spiced with cinnamon in Mexico. It powers us through our workdays, deadlines and boring office meetings. Maybe that’s why it’s the most socially acceptable drug we consume – but is there a limit to how much we should have or what it can really do?
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30:09
Tea: Scandal water, life saver, yum cha essential
Tea is the most-consumed drink on the planet, second only to water. Originally consumed for medicinal reasons, a well-brewed pot also helps with break-ups and bad news. But are there certain instances where we should put our teacups away?
The oldest bread that still exists today was baked 14,500 years ago in Jordan. We’ve eaten this staple for a long time, but rejecting bread because it’s ‘bad’ for you has become a modern trend. Should we be saying no to loaves and toast?
Should you really add olive oil or salt to your coffee, or microwave your tea? Can rice and bread be that bad for us if we’ve been eating these staples forever? Which seafoods are sustainable? And should I say no to cheese boards? It can be so tricky trying to consume the ‘right things’, and the forces that shape our diets go far beyond what’s supposedly ‘good for us’. On Should You Really Eat That?, food writer Lee Tran Lam untangles the social, cultural and nutritional confusion around the food and drinks we consume – with the help of chefs, dietitians and other guests.