What Is Pepper?

We end the season at a party where guests bring dishes filled with nostalgia and pepper and discuss what pepper means to them. The guests include novelist Emma Hughes, Vittles founder and editor Jonathan Nunn, chef and writer Chloe-Rose Crabtree, previous guests Jenny Lau, Pam Brunton, Tomas Heale and special guest Dr. Masing’s mother, Fiona Mowlem. Taste of Place is part of Whetstone Radio Collective. Learn more about Taste of Place here. Find show notes here.And transcript here.

In this episode, Anna chats with visual artist Shiraz Bayjoo, pop-up creator Zolitha Magengelele, and anthropologist Mythri Jegathesan about the power of sharing space, how nostalgic memories often carry the scars of colonisation and how understanding those contradictions can help us better understand what we’re truly nostalgic for. This episode also sees how pepper has a different identity in different places or cuisines, and is all about the art and power of storytelling and how it connects us and can create a better world.Taste of Place is a part of Whetstone Radio Collective from Whetstone Media - where storytelling lives. Whetstone produces original commissioned content that centers the perspectives of global majority populations and diasporas. Taste of Place is part of Whetstone Radio Collective. Learn more about Taste of Place here. Find show notes here.And transcript here.

In this episode, Anna returns to Sarawak at the height of harvest festival to visit pepper farmers and confront her place of nostalgia. We travel through the Kapit marketplace, visit a pepper farm and laksa cafe, and take part in a ritual honoring the gods, and finally return to London for a bowl of laksa.Taste of Place is a part of Whetstone Radio Collective from Whetstone Media - where storytelling lives. Whetstone produces original commissioned content that centers the perspectives of global majority populations and diasporas. Taste of Place is part of Whetstone Radio Collective. Learn more about Taste of Place here.Find show notes here.And transcript here.

In this episode we travel to Scotland, where Anna joins chef and owner of Inver Restaurant, Pam Brunton, in the kitchen as she cooks classic Scottish dishes using pepper. Anna explores her own personal connection to Scotland and learns about the idea of landscape cuisine, an idea Pam coined and implements in her own approach to cooking. The two also explore the idea of imagined or created stories around place and space, in particular Scotland, that are used to sell an image rather than tell the story of the place itself, and often to great environmental detriment.Taste of Place is a part of Whetstone Radio Collective from Whetstone Media - where storytelling lives. Whetstone produces original commissioned content that centers the perspectives of global majority populations and diasporas. Taste of Place is part of Whetstone Radio Collective. Learn more about Taste of Place here.Find show notes here.And transcript here.

This episode is all about the flavors of home. Two friends gift Dr. Masing some Sarawak pepper when she runs out, anthropologist David Sutton explains how we build home through cooking and Diaspora Co. founder Sana Javeri Kadri tells us how she is building a spice business with equality at its heart and to bring a taste of home to diaspora. Taste of Place is a part of Whetstone Radio Collective from Whetstone Media - where storytelling lives. Whetstone produces original commissioned content that centers the perspectives of global majority populations and diasporas. Taste of Place is part of Whetstone Radio Collective. Learn more about Taste of Place here. Find show notes here.And transcript here.

In this episode we think about the power of pepper to stir emotions. Perfumer Tanaïs explains how they make and navigate the past through scent and the possibility of re-framing identity. Psychologist Kimberley Wilson contextualizes our understanding of scent and taste, and its effect on memory and building new memories. Taste of Place is part of Whetstone Radio Collective. Learn more about Taste of Place here. Find show notes here.And transcript here.

This episode dives into how we understand flavour, the chemical compound of pepper and the desires across time to find food with heat. Restaurant reviewer and food writer Ligaya Mishan explains how she communicates flavour and Dr. Arielle Johnson breaks down how flavour is a part of cultural identities. Taste of Place is part of Whetstone Radio Collective. Learn more about Taste of Place here. Find show notes here.And transcript here.

This episode seeks to get to the bottom of pepper's modern supply chain. We hit some bumps along the way, and see the great affection and joy from those who work with pepper. We speak with Dr. Michael R. Dove about Borneo and swidden agriculture, Larry Siat about the changing role of Sarawak pepper in global trade, Keelan Woon, who is part of an independent company in Sarawak selling pepper, and chefs and restaurant owners Mandy Yin of Sambal Shiok and Tom Heale of Naifs about using pepper — and their personal relationship with the spice. If you export or import Sarawak pepper and want to talk about what you do, please reach out to us at [email protected]. Taste of Place is part of Whetstone Radio Collective. Learn more about Taste of Place here.Find show notes here.And transcript here.

When the merchant Sir James Lancaster, commander of the English East India Company’s first fleet, returned to England in 1603 with ships laden entirely with pepper, this marked a turning point. A time where the Western world shifted and there was no going back. It shifted to a space of desire, a thirst for consumption, a hunger for product and profit. The unknown became known — and ownable. By looking at how pepper entered Europe from the medieval times until the late 1700s, we can see how the past created our current trade systems. In this episode, we interview Dr. Paul Freedman about the breadth and richness of the spice trade, Lizzie Collingham on how Britain’s relationship with pepper expanded trade, and Dr. Helen Clifford about the guild of peppers. If you’re interested in reading more about these subjects, check out these books by today’s guests: Out of the East: Spices and the Medieval Imagination by Dr. Paul Freedman, The Hungry Empire: How Britain’s Quest for Food Shaped the Modern World by Lizzie Collingham, and From Grossers to Grocers: the History of the Grocers Company, from Foundation to 1798 by Dr. Helen Clifford. Taste of Place is part of Whetstone Radio Collective. Learn more about Taste of Place here. Find show notes here.And transcript here.

In this episode, we find out about pepper as a crop, a plant, and a globally traded commodity. We speak to Dr. Patricia King about how it is grown in Sarawak, Malaysia and then food historian Julia Fine explains how plants can be viewed through a humanities lens so we can understand the cultural impact a plant like pepper has.Taste of Place is part of Whetstone Radio Collective.Find show notes here.And transcript here.