Celebrate the Beginning of Fall with Classic Fall Flavors and Holidays

By: Aviva Futornick

As the leaves turn to yellow and red and the air becomes crisper, we gather around the table to enjoy classic fall foods and holidays. In preparation for the upcoming pumpkin spice season, we dove into the HRN archives to learn a little more about the flavors and celebrations.

Listen to shows covering the history of American Cider and find out more about the arguable stars of autumn produce, pumpkins. Plus, get to know which cheeses and mushrooms are in season and explore the traditions associated with Rosh Hashanah, Día de los Muertos, Halloween, and Thanksgiving.

Shrug on your favorite flannels and have a listen.

Eat Your Heartland Out Episode 13: Coming Together Around Pie: Meet Rose McGee, the founder of the Sweet Potato Comfort Pie project that uses pie to start meaningful conversations about social justice. Hear from Val Lucks, the founder of the Great Midwestern Pie Contest, a competition that lifts spirits while encouraging creativity.

Time for Lunch Episode 24: Pumpkins!: What’s big and orange and can weigh up to two thousand pounds? This episode of Time For Lunch is all about pumpkins! Hannah and Harry speak with Ron Wallace, who specializes in growing pumpkins of record-breaking size, learn the recipe for a tasty autumn snack that helps cut down on food waste, and explore a new perspective on an iconic scary story.

Hard Core Episode 1: A Very American History of Cider: Cider has been a part of American history since the first colonists hit our shores. But while apples took root on this newly claimed continent, so did the slave trade. Hard Core breaks down common narratives about the founding fathers’ disposition for cider and talks about some of the ways cider makers today are engaging with the past. Plus, they talk prohibition and explore the emergence of a new generation of cider drinkers.

Cutting the Curd Episode 434: Fall Cheeses with Megan Ercole: The leaves are changing colors and the world is changing fast. Cutting the Curd discusses fall cheese trends with Megan Ercole, Cheese and Coffee Buyer at Adams Fairacre Farms in Poughkeepsie.

Feast Yr Ears Episode 165: Mushroom Hunting in November: Ryan Bouchard and Emily Schmidt are the Mushroom Hunting Foundation. Based in Rhode Island they train people to hunt and cook wild mushrooms. Between the foraging and the cooking of edibles they are on a mission to bring their love of mushrooms to as many people as possible. Harry went out walking in the woods with them in November and then sat down to chat about mushrooms, and why they love them.

A Taste of the Past Episode 354: Holiday Food, 3,000 years old: Rosh Hashanah is an ancient holiday and many of the foods eaten for the celebration are nearly the same as they were 3,000 years ago. Shifra Klein, Editor-In-Chief of Fleishigs magazine, a publication dedicated to modern kosher cuisine, joins Linda to talk about the history of the symbolic holiday foods.

Cooking in Mexican from A to Z Episode 31: Foods and Celebrations of The Day of the Dead: Aarón and Zarela welcome Pati Jinich, a chef, author, and TV personality. She joins Aarón and Zarela to discuss the traditions of The Day of the Dead. They start with the origins of Día de los Muertos as a 3 month long pre-hispanic celebration, and proceed to explore its significance in Mexican culture. Along the way, Pati covers a variety of recipes for Pan de Muerto, from her favorite traditional recipe to more modern takes she has found in Mexico City. They also discuss a number of moles and how they factor into the celebrations.

Life’s a Banquet Episode 143: Night of the living BREAD - A HORROR MOVIE & food HALLOWEEN episode SPECTACULAR!!!: On this extremely evil and possessed episode, Life’s a Banquet talks horror movies! Nicole puts us on to some of the best scary movies about food. We’re looking at you “Attack of the Killer Tomatoes”. And Z has the history of zombie flicks, why they eat brains, where you can eat brains, and why Rob Zombie is a vegan.

Meat and Three Episode 134: It's Not Turkey Day for Everyone - Thanksgiving Across Tables: The iconic Thanksgiving setting looks something like this: cranberry, Turkey and sides shared at a large table with family. But Thanksgiving celebrations are more varied than we may think. Whether it’s at the checkout counter, in a to-go box, or outside the U.S. entirely –– Thanksgiving food may look a little different for everyone.

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