Episodes

Wooden bowls, hand-cranked egg beaters, and the spoon rack that came back as a Christmas gift. Some of the most loved objects in our kitchens aren't fancy. They're the wooden spoons with burnt edges, the silver ladles passed down by old friends, and the hand-cranked mixer/beater that looks like a bicycle gear shift. In this episode of Family Tree Food & Stories, Nancy May and Sylvia Lovely get into the everyday kitchen gadgets that outlast their owners. A Vermont honeymoon bowl carved with two ...

The 9,000-year story of rice, the enslaved Africans whose genius built a fortune, and the US President who smuggled it into the country. But wait, there's more! Believe it or not, half of everyone in the world eats rice every single day, and most of us have a bag sitting of it sitting somewhere in our kitchen pantry. If this is you, we're guessing that you don't know that it also holds over 9,000 years of history and has nearly 120,000 varieties! We didn't! This week on Family Tree Food & Stor...

5,000 Years of Comfort #FoodHistory, British Afternoon @Tea, #SouthernSweetTea & the Rituals That Still Bring Family & Friends Together. Have you ever sat down with your mom or a good friend with absolutely no agenda other than just... being together? Nancy's mom had a word for it: "sharing a cuppa." She and Nancy would drive down to Alice's, their local general store-luncheonette, not because they needed anything, but because that was their girl-time ritual. Their way of making the whole world ...

The food history nobody taught you: pharaohs buried it, a Pope staffed it, Napoleon obsessed over it, and your squeeze bottle is still lying about it. A Pope loved mustard so much that he created a Vatican job, “The Great Mustard Maker,” just to make sure he never ran out. Napoleon loved it so much that he built Dijon's identity around it. And that bright yellow color you've trusted your entire life? That's the color that comes from an entirely different plant! Surprise? In this episode of Fam...

What nobody told you about mayonnaise: the wartime origin, the brand rivalry, and the Hellmann's love story you've held in your hands, and never knew about. You've probably never thought twice about that jar of mayonnaise in your fridge. You open it, you use it, you put it back. But that jar has a story that you likely don’t know, one that starts with a military victory, and with a love story. In this episode of Family Tree Food & Stories, Nancy May and Sylvia Lovely take you inside the intere...

Flour History, Food Science, Kitchen Myths, Food Culture & The Hidden Story Behind Bread, Pasta, and Everyday Ingredients In this episode of Family Tree Food & Stories, Nancy May and Sylvia Lovely start with a simple question, “what did you eat today?” Then dive into how little we know about even the simplest and most fundamental things in our pantry, which can turn into a fascinating science experiment as well as a lunch essential. We’re talking about flour! Did you know that flour isn’t just...

Bone Deep: Your Grandmother and Mom Really Did Know How to Use Their Kitchen Like a Pharmacy. What does a simple pot of beans simmering on the stove have in common with cutting-edge nutritional science? More than you'd ever expect. In this episode of Family Tree Food & Stories, Nancy May and Sylvia Lovely share how our moms and grandmas instinctively know how to keep our bodies strong enough to handle a heavy workload. In this episode, Sylvia opens up about her own very personal bone health jo...

What if the best meal you’ve ever had… was hiding on the side of the road? And why do the places with no signs, no marketing, and no polish often serve the most unforgettable food? In this episode of Family Tree Food & Stories, Nancy May and Sylvia Lovely explore some of the best meals they've found in diners, drive-ins, and roadside food and snack treasures, where food, family traditions, and personal stories intersect in the most unique places. From small-town stands to grungy stops, these out...

Why do we eat corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day, when it isn't even Irish? And what do Irish soda bread, cozy village pubs, and the potato famine have to do with the foods we celebrate today? In this episode of Family Tree Food & Stories, Nancy May and Sylvia Lovely dig into the history of St. Patrick’s Day food traditions from authentic Irish village cooking to the Irish-American dishes created through immigration and rich cultural exchange. Why do we associate certain foods and st...

From Monasteries to The Joy of Cooking and Martha Stewart: Why We’re Obsessed with Collecting and Keeping Them How many cookbooks do you own? And here’s the real question… do you actually cook from them? In this episode of Family Tree Food & Stories, Nancy May and Sylvia Lovely trace and share the fascinating history, evolution, and survival of cookbooks in America. You’ll learn why these books have survived wars, depressions, church basements, and even now, the internet. Cookbooks didn’t begi...

Italian Food in America: The Truth About Authenticity, Nonas, and Sunday Sauce. When you're planning which restaurant to go to, you typically don't ask, “Do you want American food?” No, you ask... "How about Italian?” But here’s the twist… much of what we call authentic Italian food isn’t actually from Italy. It's kind of a made-up Italian, American style! In this episode of Family Tree Food & Stories, Nancy May and Sylvia Lovely unpack the real story behind Italian-American cuisine, how it's...

How a Simple Apron Quietly Shaped Food, Family Power, and Why They Matter More Than Your Grandma's Cookbook. Most people think an apron is just something you tie on before cooking. They’re wrong. In this episode of Family Tree Food & Stories, Nancy May and Sylvia Lovely dig into the why of the apron, which may be the most powerful and misunderstood object in the kitchen—and why its disappearance signals the loss of something far more important than chintz fabric. Long before it became a Hallo...

Romance, aphrodisiac foods, and love stories from the kitchen What if the most romantic Valentine’s Day you’ve ever had didn’t happen in a restaurant—but at your own table? In this episode of Family Tree Food & Stories, Nancy May and Sylvia Lovely dive, fork first, into the sensual, unforgettable Valentine’s foods that create connection, intimacy, and lasting memories—without stress, fancy techniques, or expensive ingredients. It’s about using food as a language of intention, attraction, and ...

Chinese New Year 2026 offers something rare: a second chance to begin again! In this episode of Family Tree Food & Stories, Nancy May and Sylvia Lovely explore the Year of the Horse and the powerful role food plays in balance, momentum, and renewal in our lives during this Chinese Lunar New Year. Instead of focusing on recipes alone, this episode uncovers the meaning behind Chinese New Year food traditions—why noodles are left unbroken, why dumplings require time and teamwork, why leftovers mat...

The Hidden History, Psychology, Power Struggle, and Cultural Story Behind America’s Most Ubiquitous Condiment. What if the most powerful lesson about patience, power, trust, and human behavior was sitting on your table your entire life? Would you want to know more? Well, you’ve probably stared at it in mild frustration. But no one ever told you why you felt that way! In this episode of Family Tree Food & Stories, Nancy May and Sylvia Lovely crack the cap on the real story behind ketchup—not as ...

What makes a food brand iconic—and why do we trust it like family? In this episode of Family Tree Food & Stories, Nancy May and Sylvia Lovely pull back the curtain on the legendary food brands and characters that quietly shaped American kitchens, childhoods, and consumer trust for generations. From Betty Crocker, a fictional woman who became one of the most trusted voices in American homes, to Little Debbie, whose real face turned five-cent cakes into a Depression-era survival story, and more, ...

Natural Remedies, Healing Foods, and the Traditions Families Trust. As cold and flu season always seems to creep up on us soon after the New Year. In this episode of Family Tree Food & Stories, the question we ask is: Can food be medicine? Join Nancy May and Sylvia Lovely as they merge family remedies with old and new science and unpack how everyday foods make us feel better. Learn how chicken soup, honey, ginger, garlic, cabbage, peanut butter, and whiskey have been standby home remedies used ...

Pizza wasn’t always welcome at the table— And it certainly wasn’t always American. So how did a seemingly simple immigrant street food become the most shared, argued-over, and emotionally loaded meal in the country? In this episode of Family Tree Food & Stories, Nancy May and Sylvia Lovely uncover some surprising facts about the history of pizza in America, tracing its journey from Italian and ancient Mediterranean roots to our neighborhood pizza parlors, family tables, and regional loyalties t...

New Year’s Leftovers: What to Toss, What to Transform, and Why It Matters What stays, what goes, and what gets reinvented with style and taste? In this episode of Family Tree Food & Stories, your award-winning hosts Nancy May and Sylvia Lovely take on the post-holiday refrigerator—one container at a time, with how-to ideas and a recipe that will turn your holiday leftovers into a fancy homespun “gotta have.” This episode isn’t just about food—it’s a look at what leftovers say about the way we l...

Why do families leave cookies for Santa? What do people in other countries leave for Santa on Christmas Eve, and why have those foods become part of the holiday? In this episode of Family Tree Food & Stories, Mrs. Claus and Rudolph step in for Nancy May and Sylvia Lovely to examine the origins of Christmas treats and food traditions around the world. How have history, economics, and cultural storytelling shaped what we now consider “traditional” holiday foods? Mrs. Claus and Rudolph share thei...

Best Christmas food gifts, explained and shared. What makes a Christmas food gift unforgettable? In this episode of Family Tree Food & Stories, Nancy and Sylvia explore the best Christmas food gifts, sharing true stories behind fruitcake traditions, Hickory Farms boxes, homemade holiday drinks, and regional favorites that turn simple food into lasting memories. What regional holiday traditions, family favorites, and even strange corporate food gifts have become long-running stories? Have you e...

Bringing the holidays together: stories, shared recipes, and easy ideas for mixing Hanukkah, Christmas, and even Scandinavian Yuletide flavors at your family table. What happens when Jewish and Christian traditions come together in one kitchen? In this episode of Family Tree Food & Stories, Nancy May talks with Magdalena Dryberg, a Swedish-born Jewish mom who blends Hanukkah, Christmas, and Scandinavian winter traditions into one fun and meaningful holiday season. Magdalena shares easy ideas f...

Why do some manners survive for centuries while others disappear overnight? And which one still matters today? In this episode of Family Tree Food & Stories, Nancy May and Sylvia Lovely uncover the surprising truths behind the rules we follow, the ones we break, and the embarrassing moments we all secretly Google. From medieval knife etiquette and Victorian orange-cutting rules to restaurant dilemmas, awkward check battles, and the lesser-known rules of modern hosting, this episode reveals how...

Home for the Holidays: The Lost Art of Decorating with Food What if your next holiday centerpiece wasn’t from a store—but from your pantry? In this episode of Family Tree Food & Stories, Nancy May and Sylvia Lovely help you rediscover the forgotten art and easy ways to decorate with food. It’s been a long-standing, even ancient tradition that’s fun and everyone can join in and help. From hanging this year’s turkey wishbone and saving it for next year’s wish-making activities, to crafting apple-h...