Ancestral Kitchen

Beans, Beans, the magical fruit, the more you eat, the more you absorb valuable minerals and proteins, improve your cardiovascular function and the health of your arterial walls as well as cholesterol and fat absorption, boost your digestion and gut bacteria health, and enjoy an array of bright and colorful foods - but what about that other, turbulent side benefit?
In this explosive episode, we will break down, like an enzyme breaks down an oligosaccharide, the compounds in beans and the processes in your body that can cause the possible noxious side benefits, as well as what ancestral peoples did to deal with this - aside from cracking ancient jokes that never get old. We will discuss in detail a patented process purported to eliminate ALL of the potentially thunderous side-effects using only water, time and heat, and we will additionally talk about herbs that can be cooked or served alongside beans to quell the claps of cheeky applause.
There is a copious amount of additional material that I could only include in the show notes for reasons of being too inappropriate to read on air, and they can be found on our website, ancestralkitchenpodcast.com by clicking the Episodes drop-down. I tested the absolute technology limits with the length of show notes today and ran out of room on our podcast apps, so go and enjoy the mountains of links and additional text I put there for you to enjoy.
In this episode I hope you will find the critical information you need to understand the possible pitfalls of beans and where those pitfalls come from, and leave feeling confident in how to deal with them and enjoy not only beans, but all their benefits - and none of their possible sound effects. Researching this episode left me all the more in awe of the incredible, ancient value beans bring to our diet, and more determined than ever to include them in a variety of meals across the week without what the Bard called any "strange eruptions".
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Get more news from Alison & Andrea by signing up to their newsletter here.
For a free 30-page guide to Baking with Ancient Grains sign up for Alison's newsletter here!
Get our three podcast cookbooks:
Meals at the Ancestral Hearth
Spelt Sourdough Every Day
The Pastured Pork Cookbook
Get all three of our cookbooks!
Alison's course, Rye Sourdough Bread: Mastering The Basics
Alison's Sowans oat fermentation course
Get 10% off US/Canada Bokashi supplies: click here and use code AKP.
Get 10% off UK Bokashi supplies.
Visit our (non-Amazon!) bookshop for our favourite cookbooks: US link here and UK link here.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Our podcast is supported by a community of ancestral cooks around the world!
Come join our community! You can choose to simply sponsor the podcast, or select from a variety of levels with benefits including monthly live Zoom calls, a private podcast feed stuffed with bonus content, and a Discord discussion grou
Find out more here!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
5* reviews on Apple Podcasts, mean the world to us! Here's how to leave one:
Open the Apple Podcast app
Find Ancestral Kitchen Podcast in your library
Scroll down to 'ratings and reviews'
Click on 'write a review', give us 5*s and then tell us why you love listening

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Resources:
Check the show notes for this episode on https://ancestralkitchenpodcast.com/category/podcast/ . Additional show note material doubles the content you see here! On the website you will also see the ancestral jokes alluded to in the episode, as well as the newspaper clippings from the Duke of Windsor's wedding including the advertisement for bile beans!
Corned Beef recipe
How long have humans been eating beans?
The Story of Beans in Mexican Cuisine
Karen Hurd’s research on beans and bile - story starts at about 8 minutes in
London Musem bile beans
Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron utilization of RFO (raffinose family oligosaccharides)
What is Raffinose?
Article about Steve Sando and Rancho Gordo (behind a paywall, but new viewers are allowed an article or two before paying)
Sumerian Jokes
Ancient Anatolian bread
The Rise and Fall of Çatalhöyük: A Neolithic Matriarchy?
Neolithic Site of Çatalhöyük
Did Vikings and ancient Norse peoples eat beans?
When were potatoes introduced to England?
Does epazote reduce gassiness?
Epazote seeds from Mountain Rose Herbs (organic)
Yerba Santa
Fonda san Miguel
What do digestive bitters do?
What does epazote do to beans? “Epazote’s ability to reduce gas production is thought to be due to its carminative properties. Carminatives are ingredients that help to relieve gas and bloating in the digestive system. Epazote’s carminative properties are believed to work by reducing the amount of gas produced by bacteria in the large intestine. This is achieved through the inhibition of the growth of gas-producing bacteria, as well as the reduction of the amount of oligosaccharides that are fermented. As a result, epazote can help to reduce the discomfort and bloating associated with eating...

What foods will you find in an ancestral pantry in a modern world kitchen? Today we will share some of the foods we store in our pantries to keep our regional, from-scratch meals on the table on a daily basis, as well as talk about modern tools that help us to turn some inexpensive, bulk raw products into value-added products. We will travel back in time to visit ancient and old pantries and look at what people were eating and how they were storing it, and we will also talk about ancient tools, some of which we still use today.
Supporters of the pod can check their private podcast feed for an aftershow where we share some of the foods we used to keep in our pantries “Before” ancestral food; and, everyone can check the show notes here for some of our favorite resources for reading about pantries and food in times past.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Get more news from Alison & Andrea by signing up to their newsletter here.
For a free 30-page guide to Baking with Ancient Grains sign up for Alison's newsletter here!
Get our three podcast cookbooks:
Meals at the Ancestral Hearth
Spelt Sourdough Every Day
The Pastured Pork Cookbook
Get all three of our cookbooks!
Alison's course, Rye Sourdough Bread: Mastering The Basics
Alison's Sowans oat fermentation course
Get 10% off US/Canada Bokashi supplies: click here and use code AKP.
Get 10% off UK Bokashi supplies.
Visit our (non-Amazon!) bookshop for our favourite cookbooks: US link here and UK link here.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Our podcast is supported by a community of ancestral cooks around the world!
Come join our community! You can choose to simply sponsor the podcast, or select from a variety of levels with benefits including monthly live Zoom calls, a private podcast feed stuffed with bonus content, and a Discord discussion grou
Find out more here!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
5* reviews on Apple Podcasts, mean the world to us! Here's how to leave one:
Open the Apple Podcast app
Find Ancestral Kitchen Podcast in your library
Scroll down to 'ratings and reviews'
Click on 'write a review', give us 5*s and then tell us why you love listening

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Resources:
For the photos and descriptions mentioned in the show, see our show notes at www.ancestralkitchenpodcast.com
Ruth Goodman video, “What the Tudors really ate”
Tudor Monastery Farm, BBC/PBS
Food in History, Reay Tannahill
Five Children and It, E. Nesbit
The Diary of a Farmer’s Wife 1796 - 1797, Anne Hughes
Food In England, Dorothy Hartley
Lost Country Life, Dorothy Hartley
The Domestic Revolution, Ruth Goodman
Do you have memories, documents, recipes or stories of those who cooked ancestrally? Visit our website here for how to share.
Thank you for listening - we'd love to connect more:
The podcast has a website here!
Stay in touch with Alison via her newsletter at Ancestral Kitchen
The podcast is on You Tube here
The podcast is mixed and the music created by Alison's husband, Rob. Find him here: Robert Michael Kay

Fat is one of the cornerstones of ancestral eating. But getting hold of good saturated fat is not easy and can be eye-wateringly expensive. Making it at home, as Andrea and I do, you can cut your costs incredibly and also feel sure of the provenance and processing.
This episode will talk you through everything you need to know about rendering fat. We'll explain the different types of fats, their names, their properties and how you can use them. We'll then demystify the ways you can render fat in your kitchen, no matter what equipment you have, giving you step-by-step instructions. We'll clarify how you'll know your fat is done, what to do with the leftovers, how to clean up, the many different ways you can store your fat and how to know if it's gone bad.
This episode is peppered with real questions from real ancestral cooks about fat rendering – thank you to every supporter who sent in their query.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Get more news from Alison & Andrea by signing up to their newsletter here.
For a free 30-page guide to Baking with Ancient Grains sign up for Alison's newsletter here!
Get our three podcast cookbooks:
Meals at the Ancestral Hearth
Spelt Sourdough Every Day
The Pastured Pork Cookbook
Get all three of our cookbooks!
Alison's course, Rye Sourdough Bread: Mastering The Basics
Alison's Sowans oat fermentation course
Get 10% off US/Canada Bokashi supplies: click here and use code AKP.
Get 10% off UK Bokashi supplies.
Visit our (non-Amazon!) bookshop for our favourite cookbooks: US link here and UK link here.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Our podcast is supported by a community of ancestral cooks around the world!
Come join our community! You can choose to simply sponsor the podcast, or select from a variety of levels with benefits including monthly live Zoom calls, a private podcast feed stuffed with bonus content, and a Discord discussion grou
Find out more here!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
5* reviews on Apple Podcasts, mean the world to us! Here's how to leave one:
Open the Apple Podcast app
Find Ancestral Kitchen Podcast in your library
Scroll down to 'ratings and reviews'
Click on 'write a review', give us 5*s and then tell us why you love listening

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Resources:
Tallow price online link
Lard price online link
How to render lard in a slow cooker
7 ways to use lard (including a lard crackling spread recipe)
Pane con Ciccioli recipe
Do you have memories, documents, recipes or stories of those who cooked ancestrally? Visit our website here for how to share.
Thank you for listening - we'd love to connect more:
The podcast has a website here!
Stay in touch with Alison via her newsletter at Ancestral Kitchen
The podcast is on You Tube here
The podcast is mixed and the music created by Alison's husband, Rob. Find him here: Robert Michael Kay

When Alison and I were starting this podcast, she asked who was on my dream list of people to talk to. I said Tara Couture of Slowdown Farmstead and today that is what happened. In an incredibly long and appropriately slow morning we sat down together to talk for the first time and it was like visiting with an old friend I had waited a very long time to see again. Tara once shared her life on Instagram and I followed her avidly there, listening to her wisdom both practical and philosophical on butchery and growing and shifting, and how in the midst of life we are in death. Taking words from the screen to the printed page, Tara recently wrote a book, Radiance of the Ordinary. Since I had dropped off social media and Tara soon would herself, I was no longer reading her words, so when my copy arrived in the mail it felt like unwrapping a long-awaited, much anticipated letter from a beloved mentor.
In this episode we discussed many things including what does it look like to be living life at a human pace, as a human, in an ever-increasingly inhumane world? Is it even possible or practical to be a human in a world that expects you to be, and treats you as, a machine? Tara and I went through a lot of tea and boza over this long conversation so I invite you to settle in and join in with us, and let's be human together.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
One Earth Health make the grass-fed organ supplements we use and trust. Get 15% off your first order here and 5% off all subsequent orders here.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Get more news from Alison & Andrea by signing up to their newsletter here.
For a free 30-page guide to Baking with Ancient Grains sign up for Alison's newsletter here!
Get our three podcast cookbooks:
Meals at the Ancestral Hearth
Spelt Sourdough Every Day
The Pastured Pork Cookbook
Get all three of our cookbooks!
Alison's course, Rye Sourdough Bread: Mastering The Basics
Alison's Sowans oat fermentation course
Get 10% off US/Canada Bokashi supplies: click here and use code AKP.
Get 10% off UK Bokashi supplies.
Visit our (non-Amazon!) bookshop for our favourite cookbooks: US link here and UK link here.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Our podcast is supported by a community of ancestral cooks around the world!
Come join our community! You can choose to simply sponsor the podcast, or select from a variety of levels with benefits including monthly live Zoom calls, a private podcast feed stuffed with bonus content, and a Discord discussion grou
Find out more here!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The personal views and opinions of our guests do not necessarily reflect our own personal views or opinions. We recognize that our guests are whole persons and this may include views we or our audience actively disagree with; our guests are invited to the show because we feel they have something valuable to share with us all, and we do not ask them to censor their personal views on air. Our sharing of their work is not necessarily an endorsement of their personal views.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
5* reviews on Apple Podcasts, mean the world to us! Here's how to leave one:
Open the Apple Podcast app
Find Ancestral Kitchen Podcast in your library
Scroll down to 'ratings and reviews'
Click on 'write a review', give us 5*s and then tell us why you love listening

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Resources:
Slowdown Farmstead | Tara | Substack
Radiance of the Ordinary by Tara Couture
Against the Machine by Paul Kingsnorth
Do you have memories, documents, recipes or stories of those who cooked ancestrally? Visit our website here for how to share.
Thank you for listening - we'd love to connect more:
The podcast has a website here!
Stay in touch with Alison via her newsletter at Ancestral Kitchen
The podcast is on You Tube here
The podcast is mixed and the music created by Alison's husband, Rob. Find him here: Robert Michael Kay

Humans have been eating porridge (of which the American oatmeal is just one example) for, as you’ll hear, at least 32,000 years (that places it comfortably in the ‘paleo diet’ era!) Listen in to hear us cover just some of the history of this word and the comforting dish associated with it, as well as taking a tour of the many, many ways it is made throughout the world. Then we’ll focus in on oats - sharing surprising ways in which oat porridge has been served and eaten in the United Kingdom. We'll also explain the different types of oats used, the best ways to cook porridge and the myriad ways you can serve it.
If you love a bowl of steaming, creamy oatmeal, get ready to wrap your hands around this enlightening, inspiring episode.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
One Earth Health make the grass-fed organ supplements we use and trust. Get 15% off your first order here and 5% off all subsequent orders here.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Get more news from Alison & Andrea by signing up to their newsletter here.
For a free 30-page guide to Baking with Ancient Grains sign up for Alison's newsletter here!
Get our three podcast cookbooks:
Meals at the Ancestral Hearth
Spelt Sourdough Every Day
The Pastured Pork Cookbook
Get all three of our cookbooks!
Alison's course, Rye Sourdough Bread: Mastering The Basics
Alison's Sowans oat fermentation course
Get 10% off US/Canada Bokashi supplies: click here and use code AKP.
Get 10% off UK Bokashi supplies.
Visit our (non-Amazon!) bookshop for our favourite cookbooks: US link here and UK link here.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Our podcast is supported by a community of ancestral cooks around the world!
Come join our community! You can choose to simply sponsor the podcast, or select from a variety of levels with benefits including monthly live Zoom calls, a private podcast feed stuffed with bonus content, and a Discord discussion grou
Find out more here!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
5* reviews on Apple Podcasts, mean the world to us! Here's how to leave one:
Open the Apple Podcast app
Find Ancestral Kitchen Podcast in your library
Scroll down to 'ratings and reviews'
Click on 'write a review', give us 5*s and then tell us why you love listening

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Resources:
Millet Polenta
Different Types of Oats and How to Use Each the Traditional Way
Heritage Oat Collection
What is Sowans?
Ollebrod recipe
How to Roll Your Own Oats (and 3 Good Reasons to do It!)
Gerty Milk article
Episode 70: Fermenting Oats
Do you have memories, documents, recipes or stories of those who cooked ancestrally? Visit our website here for how to share.
Thank you for listening - we'd love to connect more:
The podcast has a website here!
Stay in touch with Alison via her newsletter at Ancestral Kitchen
The podcast is on You Tube here
The podcast is mixed and the music created by Alison's husband, Rob. Find him here: Robert Michael Kay