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A is for Apple: An Encyclopaedia of Food & Drink

A is for Apple: An Encyclopaedia of Food & Drink

By: Sam Bilton Neil Buttery & Alessandra Pino
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A is for Apple is an encyclopaedia of food and drink that takes a deep dive into food and drink culture letter by letter. Written and presented by Sam Bilton, Neil Buttery and Alessandra Pino.Copyright 2026 Sam Bilton, Neil Buttery & Alessandra Pino Art Cooking Food & Wine Social Sciences World
Episodes
  • S3E7: C is for Custard, Chancellor's Buttocks and Crumpets

    S3E7: C is for Custard, Chancellor's Buttocks and Crumpets
    Jun 16 2026
    It’s a Listener Choice special as the team tackle three very different culinary favourites. Sam champions custard in all its forms, from medieval recipes to modern puddings. Allie investigates the mischievous history of Sicily’s “Chancellor’s Buttocks” pastry. And Neil celebrates the crumpet, exploring the history of those hole-filled griddle cakes that have become a staple of the British tea table.Sources/ Useful linksCustardThere’s a very good overview of custard by Neil on the British Food History Podcast website along with a recipe for proper custard.The history of Birds Custard How to make pastry cream (Crème pâtissière)Two Fifteenth Century Cookbooks by Thomas Austin (1888)Cooking and Dining in Medieval England by Peter Brears (2012)Dumas on Food (Translated by Alan and Jane Davidson) by Alexandre Dumas (1979)A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf (1935)The Tale of the Custard Dragon by Ogden Nash (1936) - a cute poem about a cowardly dragon called custard.Laurel and Hardy - The Battle of the Century (1927) - The Pie FightDr Who ‘Fish Fingers and Custard’ on YouTubeRhubarb and Custard (the 1970s cartoon) on YouTubeCustard Pie song by Led ZeppelinByron’s letters, including references to custard and other food-related observations, can be accessed via Peter Cochran’s edition of Byron’s Correspondence.Allie’s talk on Byron and baked rosewater custards, hosted with Sam Hirst, is available here.Chancellor’s ButtocksSimeti, M.T. (1989) Pomp and Sustenance: Twenty-Five Centuries of Sicilian Food. "Palermo's Secret Dessert Scene" (Saveur) – an introduction to Palermo's historic pastry culture, including fedde del cancelliere (Chancellor's Buttocks).Cavalli, Rita, “Fedde del monastero, il dolce delle monache di Palermo che si prendevano gioco del fondoschiena del Primo Ministro”, FIRSTonline (17 February 2024): FIRSTonline article on the Fedde del Cancelliere and Palermo's convent confectionery traditionsCrumpetsNeil’s crumpets recipe from British Food: A HistoryNeil’s muffins recipe with table of crumpet-muffin recipes showing the fluidity between the twoKnead to Know: A History of Baking by Neil Buttery (2024)English Bread & Yeast Cookery by Elizabeth David (1977)The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy by Hannah Glasse (1747)Crumpets with Potted Shrimps on FoodismWant to make the dripping crumpets of Rebecca? Pre-order Allie's A Gothic Cookbook, out this October, published by The History Press.Don’t forget Allie will be exploring food and feasting in the works of the Brontë sisters and other classic gothic writers at an in-person event at the Brontë Parsonage Museum on 18 July 2026.Allie will also be presenting an online talk on Gothic feasts with Morbid Anatomy on 26 October 2026.Join Sam, Neil and Allie in person for a live recording of A is for Apple at Ludlow Food Festival on 11 September 2026.Allie will be appearing at the Bury St Edmunds Literature Festival on 11 October 2026, where she will be in conversation with author Kate Young.The Serve It Forth Food History Festival returns online on 18 October 2026. Keep an eye on social media for further announcements.This is the final episode of Season C of A is for Apple. Thank you to everyone who listened, shared episodes, and sent in suggestions for our Listener Choice special.We look forward to welcoming you back for Season D. Until then, happy cooking, happy reading, and thank you for joining us on this alphabetical adventure through food and drink culture.
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    1 hr and 18 mins
  • S3E6: C is for Cabbage, Celery and Cauliflower

    S3E6: C is for Cabbage, Celery and Cauliflower
    Jun 1 2026

    The team return to the theme of vegetables for this episode. Neil champions the much maligned cabbage which he calls the ‘dog of vegetables’. Sam expresses her beef with celery and why it needs a lot of help from its friends to make it more palatable. And Allie delves into the anthropomorphic qualities of cauliflower.

    Sources/Useful Links

    Cabbage
    • Jane Grigson’s Vegetable Book (1978)
    • A Nievve Herbale, or Historie of Plantes by Dodoens (translated by Henry Lyte; 1578)
    • Regula Ysewijn’s Cabbage Pudding on CKBK

    Celery
    • ‘Herbs in History: Celery’ on the American Herbal Products Association
    • Apiaceae description on Britannica
    • How to Grow Celery by RHS
    • ‘Ancient Greek Funerals Were Decked Out in Celery’ on Atlas Obscura

    Cauliflower
    • The People of 1381 The website of an innovative new research project set to produce the most comprehensive interpretation of the Peasants’ Revolt to date.
    • Opera dell’arte del cucinare. Bartolomeo Scappi (1570)
    • The Art Of Cookery Hannah Glasse (1747)
    • A Cauliflower in Her Hair (1944) by Shirley Jackson
    • Mark Twain on cauliflower in The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson (1894)
    • Roasted cauliflower steaks BBC Goodfood recipe

    Don’t forget…

    Sam will be discussing food in Shakespeare with Will Tosh, Sheila T Cavanagh and the actor Sir Simon Russell Beale at the British Library on Saturday, 13 June 2026.

    Allie will be digging into food themes and motifs in a series of classic and contemporary gothic novels from the 19th century to the present day at the Brontë Parsonage Museum on 18 July 2026.

    Coming up next is our Listener’s Choice episode. Which culinary C’s did we miss?
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    1 hr and 1 min
  • BONUS EPISODE: Natural Cider with Tom and Lydia of Artistraw Cider

    BONUS EPISODE: Natural Cider with Tom and Lydia of Artistraw Cider
    May 25 2026
    As promised in the last episode of A is for Apple, here is the full interview with Tom Tibbits and Lydia Crimp of Artistraw Cidery and Orchard in Herefordshire.Lydia and Tom go to great efforts to make a natural cider and perry using fruit from their own orchards, fermented the natural way without pitching any yeast.You can find out more about Artistraw on their website www.artistraw.co.uk, where you can also sign up to their newsletter, or follow them on Twitter, Instagram and Bluesky @artistrawcider.Today, we talk about the basic process of natural cider making, and how it is both an art and a science, what makes a good cider apple, terroir, and the folklore associated with cidermaking.I’ll be back in a week with Alessandra Pino and Sam Bilton with the next regular episode of A is for Apple.See Artistraw on BBC Countryfile: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002kw2wDon’t forget to email us at aisforapplepod@gmail.com or tag us on Instagram or BlueSky if you have any suggestions for future episodes.You can follow the A is for Apple Podcast on Instagram and BlueskySam Bilton also hosts the award winning Comfortably Hungry Podcast and is the author of First Catch Your Gingerbread, Fool’s Gold: A History of British Saffron The Philosophy of Chocolate and Much Ado About Cooking: Delicious Shakespearean Feasts for Every Occasion (written in collaboration with Shakespeare’s Globe). You can find her on Instagram and BlueskyDr Neil Buttery also hosts the British Food History Podcast and is the author of A Dark History of Sugar, Before Mrs Beeton: Elizabeth Raffald Britain’s Most Influential Housekeeper as well as Knead to Know: A History of Baking and The Philosophy of Pudding with another book in progress. You can find him on Instagram and BlueskyDr Allie Pino produces and hosts the Curious Appetite Podcast and the Fear Feasts Podcast with Vanessa Baca. She is also the co-author of A Gothic Cookbook and is currently working on a new book. You can find her on Instagram and Bluesky
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    33 mins
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