S4E8: Cold snow in the time of harvest episode artwork

EPISODE · Mar 19, 2026 · 41 MIN

S4E8: Cold snow in the time of harvest

from Comfortably Hungry · host Sam Bilton

‘We do not know for how many millennia man has exploited the preservative properties of ice.’ Jill Norman in the introduction to Elizabeth David’s Harvest of the Cold Months (1996)In this episode I’m joined by food historian, writer, photographer, and culinary practitioner Dr Nader Mehravari, to find out more about the yakhchals of ancient Persia and how they were used to make and store ice.If you enjoyed the podcast you can become a paid subscriber to the Comfortably Hungry Substack (which means you’ll receive additional content) or show your appreciation by leaving a small, one off tip here. Useful LinksYou can follow Nader Mehravari on Instagram and find out more about his work with Persian food on his website.Nader’s Faloodeh recipe on Serious EatsSuggested ReadingTravels in Persia by John Chardin (a seventeenth century French born traveler who wrote about ice in Persia)Harvest of the Cold Months by Elizabeth David (1996)Don’t forget you can follow me on Instagram or Bluesky @mrssbilton or find out more about my work on sambilton.com.A huge thank you to Thomas Ntinas of The Delicious Legacy for doing the sound mixing on this season of the podcast. Sound effects and music provided by Zapsplat and Pond5.Comfortably Hungry is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit comfortablyhungry.substack.com/subscribe

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Mar 19, 2026

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