Family Tree Food Stories

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 initials. A 30-year-old sister joked about a spoon rack that kept getting mailed back and forth. Listen to hear what happened with that one!You’ll also learn about the shift from plastic to wooden cutting boards. Are they actually safer than plastic ones? There’s a story behind why old kitchen tools, vintage cookware, and family heirlooms are quietly winning the kitchen back from the air fryer crowd. You likely have more than one reason behind this in your own kitchen or pantry drawer.Key Takeaways:The wooden spoon is the smarter tool. Wood doesn't conduct heat like metal; it's gentler on cast-iron skillets and ceramic cookware, and it won't splatter sauce across your stove. Your grandmother knew what she was doing. How many wooden spoons do you have in your drawers?This junk shop find cracked open a 40-year-old memory. A photo that Nancy shared of a hand-cranked mixer, resembling one her mom had, set off a flood of stories in the Family Tree Food & Stories Facebook group. That’s proof that old and ordinary kitchen tools are still used today and often bring back the most extraordinary family stories.What’s “Avocado hand?" It’s a real term. The fix isn't a fancy avocado slicer. It's the knife technique your chef friend already knows, and Nancy and Sylvia walk through how it happens.Are old kitchen tools more sustainable than the new ones? Think cast iron skillets, wooden mixing bowls, vintage KitchenAid mixers, and the original Cuisinarts that still chop better than today's models. Most were designed to last, and yes, best when handed down.Do you have a kitchen tool you'd never throw away? Drop it in the Family Tree Food & Stories Facebook Group, or send it to us at podcast.familytreefoodandstories.com.Additional Links ❤️SURVEY: Please Help Us Learn How To Do More For YouBook: My Family Tree, Food & Stories Journal Awarded #1 New Release on AmazonInstagram Story updates 📸Facebook Family Tree Food Stories GROUP👍TikTok: Family Tree Food Stories👇Share Your Story With Nancy & Sylvia!: Leave us a voicemailYou can send us a DM on Facebook.About Your Award-Winning Hosts: Nancy May and Sylvia Lovely are the powerhouse team behind Family Tree, Food & Stories, a member of The Food Stories Media Network, which celebrates the rich traditions and connections everyone has around food, friends, and family meals. Nancy, an award-winning business leader, author, and podcaster, and Sylvia, a visionary author, lawyer, and former CEO, combine their expertise to bring captivating stories rooted in history, heritage, and food. Together, they weave stories that blend history, tradition, and the love of food, where generations connect and share intriguing mealtime stories and kitchen foibles.If you missed the first time around... now's your time to listen to Family Tree Food & Stories and get inspired to make better use of what’s already in your kitchen. Then visit our page to share how you're using your leftovers this year. Waste less. Cook smarter. Tell the story behind your fridge."Every Meal Has a Story, and Every Story is a Feast." (tm) is a trademark of Family Tree Food & Stories podcast (c) copyright 2026, all US and International Rights Reserved. @familytreefoodandstories @familytreefoodstories #foodie #foodblog #foodpodcast #newpodcast #foodiepodcast #bestfoodpodcast, #kitchengadgets, #woodenspoon, #woodenbowl @vermontgeneralstore @vermontbowlfactory #cuisinart #kitchenaid #handmixer

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 & Stories, Nancy May and Sylvia Lovely share some surprising facts and the history of rice. From Chinese rice paddies - which Nancy swears could be similar to cranberry bogs of the Northeast, to how enslaved African farmers created the famous "Carolina Gold" empire, and more. They even learned and share how Thomas Jefferson, the third US President, intentionally smuggled rice seeds out of Italy under threat of execution.Nancy and Sylvia dish out some more history and tradition about rice and how it feeds nearly half the world, and that Carolina Gold rice nearly disappeared. You might be surprised to learn what wild rice actually is (hint: not rice).This episode of Family Tree Food & Stories is comfort food for the brain. No anxiety, no doom-scrolling, just history, tradition, food, and stories, and a little Southern-meets-Yankee banter fun. Nancy and Sylvia guarantee that they'll start a different type of conversation around your dinner, or breakfast table at least one day this week.Key Takeaways Things You'll Learn:Why rice, not corn or wheat, so many people every dayThe hidden history of "Carolina Gold": How the brilliance of southern African slaves from the "Rice Coast" built one of America's first great food fortunes, and why the world almost lost the secrets to keep it thriving.That Thomas Jefferson really was a rice smuggler: And, how he could have been executed for doing so.A history lesson you likely didn't hear in grammar school. Rice as ritual, comfort, and family tradition: From Japanese sacred ceremonies to Sunday Hoppin' John in the South, how even rice can be a big part of your breakfast routine.What’s your family food story?Join our Family Tree Food & Stories Facebook Group, and go to our Family Tree Food & Stories podcast page at: https://podcast.familytreefoodstories.com/ Hit subscribe, leave us all the stars, and share this with someone who takes their cup of tea seriously. You know who that is. Because every meal has a story, and every story is a feast.Additional Links ❤️SURVEY: Please Help Us Learn How To Do More For YouBook: My Family Tree, Food & Stories Journal Awarded #1 New Release on AmazonInstagram Story updates 📸Facebook Family Tree Food Stories GROUP👍TikTok: Family Tree Food Stories👇Share Your Story With Nancy & Sylvia!: Leave us a voicemailYou can send us a DM on Facebook.About Your Award-Winning Hosts: Nancy May and Sylvia Lovely are the powerhouse team behind Family Tree, Food & Stories, a member of The Food Stories Media Network, which celebrates the rich traditions and connections everyone has around food, friends, and family meals. Nancy, an award-winning business leader, author, and podcaster, and Sylvia, a visionary author, lawyer, and former CEO, combine their expertise to bring captivating stories rooted in history, heritage, and food. Together, they weave stories that blend history, tradition, and the love of food, where generations connect and share intriguing mealtime stories and kitchen foibles.If you missed the first time around... now's your time to listen to Family Tree Food & Stories and get inspired to make better use of what’s already in your kitchen. Then visit our page to share how you're using your leftovers this year. Waste less. Cook smarter. Tell the story behind your fridge."Every Meal Has a Story, and Every Story is a Feast." (tm) is a trademark of Family Tree Food & Stories podcast (c) copyright 2026, all US and International Rights Reserved. @familytreefoodandstories @familytreefoodstories #foodie #rice #carolinagold #whiterice #riceflour, #ricecoast, #slaves, #thomasjefferson, @france, #USPresidents, @wholefoods #wholefoods #publix #unclebens #comfortfood, #minnesotawildrice #riceburger, #fargo, #saffron #BVitamin #wildrice #foodstories #podcast #foodpodcast #lovefood #howtocookrice