The Splendid Table: Conversations & Recipes For Curious Cooks & Eaters · American Public Media

834: Fall Cooking and Bitter Flavors with Genevieve Ko and Alexina Anatole

·50 min·5 clips

Dark chocolate outsells white because bitterness makes food more addictive, according to Alexina Anatole.

Francis Lam starts with the lived-in feeling of fall returning to the kitchen. For him, that means a pot of water for pasta, the oven back on, and more time spent baking. The pumpkin pie conversation focuses on texture, sweetness, and richness. A traditional approach uses evaporated milk or canned milk, but straight heavy cream can make the filling especially creamy. Coconut milk is another option, and coconut cream can deepen the coconut flavor if you reduce the sugar. Sweetness is something to adjust, not obey: maple and honey are both natural fall-friendly choices, while agave is something he does not especially love. The spice conversation moves beyond the usual cinnamon and nutmeg. Cardamom gets a mention for warmth. Coriander brings in a slightly savory note. Turmeric adds a bitter edge. Black pepper gives the pie a kick. A little heat, like infusing the dairy or cream with habanero or another chili, can add warm depth without making the pie spicy. After a listener call, the episode shifts to another conversation rooted in everyday kitchen improvisation. Alexina Anatole then appears with a different angle on flavor. Her book Bitter frames the conversation around tastes that are less obvious than sweetness, and she has a new book called Sweet coming shortly. She leaves Francis with a recipe for stout sticky toffee pudding. The episode ties all of that together by treating flavor as seasonal, technical, and emotional at once.

As heard by us

A practical fall kitchen conversation that moves from pumpkin pie to bitter, sweet, and spice-driven variations.

The episode treats fall like a kitchen season, moving from pumpkin pie to the practical work of what a pan, a spice cabinet, and a craving can do.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

Press play for fall flavors that go beyond cinnamon.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from The Splendid Table: Conversations & Recipes For Curious Cooks & Eaters