How a Cookbook Gets Made

Culture Study Podcast

Arts, Society & Culture

4.5 • 789 Ratings

🗓️ 9 April 2025

⏱️ 74 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This is such a delight of an episode! We’ve been wanting to do a big cookbook conversation since the start of the podcast, and when America’s Test Kitchen emailed to see if we’d be interested in talking to Sarah Ahn about Umma— the cookbook she put together with her mom (!!!) documenting the Korean recipes that have defined her past and present life— we were thrilled. We just wanted one more layer: what if we had a cookbook editor as well? Enter: Adam Kowit, editoral director of all books at America’s Test Kitchen. You’re going to learn so much about the making of this cookbook (which, as you’ll see in the episode, I cannot shut up about) but also how cookbooks just generally go from a handful of recipes to an actual text. Again: what a delight, and I can’t wait for your thoughts.Thanks to the sponsors of today’s episode!Zbiotics Sugar-to-Fiber: Go to zbiotics.com/CULTURESTUDY and use CULTURESTUDY at checkout for 15% off any first time orders of ZBiotics probiotics. ZBiotics has a 100% money-back guarantee, so if you’re unsatisfied for any reason they will refund your money, no questions asked.Article: Article is offering our listeners $50 off your first purchase of $100 or more. To claim, visit ARTICLE.COM/culture and the discount will be automatically applied at checkout.Show Notes:Buy Umma today!!!! (Chances are very high we’ll do this as a future Culture Study Cooking Club Pick, fwiw!)Follow Sarah Ahn’s incredibly popular Instagram account (and look at those tour dates near you)A few posts we reference:One we don’t reference but I found so fascinating:Follow America’s Test Kitchen on InstagramIn the AAA, Anne references this newsletter from JanuaryWe’re currently looking for your questions for future episodes about:TATE MCRAE (who is she, how did she get so popular, why is calling her the New Britney imprecise, take this wherever you want)SoCal Culture (broad, I know, but whew there’s so much)WTF is going on with contemporary/everyday men’s fashion (will Dockers make a comeback? How should we think about the business casual fleece/puffer vest? What’s going on with swimwear? HATS? I’m so excited for this one, with the great Jason Diamond)Dark Academia (as in, the literary genre)Van/Skoolie/RV LifePERIODS (and specifically, period pain) with Kate Helen Downey, host of CrampedAnything you need advice or want musings on for the AAA segment. You can ask about anything, it’s literally the name of the segment!As always, you can submit them (and ideas for future eps) hereFor this week’s discussion: What part of the process was the most illuminating? What do you still want to know even more about?

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey everyone, it's Ian. So once a month, we pick an episode to make free for everyone. You'll get the whole show, including the Ask Ann Anything segment, which is usually just for paid subscribers. And today's question is about something that plagues most of us, our phones. Other perks for paid subscribers include discussion threads for each episode, which are really fun and sometimes kind of spicy and an ad-free experience.
0:24.6	So if you want to support the show and always get the full episode, head to culturestudypod.
0:29.5	Substack.com and become a paid subscriber.
0:32.7	Thanks and on with the show.
0:35.5	This is everything my mom prepares for my dad in its 12-hour workdays.
0:39.0	So first are her three-year-old pickles.
0:41.2	These are Korean cucumbers that she pickled three years ago.
0:44.0	Until this day, they're still very good.
0:46.3	All right, next were her three-year-old green chili pickles.
0:48.9	I think she went on this pickle kick a couple years ago, but here she's making spicy green
0:54.0	chili pickles. Very similar to the last recipe, but here she's making spicy green chili pickles.
0:55.0	Very similar to the last recipe, but we're using green chili and some of the pickle brine
0:59.0	to create this very nuanced chili dish that is honestly quite fascinating.
1:04.0	I actually brought this to America's Test Kitchen and they were absolutely floored by this dish
1:08.0	because there is a complexity of a three-year-old pickle with fresh bold flavors that just danced in the mouth.
1:13.1	Then she made some spicy brazed tofu, aka tuphu chorin.
1:16.6	This is a dish that you make if you want to impress someone with Korean food, but with minimal effort.
1:21.6	All you do is pan fry the tofu until it's doing that, whip up the sauce with some fresh pepper, pour it in,
1:28.1	and then braze it until it's plush, tender, and flavored throughout.
1:31.2	That's it.
1:32.2	And then the last thing that she made was actually made the night before.
1:35.2	This is chang chorim, also known as soy braised eggs and beef.
	...

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