Hi, it's Willa. We have a treat for you today, an episode of The Sporkful, hosted by Dan

Paschman. The Sporkful is a show about food that I think Decoder Ring listeners will really like

if they don't already. It's not for foodies, it's for eaters. And Dan also digs deep into culinary

topics, some of them hiding in plain sight that can tell us more about people

and the world we live in. Some recent episodes, I think, might be up your alley, include the story

of Hydrox cookies. Lots of people think Hydrox cookies ripped off Oreos, but that's exactly

backwards. And the story of how that happened includes one of the most bitter rivalries in the

snack food business. Dan has also looked into the story of the humble Kalachi, a pastry that went

from Central Europe to West Texas and is now slowly making its way to Brooklyn. But the episode

we have for you today is about a pressing question all its own.

Is your recipe lying to you? In this episode, Dan talks to an intrepid journalist right here

at Slate, who exposed the big fib about how long it takes to caramelize onions. Dan then gets the

inside scoop on why there's a disconnect between what a recipe says

will happen, how long it will take, how hard it will be, and what really does. I think you'll

really enjoy it. I know I did. Here's Dan Pashman. Over the course of your career, you've

written about a wide range of topics. I have. I've written about weather modification in China. I've

written about sports. I've written about politics, media, and also food. And yet, after all your

years and years of a distinguished writing career of covering such a wide range of topics and a wide

range of impressive publications, there seems to you one piece that stands out above all the rest,

at least in terms of capturing the most public interest.

Nothing I've written has had as sort of a long-lasting effect

as the piece I wrote for Slate about how long it takes to caramelize onions.

...