Michael Pollan: Why Cooking Matters

The Food Programme

BBC

Arts, Food

4.4 • 976 Ratings

🗓️ 4 June 2013

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Sheila Dillon speaks to the writer Michael Pollan on the craft, science and pleasures of cooking.

In his new book, Cooked, "a love letter to cooking", Pollan who is one of the world's most popular thinkers on food reflects on the value of being a cook and preparing our own food.

From understanding the physics and culture of the barbecue to the art of fermentation, Pollan has spent the last two years researching cooking techniques around the world to help explain how transforming food has influenced our evolution and development over millions of years.

Cooking, says Pollan, is "baked into our DNA", we are "the cooking animal". For that reason he examines what we've lost as rates of domestic cooking have declined since the 1960's and what it will take for more of us to make a meaningful return to the kitchen.

Producer: Dan Saladino.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	You don't need us to tell you there's a general election coming.
0:04.6	So what does it mean for you?
0:06.4	Every day on newscast we dissect the big talking points,
0:10.1	the ones that you want to know more about.
0:12.3	With our book of contacts, we talk directly to the people you want to hear from.
0:16.8	And with help from some of the best BBC journalists,
0:19.4	we'll untangle the stories that matter to you.
0:23.0	Join me, Laura Kunsberg, Adam Fleming, Chris Mason and Patty O'Connell for our daily podcast.
0:29.0	Newscast, listen on BBC Science.
0:38.0	How do you feel about cooking? What have you got that to do?
0:39.0	Do the crack clean.
0:40.0	I've got, oh and I've got to make my burblunk.
0:42.0	I've got a lot to do.
0:43.0	I've got a lot to do.
0:44.0	Go, push.
0:45.0	We fetishize cooking in our society today.
0:48.0	We all watch television shows about these heroic athletic chefs who can do these amazing feats
0:54.9	while the clock is ticking down behind them. This week a man from California has
0:59.5	been traveling around the UK talking about that very simple thing we all do or at least watch.
1:07.0	With knives flashing and fountains of flame and it looks terrifying.
1:11.6	It looks like work best left to professionals.
1:14.4	And indeed, if you ask people,
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.