Cooking Boston: Ice Kings

Cooking Boston: Ice Kings

Panelists Gus Rancatore, Jeri Quinzio, and Judy Herrell

Moderated by Kathleen Fitzgerald

Samples of ice cream from Toscanini's and Herrell's was available at the reception

From the ice harvesting business and Victorian ice cream parlors like Bailey’s to innovators like Steve’s, the Boston area has an unusual obsession with ice cream. Transplants from warmer parts of the country are often surprised to see ice cream shops still open— and full—on a frigid January night. Why is this area so devoted to ice cream and how have these institutions changed the country’s taste for frozen treats?

Cooking Boston: How the Hub Shaped the American Diet

This six program series will explore the culinary history of Boston and the impact the city has had on the American diet. In the first half of the 19th century, Boston had a reputation as the center for European taste and refinement. By the end of the 19th century, the Colonial Revival movement nationally popularized foods like Boston baked beans and Yankee pot-roast shifting Boston's image from refined to rustic. In the 20th century, Boston clung to two identities: that of thrifty Puritans and of cosmopolitanism through education. This created some remarkably bland food but also made the city fertile ground for a culinary revolution. In the 1960's, chefs like Julia Child and Joyce Chen brought the flavors of the world to America through Boston.

This series ran from March through June of 2017.