This week on A Taste of the Past, Linda Pelaccio talks with Sheilah Kaufman, author of The Turkish Cookbook: Regional Recipes and Stories.The Ottoman Turks controlled areas from Egypt to Austria, and all of the foods of these regions are incorporated into the Turkish palette. Tune in to hear how history and conquest has shaped Turkish cuisine; here's fish from the Aegean, pistachios from Anatolia, and bananas from the Mediterranean. Listen to Linda and Sheilah discuss the home cooking traditions in Turkey, and why Turkish food is so easy to make. What do yogurt, coffee, and tulips have in common? They all originate in Turkey! This program is sponsored by White Oak Pastures.

"The Turks were culinary plunderers. Where ever they conquered, they went looking for the best ingredients and the best recipes."

"In Turkish cooking, there are no unusual ingredients. You can go into any supermarket in this country and find what you need to make very easy Turkish dishes." -- Sheilah Kaufman on A Taste of the Past

"Each time a good cook dies without passing down recipes, family dishes become suddenly lost forever." - Unknown. This week on A Taste of the Past, Linda Pelaccio talks with food writer Donna Pierce about preserving the past through cuisine and recipes. Donna Pierce started Skillet Diares, a website dedicated to "remembering, preserving, and passing down the flavors of home." Tune in to hear Linda and Donna discuss the importance of digital media in preserving recipes, the necessity for oral traditions, and the variations in recipes from region to region. Also, check out Donna's other site, Black American Cooks, which is all about preserving an African American cultural history through generations of recipes. This episode has been brought to you by Cain Vineyard & Winery.

"When I grew up, I clung to everything about my grandmother and parents' past, and the creole food that they loved." 21min.

"I really understand the importance of [cookbook style and design]. Sometimes it's more important than the written description- and that's a hard thing for a writer to say." --Donna Pierce on A Taste of the Past

This week on A Taste of the Past, Linda Pelaccio is investigating the recent donut trend! Tune in to hear some interviews from customers of The Vault in Chicago conducted by correspondent Whitney Henry-Lester. Later, Linda calls up pastry chef and cookbook author George Geary. Recently, George authored the book 150 Best Donut Recipes: Fried or Baked- a comprehensive donut-making guide. Find out why donuts have holes, and how donuts became popular during war times. Learn how to cook all kinds of donuts - fry, bake, cake, and yeast! Hear about the rise of donut franchises like Dunkin' Donuts and Krispy Kreme, and why gourmet donuts are becoming fashionable in U.S. cities! This episode has been sponsored by 360 Cookware.

"The only main problem around making donuts at home is that the shelf life is so low versus all of the horrible ingredients that they put in donuts at normal donut shops." [32:40]

-- George Geary on A Taste of the Past