Spring is in the air and flowers are beginning to bloom so why not add some to your food for the perfect spring diet? This week Carmen Devito and Alice Marcus Krieg guide us in our search for that perfect and unusual addition to any spring dish. From the peony roots to stuffed squash blossoms, learn tips about how to identify, prepare, and cook your edible flowers. This episode is sponsored by Whole Foods Market.

Ever wonder where the greatest collection of pears and berries are in the United States? Which plant will kill you via cyanide poisoning uncooked but is one of the most nutritious when cooked? Dave takes on these questions as well as yours from last week in this episode of Cooking Issues. Confused about sous-vide and cooking times and temperatures? Do you blackout on MSG? Wanna make your own bubblegum??? Then this is the episode for you! This episode is sponsored by Fairway Market.

Fredrik Berselius cooks from memory. On this week's episode of The Main Course, Patrick Martins invites Fredrik into the studio to talk about Swedish and other Scandinavian food culture. Tune into this episode to hear Fredrik and Patrick talk about traditional Scandinavian fare, and how Fredrik intends to recall these flavors using seasonal ingredients. Cured meats, smoked fish, and fermented vegetables- how do these flavors evoke a place for Fredrik? Later, Patrick calls up Sam Edwards of S. Wallace Edwards & Sons to talk about aging and curing hams. How does Sam recreate a Virginia climate year-round at his curing facility! How do humidity and temperature affect curing processes? Find out on this week's episode of The Main Course! This program has been sponsored by Hearst Ranch, and music has been provided by Plexophonic.

"We base a lot of the flavors on memories of growing up in Sweden, or growing up in Scandinavia. A lot of times, moving forward means looking back on where you came from." [12:25]

-- Fredrik Berselius on The Main Course