This week on Taste Matters, Mitchell Davis is joined by the "Semitic Swinologist" himself, Jeffrey Yoskowitz. Jeffrey Yoskowitz is a freelance journalist from New York covering food, culture and politics. His work has been published by The New York Times, The Atlantic, The New Republic, The Montreal Gazette and Meatpaper, among other publications. Jeffrey has also focused extensively on the pork taboo in the past five years. In 2011 he launched the story project Pork Memoirs.. Tune in to learn more about pork as it relates to Jewish culture and how the taboo has evolved over the years. This episode was sponsored by Heritage Foods USA.

Linda Pelaccio begins today's episode of A Taste of the Past by taking a moment to spread the word about Family-to-Family, a relief organization that allows a group of people to sponsor a family who has been affected by Hurricane Sandy. Thanksgiving has always been accompanied by charitable spirit; check out Family-to-Family, and get involved with the hurricane relief efforts. Today, Linda is speaking with food historian Sandy Oliver about the roots of Thanksgiving! Sandy is also the author of the book Saltwater Foodways, a history of Yankee cooking and New England eating traditions, and the recent Maine Home Cooking. Tune into this episode to learn about the religious considerations of Thanksgiving, and how it came to be a national holiday. What foods were most likely on the table during the first harvest feast? Sandy and Linda share some dishes that you may not recognize! Hear about the history of Thanksgiving commercialism! This program has been sponsored by Rolling Press.

"Most of us don't recognize mincemeat for the preserve that it is. It is a way of preserving meat along with apples and other kinds of fruits. It also was convenience food." [14:05]

-- Sandy Oliver on A Taste of the Past

The Cooking Issues phone lines are ringing off the hook this week as Dave juggles caller and email questions covering a wide spectrum of topics. What do deer meat, immersion circulators, Zabaionne, homogenizers, gelling, whipping agents, garlic chemistry & lemons have in common? They are all part of an information-packed episode of the best call-in food radio show on the planet! Today's episode was sponsored by Modernist Pantry.