About this season
Ancient Recipes with Sohla takes the food you know and love and traces it back to its origins. In each episode, Sohla El-Waylly details the surprising history of some of your favorite dishes as she attempts to recreate the original version using historical cooking techniques and ingredients. Along the way, Sohla highlights the differences between the ancient recipe and how we would prepare the modern version today.
Episodes (9)
1. Sohla's Ancient Summer BBQ Blowout (Korean Bulgogi and Taino Barbacoa)
Aired 5 June 2021
Almost every culture and region have their own style of barbecue; Sohla grills up two iconic types from across the globe; first, she recreates the original Korean bulgogi, one of the oldest kinds of barbecue one can still find today.
2. Sohla Makes Garum, the Ketchup of Ancient Rome (With Max Miller!)
Aired 19 June 2021
The kitchen gets real fishy as Sohla cooks up garum, a fermented fish sauce that was incredibly popular in ancient Rome, alongside a Roman-style roasted boar; Sohla reaches out to Max Miller to learn all about the sauce's history.
3. Sohla Bakes an Apple Pie Recipe From 1796 America (and Medieval England!)
Aired 3 July 2021
Sohla makes two versions of apple pie, pitting the U.S. against the UK; Sohla recreates the oldest known recipe for apple pie from 1390 England, then bakes up a 1796 recipe for apple pie from an American cookbook.
4. Sohla Makes The Oldest Recipe in the World (...Maybe?)
Aired 17 July 2021
Sohla goes all the way back to the Stone Age to recreate what may be the oldest recipe ever: a nettle and barley pudding.
5. Sohla's Ancient Cheesecake Bake Off (Greeks vs. Romans)
Aired 24 July 2021
Sohla hosts a bake-off between the Greeks and Romans to determine the champs of ancient cheesecake.
6. Sohla Makes Medieval Gnocchi (With Carla Lalli Music!)
Aired 14 August 2021
Sohla is joined by Carla Lalli Music to recreate the earliest known recipe for gnocchi from Bartolomeo Scappi.
7. The Original Chinese Dumpling Had a Unique Purpose
Aired 28 August 2021
Sohla explores the history of Chinese dumplings and recreates a 2,000-year-old recipe for jiaozi from the legendary Chinese physician Zhang Zhongjing.
8. The Secret Tibetan Superfood That Fuels Everest Expeditions
Aired 11 September 2021
For more than 2,000 years, Sherpas on Mount Everest have been fueled by a Tibetan porridge called tsampa; Sohla cooks up a traditional version of the dish along with yak butter tea and learns that cooking with sand is strangely satisfying.
9. Sohla Bakes a Pretzel Recipe From 1111 Bavaria
Aired 25 September 2021
Sohla celebrates Oktoberfest by recreating the original pretzel recipe from medieval Bavaria.