Edible History

"Ah, lasagna. It's tasty, it's filling... it's dense. Why is it like this? Has it always been so dense?" Hannah Hart explores the 700-year-old origins of lasagna.

Cheesecake seems pretty fancy, but where did it actually come from? On another episode of Edible History, Hannah Hart dives into the 2,000-year-old history of cheesecake as she chats with Cathy Kaufman, the President of the Culinary Historians of New York.

Croissants are the perfect pastry. Period. But were croissants born perfect? Today on Edible History, Hannah tackles a 140-year-old croissant recipe as she chats with Jim Chevalier, author of August Zang and the French Croissant.

Ice cream has been around longer than you may think! On this episode of Edible History, Hannah Hart attempts to make a 500-year-old stretchy ice cream called booza as she talks to Maher Nakhal, owner of Le Mirage Pastry in Anaheim, California.

Tamales are a staple of Latin American cuisine, but what do you know about their history? Hannah unwraps the origins of the tamal as she talks with food historian Claudia Alarcón.

The hamburger: America's pride and joy. But is it even American? Is it from Hamburg? Why isn't it made of ham? Hannah Hart learns the answers to these questions and more as she chats with David Michaels, author of The World Is Your Burger before trying her hand at a 1,600-year-old recipe.

There's nothing better than wonton soup, but where did it come from? What's the difference between a dumpling and a wonton? Hannah unfolds the history of wonton soup as she speaks with Tommy Wong, the executive chef at Trey Yuen Cuisine of China, before diving into a 700-year-old recipe.

There's nothing better than a pretzel! The salt! The shape! The design! But where do pretzels come from? Have they always been as knotty as they appear? On the finale of Edible History, Hannah untwists the history of the pretzel with author and pretzel expert William Woys Weaver before taking on a 100-year-old recipe.