Podcast Summary: All Of It – “The Unique Culinary Traditions of Vermont”

Host: Alison Stewart (WNYC)
Guest: Gesina Bullock Prado (Pastry chef, Food Network host, author of My Vermont Table)
Airdate: November 23, 2023

Overview

This episode explores the unique culinary culture of Vermont with guest Gesina Bullock Prado, who discusses her new cookbook My Vermont Table: Recipes for All Six Seasons. Through personal anecdotes, historic recipes, and lively listener participation, the conversation delves into Vermont’s distinct sense of place and home, how its geography shapes food traditions, and the comforting role of family recipes—most notably, the legendary Dog Team Tavern Sticky Buns and Helga’s (her mother’s) potato salad.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Vermont’s Unique Culinary Identity

• Vermont symbolizes comfort and nostalgia in American culture, evoking images of coziness, solitude, and natural beauty.
• Gesina observes Vermont is often shorthand for comfort:
  Quote: “You just have to say Vermont, and it’s the code word for comfort and solitude and loveliness.” (02:57)
• Vermont identifies six seasons: spring, summer, fall, stick, winter, and mud season—each with its foods and rituals.
• Stick season is the eerie interval after leaves drop but before snow, an unsettling but magical moment that shapes cooking and creativity.

2. Connection to Place and Family

• Gesina’s multicultural background (childhood in D.C., time in Germany and Austria, previous careers as lawyer and in entertainment) left her feeling “always slightly displaced.” But arriving in Vermont, she immediately felt at home.
  Quote: “Heart just opened up and sang. I’m like, this is home.” (04:52)
• Vermont’s hybrid of Bavarian village charm and Appalachian hills resonated deeply.

3. Vermont’s ‘Six Seasons’ Explained

• Mud Season: Roads turn to impassable muck during the thaw; the air is filled with scents from nearby sugar houses (maple syrup processing).
  Quote: “Driving through mud... is as close to quicksand as I was promised.” (05:50)
• Stick Season: Trees are bare, the landscape is quiet post-tourist season, and the mood is tinged with Halloween eeriness. (06:17)

4. Signature Vermont Ingredients & Recipes

• Maple Syrup as a Versatile Seasoning:
  • More than a sweetener; it replaces sugar in savory dishes, enhances sauces, and even flavors coffee.
    Quote: “It incorporates instantaneously because it is liquid... it’s a superfood. And it’s maple. It’s like such an American thing, right?” (07:09)
• Specialty Baked Goods:
  • Dog Team Tavern Sticky Buns: Legendary for their use of potatoes and potato water, creating extra-tender, “spongy, glorious” buns.
    Quote: “You can make them monstrous dinner-plate size... but the bottom line is you need that potato to make them tender, tender, tender.” (10:24)
• Classic German Heritage:
  • Helga’s Potato Salad—a Christmas Eve-only staple in Gesina’s childhood, now shared with the world.
    Quote: “You will realize that potato salad should be, and could be, a meal of its own.” (12:23)

5. Farm-to-Table Lifestyle & Local Food Culture

• Callers and guest highlight the taste of local Vermont products (milk, cheese, butchered meats, craft beer).
• Community-oriented farming and direct-from-farmer markets foster a slower, more mindful, and joy-filled cooking experience.
  Caller Todd: “Whatever it is, it just seems to taste better in Vermont... there’s something so enjoyable about getting local ingredients and slowing down.” (09:03)
• Even transplants from other states are surprised by the availability of specialty items like pancetta, guanciale, and fresh pasta from small producers.
  Caller Amy: “We’ve just been so impressed, and we’re eating better than ever, growing our own vegetables and of course all the maple and the maple creamies.” (15:15)

6. Tips and Practical Wisdom

• Baking Advice: For thin, lacy oat crisp cookies—ensure proper oven heat and preheating; use an oven thermometer because “ovens are big fat liars.” (16:40)
• Choosing Maple Syrup: Four grades (golden, amber, dark, very dark)—choose darker for stronger flavor, especially in baking.
  Quote: “If you’re baking with it, go for very dark... a Vermonter will go for a syrup that is darker because we want that flavor.” (17:39)
• Vermont Law on Apple Pie: Law requires a “good faith effort” to serve apple pie with milk, cheddar cheese (minimum half an ounce), or vanilla ice cream. (18:23)
  Gesina’s recipe goes historic with the Marlboro Apple Pie (includes sherry and pureed apples), and she marvels at this quirky law for state pride.

Listener Participation & Memorable Moments

• Community Shout-outs:
  • Earth Sky Time Farm in Manchester, VT—beloved for its bread and community events. (08:04)
• Caller Recipe Innovations:
  • Chris shares an improvised tarte Tatin with maple instead of sugar (“nobody’s ever rejected this”). (13:36)
  • Gesina celebrates such happy accidents and the use of maple for depth in classics.
• Family Pride:
  • Gesina reveals her mother Helga was a literal opera diva, and that passing down her sacred potato salad is both a personal and symbolic act. (13:28)

Notable Quotes

• “Heart just opened up and sang. I’m like, this is home.” — Gesina Bullock Prado (04:52)
• “When you say Vermont, when you eat as a Vermonter, you think of comfort and loveliness and joyfulness.” — Gesina Bullock Prado (02:57)
• “Driving through mud... is as close to quicksand as I was promised.” — Gesina Bullock Prado (05:50)
• “If they don’t look like a starchy whale breaching the soup... it’s done wrong.” (On German potato dumplings) — Gesina Bullock Prado (11:14)
• “You will realize that potato salad should be, and could be, a meal of its own.” — Gesina Bullock Prado (12:23)
• “Ovens are big fat liars. We can’t live without them, but they lie to us all the time.” — Gesina Bullock Prado (17:09)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 02:57 — What makes Vermont’s food culture unique?
• 04:52 — Gesina’s journey to calling Vermont “home.”
• 05:50 — Vermont’s mud and stick seasons explained.
• 07:09 — Maple syrup as seasoning in savory dishes.
• 09:03 — Caller Todd on why food “tastes better” in Vermont.
• 10:24 — The story behind Dog Team Tavern Sticky Buns.
• 12:23 — The secret and importance of Helga’s Potato Salad.
• 13:36 — Caller Chris’s maple tarte Tatin adaptation.
• 15:15 — Vermont transplants marvel at specialty foods and local agriculture.
• 16:40 — Troubleshooting lacy oat crisps.
• 17:39 — How to select the right grade of maple syrup.
• 18:23 — Vermont’s official apple pie law and recipe reflections.
• 20:18 — Episode closes with Noah Kahn’s “Stick Season.”

Conclusion

This episode is a heartfelt exploration of how Vermont’s landscapes and seasons create a singular, comfort-driven food culture, illuminated by Gesina Bullock Prado’s rich family history and deep affection for her adopted home. From quirky state laws and family recipes to practical kitchen tips, listeners leave with a new appreciation for the Green Mountain state’s enduring culinary traditions.