Rachel Maddow Fixed The Pina Colada (Reheat)

Summary

The Sporkful – "Rachel Maddow Fixed The Pina Colada (Reheat)"

Host: Dan Pashman
Guest: Rachel Maddow (MSNBC host), with Mark Garrison (early co-host)
Release Date: June 5, 2026
Episode Theme: Rachel Maddow, a news anchor and cocktail enthusiast, joins Dan Pashman to discuss cocktail garnishes, bartender philosophy, and, most notably, how she reconstructed the much-maligned piña colada into the “Maddow Colada.” The episode is a lively, nerdy celebration of food and drink culture, focusing on practical and philosophical questions about cocktails, with Maddow’s wit and warmth throughout.

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Episode Overview

Rachel Maddow brings her signature intellect and humor to The Sporkful, sharing her journey with cocktails, opinions on drink garnishes, bartending etiquette, and her personal fix for the classic piña colada. The conversation dives into the history and tragedy of the piña colada, practical tips for drink lovers, and a rapid-fire food questionnaire revealing Maddow’s quirks and preferences.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Pina Colada: From Tragedy to Triumph

[02:44, 20:55-24:50]

• Maddow’s Candid Confession:

  • "If I was on death row and they let your last meal be liquor...the pina colada would actually be one of those things that would be up there for a last meal. That said, I never drink them in real life...I have to live with the consequences." (Rachel, 02:44)

• Historical Context:

  • Maddow traces the piña colada’s origins to 1957 Puerto Rico, noting that unlike many cocktails, it was “never wholesome.” Its foundation—Coco Lopez (cream of coconut)—contains preservatives and chemicals, which delivers that “unctuous” mouthfeel but no “old-timey” purity.

  • "The tragedy of the pina colada is that the pina colada was never wholesome. The pina Colada in 1957, from the very start was built on something horrible, which is Coco Lopez." (Rachel, 21:10)

• Her Fix – The Maddow Colada:

  • Maddow creates a piña colada using unsweetened coconut milk and orgeat (a classic almond syrup—she recommends the French brand Tessaire), fresh or quality pineapple juice, and a good-aged rum instead of the acrid Myers’s rum.

  • "So you have to use unsweetened coconut milk leavened with...orgeat...Mix that with organic unsweetened coconut milk...You trade away the chemical slurry of Coco Lopez...and instead add your hippie ass unsweetened coconut milk mixed with almond syrup. But it works." (Rachel, 24:22-24:36)

  • Dan gives the recipe his seal of approval: "It has all the pineapple coconut flavor. It has that sweet, syrupy mouthfeel...without the grossness and without all that slush...and it's strong. Two of these and you are well on your way." (Dan, 25:34)

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2. Cocktail Garnishes: Snack or Not?

[03:13-11:42]

• Edibility Debate:

  • Maddow insists, "You're never supposed to eat the garnish. The garnish is not a snack. The garnish is there to modify the liquor that is in the glass." (05:26)
  • Dan expresses disappointment, saying, “[That’s] very upsetting.”
  • Maddow quips about unfresh garnishes: "You're not supposed to eat that little carved radish that comes on the thing that you just ordered at Applebee's...You're also really not supposed to eat the thing that's not liquor in your drink." (05:51)

• When to Eat the Garnish:

  • Dan’s attempt at compromise: "If you're going to eat your olive or your cherry or whatever, then it should be between the one third...and the two thirds of the way through the drink mark." (06:04)
  • Maddow: "But that means you've got to be fishing in there with your finger." (06:13)
  • Mark suggests using a straw.

• Citrus Garnishes:

  • Maddow advocates for a thin twist, using a potato peeler: “Take a potato peeler to the outside of a lemon...You just want to spray it on [the drink].” (08:50)
  • She prefers lemon twist with her martini: “Spritz the oil out of that piece of rind onto the surface of the drink and then throw it away. You don’t even need to put it in the drink.” (07:45)
  • On using a wedge in drinks: A wedge is for appearance, not recalibration: "If you need to be squeezing more citrus into your drink because it's too sweet, that just means the drink was made wrong." (10:11)

• Dan's Philosophy:

  • Dan enjoys squeezing lime into his gin and tonic and pushing the wedge to the bottom—Maddow jests, "You have always got your paws in your drink. This is what we're learning about you." (11:08)
  • Maddow prods Dan’s “muddy paw drinking habits”: "Liquor is antiseptic, but...nothing is antiseptic enough to make up for your muddy paw drinking habits. Dan, leave the drink alone." (11:46)

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3. The Bartender’s Role: Psychology & Responsibility

[12:40-14:39]

• Martini Mistakes:

  • Debate over vodka vs gin martinis: Maddow rues that vodka has overtaken gin as the default.
  • Maddow: “Being a bartender is a subtle, difficult, humanitarian task...The bartender has a responsibility...to make sure that that time is stepping away from the rest of your day...a stress reliever rather than an addition to...stress in your daily life." (13:22-14:39)

• The Social Function of Drinking:

  • Maddow elaborates that for her, drinking means claiming time, not just feeling happy: "For me, drinking is not about happiness...it’s about having time to spend and wanting to spend it in a way that involves alcohol." (14:47-15:36)

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4. Fast Food Questionnaire: Rachel Maddow Unfiltered

[28:56-33:09]
A Sporkful custom food "Proust Questionnaire" gives insight into Maddow’s tastes and experiences.

• Favorite Food:
  • "Pumpkin pie." (29:00)
• Least Favorite Food:
  • "Red bell peppers." (29:15)
• Her Best Dish/Cocktail:
  • "Given the proper tools, ingredients, and time, I'd make a world class martini." (29:25)
  • "With a lemon twist and orange bitters...One dash of orange bitters." (29:44)
• Dish She Wishes She Could Make:
  • Her mother’s oatmeal molasses bread: “She’s given me the recipe five or ten times...It not only doesn’t even come out as good as my mom’s...it doesn’t even come out as bread.” (29:51)
• Food Not Improved by Cheese or Chocolate Syrup:
  • "White rice is not improved by the addition of chocolate syrup nor by melted cheese." (30:41)
• Drink Ruined in Youth:
  • None. "There is no such thing as an undrinkable beverage that is undrinkable because of a prior bad experience...Get back on the horse, please." (31:12)
• Food Loved as a Child, Now Hated:
  • "I used to drink the brine out of black olive, canned black olives when I was a kid." (31:37)
• Pickleback Trend:
  • "I am not opposed to the idea in principle. I have never tried one, nor am I intrigued." (31:54)
• Food Hated as a Child, Now Loved:
  • "Nuts...I had convinced myself as a kid that eating nuts would give me splinters in my mouth because I thought they were like wood." (32:09)
• Heaven’s Menu:
  • "We are constantly being enlightened as to what it is we love—not through past experience, but through trust in what is to come...Sometimes some bars are heavenly because the bartender knows what you ought to be drinking way better than what you think you ought to be drinking." (32:54-33:09)

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Memorable Quotes and Moments

• On the Original Piña Colada:

  • "The tragedy of the pina colada is that the pina colada was never wholesome. The pina Colada in 1957, from the very start was built on something horrible, which is Coco Lopez." (Rachel Maddow, 21:10)

• On Garnishes:

  • "You're never supposed to eat the garnish. The garnish is not a snack. The garnish is there to modify the liquor that is in the glass. It is not there to provide you a tasty treat." (Rachel, 05:26)

• On the Role of the Bartender:

  • “Being a bartender is a subtle, difficult, humanitarian task.” (Rachel, 13:22)

• On “Food Not Improved by Cheese or Chocolate Syrup:”

  • "White rice is not improved by the addition of chocolate syrup nor by melted cheese." (Rachel, 30:41)

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Important Segment Timestamps

• [02:44] Rachel’s “death row drink” and initial piña colada thoughts
• [05:23-11:46] Cocktail garnish debate—edibility, etiquette, technique
• [12:40-14:39] The philosophy and psychology of bartending, martini origins, vodka vs gin
• [20:55-24:50] The tragedy and reinvention of the piña colada (history, Maddow’s fix, recipe details)
• [28:56-33:09] "Food Proust Questionnaire" with Rachel Maddow

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Episode Tone and Style

• Tone: Nerdy, lively, irreverent, deeply respectful of food and drink culture.
• Style: Informal, witty, and conversational, with bursts of playful debate and practical insight, driven by Maddow’s precision and humor and Dan’s culinary curiosity.

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Summary Takeaways

• Rachel Maddow's sincere and geeky love of cocktails shines as she breaks down why standard piña coladas are bad—and how to fix them without resorting to artificial ingredients.
• The importance of garnish etiquette (never eat!), the subtle skills of bartenders, and the psychology of drinking are all explored with intelligence and humor.
• Maddow's food and drink opinions are quirky, honest, and unpretentious—a reminder that even experts have strong dislikes (red bell peppers!) and childhood misconceptions (nuts-as-splinters!).
• The episode leaves listeners with practical cocktail tips, a smarter way to approach the piña colada, and the assurance that the joy of eating and drinking is as much about curiosity and experimentation as it is about taste.

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For Maddow’s full piña colada recipe, visit Sporkful.com or sign up for the newsletter.

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Transcript

[Dan Pashman]

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[Rachel Maddow]

Serious xm podcasts.

[Dan Pashman]

Hey, Dan here. And we are reaching deep into the archives for a classic sporkful episode for today's reheat. This one was requested by a listener named Sandy in Michigan who writes one episode that I've mentioned to more than a few people is Rachel Maddow Fixed the pina colada. Like Dan, I also want to know when I can eat the cocktail garnish. That's something we cover in this episode. So perhaps this reheat could use a little revisit. You got it, Sandy. And I had the opportunity to work with Rachel Maddow when I was a producer. This is my first real job in radio. I was a producer on the now defunct progressive talk radio network Air America. Rachel wasn't on TV yet, and then over the time that I was at Air America, her career took off. I and so when I started the Sporkful, I was like, all right, I gotta get a couple celebrities on my show to try to get some listeners. The only two celebrities that I knew or that I that would respond to my emails were Mark Maron, whose show that I had produced at Air America, and Rachel Maddow, who I had worked with so very early on, I called in a favor and Rachel was kind enough and gracious enough to spend quite a lot of time with me. For this recording because I realized about halfway through that my battery had died and I wasn't recording. And she, we started from the beginning again. She, she's the best. This episode also includes my old friend Mark Garrison, who is my co host in the very early days of the show. Of course. Remember, there's an episode of the Sporkful. You want us to pull out of the deep freezer? Be like Sandy in Michigan. Drop me a line to hellosporkful.com tell me your first name, location, what episode you want to hear and why. Thanks so much and enjoy. Rachel Maddow and the Pina Colada.

[Rachel Maddow]

If I was on death row and they let your last meal be liquor, which they don't, I think the pina colada would actually be one of those things that would be up there for a last meal. That said, I never drink them in real life because in real life I'm not having my last meal and I have to live with the consequences of drinking a pina colada. It would be good right before an execution because then I wouldn't have, I wouldn't have to worry about the headache, let alone the stomachache.

[Dan Pashman]

Yeah, you know, it's true. Pina coladas are way better in theory than in practice. Today on the Sporkful, I sit down MSNBC host Rachel Maddow and she tells us how she has fixed the pina colada. Yes, it's true. She fixed it with her very own recipe. Plus, we'll nerd out on cocktails big time. Which shape of lime garnish is better, wedge or wheel? And what's the best way to eat the cherry that comes with your Manhattan?

[Rachel Maddow]

But see, you're sort of digging through your drink with a toothpick trying to get that maraschino cherry out of the bottom, fishing it up through the drink, swallowing it, and then finding this, putting the stem somewhere and then finishing off the garnishless drink.

[Dan Pashman]

It sounds pretty gross the way you describe it. That's all coming up. Stick around. This is the Sporkful. It's not for foodies, it's for eaters. I'm Dan Pashman. Each week on our show, we obsess about food to learn more about people. Rachel Maddow is one of the best known TV news people in America. She hosts the Rachel Maddow show on msnbc. As you probably know, she's also really into cocktails. In fact, she does a segment on her show sometimes called Cocktail Moment where she shares a drink recipe that somehow relates to the news. Last year, during the election, she went on Jimmy Fallon and made a drink called the Millionaire in honor of Donald Trump.

[Rachel Maddow]

Okay, so this is the bitter part.

[Dan Pashman]

Yeah. And what is it? Your little tiny little measuring cup thing?

[Rachel Maddow]

Yeah, I'm measuring three quarters of an ounce of lime juice, which is a lot of lime juice. And if you have an ulcer, it'll make you barf blood.

[Dan Pashman]

If I was a.

[Rachel Maddow]

It's terrible.

[Dan Pashman]

Rachel and I actually worked together years ago at a place called Air America Radio. It was a progressive talk radio network with Al Franken and Janine Garofalo and Marc Maron. It was my first real job in radio. And no one knew who she was. And we both had to come in at like, three in the morning. And I helped produce her newscasts, which was a ton of fun other than the 3am part. Anyway, when the Sporkful launched seven years ago, I knew I had to have Rachel on to talk cocktails. I began by asking Rachel about the garnishes that come with cocktails. First question, how and when do you eat the olives in a martini or the cherry in a Manhattan?

[Rachel Maddow]

I think I'm going to be able to short circuit this entire discussion.

[Dan Pashman]

Okay.

[Rachel Maddow]

You're never supposed to eat the garnish. The garnish is not a snack. The garnish is there to modify the liquor that is in the glass. It is not there to provide you a tasty treat to go along with your drink. The drink is the treat.

[Dan Pashman]

So then I think the use of the word garnish here is wrong, because to me, a garnish is something that is on the side. It's just there to make it look pretty. If it is in the drink, then it's part of the drink. It's not a garnish.

[Rachel Maddow]

You're not supposed to eat that little carved radish that comes on the thing that you just ordered at Applebee's. They carved it three days ago, and it's been on six different plates. You're also really not supposed to eat the thing that's not liquor in your drink. Sorry. I know it's very upsetting.

[Dan Pashman]

I would say that if you're going to eat your olive or your cherry or whatever, then it should be between the one third of the way through the drink mark and the two thirds of the way through the drink mark.

[Rachel Maddow]

But that means you've got to be fishing in there with your finger.

[Mark Garrison]

Straw. A straw can do it.

[Dan Pashman]

Yeah. I think a straw or a stirrer, you know, you can Poke it out, you can get it out of there.

[Rachel Maddow]

It's impossible to do it with elegance though, isn't it? Admitted.

[Dan Pashman]

Oh, I didn't know that elegance was one of the criteria. Right. Elegance was part of the issue here. That, that went out the window a long time ago. All right, I'm going to tie my

[Rachel Maddow]

hands behind my back and just oat bag nosedive into this thing.

[Mark Garrison]

Okay. Actually, a side question on that. I find I like the Manhattan better without the cherry. At least the maraschino kind of cherry they usually have behind the bar. Unless, however, you have like a proper brandy soaked cherry. That's pretty good.

[Rachel Maddow]

But even if it's a, even if it's a fancy cherry like that and it's been sitting out in a plastic tray on the bar all night, like really, do you want to, like, would you eat something else from a restaurant that had been sitting out in the customer area, like warm in its own juices, festering?

[Mark Garrison]

You've never been tempted by an olive, something in a drink to try? Like, what if someone put like a Kalamata olive in a martini?

[Rachel Maddow]

That would be gross. It would have sullied the gin to a degree that I wouldn't have enjoyed the martini in the first place. I don't think I would do it. I mean, here's the thing is that I do most of my, my cocktail drinking at home on the weekends. I have a bar at home and I make drinks. And so if I am having martinis with olives, although I'm more of a lemon twist person myself, but if I'm doing that and I want the olive, I've got olives because I use them to make the drink. And I will make myself a little dish of olives and have it on the side. If you want snacks, get snacks.

[Dan Pashman]

Now what about Rachel, the best practices for using citrus garnishes.

[Rachel Maddow]

Citrus garnishes are a wonderful thing. What you're trying to do with a citrus garnish is express the oil from the piece of citrus on to the surface of the drink. So you don't need any of the pith, any of the pulpy part. Right. You don't need any fruit, certainly, but you also don't need a very thick portion of the, the rind. You just want that outside part that's got the sort of oily pores on it. So really what you ought to do with the citrus garnish, like I, for example, like a lemon twist with my, with my martini, is that you want a very thinly sliced piece of Lemon rind. You spritz it. Spritz the oil out of that piece of rind onto the surface of the drink and then throw it away. You don't even need to put it in the drink it offers. There's very little additional yum that you get out of having the expressed garnish sitting in the drink. What you want is the oil.

[Mark Garrison]

And so what is your technique for making these twists? I know there is a tool that you can buy that makes it a little bit easier, but I've always been kind of embarrassed by the really ugly looking twists that I'm barely able to get off of.11.

[Rachel Maddow]

Well, if you have a. If you have a sharp paring knife.

[Mark Garrison]

I do. And it doesn't work.

[Rachel Maddow]

It doesn't.

[Mark Garrison]

I see the little tool that bartenders use to make those really perfect twists.

[Rachel Maddow]

Oh, yeah. That's called a channel knife. But, you know, that's an interesting thing, though, that when the kind of twist you can make, it sort of looks like a. It cuts like a notch into the fruit. So you get this very thick, perfectly constructed. Can be very long, curly Q kind of twist. Very pretty. Not very functional in terms of adding citrus oil to the drink. I mean, what actually works the best if you're not good with a paring knife is a potato peeler. Take a potato peeler to the outside of a lemon. It'll cut a very thin. If it's sharp, it'll cut a very thin swath off the outside of the lemon. It'll leave, you know, you'll leave a white streak on the lemon where you've cut it off. You won't see fruit or anything. It's very thin. And then just. You just want to spray it on.

[Dan Pashman]

So the way you do it, Rachel, the citrus never actually touches the liquid.

[Rachel Maddow]

Right.

[Dan Pashman]

See, like, I like a gin and tonic with lime, and I want a lot of lime flavor in my gin and tonic.

[Mark Garrison]

You're talking about the actual juice from the flesh of the lime, right?

[Dan Pashman]

Yeah.

[Rachel Maddow]

Oh, I would put. I put a bunch of lime in my gin and tonic, but I wouldn't. You'd never use, like, a lime twist, right?

[Dan Pashman]

Right. You wouldn't use a twist. Exactly. If you're gonna use the wedge, I want a wedge where I can squeeze the wedge and get the juice out.

[Rachel Maddow]

Drink.

[Dan Pashman]

I got a big problem then with the semicircle. Yeah, I want that wedge. I want the triangular wedge. Because the semicircle, you know, when you squeeze it, it just kind of like crumbles and falls apart in your hand. And not that much juice comes out.

[Rachel Maddow]

Or a wheel is even worse.

[Dan Pashman]

Yep. Why? Why? I mean, why would you ever want it that shape?

[Rachel Maddow]

And, you know, and that's an important thing to think about with citrus garnishes. Not twists, but rather having a wedge or a wheel or a wedge or a half wedge in the drink. Ideally, if the bartender knows what they're doing or if you know what you were doing while you were making your drink. The wedge of citrus. The piece of citrus is not there to allow you to recalibrate the drink because it was mixed poorly. The drink is mixed properly and the fruit is there to be a pleasing visual experience. So if you need to be squeezing more citrus into your drink because it's too sweet, that just means the drink was made wrong.

[Dan Pashman]

So then, is a wedge a garnish?

[Rachel Maddow]

A wedge is a garnish.

[Dan Pashman]

But I'm counting on that wedge.

[Rachel Maddow]

Don't.

[Dan Pashman]

For my.

[Rachel Maddow]

Ask the bartender to put more lime juice in your. In your gin and tonic. Dan, I know I'm blowing your mind. Look at you. You look hurt.

[Dan Pashman]

But I like having control. I like knowing that I'm gonna finish the drink and it's gonna be the way I want it. I'm gonna squeeze the juice in, and then I'm gonna push that lime all the way down to the bottom of the drink.

[Rachel Maddow]

So you have always got your paws in your drink. This is what we're learning about you.

[Dan Pashman]

Clearly, aesthetics are not my concern. All right.

[Rachel Maddow]

But also, like, do you wash your hands every time before you have a drink?

[Dan Pashman]

Well, I'm pretty sanitary.

[Rachel Maddow]

If you are counting on digging around in your drink to fork the garnish out. When you are only one third of the way into the drink and you are entering on pawing your garnish, squeezing it in, and then shoving it down underneath the ice. And in between each of these things, you are paying the bartender and shaking your friend's hand and getting change and all this stuff. I mean, you're Typhoid Mary, dude.

[Dan Pashman]

You mean other people don't drink with their hands?

[Rachel Maddow]

I mean, liquor is antiseptic, but unless you are drinking 151 all day, nothing is antiseptic enough to make up for your muddy paw drinking habits. Dan, leave the drink alone.

[Dan Pashman]

I don't know. The other week we had researcher Charles Spence on the show. He talked about how much touch is part of the eating experience. How much of taste comes from what we feel with our hands. Yeah, I know. He didn't specifically talk about putting your hands in your drink. But I'm gonna assume he'd be on board with my approach anyway. The conversation with Rachel turned from drinks to bartenders. We talked about the many issues bartenders have to deal with, and then we got to a less obvious martinis. Now, a true martini is made with gin, but nowadays a lot of people who order martinis expect vodka. So if you're a bartender and someone asks for a martini, what do you do?

[Rachel Maddow]

In an ideal world, everybody would know that a martini was made with gin, and that would be the default. And you'd have to ask for a vodka martini.

[Mark Garrison]

It used to be that way.

[Rachel Maddow]

Used to be that way.

[Mark Garrison]

James Bond and marketing stole all that. It changed everything.

[Rachel Maddow]

Yes. And so. And now you're in a situation where people are more likely than not expecting vodka rather than gin. But, you know, you can, as a bar, just decide you're going to make the wrong thing and call it a martini every day and thereby horrify everybody who knows how to drink and scare them away from your bar. Or you can ask, and I think you can ask in a way that is personable and not insulting. Did you want to that with. You wanted that with vodka or you wanted that with gin?

[Mark Garrison]

There were also really great hand motions with. This doesn't come across on audio, but yeah. So it's not just the voice, but

[Rachel Maddow]

you do it with the inflection and you do it with eye contact and kindness and all of those things. I mean, being a bartender is a subtle, difficult, humanitarian task.

[Mark Garrison]

There's psychology involved.

[Rachel Maddow]

Yeah, yeah. I mean, you are. Why do people drink? People drink at bars very rarely because they feel like they have to. Once you're an adult, there isn't a peer pressure situation that gets you into having a drink in a bar, especially now in the 2000s, is if you are in a bar and you are feeling peer pressured into being there in order to, like, make right with your co workers, nobody's going to be upset if you get a ginger ale. Nobody's going to judge you for that.

[Dan Pashman]

Right.

[Rachel Maddow]

So we are in a situation as adults in the 2000s where if you are ordering a drink in a bar, it is for something in your life. It is to do something for your day, to do something for your state of mind, to do something, you know, to pass the time in a way that is unlike almost anything else you'll do in your day. And so the bartender has a responsibility, the bar manager, in some cases, to make sure that that time is stepping away from the rest of your day. Unlike anything else that you experience in the day and is a stress reliever rather than a, than an addition to the stress in your daily life. And that's a big responsibility. I don't even feel cynical about it at all. Even with bad bartenders and bad drinkers around me, I feel a very earnest sense of responsibility about what it is to be a bartender.

[Dan Pashman]

Right. You know, actually, as you're preparing for this, I, I was curious, do you drink more when the left is doing well or poorly?

[Rachel Maddow]

For me, drinking is not about happiness.

[Dan Pashman]

Okay?

[Rachel Maddow]

For me, drinking is about time, is about having time to spend and wanting to spend it in a way that involves alcohol. So, yeah, it's not a. I tend to be a very happy drunk at this point in my life. I don't drink to get drunk. There was definitely a time in my life when I did that, but I don't do that. That is sometimes a side effect of drinking, but it's not the goal. If I do get tipsy, I tend to be a person who experiences slight euphoria and happiness about it. And so that's neat. But that's no more of, that's no more a reward for a happy circumstance in life than it is a relief from an unhappy circumstance in life.

[Dan Pashman]

Coming up, more with Rachel Maddow. She'll reveal the secret ingredient of the Maddow colada. It's like a pina colada, but way better. And I'll ask her to name one food that's not improved by the addition of either melted cheese or chocolate syrup. Hear the answer when we come back. Stick around.

[Rachel Maddow]

Time to cook up some advertisements.

[Dan Pashman]

I don't cook steak that often at home, so when I do, it's kind of a special occasion. And I want that steak to be really, really good. And so when I took delivery of a bunch of New York strip steaks from Good Shop, you can bet I was excited. And those steaks did not disappoint. Perfectly marbled, tender, juicy. And I got plenty of other goodies from them. 100% grass fed ground beef and some beautiful wild caught sockeye salmon. Now, the thing is, it's hard to find really high quality meat and seafood, especially at a reasonable price. That's why good chop is so great. They're your go to for high quality American meat and seafood delivered straight to your door, vacuum sealed and frozen at peak freshness. So go to goodchop.com podcast and use code 50sporkful to get $50 off plus free shipping on your first order. That's $50 off. Plus free shipping at goodchop.com podcast code 50sporkful some people plan trips around museums or beaches. Others plan them around where they're going to eat. If you're listening to this podcast, chances are you're in that second group. Which means Asheville, North Carolina just might be your kind of place. For years, Janie and I have been dying to go to Asheville, North Carolina. In fact, there was a while that we thought we were going to move there because everyone we know who's ever been to Asheville tells us how beautiful it is and how good the food is. Asheville's food season is a whole ecosystem of chefs, growers and artisans who are redefining Appalachian food culture. In fact, Asheville is known as Foodtopia. It's a living testament to the power of collaboration, sustainability and culinary excellence. And because Asheville is surrounded by so many farms with fresh fruits and vegetables, they have access to all the best ingredients. They also have produce forage locally. That morning, it'll be on your plate. That night you can chat with the brewer across the bar. Experience the collaboration of two chefs using different cuisines. If you want a trip with meals you'll still be talking about years from now, Asheville is worth a look. Start planning your food [e-mail] we are fully in the swing of summertime and you know, look. Summer always changes how you get dressed, right? You want pieces that feel maybe a little lighter, more breathable, things that are easy but still you want to look good. That's where Quince comes in. They focus on high quality essentials that feel and look amazing. Things like breathable linen and soft organic cotton. It's the kind of brand you end up recommending to everyone for everything. So do like I did. Get yourself a nice light, breathable linen shirt. I love mine. It's comfortable, it's quality, it looks great. And they have them for men and women. They also have shorts, polos, summer dresses. I also got some great Quince Polos shorts and Janie got us new sheets for our bed. They look great and they're so cozy. Elevate your summer wardrobe. Go to quince.comsporkful for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. Now available in Canada too. That's Q-U-I-N C E.comsporkful for free Shipping and 365 day returns. Again quince.comsporkful. Welcome back to another Sporkful Reheat. I'm Dan Pashman. A lot of times people want to ask me, like, oh, what are you cooking? What restaurants are you going to? They ask Emma and Andres and the whole Sporkful team the same questions. Well, it turns out we provide a listener service to you that includes that information. It's our newsletter. We don't send it out all the time. We're not gonna spam you. We're just gonna send you useful information. Recipes, restaurant information, links to article reading, shows that we're watching, and guess what else? You'll be automatically entered into giveaways for cookbooks featured on the show as long as you live in the US Or Canada. That's also where I'll email you to tell you about, like, special sales happening on this Fellini website about discounts on pasta and stuff. So there are a lot of benefits. And you can sign up right now. While you're listening, head on over to Sporkful.com Newsletter to sign up today. Again, that's Sporkful.com Newsletter. Thanks. Now back to this week's reheat. Before Rachel Maddow and I met up, I emailed her to ask her what cocktail issues in particular she wanted to discuss. And she wrote back with one line. The tragedy of the pina colada. Now, as I said before, I was lucky enough to work with Rachel early in our careers. And let me tell you something. No matter what room Rachel is in, she is the smartest and also the most prepared person there. You come into a meeting, you think you found a great story or a great guest for the show to cover. Rachel already knows all about it. So I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that she did research. Before coming on the Sporkful. She had notes on the history of the Pina Colada.

[Rachel Maddow]

1957 is the date that is commonly assigned to the origin of the pina colada. And as with all drinking history, drinking history was written down by drunk people. And so it's all a little fuzzy, but this is what generally. This is generally what it is. And so it was invented in Puerto rico and in 1949. So eight years before the pina colada is invented, Coco Lopez is invented. Coco Lopez, you can still get. It's still called Coco Lopez. It's the same brand. It is. It is what we think of as cream of coconut, and it is the base for the pina colada. The problem is that when we think about bad chemical drinks that make you feel bad and that give you a stomachache and make you fat, and sort of rob you of your brain cells and have made you feel like you've eaten Twinkies sort of thing. We think about having redesigned for modern ease or transportation or storage purposes, drinks that were once wholesome. The tragedy of the pina colada is that the pina colada was never wholesome. The pina Colada in 1957, from the very start was built on something horrible, which is Coco Lopez. Coco Lopez cream of coconut. I grabbed the can, starts off okay, Coconut, sugar, water, polysorbate 60, sorbitan, monostearate, propylene, glycol, alginate.

[Mark Garrison]

Polysorbate 60 is actually among the better polysorbates. Now I feel like between like 37 and 45, they were kind of the high points of polysorbates.

[Dan Pashman]

Yeah, you get to 60, it really starts to fall off.

[Rachel Maddow]

Well, if you get to 60. Woo. So the pina colada was invented from the first place to be a chemical slurry. Unlike other drinks that have been made into awful things in modern times.

[Dan Pashman]

Like the daiquiri.

[Rachel Maddow]

Like the daiquiri.

[Mark Garrison]

The real daiquiri is a fine drink, but you will get horrible versions of it most places.

[Rachel Maddow]

That's exactly right. And so with a daiquiri now you're likely to get it out of a slurpee machine and it's made with some chemical stew that makes this makes Coco Lopez sound like mother's milk. I mean. But you can reverse engineer a daiquiri to what it originally was, which is rum, lime, sugar, end of story. And it is a wonderful, wonderful drink. There's no way to do that with the pina colada. When you bring it back to brass tacks, it is as gross as it is today.

[Dan Pashman]

What if you were to just take fresh pineapple juice, coconut milk and rum and just mix those things together and put it on the rocks.

[Rachel Maddow]

Thank you, Dan Pashman. I have re engineered the pina colada.

[Dan Pashman]

Wow. Yes. This is huge.

[Rachel Maddow]

Because the thing that you get from cream of coconut that you don't get from just using coconut is that you get this unctuous in a good way. Rich, positive mouthfeel, deep flavored coconut sweetness. And you can't get that just from using natural coconut milk.

[Dan Pashman]

Right.

[Rachel Maddow]

Or natural coconut juice.

[Dan Pashman]

Okay, okay.

[Rachel Maddow]

So you have to use unsweetened coconut milk leavened with. This is the crazy part. Orgeat.

[Mark Garrison]

That's the almond syrup, right?

[Rachel Maddow]

Almond syrup. Which is.

[Mark Garrison]

Is that not the secret ingredient to a Mai Tai?

[Rachel Maddow]

It is the secret ingredient to a Mai Tai. It is a classic cocktail ingredient. And you can get, like, organic, not gross versions of it. There's a French one that you can get on Amazon, which is just like. There's no preservatives in it or anything. So it's essentially like an almond syrup. Mix that with organic unsweetened coconut milk. The original pina colada recipe, as far as I understand, used Meyer's Rum, which is a very dark but sort of acrid R. When you're using this replacement for Coco Lopez, you need something a little more subtle. So I recommend using, like, an Eight Year Rum instead of the Meyer's, which is very, very dark. But you make those little tweaks. You trade away the chemical slurry of the Coco Lopez, which is original.

[Dan Pashman]

Right.

[Rachel Maddow]

And instead add your hippie ass. Unsweetened coconut milk mixed with almond syrup. But it. It works.

[Dan Pashman]

That is great. Do we have permission ratio to promote your recipe?

[Rachel Maddow]

Absolutely.

[Dan Pashman]

Good. Because, you see, the spork float is supposed to be a clearing house, a gathering place where people come together and learn about new and better ways to eat, where new innovations in food and drink can be shared.

[Rachel Maddow]

That's very high minded.

[Dan Pashman]

Yeah. In fact, someday we're gonna form Sporkful University. Our motto is ruminate, masticate, promulgate.

[Rachel Maddow]

Yeah. My idea was that once I got fired from cable news that I would try to seek my millions as an entrepreneur. So this had been my business plan for life. But I've decided that you guys could probably do better with it.

[Dan Pashman]

But, you know, if things for you take a turn for the wor, you call us, we'll talk.

[Rachel Maddow]

All right. I could license it back from you.

[Dan Pashman]

Yes. We'll work together. It'll be like one of those behind the music things, you know, like where you sign your life away like on a cocktail napkin, and then it turns out you need the money later on, but we own you.

[Rachel Maddow]

And you guys are, like, living in Memphis in some big mansion, and I'm homeless outside banging on the gate. I know how this goes.

[Dan Pashman]

I gotta say, since this interview was recorded, I have made Rachel's Pina colada many times, and it is so good. It has all the pineapple coconut flavor. It has that sweet, syrupy mouthfeel. Well, without the grossness and without all that slush. It's just served on the rocks, and it's strong. Two of these and you are well on your way. Let me tell you, if you're looking for that organic French orgeat almond syrup she mentioned, the brand is Tessaire and more Pina Colada. Madness for you because our pal Daniel Gritzer from Serious Eats, he's got a new piece going up about pina coladas. And he says one of the reasons why it's hard to make a great pina colada is is because ideally you'd use fresh pineapple juice. But fresh pineapple juice can be all over the map in sweetness and in flavor. So getting consistency in your recipe can be really hard. Daniel recommends combining some fresh juice with some store bought juice. And he uses lime juice too, which I think is genius. Get a little tart in there. Check out Daniel's pina colada piece on Serious Eats. Anyway, coming up, Mark and I get to the bottom of Rachel's personal food preferences. That's after the break. Stick around.

[Rachel Maddow]

It's time to open up a can of advertisements.

[Dan Pashman]

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[Rachel Maddow]

So you're saying with Hilton Honors, I can use points for a three night stay? Anywhere? Anywhere. What about fancy places like the canopy in Paris? Yeah, Hilton Honors, baby. Or relaxing sanctuaries like the Conrad in Tulum? Hilton Honors, baby.

[Dan Pashman]

Ooh.

[Rachel Maddow]

What about the five star Waldorf Astoria in the Maldives? Are you gonna do this for all 9,000 properties? When you want points that can take you anywhere, anytime it matters where you stay. Hilton for the stay. I want to grow the game so every kid can fall in love with soccer like I did. So I asked myself, what would you like the power to do? My answers inspired me to invent a pop up soccer goal that can turn any basketball court into a to a street soccer bitch. Bank of America champion street soccer advocate Kyle Martino and everyone who dares to ask, what would you like the power to do? Bank of America Proud to be the Official bank of U.S. soccer and FIFA World Cup 2026 bank of America NA Member FDSE.

[Dan Pashman]

Welcome back. Let's get back to Rachel Maddow. Now, in the early days of this porkful. We used to give our guests a questionnaire in the style of the Proust questionnaire. You know, the one Lipton used to give on Inside the Actors Studio. But we refashioned it to be about food. So would Rachel be up to the task? Are you ready?

[Rachel Maddow]

All right, I'm ready.

[Mark Garrison]

Rachel, what is your favorite food?

[Rachel Maddow]

That's like asking, what is your favorite song? I would say pumpkin pie.

[Dan Pashman]

What is your least favorite food?

[Rachel Maddow]

Red bell peppers.

[Mark Garrison]

Cooked or raw?

[Rachel Maddow]

Yes.

[Mark Garrison]

What dish do you cook best? Or we could say, what cocktail do you prepare best?

[Rachel Maddow]

Or both. I am not a cook. I have a hard time combining ingredients with heat. The thing that I make the best is I actually think that given the proper tools, ingredients, and time, I'd make a world class martini.

[Mark Garrison]

Excellent. And with the lemon twist is your preference?

[Rachel Maddow]

Right, With a lemon twist and orange bitters.

[Mark Garrison]

Oh, orange bitters. Okay.

[Rachel Maddow]

Mm. One dash of orange bitters.

[Dan Pashman]

What dish do you wish you could cook?

[Rachel Maddow]

Oh, my mom makes bread every Christmas time, which is an oatmeal molasses bread. And it is the thing that I associate with. I'm not a fan of Christmas, but the fact that my mom makes that bread at Christmas time makes me, like, the entire season. It compensates for everything else that is bad about Christmas. And she's given me the recipe five or ten times. I've tried to make it a million different times. It not only doesn't even come out as good as my mom's Christmas bread, it doesn't even come out as bread. I don't know what it is that she does, but she has she Poly 60. It's a polysorbate 60. Coco Lopez, baby. Yeah.

[Dan Pashman]

This is something that I've been pondering for years. What is one food that is not improved by the addition of either melted cheese or chocolate syrup?

[Rachel Maddow]

White rice is not improved by the addition of chocolate syrup nor by melted cheese. Really?

[Dan Pashman]

You never have any cheese on rice?

[Rachel Maddow]

No. Yeah, it's not a good move.

[Dan Pashman]

All right.

[Rachel Maddow]

Yeah. If served rice on a plate and there's melted cheese elsewhere on the plate. You know how if you like melted cheese, you have a way of moving it around on the plate so that it makes its way into every forkful? If rice is one of the other things on the plate, I will not do that with the cheese.

[Dan Pashman]

Okay.

[Mark Garrison]

What alcoholic beverage did you drink too much of as a teenager, thus rendering the beverage undrinkable for you for the rest of your life?

[Rachel Maddow]

Oh, get back on the horse, people. There is no such thing as an undrinkable beverage that is undrinkable because of a prior bad experience. There are all sorts of undrinkable, bad alcoholic beverages, but they have nothing to do with your wussy childhood teenage experience. Get back on the horse, please.

[Dan Pashman]

Good answer.

[Rachel Maddow]

Buck up.

[Dan Pashman]

All right. What is a food that you loved as a child that you hate now?

[Rachel Maddow]

I used to drink the brine out of black olive, canned black olives when I was a kid.

[Dan Pashman]

Oh, my God.

[Rachel Maddow]

Yeah.

[Dan Pashman]

Okay.

[Mark Garrison]

Speaking of brine in jars, what do you think of the growing promotion of the pickleback, which is a shot with a pickle juice chaser?

[Rachel Maddow]

I am not opposed to the idea in principle. I have never tried one, nor am I intrigued.

[Mark Garrison]

I think that's also the right answer. Okay. What is a food that you hated as a child that you love now?

[Rachel Maddow]

Oh, nuts. I hated all nuts as a child. All nuts except an allergy or anything. No, it was. I had convinced myself as a kid that eating nuts would give me splinters in my mouth because I thought they were like wood. And so I was not only. I not only didn't like nuts, I was afraid of them. I thought they would cause me injury.

[Mark Garrison]

Do you remember the moment when you discovered you were wrong about the woodiness of nuts?

[Rachel Maddow]

Susan, my partner, Susan, makes chocolate chip cookies with nuts in them, with chopped nuts in them. And I remember telling her, yeah, I don't eat nuts and chocolate chip cookies. And then there's chocolate chip cookies there. And so, yeah, I'm eating them and it's fine, and I'm not getting splinters and everything's okay.

[Dan Pashman]

Final question, Rachel. If heaven exists, what would you like to see on the menu?

[Rachel Maddow]

If heaven exists. I think that we no longer have to make decisions about our food choices. We are constantly being enlightened as to what it is that we love. Not through past experience, but through trust in what is to come.

[Dan Pashman]

Kind of like with that bartender.

[Rachel Maddow]

Exactly. Sometimes some bars are heavenly because the bartender knows what you ought to be drinking way better than what you think you ought to be drinking.

[Dan Pashman]

That's Rachel Maddow, host of the Rachel Maddow show on msnbc. And if you want her pina colada Recipe, it's on Sporkful.com or get it when you sign up for our newsletter, go to sporkful.com newsletter. This show is produced by Ann Sanney and me. Dan Charles is our editor. Music help from Black Label Music. This Forkful is a production of Stitcher. Our executive producer are Chris Bannon and Jenny Radelet. Until next time. I'm Dan Pashman and this is Douglas

[Rachel Maddow]

from Memphis, Tennessee reminding you to eat

[Dan Pashman]

more, eat better, and eat more better. This reheat was produced by Gianna Palmer. The team that produces the Sporkful today includes me, along with managing producer Emma Morgenstern and senior producer Andres o'.

[Mark Garrison]

Hara.

[Dan Pashman]

Our engineer is Jared o'.

[Rachel Maddow]

Connell.

[Dan Pashman]

Music help from Black Label Music. The Sporkful is a production of Sirius XM podcast. Our executive producer is Camille Stanley. And hey, did you know you can listen to the sporkful on the SiriusXM app? Yes, the SiriusXM app. It has all your favorite parts, podcasts plus over 200 ad free music channels curated by genre and era, plus live sports coverage. Does your podcasting app have that? And there's interviews with a list, stars and so much more. It's everything you want in a podcast app and music app all rolled into one. And right now, Sporkful listeners can get three months free of the Sirius XM app by going to SiriusXM.com Sporkful until next time, I'm Dan Pashman.

[Rachel Maddow]

Oregon Parks make an Oregon summer But what makes an Oregon park? Well, Oregon Lottery Gameplay helps no matter the game Megabucks, video lottery or keno funds from lottery games help support parks projects across the state, ensuring they stay safe, accessible and open for all. In fact, Discover State park scratches are in stores now. It's the perfect way to put a little bit of Oregon's back parks in your pocket. The Oregon Lottery Together we do good things. Must be 18 or older to play. Lottery games are based on chance and should be played for entertainment only. My community gives me the confidence to ask myself, what would you like the power to do? So every time I'm on the pitch, I play for more than myself. Oh, what a tackle from Naomi G of America. Check champions, U.S. women's national team member Naomi Girma and everyone who dares to ask, what would you like the power to do? Bank of America Proud to be the Official bank of U.S. soccer bank of America NA Member FDSE.