True Crime Culinary

Leah Llach
  • 5.0 (9)
  • History
  • Updated Weekly

True Crime Culinary explores the strange intersection of food, history, and crime. Hosted by Leah Llach, each bite-sized episode dives into bizarre cases, survival stories, and the inventions, people, and accidents that created the foods we eat every day. Come for the crime. Leave knowing the stories behind what we eat. New episodes every Thursday.

  1. 5d ago

    Episode 51: Nutmeg History Special — How a Wrong Turn Sent a Ship to Australia

    What does nutmeg have to do with torture, propaganda, punch, and a Dutch ship accidentally sailing to Australia? This week, True Crime Culinary teamed up with Info On The Go for a two-part trip into the strange, fascinating, and surprisingly bloody history of nutmeg. First, Info On The Go explores how a tiny spice from a handful of islands became valuable enough to send European powers sailing across the world to control it. Listen anywhere you get podcasts, but just in case: https://infoonthego.buzzsprout.com/ Then, on True Crime Culinary, Leah picks up the story in 1623 with the Amboyna Massacre—a disputed conspiracy involving the Dutch East India Company (VOC), English merchants, Japanese mercenaries, torture, confessions, and executions. But the story doesn't end there. We follow the spice trade into a 17th-century pamphlet war, the origins of punch, the growing world of European maritime trade, and the maps that helped sailors cross the globe—and sometimes led them somewhere they never intended to go. Listen to both episodes for the full story of how an everyday spice became tangled up with global trade, violence, drinking culture, and the mapping of the world. Part 1: Info On The Go — The History of NutmegPart 2: True Crime Culinary — The Amboyna Massacre New bite-sized episodes of True Crime Culinary drop every Thursday. Follow TCC on IG and YT: https://www.youtube.com/@TrueCrimeCulinary https://www.instagram.com/truecrimeculinary References YouTube — Nutmeg / spice trade videoYouTube — Dutch spice trade / history videoWikipedia — NutmegYouTube — Nutmeg / VOC history videoNational Museum of Australia — Dirk Hartog Lands off Western Australia — Hartog’s 1616 VOC voyage, the navigation error that brought the Eendracht to Western Australia, and its subsequent charting of the coastline.

    Episode 51: Nutmeg History Special — How a Wrong Turn Sent a Ship to Australia

  2. Sep 10

    Episode 50: Cinnamon Origins and the Disappearing Cinnamon Buns

    New bite-sized episodes of True Crime Culinary drop every Thursday. Follow TCC on IG and YT: https://www.youtube.com/@TrueCrimeCulinary https://www.instagram.com/truecrimeculinary Where did cinnamon rolls come from? What is cinnamon actually made from? And how did Cinnabon become a shopping mall icon? Cinnamon is made from the inner bark of trees in the Cinnamomum genus, and cinnamon buns developed from European traditions of sweet, spiced breads rather than from one known inventor. In this episode of True Crime Culinary, we trace that history from cinnamon bark to Scandinavian cinnamon buns and eventually the giant, frosted American cinnamon roll. Along the way, we explore Swedish kanelbullar, Denmark's unusual Wednesday cinnamon snail, how cinnamon sticks and ground cinnamon are made, and the surprising differences between varieties of cinnamon. Then we head to an American shopping mall in the 1980s for the history of Cinnabon. Founder Rich Komen set out to create an irresistible cinnamon roll, baker Jerilyn Brusseau helped develop the recipe through hundreds of tests, and a particularly aromatic cinnamon became part of Cinnabon's signature flavor. The first Cinnabon opened at SeaTac Mall in Washington in 1985, eventually growing into an international chain. And because this is True Crime Culinary, we begin with nearly 400 cinnamon rolls that seemingly disappeared during an Uber delivery in South Florida. Was it a $3,000 cinnamon roll heist? The real explanation was much stranger. True Crime Culinary explores the strange intersection of food, history, and true crime. New bite-sized episodes every Thursday. References Axios — Border Patrol detained Uber driver during cinnamon roll delivery Seattle Met — Scents from a Mall: The Sticky, Untold Story of Cinnabon Visit Sweden — Cinnamon buns and where to get the best ones Encyclopaedia Britannica — Cinnamon Wikipedia — Cinnamon Wikipedia — Cinnamon roll Wikipedia — Cinnabon

    Episode 50: Cinnamon Origins and the Disappearing Cinnamon Buns

  3. Sep 3

    Episode 49: The History of Cheetos and the Criminal Caught with Cheese Dust

    New bite-sized episodes of True Crime Culinary drop every Thursday. Follow TCC on IG and YT: https://www.youtube.com/@TrueCrimeCulinary https://www.instagram.com/truecrimeculinary What is the history of Cheetos—and were Cheetos actually the first cheese curls? The story starts in 1930s Wisconsin, where a machine designed to process corn for animal feed accidentally produced strange, airy corn puffs. Those puffs eventually became Korn Kurls, one of America’s earliest cheese curls, years before Cheetos arrived. In this episode of True Crime Culinary, we follow the surprisingly weird history of the cheese puff from cow feed to Korn Kurls, CheeWees, Charles Elmer Doolin’s Frito Company, and the 1948 launch of Cheetos. We’ll also look at how Herman Lay’s distribution network helped turn Cheetos into a national snack and eventually helped create Frito-Lay. Then things get even stranger. Why does spicy food actually hurt? Why can chickens eat chili peppers without seeming bothered? What happened to Cheetos’ original mouse mascot? And how did scientists use the common food dye Yellow 5 to make the skin of living mice temporarily transparent? Finally, we return to a 2021 attempted burglary in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where an abandoned bag of Cheetos—and some extremely difficult-to-hide orange evidence—helped link a suspect to the scene. From accidental cow food to transparent mice and incriminating Cheeto dust, this is the strange history of one of America’s most recognizable snacks. References Wisconsin 101 — From Cow Feed to Korn Kurl — Flakall, the accidental corn puff, and Korn Kurls.Texas State Historical Association — Frito-Lay Corporation — C.E. Doolin, Fritos, Cheetos, Herman Lay, and the creation of Frito-Lay.Smithsonian — Frito-Lay Collection — Frito Company and Frito-Lay history.Scientific Reports — TRPV1 and Capsaicin — Why mammals and birds respond differently to spicy peppers.Science/PMC — Optical Transparency in Live Animals — Yellow 5/tartrazine and the transparent-mouse experiment.KTUL — Woman Linked to Crime by Cheeto Residue on Her Teeth — The 2021 Tulsa burglary case.YouTube — Cheetos/Transparent Mice Video

    Episode 49: The History of Cheetos and the Criminal Caught with Cheese Dust

  4. Aug 31

    Bonus Episode 4: An Interview with Cheese Fortune Teller Jennifer Billock

    Can you really tell someone's future with cheese? This week, True Crime Culinary welcomes writer and professional tyromancer Jennifer Billock for a special episode about cheese, fortune telling, and why humans have spent centuries searching for answers in their food. We dig into the big questions behind tyromancy: What does Jennifer actually see when she reads a piece of cheese? How does she know when a reading works? Does she follow up afterward to find out whether her predictions came true? And what could science answer? Plus, we travel to medieval London for the strange case of a stolen bowl, an accused woman, and a loaf of bread supposedly capable of identifying a thief. And, of course, Jennifer reads some cheese. Go to Instagram for pictures https://www.instagram.com/truecrimeculinary or Youtube https://www.youtube.com/@TrueCrimeCulinary  for a video of the episode!  Come for the crime. Leave knowing a lot more about what your cheese might be trying to tell you. 🧀🔮 To check out more about Jennifer Billock, head to https://www.cheeseoracle.com/  https://www.instagram.com/thecheeseoracle https://www.tiktok.com/@thecheeseoracle

    Bonus Episode 4: An Interview with Cheese Fortune Teller Jennifer Billock

  5. Aug 27

    Episode 48: The History of Tofu and Why Everyone Was Tofu Fighting

    New bite-sized episodes of True Crime Culinary drop every Thursday. Follow TCC on IG and YT: https://www.youtube.com/@TrueCrimeCulinary https://www.instagram.com/truecrimeculinary What does a block of tofu have to do with Buddhist monks, Korean prison traditions, and a police raid in West Germany? This week, we’re tracing tofu’s roughly 2,000-year history—from its mysterious origins in ancient China and its spread through Buddhist communities to Japan’s 18th-century tofu obsession and Korea’s tradition of eating tofu after leaving prison. Then we head to 1980s West Germany, where a group of vegetarian tofu makers set up shop in an old butcher shop—only to have police confiscate their tofu and authorities try to shut them down. Everybody was tofu fighting. And this history is fast as lightning. References & Further Reading Atlas Obscura — “How Tofu Got Its Revenge” — The main source for Bernd Drosihn, the Soyastern collective, the former butcher shop in Siegburg, the 1983 police raid and tofu confiscation, regulatory battles, and the rise of smoked tofu. Atlas Obscura articleSoyInfo Center — History of Tofu and Tofu Products — Detailed historical research by William Shurtleff and Akiko Aoyagi covering tofu’s origins in China, its development throughout East Asia, early references in Japan, and the history of tofu in Europe and North America. SoyInfo CenterKorea.net — Tofu and Korean Prison-Release Tradition — Background on the Korean custom of giving tofu to people after their release from prison, including explanations involving purity, a fresh start, and nutrition. Korea.net articleEncyclopaedia Britannica — Tofu — General background on tofu, its Chinese origins, production process, coagulation, and use throughout East and Southeast Asian cuisines. Britannica: TofuThe Book of Tofu — William Shurtleff & Akiko Aoyagi (1975) — An influential English-language guide to making and cooking tofu that helped introduce tofu to a much broader Western audience during the natural-food movement.Diet for a Small Planet — Frances Moore Lappé (1971) — Influential book advocating a more plant-based diet for environmental and economic reasons; useful context for the Western vegetarian movement that embraced tofu during the 1970s.Tōfu Hyakuchin (1782) — Japanese cookbook commonly translated as One Hundred Tofu Delicacies, documenting the remarkable variety and popularity of tofu dishes in Edo-period Japan.YouTube source #1YouTube source #2

    Episode 48: The History of Tofu and Why Everyone Was Tofu Fighting

  6. Aug 20

    Episode 47: The History of Sprinkles and the Secret Connection to Marathon

    New bite-sized episodes of True Crime Culinary drop every Thursday. Follow TCC on IG and YT: https://www.youtube.com/@TrueCrimeCulinary https://www.instagram.com/truecrimeculinary What’s the history of sprinkles—and what could they possibly have to do with marathon running? This week on True Crime Culinary, we’re tracing sprinkles back through Dutch hagelslag, anise-flavored candy, and the surprisingly complicated family of plants that includes anise, fennel, star anise, and licorice. Along the way, we’ll find out how sprinkles are made, why the Dutch put chocolate hagelslag on bread, and how fennel gave the town of Marathon its name—eventually inspiring the 26.2-mile race we know today. And because this is True Crime Culinary, there’s also the small matter of 186 ancient cuneiform tablets smuggled through customs in bags of aniseed. From sprinkles to smuggling to marathon running, this one takes a very weird route.

    Episode 47: The History of Sprinkles and the Secret Connection to Marathon

  7. Aug 13

    Episode 46: Ice Cream and The Woman Who Churned Her Way Into History

    New bite-sized episodes of True Crime Culinary drop every Thursday. Follow TCC on IG and YT: https://www.youtube.com/@TrueCrimeCulinary https://www.instagram.com/truecrimeculinary How did humans make ice cream before freezers existed? This week on True Crime Culinary, we're following ice cream from ancient ice houses and massive blocks hauled down mountains to the invention that changed homemade ice cream forever. We explore Persian yakhchals, the international ice trade, why bigger blocks of ice melt more slowly, and how adding salt somehow makes ice colder. Then we meet Nancy Johnson, the woman who patented the hand-cranked ice cream freezer in 1843—and whose story takes an unexpected turn during the Civil War, when she traveled to South Carolina to teach formerly enslaved people during the Port Royal Experiment. Finally, we head back to Florida and the ice cream truck driver whose search for the men who shot him became a deadly obsession. From hauling ice off mountains to 18 pounds of ice cream per American per year, this is the surprisingly complicated—and occasionally criminal—history of keeping things frozen. References Surface Area to Volume Ratio / Ice Explanation — YouTube Ancient Ice-Making Machines Found in the Persian Desert: The Yakhchāl — YouTube Harvesting Glaciers With the Last Ice Merchant — YouTube Nancy M. Johnson's 1843 “Artificial Freezer” Patent — Google Patents The Inventive “Queens of Ices” — Smithsonian Lemelson Center Ice Cream Inventions: How the Chill Happened — Library of Congress The Story of Ice Cream — Royal Society of Chemistry The Ice Trade — PBS NOVA Frederic Tudor: The King of Ice — National Geographic First International Ice Trader: Frederic Tudor — Guinness World Records Encyclopaedia Iranica — “Yakhchal” — History and construction of Persian ice-storage structures and early references to storing and transporting ice. Baltazar Ushca / Chimborazo ice harvesting — Ushca continued the centuries-old tradition of harvesting glacial ice from Ecuador's Mount Chimborazo, wrapping the blocks in straw and transporting them down the mountain by donkey. National Park Service — “Education During the Port Royal Experiment” — Education of formerly enslaved adults and children in the South Carolina Sea Islands during the Civil War. National Park Service — “The Legacy of the Port Royal Experiment” — Port Royal's role as an early model for Reconstruction, Black land ownership, education and freedom after slavery. Penn Center — History of the Penn School on St. Helena Island and its later role in the Civil Rights Movement. Florida v. Michael Keetley: Verdict — Court TV 10 Tampa Bay — Michael Keetley Found Guilty in 2010 Murders — Coverage of Keetley's 2023 retrial and conviction for the murders of Juan and Sergio Guitron and attempted murders of four other men.

    Episode 46: Ice Cream and The Woman Who Churned Her Way Into History

  8. Aug 7

    Bonus Episode 3: Is the Forgotten Oreo Named Hydrox?

    A half-eaten Oreo helped solve a burglary. Seriously. In this bonus episode of True Crime Culinary, we unravel the bizarre true crime story of a burglar whose snack became the key piece of evidence. Investigators recovered DNA from a half-eaten Oreo left at the crime scene, helping identify the suspect. That strange case led to an even stranger discovery... Oreo wasn't the original chocolate sandwich cookie. Four years before Oreo debuted, a cookie called Hydrox was already on grocery shelves. So how did the original become the forgotten one? Join me as we dive into the early 1900s Biscuit Wars, the rise of industrial baking, the birth of Nabisco, and the fascinating rivalry between Hydrox and Oreo. Along the way, we'll explore why Oreo's filling is called "creme," how black cocoa creates its signature flavor, why the recipe changed to become kosher, and how Oreo eventually became one of the world's most recognizable brands. We'll also meet Jacob Loose, the entrepreneur behind Hydrox, explore the lasting legacy of Sunshine Biscuits, and discover why there's an Oreo vault near the North Pole. Turns out there's a lot more history hiding inside a cookie than you might expect. In this episode: The burglary solved by a half-eaten Oreo The true story behind Hydrox, the original sandwich cookie The Biscuit Wars and the rise of Nabisco Why Oreo wasn't actually first What's really inside an Oreo Black cocoa, "creme," and cookie chemistry How Oreo became kosher The rise of cookies-and-cream ice cream Jacob Loose and the legacy of Sunshine Biscuits Why Oreo became the world's most famous sandwich cookie New bite-sized episodes of True Crime Culinary drop every Thursday. Follow TCC on IG and YT: https://www.youtube.com/@TrueCrimeCulinary https://www.instagram.com/truecrimeculinary References News 5 Cleveland. That's the Way the Cookie Crumbles: Akron Burglar Caught After DNA Found on Half-Eaten Cookie. Cleveland 19 News. Caught by Cookie: DNA Evidence Leads Akron Police to Suspect. Wikipedia – Hydrox: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrox Wikipedia – Sunshine Biscuits: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunshine_Biscuits Wikipedia – Jacob Loose: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Loose Wikipedia – Oreo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oreo Serious Eats. The History of Oreo and Hydrox. Atlas Obscura. The Curious History of Hydrox Cookies. Cornell University (Joe Regenstein). How the Oreo Became Kosher. Mondelēz International. Twist, Lick, Dunk: Oreo Milestones and Brand Statistics. South Dakota State University Dairy Bar. History of Cookies and Cream Ice Cream. Oreo. Official Product Information and Ingredients.

    Bonus Episode 3: Is the Forgotten Oreo Named Hydrox?
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5
out of 5
9 Ratings

About

True Crime Culinary explores the strange intersection of food, history, and crime. Hosted by Leah Llach, each bite-sized episode dives into bizarre cases, survival stories, and the inventions, people, and accidents that created the foods we eat every day. Come for the crime. Leave knowing the stories behind what we eat. New episodes every Thursday.

Information

  • Creator
    Leah Llach
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    54
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Leah Llach
  • Show Website
    True Crime Culinary

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