Appetites®

Every week, we bring you local and regional food and drink news, trends, reviews, flavors, recipes and advice. Appetites airs every Wednesday on MPR News' All Things Considered with host Tom Crann.

Appetites: African delicacy biltong brings flavors of Zambia and Zimbabwe to Minnesota
Beef jerky is sold practically everywhere. But a new product is hitting the shelves across the Twin Cities that adds a traditional African twist to the popular snack.
Appetites: Book highlights history and local connection to manoomin
Tashia Hart's new book, “The Good Berry Cookbook,” highlights the history of wild rice in the Great Lakes region and features recipes from other Native American chefs that highlight the grain, including Marissa Lee's recipe for wild rice stuffed squash.
Appetites: Union Hmong Kitchen moves into new space inside Graze
If you've been paying any attention to the Twin Cities food scene over the last few years, you know Yia Vang, the creative mastermind behind Union Hmong Kitchen. Not only has he been preparing to open a new space inside Graze food hall, he also recently celebrated becoming a US citizen after coming to the U.S. when he was four years old.
Appetites: Sara Farhat's recipe for date anise bars embraces traditional Lebanese flavors and ingredients
Lebanese-American cook and nutritionist Sara Farhat spent more than three years adapting her favorite family recipes from her childhood in Lebanon to create her first cookbook that she self-published and released last month.
Appetites: Tradition and community make bouja a Midwest staple
The community bouja party at the Avon Hills Folk School outside Avon, Minn., happens every October on the second Saturday of the month. It gives visitors to the folk school the perfect opportunity to soak in the fall foliage while enjoying a perfect fall meal — a hot bowl of bouja soup.
The connection between carbs and cardio ahead of the Twin Cities Marathon
More than 13,000 runners will take part in this weekend's Twin Cities Marathon and 10-mile race, but what do they need to be focused on this week when it comes to nutrition? You may have heard of carbo-loading — a meal one or two days before the race that's heavy on bread or pasta. But how does that benefit the runner?
Appetites: The connection between Iran and tea
On this week’s Appetites, MPR News host Tom Crann was joined by Ghazaleh Dadres, a board member with the Twin Cities Iranian Culture Collective, who shared how the art of drinking tea has played a role in her life as an Iranian.
Appetites: The art of charcuterie gets a boost from Instagram
Kelsey Basset has always loved making charcuterie boards, and after enough encouragement from friends and family, she decided to launch The Board Loon and sell her creations online.