What staple food feeds over 500 million people, and is gluten-free? Answer- the manioc root, and it’s this week’s topic on A Taste of the Past. Linda Pelaccio sits down with Teresa Corção, chef/owner of O Navegador restaurant and co-founder of Instituto Maniva- a group that promotes the heritage root called manioc. She is an active governing member of Slow Food Brazil, and has been honored by IACP with a Humanitarian of the Year award. Sara B. Franklin is also in the studio. A writer, oral historian, and multi-media storyteller, Sara is co-writing The Manioc Route cookbook with Teresa. Also joining Linda is Margarida Nogueira, co-founder of Instituto Maniva with Teresa, and founder of Slow Food Brazil. Tune in to hear about the upcoming cookbook, The Manioc Route, and how it combines cooking with history, culture, and emotion. Did you know that the manioc has been in the upper Amazon Valley since 7,000 B.C.E.? Or that the manioc is naturally poisonous? All these facts and more on this week’s A Taste of the Past. Be sure to get more information about the Manioc Route and visit their Kickstarter on Facebook. Watch a clip from Seu Bené Vai Pra Italia, a film about manioc flour producer Benedito Batista da Silva. This program is sponsored by Hearst Ranch.

“There’s so much cultural history around this root, and it’s delicious.”

—Sara B. Franklin on A Taste of the Past

“Food is affection, culture, and heritage.”

“Peruvian people had brought all types- over 2,000 varieties- of potatoes and today in Lima you can find lots of varieties of potatoes, and maybe this can be an example of how you can take an underestimated a staple and make it a gourmet food.”

—Teresa Corção on A Taste of the Past

“When I discovered the Slow Food Movement on the Internet, I fell in love with the philosophy” —

—Margarida Nogueira on A Taste of the Past