On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Noah Rothbaum, a author of “The Whiskey Bible: A Complete Guide to the World’s Greatest Spirit,” among others.

In the book - and in the interview - Rothbaum shares everything you ever wanted to know about whiskey, and more, including the pivotal role of Jewish immigrants in bringing whiskey to America.

“In many ways, American Jews invented whiskey in this country or at least helped popularize it, around the turn of the century, the late 1800s to 1900s,” Rothbaum explains. Because of the laws of kashrut, Jews were accustomed to making their own alcohol in the old country; a skill they brought with them when they started emigrating to America and Canada.

“Fortunately the rules for making spirits are a lot simpler than the rules for making wine,” he explains. “Most whiskey by its very nature is kosher … because there's only really three ingredients: water, yeast and grain. … The fourth ingredient is the barrel, because all whiskey comes off the still clear; the color and so much of the flavor comes from the barrel.”

“The Whiskey Bible” contains more than 600 pages of knowledge, history, and stellar recipes from bartenders from around the world, including one from Sam Ross, called "penicillin."

When Rothbaum asked where the name came from, Ross said that when he was smelling the cocktail - the different kinds of notes from the whiskey and the honey ginger syrup and the citrus - it reminded him of chicken soup aka Jewish penicillin.

More than anything, Rothbaum wants to elevate people’s knowledge of and confidence in drinking whiskey.

“I wanted folks to feel empowered and savvy.” Rothbaum says. When someone hears something about whiskey, whether it's from their colleague, a know-it-all friend or they see a movie where somebody's drinking it, they can pull out “The Whiskey Bible, flip to that page or section and see what’s what.

Noah Rothbaum shares his journey into the world of whiskey, numerous whiskey facts and points of history, and Sam Ross’ penicillin recipe, which you can find at JewishJournal.com/podcasts.

Get “The Whiskey Bible” at your favorite bookstore and follow @Noah_Rothbaum on Instagram. For more from Taste Buds, subscribe on iTunes and YouTube, and follow @TheDEBMethod on social media.

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Alan Silberberg, an award-winning author, cartoonist and children’s TV creator, whose latest book is “The Bagel Who Wanted Everything.” This funny, heart-warming story of a plain bagel’s quest to see what else is out there in the world is the latest in his series of silly kids’ books about Jewish food; other titles include “P is for Pastrami” and “Meet the Latkes.”

When asked what it’s like to be in his head, Silberberg says, “”It's like going up a really beautiful hill that sometimes you trip and then fall very fast into a big, splashy pool of chicken soup. I'm up, down, making things up … coming up with characters; it's a fun life.”

Silberberg loves drawing food; it’s the gateway to every kid, every family.

“It's like a muscle memory for your tummy,” Silberberg says. “There aren't enough good funny stories about food, especially Jewish food; I have the Jewish funny food niche.”

Silberberg shares his journey from loving to doodle, to working in kids TV, to author. He also talks about his favorite Jewish foods, bagel preferences, fun with food characters, and how to live an everything bagel kind of life.

“My books allow kids to enter the story and not identify as the kid, but go, ‘Oh, I'm kind of like that bagel,’” Silverberg says. “There's something safe about … being able to connect [and identify] with a food.”

To learn more about Alan Silverberg go to silberbooks.com and follow @alan_silberberg on Instagram. Read the article at JewishJournal.com/podcasts.

For more from Taste Buds, subscribe on iTunes and YouTube, and follow @TheDEBMethod on social media.

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Trisha Pérez Kennealy, owner and culinary educator of the Inn at Hastings Park in Lexington, MA.

A proud Puerto Rican Jewish woman, Kennealy lived in Puerto Rico until she was 12, at which time her family moved to Massachusetts. She says she is like “Juanita Epstein” from the “Welcome Back Kotter” TV show.

“What I love about both my Jewish religion and my Puerto Rican heritage is that they both are inspired by a diversity of experience,” she says. “[As Jews], what we eat and how we celebrate is so tied to [our] family’s [origin]; everything is so symbolic.

“Likewise, in Puerto Rico, we spend a lot of time around that [multigenerational] table … food is really an important part of the way we spend time together, the way we take care of one another.”

Soup is a definite common ground between the cultures. “I am a big believer that everyone should know how to make chicken soup, because it's the base; chicken stock can be used to do so many different things,” she says. “It really is good for you.”

Kennealy talks about her background, heritage, and love for being a culinary educator - especially around the globe, along with tips for entertaining and hospitality. She also shares her recipe for mofongo and matzo ball soup, which you can find at JewishJournal.com/podcasts.

For more cooking inspiration, follow @trishaperezkennealy on Instagram.

For more from Taste Buds, subscribe on iTunes and YouTube, and follow @TheDEBMethod on social media.

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Babette Pepaj, founder of BakeSpace.com and BakeBot.ai. The free AI-powered cooking assistant generates recipes, digitizes family favorites and suggests ingredient swaps.

“It helps you do everything from thinking about what foods you're going to buy to seeing what's in the fridge [and figuring] out what you can make with what you already have on hand,” Pepaj says. “AI … isn't just about making a new recipe, this is about actually helping someone at the most important moment of cooking.”

As the High Holidays approach, people start pulling out old recipe books - passed down through generations - or binders with cutouts of recipes. However, many of these recipes have faded or are missing ingredients or instructions. If you are the person who has been making that recipe for years, it’s not a problem. But what about everyone else?

The magic of AI is it can look at a recipe, see if something's missing and then be able to modify it. It’s also great for adapting it for a different number of servings and substitutions.

“For example, you might have a recipe that's [been] in your family and all of a sudden your sister-in-law is gluten free [or] maybe you became vegan; you want to keep it within the same style, you want to make sure it has the same flavors,” she explains. “When [you] are preparing … especially anything that's holiday related - anything that's truly memorable, anything that has history and tradition - you don't want to mess up.”

Babette Pepaj talks about BakeBot, ways to use AI for not just recipes, but confidence in the kitchen, and the evolution of recipe discovery. “Social media is like the cooking tool no one knew that they needed,” she says. Pepaj also shares her BakeBot.ai created recipe for Rosh Hashanah cupcakes with apple butter cream, which you can get at JewishJournal.com/podcasts

Try out at Bakebot.ai and explore Bakespace.com.

For more from Taste Buds, subscribe on iTunes and YouTube, and follow @TheDEBMethod on social media.

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Bruce Weinstein, food writer and author of 40 books, 38 of which are cookbooks. His latest, written with husband and frequent collaborator Mark Scarbrough, is “Cold Canning: The Easy Way to Preserve the Seasons Without Hot Water Processing.”

“Cold Canning” offers a primer on easy, safe, budget-friendly preservation. The book has 425 recipes for small-batch jams, jellies, chili crisps, pickles, krauts, kimchis, and more that will safely keep for months to years in the refrigerator or - with the exception of pickle-like foods - in the freezer.

“One of the things that I love about doing this small batch and no processing is that I can use less sugar because I'm not trying to make it shelf stable,” Weinstein explains. “That's a huge difference in taste and in health.”

“Do I think that we should all take all the sugar out of our diet? No, because then life would not be enjoyable at all,” he continues. “Everything in moderation.”

The duo met after Weinstein completed his first book (“We both loved food and we both loved to cook,” he says.) They both had other careers before diving into the food space. Weinstein went to culinary school and then worked in advertising for 20 years before becoming a food writer. Scarbrough was an English professor; he still teaches literature.

Weinstein’s eating philosophy: cook, share food, enjoy.

“Eat real ingredients. … It'll make you feel better,” he says. “[You’ll be] easy to get along with and people will like you.”

Bruce Weinstein shares what led to his love of cooking, his professional journey, and his favorite Jewish foods. He also talks about the joy and ease of cold canning, some of his early cookbooks and two non-cookbooks, and his recipe for blackberry conserve, which you can get at JewishJournal.com/podcasts.

Learn more about at CookingwithBruceandMark.com. Follow @CookingwithBruceandMark on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, and @CookingWithBruceMark on YouTube.

For more from Taste Buds, subscribe on iTunes and YouTube, and follow @TheDEBMethod on social media.

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Jennifer Stempel, recipe developer, cooking instructor, and author of “With a Needle and Thread: A Jewish Folktale from Cuba,” a children’s book that will be out in October.

A classically trained storyteller and writer, Stempel frequently taps into her mixed Cuban and Jewish heritage to weave tales that engage, inspire, and enlighten.

“With a Needle and Thread” is about a grandmother and granddaughter - and how a piece of clothing transforms through lifecycle events. It puts a lens on the small Jewish community - the island of Santiago de Cuba, where Stempel’s family is from - and the unique ability they have to “MacGyver” life.

“Whenever they are faced with a situation, where they don't have what they need to accomplish whatever goal, they figure it out” Stempel explains. “They use what they have, they are really resourceful [and] inventive.”

In Spanish, it’s called “lo que sea.”

“This story showcases those qualities in a very Jewish way,” Stempel says.

This MacGyvering translates to the kitchen, as well as to other aspects of life. And while food is not a main focus, there is food in the book.

“It would not be a book that I write if there isn't at least a little bit of food,” she says. “Food is very much a passion of mine - it always has been - and I find that it is the great uniter."

Stempel is also founder of The Cuban Reuben blog.

“When I first started it, the emphasis on the posts really were showcasing how - not just in my. Identity, but also in the food that I eat - do these two cultures sort of meld as one?” she explains. ”So the Cuban sandwich and a Ruben sandwich to me were like the Cuban side and the Jewish side coming together … my first post was the Cuban Reuben sandwich, which combined [both].”

While the blog is not currently active, there are plenty of delicious recipes, including one for guava and cheese pastry, which you can find at JewishJournal.com.

Jennifer Stempel talks about lo que sea and “With a Needle and Thread,” her love of food, and how she embraces her Jewish and Cuban heritage. She also shares some of her favorite recipes and how she MacGyvers in the kitchen to make meals from what she has on hand.

Learn more about Jennifer Stempel at JenniferStempel.com, get more recipes at thecubanreuben.com, and follow @TheCubanReuben on Instagram.

For more from Taste Buds, subscribe on iTunes and YouTube, and follow @TheDEBMethod on social media.

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Jeremy Kneller Hernandez, owner of Kneller’s Delicatessen & Appetizing in Tucson, Arizona.

“[A good deli] is like a barbershop with food; everyone knows each other by name and it's just cozy,” Hernandez says. “When I have people in the deli here, who are literally hanging out all day eating breakfast and lunch and talking to people … it warms my heart.”

Hernandez - whose father is Hispanic and from East LA; his mom is Jewish from Queens - would spend summers with his grandparents in New York, where family gatherings were never missed and his bubbe's cooking was non-stop in the kitchen.

“The aroma of brisket, kugel, rugelach, and schmaltz - so much schmaltz - would fill the air with a sense of warmth and a lot of love,” he says. “My grandpa and I would hit a delicatessen almost every morning before Oyster Bay for a day of fishing or the Shea Stadium for a Mets’ game.”

After working in the world of food since age 15 - and feeling as if the deli was a second home - it was finally time for him to open his own place. He wanted to bring the deli vibe to the desert.

Jeremy Kneller Hernandez shares his love of deli, his dual-cultural upbringing (“ I'm very grateful to have had both experiences,” he says.), and the role of music in his life and in the kitchen. He talks about some of the ways he “spices up” traditional deli food and his take on his great aunt’s knish recipe, which you can find at JewishJournal.com/podcasts.

“There's something about the flow of making knish,” he says. “It's a beautiful melody that comes together with just perfect timing; it's fun to make and it's really fun to master.”

Learn more about Jeremy Kneller Hernandez and Kneller’s Delicatessen & Appetizing at knellersdelicatessen.com and follow @knellersdelicatessen on Instagram and Facebook.

For more from Taste Buds, subscribe on iTunes and YouTube, and follow @TheDEBMethod on social media.

On this episode of Taste Buds with Deb, host Debra Eckerling speaks with Natalie Kalmar, the creator behind FitnessFoodieSTL, a resource that empowers women and families to live well without the pressure of perfection.

“ There are so many ways that you can move your body, whether it's dance fitness, playing a sport, [or] walking your dog,” she explains. “All of that counts; all of that is movement.”

Through her blog, social media, and local collaborations, Natalie shares approachable ways to stay active, enjoy great food, and make the most of life. While she is based in St. Louis, there are plenty of practical tips and delicious recipes that everyone can learn from and enjoy.

“Food is something that you should enjoy,” she says. "Always remember that you do deserve it.”

Natalie Kalmar shares how she became Fitness Foodie STL, why group exercise is so valuable, and her personal food connections, including some Jewish food memories. She also shares her recipe for Gooey Butter Cake, which you can find below.

Learn more about Natalie at fitnessfoodiestl.com. And follow @fitnessfoodiestl on Instagram and Facebook.

For more from Taste Buds, subscribe on iTunes and YouTube, and follow @TheDEBMethod on social media. Go to JewishJournal.com/podcasts to read the articles and get recipes.