Episode 22: How Germany Invented the Way You Eat with Claudia Kreklau

In this episode, Katja and Chris are joined by historian Dr Claudia Kreklau to uncover the surprising German origins of the way the world eats today. They explore how chefs fleeing the French Revolution found new homes in Prussian courts, how volcanic eruptions and failed harvests triggered starvation and revolution in the 1840s, and how the German middle class turned household preservation tricks into an industrial food empire. From Liebig's meat extract and the rise of tinned goods to the 1879 food law that cracked down on adulterated products, they trace the messy, fascinating path from farmhouse kitchens to global brands like Knorr, Maggi, and Heinz.  And rediscover the women whose culinary innovations were quietly erased from the historical record.

Website: https://claudiakreklau.wordpress.com/

Handles and Profiles:

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1621-5300

Scopus: https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.url?authorId=57204513593

GoogleScholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=fJ5HIJgAAAAJ&hl=en

Research Profile: https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/history/people/ck230/

BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/claudiakreklau.bsky.social

Twitter: @Claudia Kreklau

The Making of Modern Eating: How the German Middle Class Forged the Way We Eat, 1780-1910 - Studies in German History (Hardback)

Berghahn PDF: https://www.berghahnbooks.com/downloads/OpenAccess/KreklauMaking/9781836953609_OA.pdf

Amazon EPUB: https://www.amazon.com/Making-Modern-Eating-1780-1910-Studies-ebook/dp/B0GF76PPNX/ref=sr_1_1