March 7, 2024 • 31 mins
This condiment is a study in contrasts – crunchy-silky, savory-fruity, and varyingly spicy. Anney and Lauren dip into the history and culture(s) of chili crisp.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:08):
Hello, and welcome to Savor production of iHeartRadio. I'm Annie Reese.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
And I'm Lauren Vocobaum and today we have an episode
for you about Chili Crisp.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
Should I love?
Speaker 2 (00:19):
I would have guessed that based on your general affinity
for spicy things. But oh yeah, no, me too. Lovely lovely?
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Yes, Oh gosh. Was there any particular reason this was
on your mind?
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Hmm, that's a great question.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
All right, Perhaps the answer will come to you. Maybe
it's always there in.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
The back, you know, Uh, probably this was. This has
just been on our list since the pandemic and it
went really big and people went like, oh what about that.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Yeah, that is certainly something we're going to talk about.
And funnily enough that you mentioned that. I remember specifically
when I was introduced to Chili Chris.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Oh yeah, I believe I.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
Had had it before, but I remember like the very
specific this is what it is. This is my favorite ingredient.
It's a friend of ours actually, and I loved it.
And it was during the pandemic, but they had like
used it long before, but that was the first time
I remember being.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Like, oh, oh yeah, I want this.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
This is amazing.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
I feel like I probably first encountered it at one
of the Malaysian restaurants around Atlanta. And I think that
this particular place made their own in house and sold
jars of it and had it as a condiment on tables.
And I was just like, yep, yes.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
Yeah, I feel like I had it as a condiment
on tables before, but this was the specific instance where
I was like, waitl have it.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
I can have it my home. Okay.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
So for past episodes, you can see sheeshwan, peppercorns, hot sauces, peppers,
and chili's. Maybe that we've done sure other things.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Other other condiments. Yeah, yeah, probably re listened to ketchup.
You know, every time we talk about condiments. It's probably
in there somewhere.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
That's true. That episode surprisingly covered a lot of ground.
But all right, I guess this brings us to our question.
I guess chili crisp.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
What is it?
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Well, chili crisp is a type of condiment that can
contain many things, but you're basically looking at bits of
like savory, spicy stuff, including yes, dried chili flakes that
are dried and or fried to a crisp and then
steeped in oil, creating a crunchy yet silky condiment that
adds a burst of red orange color and heady spice
(03:04):
to whatever you put it on. Depending on what you're
going for, all kinds of other stuff can find its
way into chili. Crisp pike, an onion or garlic, chopped
small maybe caramelized am rich roasted crushed peanuts or sesame seeds,
some funky fermented soybeans, savory mushroom powder, fishy savory dried
anchovies or shrimp, maybe some fish sauce, warm spices like
(03:27):
cinnamon or star annis or ginger, maybe some salt or
a bit of sugar to balance the spice. The oil
can be a neutral carrier, or it can be flavorful,
like a peanut or sesame oil. The heat can vary
as much or little as you like. A spoonful of
it is just a delicate, little flavor bomb, like really
(03:47):
pleasingly crisp and and or chewy, but also smooth and
with those heavy savory flavors balanced out by that like
fruity spicy note. It's like a it's like bizarro dam
like everything that jam is not mm hmm, but still
a condiment. It's like if the perfect snack chip were
(04:09):
a condiment.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
Mm hmmm.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
It's it's like it's like the excitement and and mild
surprise of opening presents, but you can eat it.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
Yeah, it's lovely. It's just like.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
The crunch of it smooth, and there's like so many
like things that go together really well but are different.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
Yeah, kind of contrasting, but yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
Meld together perfectly well, so pleasing. Yes.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
And then and then whatever you put it on too,
like surprising things that you would not think that it
would go with. It totally goes with mm hmm.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
I put it on all kinds of things. I'm just like,
what if I had what if I try it here?
Speaker 2 (04:54):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Okay, it doesn't always work, but a lot of times
it does.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Yeah, I just realized I've never put it on like
peanut butter toast.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
Hm.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
I feel like I okay, all right, all right, projects
for as soon as we finish recording well. Chili crisp
is a sort of subcategory of condiments under the wider
umbrella of chili oil, in which, more broadly, oils are
flavored with dried chilis and other aromatics. Chili crisp stands
out because it includes the sediment of those aromatics, it
(05:25):
includes like quite a bit of it. It's part of
the point. Yeah, different styles do emphasize different flavors. You
can go pretty basic or incorporate whatever combination of the
above add ins and beyond. You know, different types of
chili peppers will add different fruity or floral flavors and
different levels of heat. Numbing peppercorns are popular, like sub subcategory.
(05:47):
Various cooked down alions from shallot to garlic to onion
will give their own savory sweet punch. You know, there
are riffs that add curry leaves or crushed almonds or
lemon grass for something again different. There are a number
of brands available for purchase, or you can make your
own at home to really individualize it. If you are
(06:08):
doing this, know that one of the keys here is
making sure that all of your ingredients are like dehydrated
as much as possible. For example, from like gentle low
and slow pan frying. Anything with water content is going
to make the mix less crispy, not not really what
you want, and less shelf stable also not really what
you want. But yeah, it's used on its own or
(06:31):
mixed into other condiments or sauces. Generally post cooking, though
it can stand up to the sort of like gentle
heat that you'd use to make to make a pasta
sauce maybe. So it's really good for dressing up noodles
or rice, or toast or other starches. Put it on
roasted meats or veg use it as a dip or
(06:52):
maybe a slather for dumplings or French fries. Spread it
on sandwiches, you know, like a sauce for eggs, a
drizzle on fruit salad, or some kind of creamy dessert
like a chocolate whatever, or ice cream. Drizzle a little
on you popcorn. I cannot stop you.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
I will be doing that. And the French fries thing,
I don't think I've ever had it on French fries.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
I don't think I have either. These are all very
important projects.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
They are When the pandemic first started, I was regularly
making I would fry eggplants and rice and scallions and
then chili crisp. Oh yeah, so I do have an
association with this. But that was delicious. Yeah, I've actually
(07:41):
been craving. I kind of want to go back and
make it all right, Well, what about the nutrition?
Speaker 2 (07:47):
You know it depends on what's in it. It is
in an oil base, so that's always going to be
a little bit chlorically dense, but you're not eating like
that much of it. Maybe it can be heavy on
the sodium, so like, watch out for that, if that's
something that you watch out for. But yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
Yeah, well, people do like it, and we have some
numbers to back it up. Oh we do, yes, So
popular brand, laugan Ma reportedly produces one point three million
bottles a day as of twenty twenty two.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Just for contrast, Heines produces one point eight million bottles
of Ketchup a day, so they're only like half a
million bottles behind Heines.
Speaker 1 (08:34):
Yeah, and in two thousand and nine, this product, laugan Ma,
made about sixty four million dollars ooh yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
As of twenty sixteen, Bloomberg credited this brand with financial
growth in the province where it's from a guezo of
ten point five percent. That's a lot. That's a lot
of growth.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
That is a lot of growth.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
And speaking of in the US, the sales of this
product went up substantially during the pandemic, perhaps increasing as
much as nineteen hundred percent.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
Ooh yeah, and interest has not gone down from there
according to Google Trends, which I know is not a
perfect source, but at any rate, according to Google Trends,
we hit another two all time spikes of interest in
September of twenty twenty three and January of twenty twenty four.
(09:33):
The first big spike was in April of twenty twenty
and that interest is centered in the United States, but
also expands to Canada, Singapore, Norway, Sweden, New Zealand, and
the UK. Y'all write in let us know if this
has been a wild trend whereabouts you are.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
Yes, and if it was already there and you have
thoughts about it.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
Or recipes, oh yeah, uses. But in the meantime, we
do have quite a history for you.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
We do, and we're going to get into that as
soon as we get back from a quick break for
a word from our sponsors, and we're back. Thank you sponsor, Yes,
thank you.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
Okay, So.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
Different episode. We've talked about this in a lot of
episodes though, but briefly. Chili peppers arrived in China at
least two hundred years ago, but possibly as far back
as the sixteenth century, with Dutch and Portuguese explorers. Once
they arrived via globalization and trade, a slowly spread across
the country, but they really took off in the Southwest
(10:47):
because of the climate. But it did take a few
decades before they start to really become incorporated into the cuisine,
particularly as a seasoning our condiment, since chili peppers cheaper
to use them than salts and local Shechhwuan peppercorns. At
the time, whoever, these condiments weren't what we would think
of today when we think of chili crisp, or at
(11:09):
least for most of us, it wouldn't be the same,
though it's very likely some of them were pretty similar.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
Yeah yeah, different cuisines all over the region, flavored oil
with chilis in different amounts and with different additions based
on local availability and preferred flavor profiles you know, hotter
or saltier or spiced or savory or numbing or funky
or whatever combination of the above.
Speaker 3 (11:35):
Rites.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
But let us jump way ahead to what many of
us do think of when we think of chili crisp,
and that would be the popular brand La Gunma, which
launched in Guaizo, China in nineteen eighty four. Because a
lot of that history has been lost ors perhaps a
little bit more complicated to go into for this episode.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
But yes, this is a province located in the mountains
of southwest China in between Sichuan and Hanan.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
And this product was the creation of Tao Huabie, who
sold it at her noodle shop that she opened as
a widow as a way to support her family. And
this condiment was so popular she bottled it and started
selling it in nineteen ninety seven, and she closed her
noodle shop to focus solely on the sauce at that time,
and this is when she opened Lao Ganma Special Flavor
(12:30):
of Foodstuest Company, and it employed forty people in the beginning.
She was the eighth daughter born into a poor family
in Guaizo in nineteen forty seven, and she never attended
school and she didn't learn to read or write as
a child. According to a biography of her, she survived
a famine by eating plant roots, and after the death
(12:52):
of her husband, she opened a noodle shop and she
made the sauce to go alongside it, and eventually this
shop grew went to something bigger called the economical restaurant.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
In the nineteen.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
Nineties, around this time, a new highway brought more customers
the shop's way, and she would gift truckers with free
bottles of this sauce and they loved it so much,
and the word was spread from there, and she saw
the potential. She set up this factory in the area
in nineteen ninety six. And yes, you started selling the
jars in nineteen ninety seven. If you've never seen this jar,
(13:25):
which I'd wager that you have, it features a depiction
of an older woman kind of scowling. Yeah, that is Tauhuabi.
The name of the product roughly translates to old godmother.
And in twenty seventeen, she was named the hottest woman
in China at the age of seventy. I tried to
(13:45):
get to the bottom of like who Nameless. It seems
to have been the result of a social media trend,
and the social media platform was like the hottest woman
in China. Yeah, yes, she did retire a billionaire.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
Yeah. Apparently she drives like a limited edition rolls with
these red rear view mirrors and a license plate with
a lot of eights in it because eight is a
lucky number. And yeah, yes, love that for her.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
Yeah yeah, And the condiment did sell well pretty quickly
first in China, but as word spread it started to
sell internationally too. But at first they had a lot
of trouble with counterfeiters, which resulted in a lengthy lawsuit
about the trademark that was settled relatively recently, like I
(14:41):
think in the early two thousands, but it was a
whole thing. Yeah, I guess that to me, that feels recent,
but that says something about what I guess.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
That wasn't that long after she launched the project.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
So a lot has been written about how this brand
had such a meteoric rise, and there are all kinds
of factors speculated that may have contributed to its success.
From marketing, yes, the quote I saw kitchi to describe
the label. A lot of times the Kichi label drew
(15:16):
people in. It was viewed as sort of again quote
simple product in a way people really liked, almost representative
of the region it was from and embracing that it
had this history behind it. People liked that. And of
course globalization immigration increasing interest in spicy foods and foods
(15:37):
from other places and in that particular region, in cuisine
for people outside of China anyway, for a long time.
As Chinese immigrants arrived in the US, the mainstream palette
for Chinese food amongst non Chinese folks was a less
spicy one, and that started to shift in nineteen sixty
five when restrictions on Chinese immigration to the US were
(15:58):
lifted to that many of the Chinese immigrants in the
US were from regions of China where food was less spicy. Perhaps,
but after that restriction was lifted, a much wider range
of Chinese cuisine and spice from that cuisine made it
into the US, and chili crisp was.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
Part of that.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
So yes, chili crisp experienced a huge, huge boom in
the US in the late twenty tens early twenty twenties.
It was often referred to in the American press or
in quotes from folks that it was the new surachas
so like. Even people on social media were calling it that,
And some people do think that the timing of this
(16:40):
suggests that many of us in the US who were
stuck at home and looking for shelf stable ways to
spice up dishes, a lot of us turned to chili
crisp when that was happening during the pandemic yeah, yeah,
during the pandemic exactly. But also other things powered the
surgeon interest, including growing US interest in Tehuan cuisine and
(17:00):
increased exposure through media to things some perhaps didn't know
about before celebrities and chefs got in on this game.
Viral uses and combos from China about things like ice
cream and chili crisp were replicated in the US.
Speaker 3 (17:17):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (17:17):
Social media just in general helped too, because we're seeing
people like.
Speaker 2 (17:21):
Oh yeah, it's good, and a lot of the popular
iterations were didn't didn't incorporate sich one peppercorns, so right.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
And on top of that, as we have discussed previously,
there is a growing culture taste and affinity for spicy
foods in the US. Shortages of saracha could have actually
played into it too. Oh wow, yeah could back around,
I know. Right on top of this, some articles chronicled
(17:54):
laal gan Mas story, specifically speculating that it's popularity in
China when it officially went commercial in nineteen ninety seven
points to some rediscovering food routs or heritage in China.
And this was kind of a big conversation that happens,
and not just with that brand. In an NBC News
article Jing Gao, the creator of the brand fly by Jing,
(18:15):
said that she faces criticism online for marked up prices.
Speaker 3 (18:18):
And here's a quote from that article.
Speaker 1 (18:21):
The reason people think expensive Chinese food is whitewash is
because only white people are commanding those prices, said Gao,
who said her chili Crisp contains eighteen premium ingredients sourced
exclusively in southwestern China. It's also saying that Chinese people
don't deserve the same value for their craft and their heritage.
This was an interesting article because it was talking about
(18:43):
like again going back to that idea of like it's
from this region and that's part of its popularity in
China as well, that it is from here, and then
having all of these other brands not from China, which
is not to say people can't experiment with it, but
getting into the game and perhaps selling something very expensive.
Speaker 3 (19:07):
Yeah, larger conversation.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
Yeah, it's always a conversation about you know, what is
appreciation and what is appropriation and how to kind of
balance that. You know, like wanting wanting to enjoy and
share something that you have found delicious is great, but right,
you know, like like who's making the money where's the
money going? Like how you know, like, are are the
(19:33):
farmers who are responsible for creating these amazing chili peppers
in the region where they're from getting any of that
money stuff like that. It's a complicated conversation, but yeah,
Gal was interviewed pretty because so fly by Jing originated
(19:53):
as a kickstarter in twenty eighteen and really bloomed from there.
And just by the way, they're not a sponsor, but
they are having like an anniversary sale on their website
right now. Go check it out. But yeah, gat Gao
was interviewed pretty extensively for a lot of these articles
from the early pandemic, and her perspective is super interesting
(20:17):
to hear because right, like like as a person who
has heritage from there, and you know, part of her
starting at this brand is her exploring this heritage and
right and trying to do it well and to fight
against the stereotype that we do sometimes still have here
in the United States that you know, like like Chinese
(20:40):
food is this like cheap thing that isn't expected to
be very good, it shouldn't cost much money, which is
a just a flattening of an insane number of individual
cuisines and experiences and b right is talking about this,
this this very narrow type of Americanized Chinese food.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
So yes, yes that I've said it before, I'll say
it again. But when I was in China, that was
one of the biggest eye openers for me.
Speaker 3 (21:12):
Was like I could go.
Speaker 1 (21:14):
Blocks over and be like, wow, this is a whole
different work. This is a huge country. So yeah, it's
just so much. It's good not to generalize and look
into the nuances of it, yes, not put it in
one lane.
Speaker 2 (21:28):
Always always so much and how delicious too.
Speaker 3 (21:32):
Yeah, to get to explore. Yeah, yes, there's so much
to explore and it's great. Well I believe.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
That's what we have to say about Chili Christopher now
it is.
Speaker 2 (21:44):
We do have some listener mail for you, though, and
we are going to get into that as soon as
we get back from one more quick break forward from
our sponsors.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
We're back, Thank you sponsor, Yes, thank you, and we're
back with listen.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
Mm chili Chris, oh dear, okay, oh good luck?
Speaker 3 (22:21):
Thanks all right.
Speaker 1 (22:26):
Uh so we have a bit of a longer message
to dig again. Never feel bad about sending those, but
we thought we would split this one up and this
one was in regards to comments we made about glass
recycling in Atlanta, which doesn't really happen.
Speaker 2 (22:43):
Nope, Nope, it doesn't.
Speaker 3 (22:45):
No, it doesn't.
Speaker 1 (22:47):
So in response to that, Judy wrote, I was horrified
to hear Lawrence comment that her area does not do
glass recycling, and Annie, I believe you agreed. This sent
me down a nostalgic rabbit hole. I am a child
of the fifties. This means my parents grew up during
the Great Depression and were young adults during World War Two.
(23:07):
Those people didn't waste anything. The modern term reduced for
use recycle could have been written by them, and I
don't think a lot of younger people realize this. Plastics
were new and were not everywhere like they are now.
There were no plastic bags. For example, our garbage bags
were doubled up paper grocery bags. The kitchen bag usually
had a folded newspaper in the bottom in case any
(23:28):
sloppy garbage made it in there. We didn't have garbage disposals,
so messy food scraps might get wrapped up in some
more newspaper are possibly shut up in a jar. Fat
drippings lived in a can in the fridge. If they
were bacon drippings, you might cook with them. I don't
know what they might have done with the rest of
the cans. I know they were collected during the war
(23:50):
to reuse for the war effort, but this was before
my time. I remember my parents keeping a coffee can
real cans in those days in the cabinet with bills
that needed to be paid. Coffee cans were good for
lots of workshop uses too. Dad had them full of
random screws and still good nails, and I do remember
using old cans to clean paint brushes from my childhood
(24:11):
watercolor masterpieces.
Speaker 2 (24:13):
Huh Gudy continues. Most things came in cardboard or paper.
Bakery boxes didn't have plastic windows. I know wonderbread was available,
but we always bought our bread at the bakery and
took it home in a waxed paper bag. Fresh fruits
and vegetables just went in a paper bag until you
got them home. Frozen vegetables came in boxes. Soda ice
cream back to glass a milk and soda pop came
(24:35):
in glass bottles. You paint a deposit on the bottles,
so you returned them to the store to get your
deposit back. The bottles were then returned to the dairy
or bottling company to be washed and refilled. The only
thing you threw out was the bottle cap. We lived
across the street from a playground that attracted teenagers. After dark,
they would drink pop and leave the bottles behind, stashed
in various out of the way corners. My two good
(24:55):
friends and I would go over during the day and
liberate said bottles from their hiding places. After a few days,
we would have enough to return the bottles to the
store for the deposit and use that to buy ice cream.
Jars were saved to put leftovers in the fridge, to
toss those messy bits of garbage, or to be filled
with things like buttons, paper clips, or any other little
things you might want to save. Oh well, old ladies
(25:16):
get nostalgic. However, I admit to a certain amount of
frustration over the overuse of plastic and the difficulty of
using products that will be biodegradable or easily reused. Maybe
we can learn something from those Depression era kids. I
think we could get manufacturers to go along. Oh question,
(25:36):
it is the question, isn't it. Yeah, yeah, it's I Okay,
So my grandparents are those depression era kids, all right.
And I grew up a lot of the time hanging
out with my grandparents, perhaps more than I did with
my parents a lot of the time. And so I
picked up on a lot of these habits. And like
(25:58):
I was making chili on Sunday and as I was
like draining the excess fat off of the beef I
was cooking at someone else's house and I was like, hey,
you want do you want to keep this beef fat?
You want to keep it? Right, I'm just gonna set
it over here in a jar for you like that.
It's just and it's automatic. It's just a thing that
I do and right. And I also have, as we've
(26:20):
talked about in listener mail segments before, a really hard
time letting go of jars because I'm like, but this
is useful. I can put other stuff in it forever.
And especially because we don't he can recycle it, you know,
Like what else am I going to do with it?
Like throw it away? That's lame. I also I buy
my coffee in cans sometimes when I'm not buying like
(26:41):
nice coffee, it's just like cans of bistello and I
do have a number of coffee tins just sitting around
with spare screws and still good nails in them. Terrific
use for those things and other stuff like that. Yeah,
it's I don't know.
Speaker 1 (27:01):
That was recently an SNL skit with Pedro Pascal where
he's playing like a Spanish mom. Hey yeah, yeah, and
he had like the cookie tin but it put all
the sewing tools in there.
Speaker 3 (27:18):
Yeah. I mean, my mom is the same.
Speaker 1 (27:20):
And last time I went home, I'm usually the only
one in the house that drinks coffee when I go home.
Sometimes she drinks it, but usually it's just me. And
she showed me this tin and she was like, so
I keep the tin, but this is a different type
of coffee that I put in there. It's like, okay, cool,
So yeah, she does it too, I do it.
Speaker 3 (27:42):
It just feels like you can use that stuff again.
Speaker 1 (27:46):
It does come up in quite a few of our episodes,
fascinatingly and kind of the like as time progresses and
we sort of go backwards and for we got rid
of a lot of stuff because of illness, right, because
of the milk, especially milk Bourne concerns about Mickbourne illness
(28:08):
in the glass, and people felt better to have the
plastic which was single use and they could throw away.
Speaker 3 (28:14):
But it's interesting now we're looking at ways.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
To right, We're going like, oh, this actually might not
be better for anything.
Speaker 1 (28:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (28:25):
Yeah. One of my in a previous lifetime, one of
the companies that I that I worked for is the
maker of Dixie Cups. And one of my jobs for
them in marketing as a as a kind of I
don't know, my marketing mercenary and marketer for higher share
(28:47):
was to go through their archive of these commercials from
the sixties and seventies for all of these old brands,
and a lot of what you would see in these
commercials were like we're like, don't have a dirty cup
that you wash sitting on your bathroom counter, use clean
Dixie cups that you throw away after every use. Like
(29:07):
it was a major it was a major push for
the use of that product.
Speaker 3 (29:13):
Mm hmm.
Speaker 2 (29:14):
And to me that was kind of like kitchy and funny.
I had I had friends who like really railed against it,
like who were just like, no, that's evil, and I
was like, well, yeah.
Speaker 1 (29:29):
And I do think there's something to be said for
there is a reason people do use disposable products. Oh, sure, accessibility, reasons, time, Oh, there.
Speaker 2 (29:39):
Are reasons, many reasons.
Speaker 1 (29:41):
Yeah, yes, but it is also true that we should
be thinking about.
Speaker 3 (29:48):
Maybe some hybrid ways we can yeah, you.
Speaker 2 (29:51):
Know, yeah right, and you know I don't know, yeah
about balancing the convenience of today versus Yeah, how long
is this gonna last in our environment?
Speaker 3 (30:05):
Yep?
Speaker 2 (30:07):
What's leaching into our bodies? What's going on?
Speaker 1 (30:09):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (30:09):
Oh, I have a friend who works on microplastics and
she Oh, we'll tell you about it at a party
and you will be like, oh wow, I feel bad
and I'm going home. I love you if you're listening.
Speaker 1 (30:25):
But also we have had amazing listeners write in who
are working on stuff like this, So yeah, we do
always love hearing from you and the amazing stuff all
of you are doing. And thanks to Judy for writing
in about this. Yes, if you would like to write
to us, you can. Our email is hello at savorpod
dot com.
Speaker 2 (30:43):
We're also on social media. You can find us on Twitter, Facebook,
and Instagram sometimes at saber pod. We do hope to
hear from you. Savor is production of iHeartRadio. For more
podcasts from My Heart Radio, you can visit the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows
by thanks as always to our super producers Dylan Fagan
and Andrew Howard. Thanks to you for listening, and we
(31:04):
hope that lots more good things are coming your way.
Hello, and welcome to Savor production of iHeartRadio. I'm Annie Reese.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
And I'm Lauren Vocobaum and today we have an episode
for you about Chili Crisp.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
Should I love?
Speaker 2 (00:19):
I would have guessed that based on your general affinity
for spicy things. But oh yeah, no, me too. Lovely lovely?
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Yes, Oh gosh. Was there any particular reason this was
on your mind?
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Hmm, that's a great question.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
All right, Perhaps the answer will come to you. Maybe
it's always there in.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
The back, you know, Uh, probably this was. This has
just been on our list since the pandemic and it
went really big and people went like, oh what about that.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Yeah, that is certainly something we're going to talk about.
And funnily enough that you mentioned that. I remember specifically
when I was introduced to Chili Chris.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Oh yeah, I believe I.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
Had had it before, but I remember like the very
specific this is what it is. This is my favorite ingredient.
It's a friend of ours actually, and I loved it.
And it was during the pandemic, but they had like
used it long before, but that was the first time
I remember being.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Like, oh, oh yeah, I want this.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
This is amazing.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
I feel like I probably first encountered it at one
of the Malaysian restaurants around Atlanta. And I think that
this particular place made their own in house and sold
jars of it and had it as a condiment on tables.
And I was just like, yep, yes.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
Yeah, I feel like I had it as a condiment
on tables before, but this was the specific instance where
I was like, waitl have it.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
I can have it my home. Okay.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
So for past episodes, you can see sheeshwan, peppercorns, hot sauces, peppers,
and chili's. Maybe that we've done sure other things.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Other other condiments. Yeah, yeah, probably re listened to ketchup.
You know, every time we talk about condiments. It's probably
in there somewhere.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
That's true. That episode surprisingly covered a lot of ground.
But all right, I guess this brings us to our question.
I guess chili crisp.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
What is it?
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Well, chili crisp is a type of condiment that can
contain many things, but you're basically looking at bits of
like savory, spicy stuff, including yes, dried chili flakes that
are dried and or fried to a crisp and then
steeped in oil, creating a crunchy yet silky condiment that
adds a burst of red orange color and heady spice
(03:04):
to whatever you put it on. Depending on what you're
going for, all kinds of other stuff can find its
way into chili. Crisp pike, an onion or garlic, chopped
small maybe caramelized am rich roasted crushed peanuts or sesame seeds,
some funky fermented soybeans, savory mushroom powder, fishy savory dried
anchovies or shrimp, maybe some fish sauce, warm spices like
(03:27):
cinnamon or star annis or ginger, maybe some salt or
a bit of sugar to balance the spice. The oil
can be a neutral carrier, or it can be flavorful,
like a peanut or sesame oil. The heat can vary
as much or little as you like. A spoonful of
it is just a delicate, little flavor bomb, like really
(03:47):
pleasingly crisp and and or chewy, but also smooth and
with those heavy savory flavors balanced out by that like
fruity spicy note. It's like a it's like bizarro dam
like everything that jam is not mm hmm, but still
a condiment. It's like if the perfect snack chip were
(04:09):
a condiment.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
Mm hmmm.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
It's it's like it's like the excitement and and mild
surprise of opening presents, but you can eat it.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
Yeah, it's lovely. It's just like.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
The crunch of it smooth, and there's like so many
like things that go together really well but are different.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
Yeah, kind of contrasting, but yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
Meld together perfectly well, so pleasing. Yes.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
And then and then whatever you put it on too,
like surprising things that you would not think that it
would go with. It totally goes with mm hmm.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
I put it on all kinds of things. I'm just like,
what if I had what if I try it here?
Speaker 2 (04:54):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Okay, it doesn't always work, but a lot of times
it does.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Yeah, I just realized I've never put it on like
peanut butter toast.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
Hm.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
I feel like I okay, all right, all right, projects
for as soon as we finish recording well. Chili crisp
is a sort of subcategory of condiments under the wider
umbrella of chili oil, in which, more broadly, oils are
flavored with dried chilis and other aromatics. Chili crisp stands
out because it includes the sediment of those aromatics, it
(05:25):
includes like quite a bit of it. It's part of
the point. Yeah, different styles do emphasize different flavors. You
can go pretty basic or incorporate whatever combination of the
above add ins and beyond. You know, different types of
chili peppers will add different fruity or floral flavors and
different levels of heat. Numbing peppercorns are popular, like sub subcategory.
(05:47):
Various cooked down alions from shallot to garlic to onion
will give their own savory sweet punch. You know, there
are riffs that add curry leaves or crushed almonds or
lemon grass for something again different. There are a number
of brands available for purchase, or you can make your
own at home to really individualize it. If you are
(06:08):
doing this, know that one of the keys here is
making sure that all of your ingredients are like dehydrated
as much as possible. For example, from like gentle low
and slow pan frying. Anything with water content is going
to make the mix less crispy, not not really what
you want, and less shelf stable also not really what
you want. But yeah, it's used on its own or
(06:31):
mixed into other condiments or sauces. Generally post cooking, though
it can stand up to the sort of like gentle
heat that you'd use to make to make a pasta
sauce maybe. So it's really good for dressing up noodles
or rice, or toast or other starches. Put it on
roasted meats or veg use it as a dip or
(06:52):
maybe a slather for dumplings or French fries. Spread it
on sandwiches, you know, like a sauce for eggs, a
drizzle on fruit salad, or some kind of creamy dessert
like a chocolate whatever, or ice cream. Drizzle a little
on you popcorn. I cannot stop you.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
I will be doing that. And the French fries thing,
I don't think I've ever had it on French fries.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
I don't think I have either. These are all very
important projects.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
They are When the pandemic first started, I was regularly
making I would fry eggplants and rice and scallions and
then chili crisp. Oh yeah, so I do have an
association with this. But that was delicious. Yeah, I've actually
(07:41):
been craving. I kind of want to go back and
make it all right, Well, what about the nutrition?
Speaker 2 (07:47):
You know it depends on what's in it. It is
in an oil base, so that's always going to be
a little bit chlorically dense, but you're not eating like
that much of it. Maybe it can be heavy on
the sodium, so like, watch out for that, if that's
something that you watch out for. But yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
Yeah, well, people do like it, and we have some
numbers to back it up. Oh we do, yes, So
popular brand, laugan Ma reportedly produces one point three million
bottles a day as of twenty twenty two.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Just for contrast, Heines produces one point eight million bottles
of Ketchup a day, so they're only like half a
million bottles behind Heines.
Speaker 1 (08:34):
Yeah, and in two thousand and nine, this product, laugan Ma,
made about sixty four million dollars ooh yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
As of twenty sixteen, Bloomberg credited this brand with financial
growth in the province where it's from a guezo of
ten point five percent. That's a lot. That's a lot
of growth.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
That is a lot of growth.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
And speaking of in the US, the sales of this
product went up substantially during the pandemic, perhaps increasing as
much as nineteen hundred percent.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
Ooh yeah, and interest has not gone down from there
according to Google Trends, which I know is not a
perfect source, but at any rate, according to Google Trends,
we hit another two all time spikes of interest in
September of twenty twenty three and January of twenty twenty four.
(09:33):
The first big spike was in April of twenty twenty
and that interest is centered in the United States, but
also expands to Canada, Singapore, Norway, Sweden, New Zealand, and
the UK. Y'all write in let us know if this
has been a wild trend whereabouts you are.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
Yes, and if it was already there and you have
thoughts about it.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
Or recipes, oh yeah, uses. But in the meantime, we
do have quite a history for you.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
We do, and we're going to get into that as
soon as we get back from a quick break for
a word from our sponsors, and we're back. Thank you sponsor, Yes,
thank you.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
Okay, So.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
Different episode. We've talked about this in a lot of
episodes though, but briefly. Chili peppers arrived in China at
least two hundred years ago, but possibly as far back
as the sixteenth century, with Dutch and Portuguese explorers. Once
they arrived via globalization and trade, a slowly spread across
the country, but they really took off in the Southwest
(10:47):
because of the climate. But it did take a few
decades before they start to really become incorporated into the cuisine,
particularly as a seasoning our condiment, since chili peppers cheaper
to use them than salts and local Shechhwuan peppercorns. At
the time, whoever, these condiments weren't what we would think
of today when we think of chili crisp, or at
(11:09):
least for most of us, it wouldn't be the same,
though it's very likely some of them were pretty similar.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
Yeah yeah, different cuisines all over the region, flavored oil
with chilis in different amounts and with different additions based
on local availability and preferred flavor profiles you know, hotter
or saltier or spiced or savory or numbing or funky
or whatever combination of the above.
Speaker 3 (11:35):
Rites.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
But let us jump way ahead to what many of
us do think of when we think of chili crisp,
and that would be the popular brand La Gunma, which
launched in Guaizo, China in nineteen eighty four. Because a
lot of that history has been lost ors perhaps a
little bit more complicated to go into for this episode.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
But yes, this is a province located in the mountains
of southwest China in between Sichuan and Hanan.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
And this product was the creation of Tao Huabie, who
sold it at her noodle shop that she opened as
a widow as a way to support her family. And
this condiment was so popular she bottled it and started
selling it in nineteen ninety seven, and she closed her
noodle shop to focus solely on the sauce at that time,
and this is when she opened Lao Ganma Special Flavor
(12:30):
of Foodstuest Company, and it employed forty people in the beginning.
She was the eighth daughter born into a poor family
in Guaizo in nineteen forty seven, and she never attended
school and she didn't learn to read or write as
a child. According to a biography of her, she survived
a famine by eating plant roots, and after the death
(12:52):
of her husband, she opened a noodle shop and she
made the sauce to go alongside it, and eventually this
shop grew went to something bigger called the economical restaurant.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
In the nineteen.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
Nineties, around this time, a new highway brought more customers
the shop's way, and she would gift truckers with free
bottles of this sauce and they loved it so much,
and the word was spread from there, and she saw
the potential. She set up this factory in the area
in nineteen ninety six. And yes, you started selling the
jars in nineteen ninety seven. If you've never seen this jar,
(13:25):
which I'd wager that you have, it features a depiction
of an older woman kind of scowling. Yeah, that is Tauhuabi.
The name of the product roughly translates to old godmother.
And in twenty seventeen, she was named the hottest woman
in China at the age of seventy. I tried to
(13:45):
get to the bottom of like who Nameless. It seems
to have been the result of a social media trend,
and the social media platform was like the hottest woman
in China. Yeah, yes, she did retire a billionaire.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
Yeah. Apparently she drives like a limited edition rolls with
these red rear view mirrors and a license plate with
a lot of eights in it because eight is a
lucky number. And yeah, yes, love that for her.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
Yeah yeah, And the condiment did sell well pretty quickly
first in China, but as word spread it started to
sell internationally too. But at first they had a lot
of trouble with counterfeiters, which resulted in a lengthy lawsuit
about the trademark that was settled relatively recently, like I
(14:41):
think in the early two thousands, but it was a
whole thing. Yeah, I guess that to me, that feels recent,
but that says something about what I guess.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
That wasn't that long after she launched the project.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
So a lot has been written about how this brand
had such a meteoric rise, and there are all kinds
of factors speculated that may have contributed to its success.
From marketing, yes, the quote I saw kitchi to describe
the label. A lot of times the Kichi label drew
(15:16):
people in. It was viewed as sort of again quote
simple product in a way people really liked, almost representative
of the region it was from and embracing that it
had this history behind it. People liked that. And of
course globalization immigration increasing interest in spicy foods and foods
(15:37):
from other places and in that particular region, in cuisine
for people outside of China anyway, for a long time.
As Chinese immigrants arrived in the US, the mainstream palette
for Chinese food amongst non Chinese folks was a less
spicy one, and that started to shift in nineteen sixty
five when restrictions on Chinese immigration to the US were
(15:58):
lifted to that many of the Chinese immigrants in the
US were from regions of China where food was less spicy. Perhaps,
but after that restriction was lifted, a much wider range
of Chinese cuisine and spice from that cuisine made it
into the US, and chili crisp was.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
Part of that.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
So yes, chili crisp experienced a huge, huge boom in
the US in the late twenty tens early twenty twenties.
It was often referred to in the American press or
in quotes from folks that it was the new surachas
so like. Even people on social media were calling it that,
And some people do think that the timing of this
(16:40):
suggests that many of us in the US who were
stuck at home and looking for shelf stable ways to
spice up dishes, a lot of us turned to chili
crisp when that was happening during the pandemic yeah, yeah,
during the pandemic exactly. But also other things powered the
surgeon interest, including growing US interest in Tehuan cuisine and
(17:00):
increased exposure through media to things some perhaps didn't know
about before celebrities and chefs got in on this game.
Viral uses and combos from China about things like ice
cream and chili crisp were replicated in the US.
Speaker 3 (17:17):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (17:17):
Social media just in general helped too, because we're seeing
people like.
Speaker 2 (17:21):
Oh yeah, it's good, and a lot of the popular
iterations were didn't didn't incorporate sich one peppercorns, so right.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
And on top of that, as we have discussed previously,
there is a growing culture taste and affinity for spicy
foods in the US. Shortages of saracha could have actually
played into it too. Oh wow, yeah could back around,
I know. Right on top of this, some articles chronicled
(17:54):
laal gan Mas story, specifically speculating that it's popularity in
China when it officially went commercial in nineteen ninety seven
points to some rediscovering food routs or heritage in China.
And this was kind of a big conversation that happens,
and not just with that brand. In an NBC News
article Jing Gao, the creator of the brand fly by Jing,
(18:15):
said that she faces criticism online for marked up prices.
Speaker 3 (18:18):
And here's a quote from that article.
Speaker 1 (18:21):
The reason people think expensive Chinese food is whitewash is
because only white people are commanding those prices, said Gao,
who said her chili Crisp contains eighteen premium ingredients sourced
exclusively in southwestern China. It's also saying that Chinese people
don't deserve the same value for their craft and their heritage.
This was an interesting article because it was talking about
(18:43):
like again going back to that idea of like it's
from this region and that's part of its popularity in
China as well, that it is from here, and then
having all of these other brands not from China, which
is not to say people can't experiment with it, but
getting into the game and perhaps selling something very expensive.
Speaker 3 (19:07):
Yeah, larger conversation.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
Yeah, it's always a conversation about you know, what is
appreciation and what is appropriation and how to kind of
balance that. You know, like wanting wanting to enjoy and
share something that you have found delicious is great, but right,
you know, like like who's making the money where's the
money going? Like how you know, like, are are the
(19:33):
farmers who are responsible for creating these amazing chili peppers
in the region where they're from getting any of that
money stuff like that. It's a complicated conversation, but yeah,
Gal was interviewed pretty because so fly by Jing originated
(19:53):
as a kickstarter in twenty eighteen and really bloomed from there.
And just by the way, they're not a sponsor, but
they are having like an anniversary sale on their website
right now. Go check it out. But yeah, gat Gao
was interviewed pretty extensively for a lot of these articles
from the early pandemic, and her perspective is super interesting
(20:17):
to hear because right, like like as a person who
has heritage from there, and you know, part of her
starting at this brand is her exploring this heritage and
right and trying to do it well and to fight
against the stereotype that we do sometimes still have here
in the United States that you know, like like Chinese
(20:40):
food is this like cheap thing that isn't expected to
be very good, it shouldn't cost much money, which is
a just a flattening of an insane number of individual
cuisines and experiences and b right is talking about this,
this this very narrow type of Americanized Chinese food.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
So yes, yes that I've said it before, I'll say
it again. But when I was in China, that was
one of the biggest eye openers for me.
Speaker 3 (21:12):
Was like I could go.
Speaker 1 (21:14):
Blocks over and be like, wow, this is a whole
different work. This is a huge country. So yeah, it's
just so much. It's good not to generalize and look
into the nuances of it, yes, not put it in
one lane.
Speaker 2 (21:28):
Always always so much and how delicious too.
Speaker 3 (21:32):
Yeah, to get to explore. Yeah, yes, there's so much
to explore and it's great. Well I believe.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
That's what we have to say about Chili Christopher now
it is.
Speaker 2 (21:44):
We do have some listener mail for you, though, and
we are going to get into that as soon as
we get back from one more quick break forward from
our sponsors.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
We're back, Thank you sponsor, Yes, thank you, and we're
back with listen.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
Mm chili Chris, oh dear, okay, oh good luck?
Speaker 3 (22:21):
Thanks all right.
Speaker 1 (22:26):
Uh so we have a bit of a longer message
to dig again. Never feel bad about sending those, but
we thought we would split this one up and this
one was in regards to comments we made about glass
recycling in Atlanta, which doesn't really happen.
Speaker 2 (22:43):
Nope, Nope, it doesn't.
Speaker 3 (22:45):
No, it doesn't.
Speaker 1 (22:47):
So in response to that, Judy wrote, I was horrified
to hear Lawrence comment that her area does not do
glass recycling, and Annie, I believe you agreed. This sent
me down a nostalgic rabbit hole. I am a child
of the fifties. This means my parents grew up during
the Great Depression and were young adults during World War Two.
(23:07):
Those people didn't waste anything. The modern term reduced for
use recycle could have been written by them, and I
don't think a lot of younger people realize this. Plastics
were new and were not everywhere like they are now.
There were no plastic bags. For example, our garbage bags
were doubled up paper grocery bags. The kitchen bag usually
had a folded newspaper in the bottom in case any
(23:28):
sloppy garbage made it in there. We didn't have garbage disposals,
so messy food scraps might get wrapped up in some
more newspaper are possibly shut up in a jar. Fat
drippings lived in a can in the fridge. If they
were bacon drippings, you might cook with them. I don't
know what they might have done with the rest of
the cans. I know they were collected during the war
(23:50):
to reuse for the war effort, but this was before
my time. I remember my parents keeping a coffee can
real cans in those days in the cabinet with bills
that needed to be paid. Coffee cans were good for
lots of workshop uses too. Dad had them full of
random screws and still good nails, and I do remember
using old cans to clean paint brushes from my childhood
(24:11):
watercolor masterpieces.
Speaker 2 (24:13):
Huh Gudy continues. Most things came in cardboard or paper.
Bakery boxes didn't have plastic windows. I know wonderbread was available,
but we always bought our bread at the bakery and
took it home in a waxed paper bag. Fresh fruits
and vegetables just went in a paper bag until you
got them home. Frozen vegetables came in boxes. Soda ice
cream back to glass a milk and soda pop came
(24:35):
in glass bottles. You paint a deposit on the bottles,
so you returned them to the store to get your
deposit back. The bottles were then returned to the dairy
or bottling company to be washed and refilled. The only
thing you threw out was the bottle cap. We lived
across the street from a playground that attracted teenagers. After dark,
they would drink pop and leave the bottles behind, stashed
in various out of the way corners. My two good
(24:55):
friends and I would go over during the day and
liberate said bottles from their hiding places. After a few days,
we would have enough to return the bottles to the
store for the deposit and use that to buy ice cream.
Jars were saved to put leftovers in the fridge, to
toss those messy bits of garbage, or to be filled
with things like buttons, paper clips, or any other little
things you might want to save. Oh well, old ladies
(25:16):
get nostalgic. However, I admit to a certain amount of
frustration over the overuse of plastic and the difficulty of
using products that will be biodegradable or easily reused. Maybe
we can learn something from those Depression era kids. I
think we could get manufacturers to go along. Oh question,
(25:36):
it is the question, isn't it. Yeah, yeah, it's I Okay,
So my grandparents are those depression era kids, all right.
And I grew up a lot of the time hanging
out with my grandparents, perhaps more than I did with
my parents a lot of the time. And so I
picked up on a lot of these habits. And like
(25:58):
I was making chili on Sunday and as I was
like draining the excess fat off of the beef I
was cooking at someone else's house and I was like, hey,
you want do you want to keep this beef fat?
You want to keep it? Right, I'm just gonna set
it over here in a jar for you like that.
It's just and it's automatic. It's just a thing that
I do and right. And I also have, as we've
(26:20):
talked about in listener mail segments before, a really hard
time letting go of jars because I'm like, but this
is useful. I can put other stuff in it forever.
And especially because we don't he can recycle it, you know,
Like what else am I going to do with it?
Like throw it away? That's lame. I also I buy
my coffee in cans sometimes when I'm not buying like
(26:41):
nice coffee, it's just like cans of bistello and I
do have a number of coffee tins just sitting around
with spare screws and still good nails in them. Terrific
use for those things and other stuff like that. Yeah,
it's I don't know.
Speaker 1 (27:01):
That was recently an SNL skit with Pedro Pascal where
he's playing like a Spanish mom. Hey yeah, yeah, and
he had like the cookie tin but it put all
the sewing tools in there.
Speaker 3 (27:18):
Yeah. I mean, my mom is the same.
Speaker 1 (27:20):
And last time I went home, I'm usually the only
one in the house that drinks coffee when I go home.
Sometimes she drinks it, but usually it's just me. And
she showed me this tin and she was like, so
I keep the tin, but this is a different type
of coffee that I put in there. It's like, okay, cool,
So yeah, she does it too, I do it.
Speaker 3 (27:42):
It just feels like you can use that stuff again.
Speaker 1 (27:46):
It does come up in quite a few of our episodes,
fascinatingly and kind of the like as time progresses and
we sort of go backwards and for we got rid
of a lot of stuff because of illness, right, because
of the milk, especially milk Bourne concerns about Mickbourne illness
(28:08):
in the glass, and people felt better to have the
plastic which was single use and they could throw away.
Speaker 3 (28:14):
But it's interesting now we're looking at ways.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
To right, We're going like, oh, this actually might not
be better for anything.
Speaker 1 (28:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (28:25):
Yeah. One of my in a previous lifetime, one of
the companies that I that I worked for is the
maker of Dixie Cups. And one of my jobs for
them in marketing as a as a kind of I
don't know, my marketing mercenary and marketer for higher share
(28:47):
was to go through their archive of these commercials from
the sixties and seventies for all of these old brands,
and a lot of what you would see in these
commercials were like we're like, don't have a dirty cup
that you wash sitting on your bathroom counter, use clean
Dixie cups that you throw away after every use. Like
(29:07):
it was a major it was a major push for
the use of that product.
Speaker 3 (29:13):
Mm hmm.
Speaker 2 (29:14):
And to me that was kind of like kitchy and funny.
I had I had friends who like really railed against it,
like who were just like, no, that's evil, and I
was like, well, yeah.
Speaker 1 (29:29):
And I do think there's something to be said for
there is a reason people do use disposable products. Oh, sure, accessibility, reasons, time, Oh, there.
Speaker 2 (29:39):
Are reasons, many reasons.
Speaker 1 (29:41):
Yeah, yes, but it is also true that we should
be thinking about.
Speaker 3 (29:48):
Maybe some hybrid ways we can yeah, you.
Speaker 2 (29:51):
Know, yeah right, and you know I don't know, yeah
about balancing the convenience of today versus Yeah, how long
is this gonna last in our environment?
Speaker 3 (30:05):
Yep?
Speaker 2 (30:07):
What's leaching into our bodies? What's going on?
Speaker 1 (30:09):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (30:09):
Oh, I have a friend who works on microplastics and
she Oh, we'll tell you about it at a party
and you will be like, oh wow, I feel bad
and I'm going home. I love you if you're listening.
Speaker 1 (30:25):
But also we have had amazing listeners write in who
are working on stuff like this, So yeah, we do
always love hearing from you and the amazing stuff all
of you are doing. And thanks to Judy for writing
in about this. Yes, if you would like to write
to us, you can. Our email is hello at savorpod
dot com.
Speaker 2 (30:43):
We're also on social media. You can find us on Twitter, Facebook,
and Instagram sometimes at saber pod. We do hope to
hear from you. Savor is production of iHeartRadio. For more
podcasts from My Heart Radio, you can visit the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows
by thanks as always to our super producers Dylan Fagan
and Andrew Howard. Thanks to you for listening, and we
(31:04):
hope that lots more good things are coming your way.
Savor News
Hosts And Creators
Dylan Fagan
Anney Reese
Lauren Vogelbaum
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