Folklore, Food and Fairytales

About Folklore, Food and Fairytales

A storytelling podcast featuring stories with recipes and food history connected to each episode's story. Is the food in fairytales and folklore really symbolic or does it just make the tale relatable? Food and stories have their own rituals and feed different parts of us. If you had to choose between the two, could you? How is the history of food tied into stories? Will this podcast answer these questions or will there just be a great story and a highly tenuous link to a delicious recipe? You'll have to listen to find out.

Publisher

Rachel Mosses

Category

arts

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

1 Sept 2020

Latest episode

7 Feb 2026

Latest episodes

2 of 92 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   7 Feb 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Love Magic, Divination & Folklore with Icy Sedgwick

   Guest: Icy Sedgwick — folklorist, author, and host of The Fabulous Folklore Podcast Topic: Love magic, divination, and the rituals people used to find (or keep) love. Book: ⁠Bring Me Love: Finding and Keeping Love Using Divination and Folk Magic⁠ (https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/bring-me-love-finding-and-keeping-love-using-divination-and-folk-magic-icy-sedgwick/7949611) by Icy Sedgwick In this episode, we welcome back folklorist, author, and host of The Fabulous Folklore Podcast, Icy Sedgwick, to talk about her newest book: Bring Me Love: Finding and Keeping Love Using Folk Magic. If you’ve listened before, you’ll know Icy’s brilliant blend of deep research, humour, and a lifelong fascination with the supernatural. If you’re new — you’re in for a treat. We dive into the wonderfully strange, practical, and often charming world of love magic and divination. * The historical roots of love magic and why it mattered so deeply, especially for women with limited choices. * How everyday objects — herbs, cakes, pins, candles — became tools for predicting or attracting love. * Why many rituals focused on discovering a future spouse’s occupation rather than their personality. * The difference between folk magic, cunning folk, and more ceremonial occult traditions. * How love divination travelled and transformed across regions, especially from Europe to North America. * The ethical and practical challenges of deciding what to include in a book on love magic. We also explore the delightfully odd rituals people genuinely tried — from walking upstairs backwards in silence to baking “silent cakes,” and even interpreting the shapes of egg whites floating in warm water. You can find more about me and Folklore, Food and Fairytales via my ⁠⁠Linktree⁠⁠ (https://linktr.ee/FairytalesFood) You can find the interviews in my newest interview series here: ⁠⁠How Food Frames Stories⁠⁠ (https://hestiaskitchen.co.uk/2022/09/06/how-food-frames-stories/). You can find my interviews with storytellers here: ⁠⁠Vernacular Voices of the Storyteller ⁠⁠ (https://hestiaskitchen.co.uk/2021/08/31/vernacularvoicesstoryteller/) You can also ⁠⁠subscribe⁠⁠ (https://folklorefoodfairytales.substack.com/) here (or just read) my free newsletter for further snippets of folklore, history, stories, vintage recipes, herblore & the occasional cocktail. You can also find out more at ⁠⁠Hestia's Kitchen⁠⁠ (https://hestiaskitchen.co.uk/folklorefoodfairytales/) which has all past episodes and the connected recipes on the blog.

2. 

   13 Feb 2024TRANSCRIPT

   An Ending and a Beginning

   So, some big news about changes to the podcast plus a wonderful story: Davey & The King of the Fishes. You can find out and get updates about my new podcast at my new website: A Question of Death (https://aquestionofdeath.co.uk) You can find more about me and Folklore, Food and Fairytales via my ⁠⁠Linktree⁠⁠ (https://linktr.ee/FairytalesFood) which will continue as purely as storytelling podcast with a monthly folktale or two featuring food. You can find the interviews in my newest interview series here: ⁠⁠How Food Frames Stories⁠⁠ (https://hestiaskitchen.co.uk/2022/09/06/how-food-frames-stories/). You can find my interviews with storytellers here: ⁠⁠Vernacular Voices of the Storyteller ⁠⁠ (https://hestiaskitchen.co.uk/2021/08/31/vernacularvoicesstoryteller/) You can also ⁠⁠subscribe⁠⁠ (https://folklorefoodfairytales.substack.com/) here (or just read) my free newsletter for further snippets of folklore, history, stories, vintage recipes, herblore & the occasional cocktail. You can also find out more at ⁠⁠Hestia's Kitchen⁠⁠ (https://hestiaskitchen.co.uk/folklorefoodfairytales/) which has all past episodes and the connected recipes on the blog.

3. 

   16 Dec 2023

   Tales of Frost and Snow

   A collection of wintery and festive tales for the season: Why the Sea is Salt, The Christmas Bear and Twelve Brothers. The first is 'Why the Sea is Salt' a Norwegian tale adapted from Christmas Fairytales colled by Neil Phillip. The story begins on a bitterly cold Christmas Eve when a poor and hungry man finds himself unable to provide for his family and turns to his rich brother. The brother unwittingly starts him on the road toto a better life, but first he must pay a trip to hell with a side of bacon ......... The second is The Christmas Bear inspired by and adapted from the tale shared by both Lari Don in Fire & Ice and by Margaret Sperry in Scandinavian Stories. The story begins in the coldest part of Norway with a hunter and the capture of a strangely stubborn but wise snow bear. They stop on their journey to find out why a family is forced from their home every Christmas Eve ........ The third is Twelve Brothers, adapted from Folktales of Scandinavia collected by Polly Curren. The story begins when a Queen of the of the cold northern lands who has been blessed with many sons, spills red blood on the white snow and dreams of a daughter. This sets in train a set of entirely unforeseen circumstances ..... You can find more about me and Folklore, Food and Fairytales via my ⁠⁠Linktree⁠⁠ (https://linktr.ee/FairytalesFood) You can find the interviews in my newest interview series here: ⁠⁠How Food Frames Stories⁠⁠ (https://hestiaskitchen.co.uk/2022/09/06/how-food-frames-stories/). You can find my interviews with storytellers here: ⁠⁠Vernacular Voices of the Storyteller ⁠⁠ (https://hestiaskitchen.co.uk/2021/08/31/vernacularvoicesstoryteller/) You can also ⁠⁠subscribe⁠⁠ (https://folklorefoodfairytales.substack.com/) here (or just read) my free newsletter for further snippets of folklore, history, stories, vintage recipes, herblore & the occasional cocktail. You can also find out more at ⁠⁠Hestia's Kitchen⁠⁠ (https://hestiaskitchen.co.uk/folklorefoodfairytales/) which has all past episodes and the connected recipes on the blog.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

7 ratings

Spotify

4.5 / 5

11 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 6 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

1

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

27

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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