How The Cold War Jumpstarted The Modern Asian Bakery

+ more Taipei tips

When I was researching my cookbook Made in Taiwan, one of the most interesting facts I learned and swore I was one day going to expand upon is how the Taiwanese love for wheat is a direct result of an American Cold War food aid program called Food for Peace.

It was “a far better weapon than a bomber in our competition with the Communists for influence in the developing world,” George McGovern, who served as a director of the program, had said. As part of this initiative, Taiwan—a natural enemy of Communist China—along with other countries around the world, received large shipments of wheat, relieving the United States of its food surpluses in exchange for diplomatic leverage and influence.

I finally got an opportunity to expand on this finding in podcast form. For Proof @ America’s Test Kitchen, I put together a half an hour episode in where I investigated the correlation between the rise of the modern Asian bakery and Food For Peace.

A preview:

From the early 1950s up until the late 1960s, Taiwan was one of the top ten recipients of the food aid program. In 1952, Taiwan had imported over 19,000 tons of American wheat. Two years later, that figure increased to 183,000 tons. That’s an 850% increase.

Other pieces of mine that recently published:

Serious Eats - Where and What to Eat in Taipei—Including the Best Night Markets
A caveat: the recommendations on this list are tried and true reliable spots, not the hip and new. Please don’t come to me for the hip and new. I do not have my finger on that pulse anymore, nor do I find much joy in chasing new trends.

The Guardian - I wrote a little thing about Taiwanese hospital food.