KC Hysmith, PhD
@kchysmith.bsky.social
🍓 freelance food writer + scholar
🍰 mod + historical recipe dev
🍽 TT: foodherstory
🔪 substack: http://penknife.substack.com
🍰 mod + historical recipe dev
🍽 TT: foodherstory
🔪 substack: http://penknife.substack.com
A fresh newsletter for your Friday morning!
21st Century Kitchen Witches
Recipes, food spells, and digital witchcraft
penknife.substack.com
October 24, 2025 at 1:56 PM
A fresh newsletter for your Friday morning!
Because it's my birthday and Virgos love long-form cake history! penknife.substack.com/p/baking-by-...
Baking by the Zodiac
Because it's my birthday and Virgos love long-form cake history
penknife.substack.com
September 12, 2025 at 9:03 PM
Because it's my birthday and Virgos love long-form cake history! penknife.substack.com/p/baking-by-...
The concept of “unskilled labor” is a classist myth and cake shaming is such a strange use of energy. Wrote about the latest online cake drama in my latest newsletter:
"Cake shaming is weird"
A cake scholar's thoughts on The Cut's "Ugly Cakes" article
penknife.substack.com
July 23, 2025 at 5:10 PM
The concept of “unskilled labor” is a classist myth and cake shaming is such a strange use of energy. Wrote about the latest online cake drama in my latest newsletter:
Hello! Very excited to have my first byline in the
@washingtonpost.com about an indigenous consumable plant near and dear to my Texas/Southern heart. wapo.st/4nTb1Cq
@washingtonpost.com about an indigenous consumable plant near and dear to my Texas/Southern heart. wapo.st/4nTb1Cq
Tariffs give the U.S.’s only native caffeinated plant a shot at stardom
Yaupon, a holly plant long used by indigenous groups, gets new attention thanks to tariffs on tea and coffee.
wapo.st
July 17, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Hello! Very excited to have my first byline in the
@washingtonpost.com about an indigenous consumable plant near and dear to my Texas/Southern heart. wapo.st/4nTb1Cq
@washingtonpost.com about an indigenous consumable plant near and dear to my Texas/Southern heart. wapo.st/4nTb1Cq
Chatting with @thesweetfeminist.bsky.social about feelings, cookbook bans, and what she’d bake her worst enemy (can you guess who it is?) in the latest issue of CHOPPING BLOCK!
CHOPPING BLOCK: Baking By Feel by The Sweet Feminist
A Could-Be-Banned Cookbook Q&A with Becca Rea-Tucker
open.substack.com
May 30, 2025 at 12:57 PM
Chatting with @thesweetfeminist.bsky.social about feelings, cookbook bans, and what she’d bake her worst enemy (can you guess who it is?) in the latest issue of CHOPPING BLOCK!
Reposted by KC Hysmith, PhD
Moderated my first in-person book talk! It was a pleasure to discuss An American Girl Anthology: Finding Ourselves in the Pleasant Company Universe with co-editors @justineodashs.bsky.social and @kchysmith.bsky.social at @portersqbooks.bsky.social in Cambridge on Friday.
May 26, 2025 at 1:21 PM
Moderated my first in-person book talk! It was a pleasure to discuss An American Girl Anthology: Finding Ourselves in the Pleasant Company Universe with co-editors @justineodashs.bsky.social and @kchysmith.bsky.social at @portersqbooks.bsky.social in Cambridge on Friday.
Happy pub day, An American Girl Anthology! Sharing a bit about the book process and my feelings about writing my first not-food book (and the food history that helped shape it) in my latest newsletter with fellow food scholar/co-author @emartin.bsky.social!
Meet An American Girl Anthology
My first not-food book and the food history that helped shape it
penknife.substack.com
May 15, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Happy pub day, An American Girl Anthology! Sharing a bit about the book process and my feelings about writing my first not-food book (and the food history that helped shape it) in my latest newsletter with fellow food scholar/co-author @emartin.bsky.social!
Loved having @maryburke.bsky.social's smart thoughts and wit in this amazing anthology!
Dolls are having a moment in time for this great new @upmississippi.bsky.social collection (eds @kchysmith.bsky.social & J. Orlovsky-Schnitzler). I enjoyed getting #FScottFitzgerald, #RalphWaldoEmerson, Peter Kolchin & Hilary Beckles into my chapter on the AGD Irish character books!
May 7, 2025 at 7:07 PM
Loved having @maryburke.bsky.social's smart thoughts and wit in this amazing anthology!
The 🇫 key on my keyboard keeps getting stuck which is very rustrating because I write about ood and also now I can’t type out the word “ uck” as oten as I’d like. This ucking sucks.
May 5, 2025 at 3:28 PM
The 🇫 key on my keyboard keeps getting stuck which is very rustrating because I write about ood and also now I can’t type out the word “ uck” as oten as I’d like. This ucking sucks.
A fun fact about me is that my full name is Katherine and any time I’m in the writing groove and type out a word with a “th” in the middle I inevitably type the rest of the letters as my name. Gatherine. Togetherine. Southerine.
May 1, 2025 at 11:34 PM
A fun fact about me is that my full name is Katherine and any time I’m in the writing groove and type out a word with a “th” in the middle I inevitably type the rest of the letters as my name. Gatherine. Togetherine. Southerine.
Happy May Day! Here's to workers' rights and cake!
A (Very Abridged) History of May Day Cake
Fertility rites, labor strikes, and buttercream all in one bite
penknife.substack.com
May 1, 2025 at 12:23 PM
Happy May Day! Here's to workers' rights and cake!
Bring your dolls!
hey, NYC! ⭐️
@kchysmith.bsky.social and I are coming to MOFAD on May 22nd!
www.mofad.org/calendar/ag-...
@kchysmith.bsky.social and I are coming to MOFAD on May 22nd!
www.mofad.org/calendar/ag-...
“Eating breakfast like it’s 1774”: Culture and Identity-Making in the American Girl Universe — Museum of Food and Drink (MOFAD)
On Thursday, May 22, join MOFAD, Samantha, Molly, Kirsten, Addy, Josefina, Kaya, and co-editors KC Hysmith and Justine Orlovsky-Schnitzler in conversation with material culture enthusiast and cookie m...
www.mofad.org
April 29, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Bring your dolls!
Reposted by KC Hysmith, PhD
hey, NYC! ⭐️
@kchysmith.bsky.social and I are coming to MOFAD on May 22nd!
www.mofad.org/calendar/ag-...
@kchysmith.bsky.social and I are coming to MOFAD on May 22nd!
www.mofad.org/calendar/ag-...
“Eating breakfast like it’s 1774”: Culture and Identity-Making in the American Girl Universe — Museum of Food and Drink (MOFAD)
On Thursday, May 22, join MOFAD, Samantha, Molly, Kirsten, Addy, Josefina, Kaya, and co-editors KC Hysmith and Justine Orlovsky-Schnitzler in conversation with material culture enthusiast and cookie m...
www.mofad.org
April 29, 2025 at 9:07 PM
hey, NYC! ⭐️
@kchysmith.bsky.social and I are coming to MOFAD on May 22nd!
www.mofad.org/calendar/ag-...
@kchysmith.bsky.social and I are coming to MOFAD on May 22nd!
www.mofad.org/calendar/ag-...
New newsletter just in time for holiday baking this weekend!
Cut-Up Bunny Cake
The faithful bond between Easter baking and shredded coconut
penknife.substack.com
April 16, 2025 at 4:51 PM
New newsletter just in time for holiday baking this weekend!
Bring your dolls!
@kchysmith.bsky.social and I are going on tour!!! come say hi! links to follow 🌸
April 15, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Bring your dolls!
This and reading A Modest Proposal in high school English.
"Get the boys a bag of spuds"
The Irish food-filled masterpiece that radicalized me
penknife.substack.com
March 16, 2025 at 2:03 PM
This and reading A Modest Proposal in high school English.
Reposted by KC Hysmith, PhD
So excited to present at this conference next week with @kchysmith.bsky.social —big ups to the Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies (GSWS) program at Pitt ❤️🔥
March 13, 2025 at 8:07 PM
So excited to present at this conference next week with @kchysmith.bsky.social —big ups to the Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies (GSWS) program at Pitt ❤️🔥
Reposted by KC Hysmith, PhD
congratulations @justineodashs.bsky.social @kchysmith.bsky.social et al 🥳🎉
February 28, 2025 at 2:11 AM
congratulations @justineodashs.bsky.social @kchysmith.bsky.social et al 🥳🎉
Hot takes here! Fresh off the griddle!
penknife.substack.com/p/pancake-po...
penknife.substack.com/p/pancake-po...
Pancake Politics
The sociocultureconomics of American syrups
penknife.substack.com
February 27, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Hot takes here! Fresh off the griddle!
penknife.substack.com/p/pancake-po...
penknife.substack.com/p/pancake-po...
I wrote this historical perspective on the importance of the FDA on day 10 of the HHS public comms freeze (which was supposed to end on 2/1). Today is day 15.
substack.com/home/post/p-...
substack.com/home/post/p-...
Our FDA: she's imperfect, but she tries
a food history refresher on the importance of food regulation
substack.com
February 5, 2025 at 5:06 PM
I wrote this historical perspective on the importance of the FDA on day 10 of the HHS public comms freeze (which was supposed to end on 2/1). Today is day 15.
substack.com/home/post/p-...
substack.com/home/post/p-...
Shared some food history perspective (it's never just about food) with a group of folks from Wayne Co. NC at an event called Finding Common Ground. We used cornbread to talk about our differences and our similarities and next meeting they're going to make a community cookbook together!
February 4, 2025 at 2:20 PM
Shared some food history perspective (it's never just about food) with a group of folks from Wayne Co. NC at an event called Finding Common Ground. We used cornbread to talk about our differences and our similarities and next meeting they're going to make a community cookbook together!
Spoiling your Friday with some food history perspective on the current FDA public communication freeze. penknife.substack.com/p/our-fda-sh...
Our FDA: she's imperfect, but she tries
a food history refresher on the importance of food regulation
penknife.substack.com
February 1, 2025 at 1:27 AM
Spoiling your Friday with some food history perspective on the current FDA public communication freeze. penknife.substack.com/p/our-fda-sh...
With the big changes on social media and in our society last week, my little newsletter received a number of new subscribers. I put together a new welcome post to introduce folks to my work and to remind longtime readers that Penknife is never just about food, because food is never just food.
Welcome to Penknife
Where the mighty hungry are at home
penknife.substack.com
January 28, 2025 at 1:14 AM
With the big changes on social media and in our society last week, my little newsletter received a number of new subscribers. I put together a new welcome post to introduce folks to my work and to remind longtime readers that Penknife is never just about food, because food is never just food.
Congrats, Chef Ricky! So grateful I got to help share your story in THE SALTBOX SEAFOOD JOINT COOKBOOK!
CONGRATS Chef Ricky Moore and Saltbox Seafood Joint, Durham, NC, seminfinalist for the 2025 James Beard Foundation Outstanding Chef Award!
Can't make it to Durham? THE SALTBOX SEAFOOD JOINT COOKBOOK by Ricky Moore with @kchysmith.bsky.social is available wherever cookbooks are sold.
Can't make it to Durham? THE SALTBOX SEAFOOD JOINT COOKBOOK by Ricky Moore with @kchysmith.bsky.social is available wherever cookbooks are sold.
The 2025 James Beard Award Semifinalists
Introducing the 2025 Restaurant and Chef Award semifinalists!
www.jamesbeard.org
January 24, 2025 at 6:24 PM
Congrats, Chef Ricky! So grateful I got to help share your story in THE SALTBOX SEAFOOD JOINT COOKBOOK!
Out: Seed Oils. In: Snake Oil.
Food Scholars Predict 2025 Food Trends
Out: Seed Oils. In: Snake Oil.
penknife.substack.com
January 21, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Out: Seed Oils. In: Snake Oil.