Food, Funerals & Mourning in the American South - An Interview with Ashley-Anne Masters

Food, Funerals & Mourning in the American South - An Interview with Ashley-Anne Masters

Author: Rachel Mosses September 12, 2023 Duration: 47:24

My current research is around the areas of food and death and the rituals around both. We talk so much about food being a huge part of life but it is also a large part of death and the rituals we have developed to help us cope with loss. The American South is well known for its traditions and rituals around food and funerals and funerary practices so I interviewed Ashley-Anne Masters, a Presbyterian Pastor from North Carolina and we discussed how food can bring us together in grief just as it does during times of great joy.

I found this an incredibly comforting and uplifting discussion even though we were discussing nominally sad topics. However, we do talk openly about death, grief and the loss of a family member so if you are not in the right space for that right now, you may want to wait before listening.

We also discussed how food and humour and ritual can really be of help during difficult times. Ashley-Anne is a wonderfully warm, incredibly kind, human being and I cannot thank her enough for taking the time to share her thoughts, experiences and memories with me.

If you want to know more about Ashley-Anne, you can find her on Instagram or her blog.

You can find more about me and Folklore, Food and Fairytales via my Linktree

You can find the interviews in my newest interview series here: How Food Frames Stories. You can find my interviews with storytellers here: Vernacular Voices of the Storyteller 

You can also subscribe 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 which has all past episodes and the connected recipes on the blog.  


Rachel Mosses hosts Folklore, Food and Fairytales, a podcast that sits at the comfortable, worn-in table where narrative and nourishment meet. Each episode begins with a story-a piece of folklore, a fairytale, or a lesser-known myth-and then delves into the culinary world hidden within its lines. The discussion isn't just about whether the porridge in a tale is symbolic or simply a relatable detail; it's about unearthing the real food history and traditions that those fictional meals echo. You'll hear about the rituals of both eating and storytelling, and how each feeds a different kind of hunger. This podcast naturally explores how recipes are themselves stories passed down, and how the history of a dish can be as compelling as the plot of a legend. Listen for a thoughtful blend of narration and analysis, where a great story is always served with a side of fascinating context, leaving you to ponder the deep, savoury connections between the tales we tell and the food we share.
Author: Language: en-gb Episodes: 50

Folklore, Food and Fairytales
Podcast Episodes
Dark Tales or The Peculiarity of Pie [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:03
In which we discover that even in the darkest of tales we can find some light, that boldness & curiosity can save lives, and that a pie can hold both wonders and terrors. The tales in this episode are traditional tales b…
Go I Know Not Where and Bring Back I Know Not What or Green as Garlic [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:12
In which we find that clever beautiful women are always an asset, that a magical mother-in-law should not to be under-estimated, that a magical servant will always improve your day and cruel kings are more frequent than…
Frequency Update [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:09
Hello everyone, This is a quick update to let you all know that I will be moving the podcast to monthly instead of every two weeks. Sadly my day job now involves more commuting and I don't feel I can truly do the stories…
The Witch and The Horse Devil or the Pancake Palaver [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:26
In which we discover that you shoudn’t judge your beloved by his looks especially if he’s a horse, that not being to provide a pancake on demand can prove fatal and that that there are times when listening to your sister…
Beautiful Innocenta or The Honey Hierachy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:55
In which we discover that you can still enjoy a story when the prince is clueless, that women you find in strange castles can have hidden talents and its amazing what you can whip up with a few almonds & some honey. The…
Maria and Her Brother or the Big Bean Bonanza [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:30
In which we discover that a bean is preferable to bran as a tracking device, that no matter how kind and generous you are, you can still end up in the belly of a shark and that you shouldn't put your trust in anyone who…
Weeping Eye, Laughing Eye or the Vine Variation [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:42
In which we discover that a good heart is a very vauable commodity, the loss of a vine that provides excellent unlimited free wine can cause distress and that sometimes there is more than one beautiful maiden in a story…
The Story Equivalent of a Crackling Fire, a Warm Drink and a Hug [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:17
This is another stories only episode. I hope they find you in the spirit they left me: gentle, heartwarming and uplifting, the last one is particularly seasonal. I thought this might be a time to take everybody on a jour…
Hildur, Queen of the Elves or Christmas in the Land of Ice and Fire [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:52
In which we discover how much damage elves and curses can do, how even powerful beings can suffer and that mysterious housekeepers often have a hidden agenda. In addition, we learn that if you have a useful magic stone y…
A Winter Tales Collection [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:53
Would you like to hear a winter tale or six? I have put together a compilation of my December tales from last year so you can fully indulge in the spirit of winter. The first tale is the Cailleach, a moving celtic mythic…