Episode
Dog Days of Summer and the Fake Greek Salad: Ways to Stay and Eat Cool
- Podcast
- Family Tree Food Stories
- Published
- Aug 6, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 1813
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Summary
The "dog days of summer" have nothing to do with dogs, and the Greek salad you think you know could be faking you out! This week in Family Tree Food Stories , Nancy May and Sylvia France chase one ancient instinct on a hot summer day... how to eat and stay cool . From Persian ice pits in the desert to a Florida sponge dock to that coffee cup you're holding in your hand. You'll find out why the same star made the Greeks brace for disaster while the Egyptians threw a party. Want to know how a favorite Tarpon Springs "Greek" salad has been hiding a scoop of potato salad underneath the lettuce for over a hundred years? It includes two feuding family origin stories that neither side will drop. Plus : Did you know that a famous New York coffee cup gave a secret nod to the Greek flag? How two Chicago restaurants fought over who first set cheese on fire and yelled opa . Oh, and how to help your dog stay cool too? Because you'll learn how to make a dog-safe pupsicle (and the peanut butter ingredient that can kill your dog), for Rover. FAQ & A Few Key Takeaways Why is it called the "dog days of summer"? The dog days of summer are named after Sirius, the "Dog Star," the brightest star in the night sky. For about 40 days each summer, Sirius rises and sets alongside the sun, and the ancient Greeks blamed the season's extreme heat on it. The name has stuck for over 2,000 years, even though the star has nothing to do with the temperature. There's more in this episode. Is flaming saganaki actually Greek? Honestly, the fire part isn't. In Greece, saganaki is simply pan-fried cheese, without the flames, no shouting "opa." The flaming tabletop version was invented in Chicago's Greektown in 1968, and two restaurants still both claim they did it first. Why is the New York paper coffee…