Rum cakes and Crock-Pots

By Nomin Ujiyediin,

Published November 25, 2022 at 4:00 AM CST

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A sweet smell is filling the air in Old Town Lenexa as Jude’s Rum Cakes begins baking thousands of tasty treats for the holiday season. Plus: You can thank a group of scrappy Kansas City women for the invention of the Crock-Pot as we know it today.

From a small storefront in Old Town Lenexa Jude’s Rum Cakes has been turning out thousands of tasty treats that ship around the country during the holidays. KCUR’s Julie Denesha reports that it all started with a bottle of Panama rum and one family recipe.

No Midwestern cookout is complete without a delicious chili or dip simmering in a Crock-Pot. But when the device was first unveiled by a Kansas City company in 1971, it promised something more: freedom. From KCUR’s food history podcast, Hungry For MO, producer Mackenzie Martin brings us this story (plus tune in at the end of November for a brand new season!).

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Byron Love and KCUR Studios and edited by Gabe Rosenberg and Lisa Rodriguez.

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