Join NC State biologist and professor Rob Dunn and author Reem Kassis for a conversation about Delicious, a book that Dunn co-authored with Monica Sanchez. Delicious retells the story of humans from the perspective of flavor. Using insights from food science, neuroscience, anthropology and literally a dozen other fields, Dunn and Sanchez argue that flavor…
In the 1910s, Jane McKimmon’s tomato club movement taught young girls in North Carolina how to grow, can and sell their own tomatoes, as part of a broader effort to teach rural families more efficient farming methods through an emerging agricultural extension service. The tomato club girls created booklets documenting their experiences, which are preserved…
Bread baking presents us with countless opportunities: reflection, patience, nourishment, generosity, observation and the list goes on and on and on. In this session, Josey Baker will explore some of the opportunities he has found in his decade of bread baking from the perspective of a baker, a neighbor and community member. He will posit…
In many parts of the world, especially in regions with limited growing seasons and long winters, people preserve vegetables through fermentation. Join Sandor Ellix Katz, a fermentation revivalist, for a virtual discussion about the illustrious history of fermented vegetables, the science behind it and how simple it is to ferment vegetables at home. Wild Fermentation…
Katie Amato is a biological anthropologist studying interactions between diet, physiology and the gut microbiome in nonhuman primates and humans. Her evolutionary perspective on host-microbe interactions has recently led her into the world of fermented foods. Fermented food consumption is pervasive across human cultures, but little is understood about how and why this practice emerged…
How does fermentation fit into your zombie apocalypse preparation plan? Join Athena Aktipis, an assistant professor of psychology at Arizona State University and chair of the Zombie Apocalypse Medicine Alliance, for a discussion about how fermenting can provide a number of benefits — from enhancing the nutritional value of your food, to preserving it for…
A/V Geeks founder and NC State alumnus Skip Elsheimer joins forces with NC State faculty members to present and discuss unusual and exemplary classroom instructional films, newsreels and documentaries spanning the last 80 years. The discussion will be held via a virtual format. For instructions on how to participate in the discussion, visit the NC…
In this talk, Benjamin Wolfe, an assistant professor of microbiology at Tufts University, will explore how microbes compete and cooperate in cheese rind microbiomes. From fungal highways on wheels of Saint Nectaire to antibiotic producing fungi in cheddar, we’ll learn about the ecology and chemistry of microbial interactions in some of your favorite stinky cheeses.…
In this talk, Tate Paulette, archaeologist and assistant professor in the Department of History at NC State, will explore the foods and, especially, the fermented foods of ancient Mesopotamia. He will look at ancient recipes, royal inscriptions, administrative records, archaeological remains, artistic works and our culinary tour through the famous “land between the rivers.” Particular…
A/V Geeks founder and NC State alumnus Skip Elsheimer joins forces with NC State faculty members to present and discuss unusual and exemplary classroom instructional films, newsreels and documentaries spanning the last 80 years. The discussion will be held via a virtual format. For instructions on how to participate in the discussion, visit the NC…
There are nearly 1,500 species of yeasts in the world, many of which influence bread flavor, texture, shelf-stability and nutrition. Yet only a handful of these species are used for making commercial breads. In this talk, Annie Madden, an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Applied Ecology at NC State, will discuss why there…
Join Eric Pallant, chair of the Department of Environmental Science and Sustainability at Allegheny College, for a discussion about sourdough. For 6,000 years —since breads were first baked in the Fertile Crescent until the end of the 19th century — the staff of life was made by hand from only four ingredients: flour, water, salt…