Esculent

What does it mean to steward a living archive? Kyria Boundy-Mills, curator of the Phaff Yeast Culture Collection, joins Esculent to discuss the care and preservation of thousands of yeast strains. The collection extends far beyond familiar fermenters like bread and beer yeasts, encompassing species drawn from insect ecologies, plants, soils, and unexpected environments.

In this episode, we explore how yeasts become technologies of esculence, such as how isolating, storing, and characterizing microbial life supports food science research. Boundy-Mills’ work reveals the archival dimensions of microbial collections, and what infrastructure is utilized to maintain those archives.

Tasting: J. Street Chocolate with Shared Cultures’ cacao-nib miso (featuring koji culture)
Viewing: Closing scene of Wonka (2023)

Host: Professor Elizabeth McQueen & Professor Charlotte Biltekoff
Producer: Stace Baran
Theme by: Ronan Delisle

Esculent is brought to you by Professor Charlotte Biltekoff and the Darrell Corti Endowed Professorship in Food, Wine and Culture at University of California, Davis.

What happens when the science of winemaking meets the emerging world of cultivated meat? Distinguished Professor David Block joins Esculent to discuss how engineering principles, chemistry, and scale shape technologies of taste. This episode also considers mouthfeel—how the tactile sensation of food and drink becomes central, or is becoming central, to the experience of the esculent in the food industry. Together, we reflect on how scaling, precision, and sensory expectations intersect in both traditional and experimental forms of food production.

Tasting: TCHO “Napa Noir” dark chocolate with cacao nibs, aged in red wine barrels and infused with cabernet sauvignon sea salt from Clif Family Winery
Viewing: Wonkavision, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)

Host: Professor Elizabeth McQueen & Professor Charlotte Biltekoff
Producer: Stace Baran
Theme by: Ronan Delisle

Esculent is brought to you by Professor Charlotte Biltekoff and the Darrell Corti Endowed Professorship in Food, Wine and Culture at University of California, Davis.

Microorganisms structure not only our foods but our bodies. Professor Maria Marco joins Esculent to discuss her research on bacteria, fermentation, probiotics, and the gustatory systems that support microbial life. While microbes often appear in consumer culture as wellness buzzwords, Professor Marco offers a another perspective on how microorganisms function as part of systems of eating.

This episode examines how microbes participate in the making of the esculent, and the questions that linger on the edges of studying nonhuman participants in processes of eating.

Tasting: Bouchard Probiotic Dark Belgian Chocolate (72%), infused with Bifidobacterium longum
Viewing: The Fizzy-Lifting Drink, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)

Host: Professor Elizabeth McQueen & Professor Charlotte Biltekoff
Producer: Stace Baran
Theme by: Ronan Delisle

Esculent is brought to you by Professor Charlotte Biltekoff and the Darrell Corti Endowed Professorship in Food, Wine and Culture at University of California, Davis.

How do we understand taste as something measurable and communicable? Distinguished Professor Hildegarde Heymann joins Esculent to explore the field of sensory science, a discipline that transforms fleeting sensory impressions into data and descriptive language. From wine and spirits to chocolate and ice cream, Professor Heymann’s work has shaped how sensory researchers structure panels, train tasters, and translate perception into scientific method.

In this episode, we take up the connection between sensory science and esculence: how the languages and systems used to evaluate flavor also participate in producing edibility itself. 

Audio warning: this episodes audio was compromised in recording, listeners will notice some deviations in quality. 

Tasting: A panel of Dandelion Chocolate bars
Viewing: Violet Beauregarde’s three-course-dinner gum, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)

Host: Professor Elizabeth McQueen & Professor Charlotte Biltekoff
Producer: Stace Baran
Theme by: Ronan Delisle

Esculent is brought to you by Professor Charlotte Biltekoff and the Darrell Corti Endowed Professorship in Food, Wine and Culture at University of California, Davis.

What does it mean to taste in context? Professor Julien Delarue joins Esculent to discuss his research on immersive sensory environments and how surroundings—visual, auditory, spatial—shape our perception of flavor. From reproducing a Korean street market in the lab to considering atmosphere in sensory evaluation, Professor Delarue’s work asks us to reconsider context not as background but as a fundamental component of the sensory experience.

Tasting: Dandelion Semuliki Forest 70% chocolate, processed in both San Francisco and Tokyo
Viewing: “Pure Imagination”, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)

Host: Professor Elizabeth McQueen & Professor Charlotte Biltekoff
Producer: Stace Baran
Theme by: Ronan Delisle

Esculent is brought to you by Professor Charlotte Biltekoff and the Darrell Corti Endowed Professorship in Food, Wine and Culture at University of California, Davis.