Esculent

When studying the history of mezcal, why begin with the milky, lightly fermented beverage pulque? In Esculent’s new season, we are joined once again by Professor Daniela Gutiérrez Flores as we navigate the archives detailing the cultural significance of the maguey plant in Mesoamerica. From discussing pulque’s role in sacred ritual to examining the colonial context of mezcal–both from maguey– we begin to center the narrative on Indigenous practices and experiences.

Host: Elizabeth McQueen & Daniela Gutierrez-Flores
Partner: Mi Oaxaca
Editors: Santiago Reyes & Stace Baran
Production Intern: Alyssa Pulido
Theme by Ronan Delisle

This podcast is supported by the University of California Humanities Research Institute and the Native American and Indigenous Studies Center at Florida State University.

This season welcomes co-host Daniela Gutiérrez Flores as we prepare to travel with Fabiola Santiago and the organization Mi Oaxaca -- we are honored to be thinking, sensing, and traveling with care over the next episodes, all about mezcal. 

Host: Elizabeth McQueen & Daniela Gutiérrez Flores
Partner: Mi Oaxaca
Editors: Santiago Reyes & Stace Baran
Production Intern: Alyssa Pulido
Theme by Ronan Delisle

This podcast is supported by the University of California Humanities Research Institute and the Native American and Indigenous Studies Center at Florida State University.

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.