Esculent

Episodios disponibles

5 de 32

Microbial Worlds with Professor Maria Marco
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.
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52:11
Accounting for Taste with Professor Hildegarde Heymann
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.
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Environments of Taste with Professor Julien Delarue
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.
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49:56
Season 6: Food Scientists
What does it mean to study taste, edibility, and food systems through the scientific method? In our season introduction, co-hosts Professor Charlotte Biltekoff (American Studies & Food Science and Technology, UC Davis) and Professor Elizabeth McQueen (College of Fine Arts, FSU) set the stage for a season centered on food scientists — their methods, their imaginaries, and technological and microscopic infrastructures that construct another thread of the esculent. Together, they reflect on the convergence of cultural inquiry and scientific practice, the recent history of sensory analysis, and how these approaches craft a dominant imaginary, but imagined nonetheless, of taste. Tasting: Hershey’s Plant-Based Chocolate Bar Viewing: The Everlasting Gobstopper, 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.
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35:27
A podcast on our podcast, or esculent’s esculence
Esculent is an idea - and one that can be applied, theorized, even rehearsed. This week we self-reflect on the aims of the podcast with host Dr. Elizabeth McQueen and editor Stacey Baran. Tasting: Strength tea from Harbor Herbalist Viewing: Esculent outtakes Host: Dr. Elizabeth McQueen Producer: Stace Baran Theme by Ronan Delisle Audio Support from Jenevieve Bohmann Esculent is brought to you by Professor Charlotte Bitekoff and the Darrel Corti Endowed Professorship in Food, Wine and Culture at University of California, Davis.
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40:59