From an ancient Japanese mold to traditional Midwestern baking, this playlist introduces you to some of the geekiest corners of the culinary world.

What are ways that the pandemic is nudging us to work with delicious microbes?” During a time when antibacterial soaps and wipes are flying off shelves, why are people cultivating microbes at home? Melissa Metrick (NYU Urban Farm Lab/Nutrition and Food Studies Department) and Wythe Marschall talk about how the...

Ever wonder how scientists analyze the microbiome of human and animal guts, or of sourdough starters and other cultured foods? We take a deep dive into the purpose and methods of microbial ecology with Dr. Erin McKenny following her keynote presentation. Whether or not you’re a trained scientist, you’ll learn...

Dr. Erin McKenney gives an eye-opening talk about the latest results from the Citizens Science Sourdough Project, which seeks to understand the biology underlying the differences among starters and the changes (or lack of change) in starters through time. Erin and her team collected hundreds of starter samples from around...

Rich Shih and Sean Doherty join Harry to talk about their work on an upcoming Beard House dinner called "The Quest for Koji" In the last 5 years Koji has gone from a staple part of many traditional Eastern ferments (Soy Sauce, Miso, Rice Vinegar, Sake) to an ingredient that...

After years of being a renowned culinary expert, Eugenia Bone threw herself into the intense world of microbial science to write her latest book, Microbia: A Journey into the Unseen World Around You. She went back to college at age 55, and embraced the challenge of being an old student...

In this last portion of the James Beard Foundation Food Summit, facilitator Mitch Baranowski chats with Olivier DeSchutter (International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems), Phil Jones (City Food), Pamela Koch (Laurie M. Tisch Center for Food, Education & Policy), Peggy Neu (The Monday Campaigns), and Hari Pulapaka (Stetson...

In this third installment of the James Beard Foundation Food Summit 2017: Consuming Power, James Beard Foundation Executive Vice President Mitchell Davis chats with Kate Cox (New Food Economy), Tamar Haspel (The Washington Post), and journalist Helen Rosner in a discussion titled Cultivating Consumers Into Citizens: Perspectives from the Media...

This week on Fuhmentaboudit!, Mary, Chris and Rachel are joined by Rich Shih, a mechanical engineer by trade whose passion is kitchen experimentation. When a friend suggested he work with koji, he became interested in playing around with miso flavors. Rich also founded Our Cook Quest, which provides "informative and...

This week on Fuhmentaboudit!, Mary, Chris, and Rachel are joined in the studio by Derek Dellinger, brewmaster at Kent Falls Brewing Company, and author of The Fermented Man, which is due out in July. The book is a chronicle of Derek's year of fermentation, in which he ate only fermented...