Join Branden and special guest Allison Wells as we talk fermentation and how one becomes a food scientist.

Flavor and taste have always been a part of the human eating equation, but has it always been appreciated? Fermented foods are packed with flavors mild and wild. Join us on our journey of flavor exploration and celebration!

This week it is Branden discussing space station microbes, yogurt liqueur, music for wine, kimchi contamination and taste perception.

This week's guest is Harvard microbiologist Benjamin Wolfe. Our conversation enters the world of cheese rinds and the fascinating dynamics at play.

Special Guest Amanda Feifer of Phickle.com discusses fermentation. Amanda shares her kimchi eating habits, original fermented fears, workshops in Philadelphia, and more.

This week is a smorgasbord of fermented food topics and related happenings in the world of fermentation. Fermented food pairings at No. 9 Park in Boston, cavity-free teeth from cheese, aging cheese in caves, and making sausages with preserved lemons.

This week we talk about Thai food and fermentation. We get a little off-topic when we discuss fried insects, but for the most part we explore the traditional ferments of South-east asia. We finish up with a quick conversation about missing cheese molds and cheese chasing competitions.

This week we discuss how chocolate is harvested and fermented. Unlike our coffee episode, there is no question that chocolate is fermented.

This week is about salt and the amazing osmoprotectants that come to the rescue in lactic acid bacteria. We discuss a few historical aspects of salt, a bit about iodine and then we discuss what happens to bacteria under the influence of salt. We're also trying a new format order for the show. We started with the topic of the week and finished off with fermentation news.

This week we discuss bread and sourdough through the eyes of the beginning bread baker. A little bit of history, a little bit of how to and a tiny bit of science. We also discuss Limburger cheese and the only cheese making cooperative that still produces it in the US. Plus, we follow up on the cow birthing cycle/wet nurse questions from last week and share a tiny update on the mimolette mite story.