Fermentology Mini-Seminars: The Culture, History and Science Behind Foods at Home

Join us for a series of short talks (20 minutes on average) from CALS’ Applied Ecology department about the culture, history and science behind the foods you have at home.

All talks are Thursday at 4pm EST, unless otherwise specified, and open to everyone–the more the merrier! Register to attend the virtual talksby filling in this form and you will be emailed a link to the talk the day before.

Find the full schedule and details at: https://cals.ncsu.edu/applied-ecology/news/fermentology-mini-seminars.

Each talk will be recorded and uploaded to the Applied Ecology Youtube page afterwards.

September 3rd: In the Name of Deliciousness  – Ferment!

Homo is evolutionary designed to crave foodstuff with the basic tastes sweet and umami. Umami is a common trait of meat, fungus, and marine foods like fish, shellfish, mollusks, and seaweeds. The most powerful way of releasing a latent potential of umami (and kokumi) in foods proceeds via microbial and enzymatic fermentation, as is well known from cheese, fish sauce, soy sauce, and cured ham. In contrast, green plant-based foods like vegetables are, by fundamental biological reasons, very poor in umami and sweetness. Understanding how we can impart these taste sensations to green food, most prominently by fermentation within a flexitarian dietary scheme, will aid us towards an eating behavior that is not only more sustainable but also healthy, delicious, and enjoyable. Join University of Copenhagen food professor and author of Umami: Unlocking the Secrets of the Fifth Taste, Ole G. Mouritsen for this enlightening discussion.