Alex Weiser

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Alex Weiser of Weiser Family Farms is a grower of specialty fruits and vegetables in Kern and San Bernardino counties. You can find Alex and his produce at farmers’ markets across Southern California.

Photo credit: KCRW Good Food

Photo credit: KCRW Good Food

What hooked you on farming?
Father and mother
The coolest example of science in your produce?
The creation of it from seed!
The produce you find most fascinating?
Romanesco cauliflower
What scientific concept–food related or otherwise–do you find most fascinating?
Photosynthesis
Your best example of a food that is better because of science?
Carrots
How do you think science will impact your world of food in the next 5 years?
There will be a lot of new biological tools available to farmers
One kitchen tool you could not live without?
Toaster oven
Five things most likely to be found in your fridge?
Citrus, potatoes, butter, pickles, broccoli
Your all-time favorite ingredient?
Sunchokes
Favorite cookbook?
Santa Monica Farmers’ Market Cookbook
Your standard breakfast?
A large coffee and seasonal fruit

Dan Drake

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Dan Drake is the owner of Drake Family Farms in Southern California. As a veterinarian, Dan has been overseeing the health of the Drake Family Farms goat herd for the past 26 years. Using quality milk from their goats, Drake Family Farms produces farmstead and artisan cheeses that are sold locally throughout Southern California.

Dan_Drake

What hooked you on farming?
I grew up on a farm and love working with the animals. I named my animals and made them part of my family. I am especially addicted to raising goats, and so I started a cheese company so I could justify keeping my goats. It is a ridiculous idea, and over the past three years it has been a financial disaster. But that is what farming is, a labor of love and bad finances. Farmers are victims of “Stockholm syndrome” with the far as the captor.
The coolest example of science in your food?
The mold-ripened cheese: as it ages and ripens it becomes more delicious.
The food you find most fascinating?
Cheese, of course, is the most fascinating food on the planet. I find it amazing that you can make so many varieties from the same milk.
What scientific concept—food related or otherwise—do you find most fascinating?
A farm filled with healthy, happy goats produces delicious, high-quality milk that makes the very best cheese—cheese that is unparalleled in quality and flavor. It is all about the goat biological system and how healthy the goats are. People think it is just good karma coming through in the cheese, which it probably is, but you can see the science of population health and productivity all the way through the process.
Your best example of a food that is better because of science?
I believe all of our cheese is superior because we start with superior quality milk. Without healthy goats, the milk would not produce superior quality cheese. It all goes back to the quality of the starting ingredients: in our case, the milk. You can’t fix damaged milk. You have to start over again with better milk.
How do you think science will impact your world of food in the next 5 years?
I am hopeful that science will help us to become more efficient in producing the crops we feed our goats, and therefore our cheese production will become more efficient. They say we have to feed 9 billion people on this planet in the coming years. We won’t be able to do it with our current farming methods. Hopefully these new technologies and scientific discoveries will also help us to work better with our environment and preserve our planet at the same time. I believe it can and will be done, we just need some smart scientists to figure it out AND we need the public to accept the discoveries they make.
One kitchen tool you could not live without?
A cheese knife.
Five things most likely to be found in your fridge?
Cheese, tomatoes, chicken, tortillas, Dr. Pepper
Your all-time favorite ingredient?
Cheese. You can add it to anything and it always tastes better with cheese.
Favorite cookbook?
My Grandma Drake’s hand-written recipes.
Your standard breakfast?
My favorite: an omelet with a lot of cheese and meats, a fresh baked tomato with pepper, sourdough toast with lots of real butter and strawberry jam, fresh-squeezed orange juice.
My reality on-the-go: a quesadilla and a Dr. Pepper while driving down the freeway to work.

Dena Herman

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Dena Herman, RD, PhD, MPH, is an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. Her research has focused on improving dietary quality among low-income populations, as well as the development of interventions to reduce childhood obesity.

Dena-Herman

What hooked you on science? On food?
My dad was a chef for Nathan Pritikin, a nutritionist and longevity research pioneer who showed that cardiovascular disease was reversible with diet.
The coolest example of science in your food?
I am not sure it is the coolest, but I have always been fascinated by gels and emulsions. For example, vinaigrette dressing: you take 2-3 liquids and simply by the order in which you mix them they become and emulsion, something thicker than what you started with. The same principle applies to a roux: dry + liquid + heat = creamy sauce. How cool is that?
The food you find most fascinating?
Injera (Ethiopian flat bread).
What scientific concept–food related or otherwise–do you find most fascinating?
Currently I am fascinated with the “-omics.” Genomics, epigenetics, nutrigenomics, etc., and the idea that we are what our grandmothers ate (the idea of life-course health development).
Your best example of a food that is better because of science?
I can’t think of one. I believe the best foods are whole foods that have not been “adulterated” by science, i.e. Frankenfoods.
How does your scientific knowledge or training impact the way you cook? Do you conduct science experiments in the kitchen?
I have two sons (9 years old and 12 years old). The kitchen is always an experimental station, whether trying new combinations of ingredients to create exciting colorful mixtures (questionably edible), or figuring out ways to make things explode.
One kitchen tool you could not live without?
Vitamix.
Five things most likely to be found in your fridge?
Plain yogurt, cilantro, chili peppers, kale, raspberries.
Your all-time favorite ingredient?
Citrus, especially lemons and limes.
Favorite cookbook?
My German cookbooks. They take the simple and make it fabulous.
Your standard breakfast?
A kale, blueberry, and tofu shake. Phytonutrient-rich and protein ready.

Rachel Dutton

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Rachel Dutton is a Bauer fellow at Harvard University where she uses cheese to study microbial ecosystems. She has collaborated with chefs David Chang and Dan Felder of Momofuku, and her research has been featured in Lucky Peach Magazine, The Boston Globe, NPR, The New York Times, and on the PBS TV series Mind of a Chef.

Rachel Dutton photo 2013Dutton Lab at JHF

What hooked you on science?
I blame microbes for hooking me on science. I am just completely amazed at how versatile and powerful they are—and we can’t even see them!
The coolest example of science in your food?
My lab studies how microbes form communities in cheese. I think the coolest thing is that these microbes are doing everything from fighting to sending out chemical messages, and all this is happening as we eat a piece of cheese.
The food you find most fascinating?
I guess I am biased, but I think cheese is absolutely fascinating. I started out thinking that cheese was this relatively simple thing, but the more I work with it the more respect and awe I have of how complex and nuanced it can be. Both in terms of the flavor and the science. It is also incredibly interesting from the perspective of its history and cultural significance, and there are so many passionate people working with cheese.
What scientific concept–food related or otherwise–do you find most fascinating?
I think the most fascinating food related concept right now is that microbes could be used as new sources of flavor in foods. Much of the flavor we currently have in fermented foods comes from the microbes themselves. And we know that microbes have an incredible diversity of metabolic pathways, so what if we found microbes that could ferment foods to give it totally new properties?
Your best example of a food that is better because of science?
Chocolate.
Are there any analogies you like to use to explain difficult or counter-intuitive food science concepts?
The way that we identify species of microbes by sequencing their DNA can be a tricky concept. I like to compare it to matching fingerprints in a database, like in CSI, except that the fingerprints microbes have are unique sequences in their DNA.
How does your scientific knowledge or training impact the way you cook? Do you conduct science experiments in the kitchen?
I think I use both cooking and science to explore and learn. In the lab, I use science as a way to learn more about the way microbes behave. In the kitchen, I like to cook things that allow me to explore new cultures or ingredients.
One kitchen tool you could not live without?
I use a scale a lot. Even when I don’t need to, sometimes I’m just curious how much something weighs.
Five things most likely to be found in your fridge?
Whole milk yogurt, lemons or limes, maple syrup, mayonnaise, and ginger.
Your all-time favorite ingredient?
I think steamed clams are my favorite food, and fermented black soybeans are a favorite ingredient. I’m also a sucker for anything with cardamom in it.
Favorite cookbook?
When I have time on the weekends, sometimes I’ll cook from Rick Bayless’ Mexican Kitchen. I grew up in California and studied for a while in Mexico, and I love Mexican food and culture, especially from central and southern Mexico. The other cookbook I’m really enjoying right now is Yotam Ottolenghi’s Plenty.
Your standard breakfast?
I usually rotate between yogurt with honey and granola, oatmeal with maple syrup and walnuts, and eggs on toast.

Jeff Potter

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A science and food geek, Jeff Potter is the author of Cooking for Geeks: Real Science, Great Hacks, and Good Food, which the Washington Post called “one of the most useful books on understanding cooking.” He can be seen on TV engineering the world’s largest donut and is currently obsessed with the science of beverages. Check out more of Jeff’s food geekery at www.jeffpotter.org.

photo by John Zich, courtesy of www.zrimages.comwww.jeffpotter.org

photo by John Zich, courtesy of www.zrimages.com | www.jeffpotter.org

What hooked you on cooking? On science?
I find it intensely gratifying to understand how things are made, and science really is about understanding how systems work and behave. Everyone eats, and almost everyone cooks, and the science behind both fascinates me. Plus, every time one steps foot into a kitchen, it’s inherently a science experiment, even if you don’t think about it that way. The amount of science that goes into the morning cup of coffee alone would shock most people. Plus knowing some science behind what you’re doing in the kitchen is one of the best instructors.
Five things most likely to be found in your fridge?
Eggs, yogurt, kale, hot sauce, beans.
One kitchen tool you could not live without?
A good sauté pan. Even a non-stick one. Really, you can get by without much at all, but one decent pan changes everything.
Favorite cookbook?
I was given a dessert cookbook years ago that was an anthology of sorts: one recipe from each of the top pastry chefs in the country. No pictures, not glossy, just a few lines on the chef and then the recipe. Every single recipe I made from that book came out amazing, and every single recipe managed to teach a new concept or idea. I don’t know if it’d stand up very well against all the food porn books that have now come out, but that book (given to me by a chef friend) was amazing for me.
The scientific concept—food related or otherwise—you find most fascinating?
That only a few basic building blocks—hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, and ok, fine, sulfur—are responsible for everything from bars of chocolate to a toucan flying around a rainforest in South America. The difference in complexity just one level up (molecules) from what seems so simple (atoms) is staggering; and then to consider that there are multiple layers up above that until we get to your brain understanding these words… mind-blowing.
The coolest example of science in your food?
You can tell where a tomato was grown—well, at least the latitude—by the ratio of various isotopes in it. It sounds crazy, but rainwater is not “pure” H2O; or more precisely, there are different isotopes of the “O” in “H2O” and the lighter one, 16O, is more likely to evaporate then the heavier one (takes less energy for it to take off). As you go toward the equator, evaporation rates in rainfall go up (it’s warmer, after all), so tomatoes grown toward the equator have higher concentrations of the heavier isotope 18O. The neat thing is that that ratio sticks with the food all the way down to the jar of fancy imported Italian pasta sauce, so you can semi-reliably tell where in Italy the tomatoes were grown if you look at enough of the various isotopes and minerals in it.
Your all-time favorite food ingredient?
I don’t really have a favorite food ingredient, but nothing beats fresh fruit at the peak of its season.
The food you find most fascinating?
Can I go with “beverages” as a general category? Everything from green tea to beer is amazingly complicated. Most food ingredients—apples to flour—are relatively unchanged from their “as-grown” state, but drinks are an entirely different category, as they’re entirely constructed.
Are there any analogies you like to use to explain difficult or counter-intuitive food science concepts?
Breaking of secondary and tertiary bonds in protein denaturation can be a bit confusing, as the “simple” model people have for molecules is that they’re made up of such-and-such atoms, without regard to the shape that the molecule takes impacts how it functions. I’ll sometimes describe the molecule as like an old-fashioned telephone cord (did I just date myself?), where the cord can twist up, kink, and tangle on itself.
Your best example of a food that is better because of science?
The egg. The amount of agricultural science and gains in productivity that have gone into chicken eggs in the past 100 years is just amazing. If the same “gains” had been made in humans, Olympic sprinters would be running at 65 miles per hour…
Your standard breakfast?
Depends on the time of year and where I am. Right now, in New England’s winter, yogurt with muesli, and then sautéed red onion, kale, garlic, two eggs, and a squeeze of lemon juice on top. If I feel like spending more than the two minutes it takes to make it, maybe some grated cheese on top.
How does your scientific knowledge or training impact the way you cook? Do you conduct science experiments in the kitchen?
I only cook on an amateur level, for myself and my friends; so for me cooking is a very ad-hoc thing, without too much fuss or worry about taking good, exact notes—but this is only because, generally speaking, I don’t need reproducibility of an entire dish! But I do perform little mini-experiments each time I cook. Take tonight (it’s after dinner as I write this)—I’ve been wondering why the tofu I’ve been cooking keeps sticking to the pan. It’s a stainless steel pan, and I put some oil in it—but it always seems to stick after it gets up above a certain temperature. I’m guessing it’s steam from the tofu pushing the oil away from the surface of the pan; and then the proteins in the tofu stick to the pan (and do not seem to release even when browned). I’ll probably kick myself later for writing this, as I’m guessing the “why” is simple here, but I was wondering if low heat versus high heat makes a difference… so I tried changing just that. Nope; still sticks. That’s the type of “mini” experimentation I love to encourage in the kitchen, because it doesn’t take any extra work to do it, beyond thinking about it.

Veronica Trevizo

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Veronica Trevizo is the Development Chef at Momofuku Culinary Lab. Veronica hails from California, where she was born in San Diego, attended the California Culinary Academy, and worked at such venues as the Four Seasons in San Diego and the San Francisco establishments Jardinière and Michael Minas. She also spent time working at Spagos in Maui and has worked all over Europe, completing stages in Spain and at Noma in Copenhagen, before relocating to New York to work in the Momofuku Culinary Lab.

Veronica Trevizo courtesy of Port Magazine

Photo courtesy of Port Magazine

What hooked you on cooking?
I grew up in a traditional Hispanic family in which every month there was some sort of barbecue or grand family dinner. My fondest memories of my childhood revolve around those special occasions. I always found myself in the kitchen with my mother and Tias preparing the meals, feeling excited as I watched them cook and sneaking bits of food and knowledge. When they tried to shoo me from the kitchen, I stayed, and to this day I don’t want to be anywhere else.
The coolest example of science in your food?
I would have to agree with Dan and select our ongoing projects based around microbes and fermentation. At the Momofuku Culinary Lab we have been quite successful with our projects involving miso and other traditional fermentative products. These projects generated relationships and connections with experts in the scientific field, furthering our understanding and abilities to explore just how far we can evolve food sciences. It is my personal goal to continue to progress the collaboration between food and academia.
The food you find most fascinating?
Processed food. I find it fascinating that so much work and money is used to produce foods that are unhealthy, poor tasting, and downright bad for people.
What scientific concept–food related or otherwise–do you find most fascinating?
• Maillard reaction: when compounds form together, creating new compounds that make a very distinctive flavor. For example, crust on bread and sugar to make caramels.
• MSG: there are so many ideas out there but none that are really true. This subject always seems to start a conversation.
• Neurogastronomy: an understanding of why we perceive something as delicious or disgusting fascinates me. The age old fight: “my mother’s food is better than yours!” There is so much going on that we just don’t fully understand yet.
Your best example of a food that is better because of science?
Milk. Pasteurization is a science win that absolutely highlights the importance of science in food.
How do you think science will impact your world of food in the next 5 years?
In the past years, we’ve seen the huge impact that science has had in our kitchens. A great example is the science-imagined and science-enabled equipment like centrifuges, cryovacs, and sous vide machines. Using equipment that is seen in laboratories now in almost every kitchen makes both fields more robust and makes our work even more informative for the public. As a cook, it has also helped me understand that scientists and chefs are not so different. I would say the impact is already here in the culinary world but I definitely see much more collaboration in the future. It starts with equipment and continues with the sharing of knowledge.
One kitchen tool you could not live without?
A knife.
Five things most likely to be found in your fridge?
• Butter
• Valentina hot sauce
• Leftover takeout
• Homemade penicillin projects (aka some old bread…)
• Honestly, not that much! The fridge I’m thinking about is always the one at the lab.
Your all-time favorite ingredient?
I can’t live without salt!
Favorite cookbook?
My favorite cookbook… there are so many. I do love Julia Child and remember reading Mastering the Art of French Cooking religiously as a child.
Your standard breakfast?
I usually just have black coffee. But I do love chilaquiles!

Daniel Felder

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Daniel Felder is the Head of Research and Development at the Momofuku Culinary Lab. Dan is originally from Roxbury, Connecticut, and began working in restaurants at the age of eighteen while he was studying at Union College in Saratoga Springs, New York. He moved to New York City and joined the Momofuku team in 2008 at Noodle Bar and Ko, and now at the Momofuku Culinary Lab.

Dan Felder credit Gabriele Stabile

Photo courtesy of Gabriele Stabile

What hooked you on cooking?
Both my parents are quite good home cooks, and let me cook with them from a really early age, sitting at the counter watching and then helping as I got older. My great-aunt is an amazing home cook, and still lives in Rome. She had an impact on me and my cousins, as four of us now work in the food industry. Learning from her was a challenge; she wouldn’t give up her secrets unless you earned them, usually by doing some unrelated task for an extended period of time. Once I got my food in the door of professional kitchens, it was a similar scenario. You have to earn knowledge. That’s the slippery slope for me; learning something new in the kitchen repeatedly opens my eyes to how much more there is to learn.
The coolest example of science in your food?
One of the coolest examples is probably the ongoing projects at the Culinary Lab based around microbes and fermentation. The heart of this process for us was really the application of scientific methodology. Applying scientific structure and procedures to how we pursue a question has actually given us a lot of freedom in how we experiment. By breaking down and understanding the mechanics of a process we can’t see with the naked eye, we can start with a grounded hypothesis and begin manipulating variables until we get to where we want to be. Our miso is a good example of this process.
The food you find most fascinating?
I am really fascinated by starches, grains, root vegetables, etc. I realize it is pretty familiar and basic territory, but I think the bio-technological capacity of rice and grains, for example, is really incredible. We have only scratched the surface of what we can do with it. There has been a lot of research with corn and different starches for industrial purposes and alcohol, but as cooks, I think we have so much more to discover.
What scientific concept–food related or otherwise–do you find most fascinating?
• Why starburst candies cause extreme salivation.
(More of a question than a concept—potential student project?)
• Enzymes.
• Metabolic pathways. Specifically, how the body metabolizes sugars and amino acids.
• Hydrolysis of protein.
• Correlation of fermentation to larger biological processes.
Your best example of a food that is better because of science?
Italian salad dressing.
How do you think science will impact your world of food in the next 5 years?
Not to be gross, but the idea of “out of body digestion” is really interesting to me. Can we extrapolate and apply the mechanism of digestive processes in the natural world as catalysts in the kitchen? Fermentation is a familiar example of this idea, but I believe we can take it a bit further by looking at more diverse biological processes, and hopefully reveal new nutritive resources (hopefully delicious ones) as a result.
As a corollary, the things Alex Atala, Noma, and the Nordic Food Lab have found by exploring potential food sources in their respective environments is both very interesting and indicative of what is in the immediate future for science and food. In our lab, we are looking at how we can extend this idea to process as well. ow can we disinter biological processes from the natural world and bring them into the kitchen?
One kitchen tool you could not live without?
Rene and Lars gave the perfect answer: spoon. I can’t compete with that. If I had to pick one for the Momofuku Culinary Lab, I would go with a Dremel.
Five things most likely to be found in your fridge?
• Fruit and veggies
• Good Seasonings Italian salad dressing
(the one in the packets that comes with the cruet)
• An excess of condiments
• Olives and pickles
• Budweiser
Your all-time favorite ingredient?
That’s hard to say. Butter, maybe? Bread?
Favorite cookbook?
Also hard to choose. Right now we have a copy of Ben Shewry’s new book, Origin: The Food of Ben Shewry, in the Culinary Lab. It rules.
Your standard breakfast?
I don’t really eat breakfast, but, if I make it on the weekend, it errs on the English breakfast side of things: poached eggs, tinned beans, potato, tomato, sometimes a breakfast meat. Conversely, I am also a sucker for huevos rancheros.

Christina Tosi

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Christina Tosi is the chef, owner, and founder of Momofuku Milk Bar, called “one of the most exciting bakeries in the country” by Bon Appetit Magazine. Her desire to explore new flavors and push creative boundaries has resulted in never-before-seen desserts including “Cereal Milk” soft serve, “Arnold Palmer” cake, and corn cookies. Christina lives in Brooklyn, New York with her three dogs and eats an unconscionable amount of raw cookie dough every day. Read more

Zoe Nathan

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Zoe Nathan is the co-owner of several Los Angeles restaurants, including Huckleberry Bakery and Café and Milo and Olive. An avid baker, Zoe honed her craft at Tartine in San Francisco where she learned the value of using color as a flavor. At her own restaurants, she has received widespread acclaim for her pastries.

See Zoe Nathan speak at our next 2013 Science & Food public lecture!

The Science of Pie
Featuring Chefs Christina Tosi and Zoe Nathan
Sunday, May 19 @ 2:00pm
Covel Commons Grand Horizon Room (map)
BUY TICKETS

Image credit: Emily Hart Roth

Image credit: Emily Hart Roth

What hooked you on cooking?
I wanted to do something with my hands and was searching for a way to express myself in a way that I could connect with people around me instantly. I loved being able to make something and have someone eat it right away and hopefully enjoy it and understand where I’m coming from. Plus it just makes me really happy!
The coolest example of science in your food?
For me it’s the process of baking. Working with so few ingredients, and then deciding on different processes that will create totally different things to eat. That’s why I never worry about someone stealing a recipe from me, because at the end of the day, it’s not knowing what goes into baking something that makes it special, it’s how you bake it.
The food you find most fascinating?
Bread. For exactly the same reason as above. It’s all about process. That’s why I laugh when people say, “You can only make great Sourdough in San Francisco, or Bagels in New York,” but then I see people try with bad ingredients and a sloppy process. If you care enough you can make great bread anywhere.
One kitchen tool you could not live without?
Mixing bowls!
What scientific concept–food related or otherwise–do you find most fascinating?
The concept I find the most important in baking is the process of caramelization. You can use all the right ingredients and even the right process, but if you don’t get the right caramelization and color on a bake good it simply doesn’t look or taste good.
Five things most likely to be found in your fridge?
Eggs, kale, milk (I have a 2 year old), Dijon mustard, cream cheese.
Your best example of a food that is better because of science?
I’m not a big fan of modern science in cooking, but I’m super happy to have freezers so that I can freeze my scones and biscuits so that I can put the maximum amount of butter inside without having it leak out. I’m happy for convection ovens so my baked goods get that extra little jump. I’m happy for steam on my bread oven so my bread gets that nice shine. I’m also happy for bright lights so my bakers can come in at 3 a.m. and still feel safe!
Your all-time favorite ingredient? Favorite cookbook?
Salt is my all-time favorite ingredient. I have so many cookbooks that I love I can’t choose one.
How do you think science will impact your world of food in the next 5 years?
Honestly, I think it’s mostly negative. I think a lot of people eat processed foods because they’re easier to get because science has made them taste good and last a lot longer than it actually should. Because of all the big advancements in technology people are also used to getting what they want quickly, but good cooking is a patient thing, so I think fewer and fewer people know how to cook. I also think young cooks who are obsessed with immersion circulators and cvap machines often don’t know how to cook a piece of meat on a grill or in a pan which is a shame because that’s how it tastes best.
Your standard breakfast?
Leftovers from whatever my son hasn’t eaten and he eats pretty well. When I actually take the time to make it for myself it’s oatmeal cooked in homemade almond milk.

David Binkle

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Chef David Binkle currently serves as the director of food services for the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), where he oversees a program serving more than 650,000 meals per day. Chef Binkle came to the LAUSD to develop a healthier cuisine for students. His goal is to improve the menu by having less processed foods and more garden-fresh products using locally grown produce. Read more