Basic Cheesemaking

In this episode, I geek out on basic cheesemaking -- the original way to preserve milk and dairy products -- with Claudia Lucero of Urban Cheesecraft in Portland, Oregon. It's a fun, super useful conversation about what equipment you need (hint: not much), where to get good milk, and how to actually make a few basic cheeses at home.  

In this episode of Hunt Gather Talk, forager and chef Alan Bergo joins me to geek out on all the ways to preserve mushrooms, wild or cultivated. There's a whole lot more out there than just drying. We talk about which mushrooms are best preserved in other ways, like fermentation and pickling and just plain freezing. 

I am excited to share with you my conversation with fermentation guru Sandor Katz, who is as knowledgeable as he is fun to talk with. We range all over the wild fermentation world in this episode, literally and figuratively since Sandor has traveled the globe in search of wild ferments. Strap yourself in for this one -- it's gonna be a ride! 

Pressure canning scares people. Canning expert Cathy Barrow and I are here to dispel that fear. In this podcast, we explain all about pressure canning, dispelling myths and fears, and talking about our favorite projects. Cathy drops so much knowledge in this episode, it'll blow your mind! 

From marinated mushrooms and peppers to pasta, pickles and sweets, the Italians are masters of preservation. I talk with cookbook author Rosetta Costantino about Southern Italian methods of preserving food; Rosetta is from Calabria and leads culinary tours there. If you want to learn how to do things the Calabrian way, this episode is for you. 

We all have memories -- or notions -- of canning being this gigantic task, in sweaty summer kitchens, lasting hours and producing whole cupboards full of jams or pickles or somesuch. Well, while that certainly does happen, you can put food by in small batches, even as small as one pint!  Canning expert Marisa McLellan of Food in Jars joins me to geek out on small batch canning. If you live in an apartment, as she does, or if you just want to preserve small bits of precious things, like ramps or mushrooms or other wild foods, this episode is for you. 

If you've ever wondered about freeze drying, this episode's for you. Spoiler alert: Freeze drying is more than just astronaut ice cream. In this episode, I talk with Shannon Waters, a former chef and restaurant consultant who is making waves with Third Wave freeze-dried meals through her company Gastro Gnome Meals. Shannon and I talk about freeze drying at home: When it makes sense, when it doesn't, what foods work well with freeze drying, as well as some memorable failures...  

A conversation about salting fish: How to make it and how to use it, with Newfoundlander Lori McCarthy of Food Culture Place. Salt fish, and salt cod in particular, played a huge role in Western history and remains a vital part of the culture of Newfoundland and Scandinavia. We talk about that, plus the more practical topics of how to go about salting whatever fish you have near you, as well as how best to use it later, on this episode of Hunt Gather Talk. 

Season 4 of Hunt Gather Talk will be all about preservation, from drying and fermenting to canning to charcuterie, meat, fish, plants, mushrooms. We kick off the season with a conversation about dry aging, with Jess Pryles of Hardcore Carnivore. Jess is not only a barbecue maven, she's also a trained meat scientist. We go over the ins and outs of dry aging, with an emphasis on beef and venison. 

Everything you wanted to know (or not!) about the parasites in fish and seafood. John Burrows of the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute and I break it all down in this episode.