This week on Cooking Issues, Dave Arnold and Nastassia Lopez are talking gummies, meringue, studying food science, and sous vide! Tune in to hear Dave offer his suggestions for making a small appetizer that includes prawns and herb gels. Find out if food processors ruin the flavor of lemongrass. Listen in and learn more about spinning lemon and lime juice, exotic spices, and the best way to cook a prime rib! Dave answers a listener question about continuing education in food science; is it better to learn in a restaurant or in an academic setting? Can melatonin be used as an antioxidant in food? Can pig bladders be used for light sous vide work? Find out on this episode of Cooking Issues! This program has been brought to you by Tekserve.

"If you're going to use a dehydrator, you want to dehydrate [a methylcellulose meringue] at 130-5 degrees Fahrenheit, but you're going to want to store it 110-120 degrees- much lower than 135 degrees- because if you store it at a high temperature and cook it for a long time to hold it, it's going to start tasting cooked." [6:45]

-- Dave Arnold on Cooking Issues

This week on Cooking Issues Dave and Nastassia spoke about the scientific wonders of Miracle Fruit, buying a Dutch Oven, cooking pasta as if it were risotto, fixing (and cleaning!) a refrigerated centrifuge from Ebay via a blood bank, plus a fascinating and brief history of the Tichborne Dole. This episode was sponsored by Fairway: like no other market.

Photo 1: Mircale Fruit, Photo 2: The Tichborne Dole

Parish Hall is defining American Northeast cuisine in Brooklyn! On today's episode of The Main Course, Patrick Martins celebrates his birthday by inviting Evan Hanczor and George Weld of Egg, Goatfell Farm, and Parish Hall into the studio. Hear Evan and George talk about their respective beginnings in the food world, and how they came together at Egg. How did Egg lead to Parish Hall, and why do Evan and George choose farm-fresh, local ingredients for the restaurant? How does local food relate to a coherent regional cuisine? Later, Mario and Teresa Fantasma of Paradise Locker Meats come into the studio to talk about the lack of regional slaughterhouses in the United States, and the barriers that prevent entrepreneurs to opening a slaughter facility. How do value-added products bolster Paradise Locker's business? Patrick caps off the episode by tracing the life of a pig from slaughter to plate. This program has been brought to you by Whole Foods.

"People cook eggs a little too hot and long, so they turn out drier than you would want them." [13:20] -- Evan Hanczor on The Main Course

"I feel like there's a lot of myth around (nose to tail)- if you aren't doing it you're consigning the rest of the animal to a terrible fate." [26:30] -- George Weld on The Main Course

"When you do these value-added things, there are ten more regulations for just one product." [37:45] -- Teresa Fantasma on The Main Course