Scaling Taste with Professor David Block

What happens when the science of winemaking meets the emerging world of cultivated meat? Distinguished Professor David Block joins Esculent to discuss how engineering principles, chemistry, and scale shape technologies of taste. This episode also considers mouthfeel—how the tactile sensation of food and drink becomes central, or is becoming central, to the experience of the esculent in the food industry. Together, we reflect on how scaling, precision, and sensory expectations intersect in both traditional and experimental forms of food production.

Tasting: TCHO “Napa Noir” dark chocolate with cacao nibs, aged in red wine barrels and infused with cabernet sauvignon sea salt from Clif Family Winery Viewing: Wonkavision, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)

Host: Professor Elizabeth McQueen & Professor Charlotte Biltekoff Producer: Stace Baran Theme by: Ronan Delisle

Esculent is brought to you by Professor Charlotte Biltekoff and the Darrell Corti Endowed Professorship in Food, Wine and Culture at University of California, Davis.