About this episode
This week on Cooking Issues , Dave Arnold is joined by Rich Shih ( Koji Alchemy ) and Jennifer Rothman ( Yellow Farmhouse ). The crew dives deep into KojiCon 2025 , the virtual conference celebrating all things koji, fermentation, and mold-based magic. Rich and Jennifer break down what attendees can expect, from global experts sharing techniques to the vibrant Discord community exchanging ideas. Other key topics: • Fish Aging with Mold – Dave unpacks the Papa Shell YouTube videos and the use of Mucor flavus for dry-aging fish, questioning technique, contamination risks, and whether it’s all just a long play for funky seafood. • Meat-Shaped Stone Obsession – The Taipei National Museum ’s famous Tong Po pork-shaped rock sparks a wild discussion on turning art into food, recursive meat shaping, and a potential Instagram project that may never happen. • Avocado Sorbet Trials – Quinn spins a Ninja Creami batch and debates if adding buckwheat honey would be culinary brilliance or a disaster in the making. • Plastic Wrap Deep Dive – Dave lays out the case against PVC-based cling film, explains why commercial kitchens still swear by it, and asks the ultimate question: Where’s the industrial-sized polyethylene wrap? • Rodent Tasting Notes – From capybara to nutria to the theoretical culinary potential of vole, the crew debates which critters are underrated on the dining table. • Koji in Home Ec? – Jennifer shares insights from Yellow Farmhouse ’s work in food education, shifting high school curriculums from standard home economics (or Family and Consumer Sciences ) to a deeper understanding of the food system. Plus, Dave rants about poorly executed microbiology in YouTube cooking experiments, breaks down the risks of flavor scalping, and issues a passionate plea for visiting museums while traveling—because yes , the Taipei National Museum is worth skipping a meal for. All that and more, this week on Cooking Issues ! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.