Food & Science Events at State Museum

Passing along a series of Food & Science Events
Hosted by the New York State Museum in Albany
(this info comes to me from the Capital District Permaculture Listserve - thanks!)


Food and Science - You are Invited !
In celebration of the 202nd anniversary of Charles Darwin�s
birth, the State Museum presents three cooking demonstrations that highlight
the evolution of domestic food. Each demonstration teams a local chef with a
biologist sous chef, and the two prepare the meal together, giving both
culinary and scientific perspectives on the main ingredients. Mansion
resident Dr. Jeremy J. Kirchman, curator of birds, will be on stage for the
final presentation..

*Swine and Dine*
*Wednesday, February 2 - 7 p.m.*
Pigs and their porcine relatives are used as food sources in many cultures,
and 7,000 years of artificial selection have resulted in the domesticated
pig that we farm today. Dr. Jason Cryan, an evolutionary biologist at the
State Museum, discusses the evolutionary origins, current distribution, and
biology of this ubiquitous animal, while Chef Tony Destratis of Lake George
Club prepares and presents inspired dishes.

* Potato: The Perfect Human Food *
*Wednesday, February 9 - 7 p.m.*
For the first few million years, the potato tuber was just a nifty
adaptation to help plants store a bit of energy underground. Then humans
discovered how nutritious it was, started experimenting with its evolution,
and created the perfect human food. Dr. Roland Kays, curator of mammals at
the State Museum, gives the evolutionary back-story to the tuber that
changed the world, and the Food Network�s Chef David Britton cooks up
examples of cuisine it has inspired.

*Living the Bubbly: Bread, Wine, and Beer*
*Wednesday, February 16 - 7 p.m.*
The variety of breads and fermented beverages developed by cultures around
the world are made possible by one species of yeast that has evolved into
hundreds of specialized strains. This microscopic fungus has been
intertwined with human evolution over the last 10,000 years, helping certain
cultures to flourish. Join Museum Scientist Dr. Jeremy Kirchman and Chef
Stephen Topper of the Copperfield Inn, North Creek, N.Y., as they discuss
the fascinating natural history of yeast and prepare delicious dishes.

For more info go to the New York State Museum website