Student Info
Name: Reynolds, Benjamin C
Term: Fall 2018
Credits: 12
Title: Cultural Preserves: Fermenting Thoughts On Food Preservation And Its Origins
Contact Info
Contract mode: Undergraduate In Program Individual Learning Contract
Sponsor name: Williams, Sarah
Internship Info (if applicable):
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Field Supervisor
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Subcontractor
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Program Description
Narrative:
For this one-quarter project, entitled Cultural Preserves: Fermenting Thoughts On Food Preservation And Its Origins student will engage with both hands on and academic learning designed to address and explore food preparation and preservation–particularly fermentation, the food science behind it, and the cultural and aesthetic backgrounds attached to these practices. The student will be reading The Art of Fermentation, by Sandor Katz, The Noma Guide To Fermentation, Delights And Prejudices, by James Beard, and potentially Ole G. Mouritsen and Klavs Styrbaek’s Mouthfeel, and Umami. The student will also draw on these sources and others to perform food lab work focused on preservation, the student will find workshops, classes, events, and mentors for guided learning and direct demonstration of fermentation and other modes of preservation.
| Learning objective | Activity | Deliverable |
| Learning by doing, how to preserve and ferment food. | Student will complete at home food labs. Beginning with reserving tomatoes by drying and by reduction, the nixtamalization of corn, making kombucha with the focus of understanding how each component (tea, bacterial culture, a sugar) influences the other (and how to impart the qualities of tea more clearly in the finished result). Additionally, the student will take on larger projects such as fermenting at least two differing chili mashes, and potentially attempting to produce a vinegar from scratch. These tasks will be completed while focusing on seasonally available ingredients |
Written recipes, a research piece on the food chemistry and process, a sample of the final result (perhaps to be shared amongst the group that we have on Tuesdays) and progress of projects through photo evidences. |
| Researching food preservation methodologies, executions, and evaluations., and attending events & workshops related to these topics. | I will be reading a number of books such as The Noma Guide to Fermentation, Sandor Katz’s The Art Of Fermentation, potentially The Artisinal Vinegar Maker’s Handbook, James Beard’s Delights & Prejudices, and I will be revisiting Ole G. Mouritsen and Klavs Styrbaek’s Mouthfeel, and potentially their prior text Umami. In addition, I will be attending such events as the Northwest Tea Festival, Evergreen’s 38th Annual Harvest Festival, the North American Biodynamic Conference and, potentially, The Northwest Chocolate Festival. |
There will be writ reflections, and the books will be partly responsible for the research pertaining to the at home portion. The reflections will consist of both a “food science” perspective, and a “cultural analysis” perspective. |
Evaluation of Work
- Narrative evaluations from field supervisor and/or subcontractor
- Narrative mid-quarter and final self-evaluations
- WordPress ePortfolio
- The student will complete all assignments as described on the syllabus, including weekly documentation on the ePortfolio under the Project pages of the SOS: Food and Ag program website. Required components of the ePortfolio, as templated, include: approved ILC description; weekly post; log of activities and hours; map; image gallery, and bibliography. NOTE: Do not change the theme of the ePortfolio as many special features as well as off-campus student access can be compromised with non-app friendly themes. No exceptions please. Because the student’s in-program ILC project requires–or would benefit from–a field supervisor (required for internships), subcontractor (required for upper division science credit), or mentor, the student should provide the faculty with a field supervisor, subcontractor, or mentor’s descriptive assessment of in-program ILC work completed with their guidance, expertise, or supervision by Thursday noon of week 10. This assessment should be discussed between the student and the field supervisor, subcontractor, or mentor, then provided on professional letterhead as an attached .doc file, including current contact information, directly to the appropriate faculty sponsor through email (williasa@evergreen.edu). The student should complete comprehensive mid-quarter and final narrative self-evaluations and submit them to faculty at mid-quarter and prior to their final, end of quarter student-faculty conference. For the final presentation each student will post and, when possible, present in class on Tuesday of week 10, a ten-minute PowerPoint (Keynote, Google Slides) presentation of 10-15 slides with text that demonstrates the highlights of the student’s in-program ILC Project. (Note: As a “best of the student’s ePortfolio” this presentation should not be about the creation of new material, but rather the final presentation should assemble and tell the story of existing material regarding the student’s in-program ILC project.) All students must update their Academic Statement yearly. Graduating seniors are encouraged to work on revisions to their final Academic Statement with faculty prior to the final evaluation conference.