Sharing the Flavor

Coffee Sustainability with Brandon Bir

Mon, 01 Dec 2025 20:00:00 -0500

This is part 2 of a discussion with Brandon Bir, who is the director of sustainability at Crimson Cup coffee in Columbus Ohio. In this episode we focus on sustainability in coffee production.

We talk a lot about sustainable farming of coffee cherry and get into many topics like certifications and the complications associated with those efforts as well as the challenges with traceability. We also discuss the affects to the farming community when sustainability is not a priority.

We also tell the story of how Crimson Cup worked with a group of farmers in Uganda to provide them the ability to roast coffee for the first time and make a difference in the process.

Brandon grew up in rural Indiana and has a passion for farming and sustainability. He brings that passion to the work he does at Crimson Cup. After studying the culinary arts Brandon became a barrista and then a coffee roaster and educator. Brandon works to develop a network of farmers and producers for Crimson Cup that promotes high quality coffee and fair trade. Brandon is also an active collaborater with researchers at the Ohio State University.

Dump your ground coffee into one of the glass servers. Place on the scale and tare. Add 400 grams of hot water (start a timer). At 1:45, stir 10 times to make sure the extraction is even. At 2:15, dump the solution through the filter/V60 over your second glass server. Allow the liquid to drip through and serve immediately.

Resources

To learn more about how Crimson Cup approaches sustainability and to learn more about The Chain Collaborative check out these resources.

Crimson Cup Helps Coffee Farmers in Uganada

Crimson Cup - Why Coffee Lovers Care About Sustainable Sourcing

The Chain Collaborative

To learn more about sustainability initiatives and help support specialty coffee shops check out these links below.

Specialty Coffee Association - The Coffee Price Crisis

TEDx Talks - Brewing a solution to climate change

How Sustainable Coffee Farms Could Save This African Forest

How to find sustainable specialty coffee shops and roasters

Coffee Engineering with Brandon Bir of Crimson Cup

Mon, 17 Nov 2025 08:00:00 -0500

Coffee Engineering with Brandon Bir of Crimson Cup

We love coffee here at Sharing the Flavor and this show features an interview with Brandon Bir, who is the director of sustainability at Crimson Cup coffee in Columbus Ohio.

We talk about the engineering of coffee starting with the farm and progressing all the way to the served cup to the consumer. Brandon is an active collaborater with researchers at the Ohio State University.

Brandon grew up on rural Indiana and has a passion for farming and sustainability and brings that passion to the work he does at Crimson Cup. After studying the culinary arts Brandon became a barista and then a coffee roaster and educator. He works to develop a network of farmers and producers for Crimson that promotes high quality coffee and fair trade.

We discuss the engineering process starting with the farm and agronomy, through the fermentation process, roasting, and the brewing. Engineering and science is involved with all aspects of coffee and knowing it can help impart rich flavors in the served cup of coffee.

Resources

The Design of Coffee: An Engineering Approach

Crimson Cup Lab

Crimson Cup Youtube

Specialty Coffee Association

James Hoffmann

Christopher Feran

Embracing The Art of Pasta with Sarah Ubertaccio

Mon, 03 Nov 2025 08:00:00 -0500

Embracing The Art of Pasta with Sarah Ubertaccio

This episode features a discussion with Sarah Ubertaccio, the founder of QB Cucina. QB Cucina provides a complete set of resources to help cooks embrace the art of making pasta at home. They provide courses, tools, ingredients, and a complement of free online tips and interviews. QB Cucina also has a book club for cooks to learn and share recipes with others.

Get started today making pasta with a course, ingredients or tools. Shop qbcucina.com and use promo code: sharingtheflavor

Sarah found her love for pasta while studying and teaching in Bologna, Italy, the capital of fresh egg pasta. While teaching students english she began her learning journey into pasta. After coming back to the US she wanted to share her passion and techniques for making pasta with others and founded QB Cucina.

In the episode we discuss how Sarah teaches students a progression of pasta technique and some important considerations for being successful making pasta. We also discuss the key ingredients of flour, water and then the additional complication of eggs.

Learning pasta is a very visual process and we discuss the importance of one to one interaction that Sarah provides and some tips for beginners to start their learning process and practice.

Sarah has a thriving book club that features guest authors and cooking collaboration. We discuss the joy of learning and sharing recipes in a club and the value students get from the group and the course.

Pasta is a lifelong art and craft and we discuss how to setup students for their journey and keep the passion going.

Hi this is Andy. In this episode we are interviewing Sarah Ubertaccio of QB Cucina. QB Cucina offers a variety of tools, dishes, books, ingredients and courses to help you make pasta at home. So if you are looking for something for you or someone you know who loves pasta, got check them out today at qbcucina.com (I have the link in the show notes) and use the discount code sharingtheflavor to save on your purchase.

Sensory Science with Dr. Chris Simons

Fri, 11 Oct 2024 09:00:00 -0500

This episode features a discussion of sensory science and how environment matters to how we perceive food and flavor. We are joined by Dr. Chris Simons of The Ohio State University's Department of Food Science and Technology.

Chris’ research interests uses a multidisciplinary approach to understand the perception of foods and how they are processed to influence reward and behavior. Chris has a B.S. degree in Biology from the University of Oregon, an M.S. degree in Physiology from Portland State University, and a Ph.D. in Sensory Science from the University of California, Davis.

Subsequently, Chris completed post-doctoral fellowships at the EPHE in Massy, France and the Dental School at the Universite Paris 6. From 2004 through 2012 Chris led the Sensory Research function at Givaudan Flavors Corp. and joined the faculty in the Department of Food Science and Technology at the Ohio State University in 2013.

While completing his post-doctoral fellowship in France Chris had an epiphany about how environment can have an influence on how we perceive food and this has guided his research at OSU.

We discuss traditional techniques to testing flavor and contrast that with new more immersive techniques promoted by Chris in the sensory lab and the affect it has on these tests.

Environment does have an influence on our perception and we discuss that and more in this episode.

Parma and Emilia-Romagna Cuisine with Stefania Bertaccini

Sun, 09 Jun 2024 07:00:00 -0500

Parma and Emilia-Romagna Cuisine with Stefania Bertaccini

This episode features the cuisine of Parma, Italy which is in the culinary rich region of Emilia-Romagna. We interview Stefania Bertaccini who is a cook, teacher, food guide and has a passion for nature. She operates Stefania's Cooking Classes and Tours in Parma, and also provide cooking classes online.

This region of Emilia-Romagna is an extremely important contributor to Italian cuisine. It is the "Food Valley" of Italy and features some of the best cuisine of Italy. Parma is a huge part of that.

Parma is home to Parmigianno-Reggiano cheese, Prosciutto di Parma ham and Balsamic Vinegar to name a few of the most famous. Parma is also home to some other great cured meats like Culatello and Culatta, porcini mushrooms, truffles and many fundamental recipes for pasta, such as Anolini as well as the fried dough torta fritta. This is just the highlights of a list that is vast.

Stefania guides us through the process of producing Parmigianno-Reggiano cheese and the history of the cheese. She also educates us on the aging of Parmigianno-Reggiano and the affects on taste and digestion.

She then takes us on a tour of the production of Prosciutto di Parma and the artistic and meticulous process of aging the ham and the extremely unique process in Parma and the processing plants by the River Enza

We next talk about the art of making Traditional balsamic vinegar DOP/PDO. Stefania's family produces traditional Balsamic vinegar in their farmhouse.

Lastly we discuss the wonderful wine of Parma, Lambrusco

Parma is a city of Gastronomy and has several food museums as well.

Contacting Stefania

Tomato Sauce: Classic Recipes from Marcella Hazan

Mon, 29 Apr 2024 19:30:00 -0500

Tomato Sauce: Classic Recipes from Marcella Hazan

This episode features a discussion of Tomatoes and some of the many Tomato based sauces in Italy. We feature recipes from the 30th anniversary edition of the great book by Marcella Hazan, Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.

The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking cleverly introduces readers to the spectrum of classic Italian cooking including both simple and complex regionally based recipes.

Hazan’s famed Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter has already been featured in countless blogs online and is a true staple! Tune in to learn more about the wealth of delicious and accessible recipes Hazan shares with her (very fortunate) readers.

Hazan also shares her techniques for working with either raw or canned tomatoes, basic sauces with garlic, onion, and butter. And flavor-filled sauces with pancetta, ricotta cheese and even porcini mushrooms.

Istanbul and Turkish Cuisine

Thu, 28 Mar 2024 18:00:00 -0500

This episode features the cuisine of Turkey and the city of Istanbul. We interview Hardy Griffin and Banu Ozer Griffin who lived and enjoyed the cuisine of Turkey for years before moving to the US.

Hardy is a writer of fiction, book reviews, and essays and translates from Turkish to English. Banu is a Lecturer of Turkish Language in the Department of Near Eastern Studies at Cornell University.

Turkey is a cross roads of culture and cuisine and contributes a rich tapestry of taste to the southern Mediteranean area. Many people might know Turkey for Doner Kebap and Baklava but there is so much more to enjoy.

Street food guide

We discuss the city of Istanbul, street food, restaurants and home cooking.

Enjoy!

In Movies and Tv

A Touch of Spice

The Chef’s Table- Netflix

Cookbooks

A Taste of Sun & Fire - Gaziantep Cookery

Fetured Restaurants

Ciya Sofrası

Cooking in Sicily with Chef Paulette

Fri, 01 Mar 2024 08:23:00 -0500

Cooking in Sicily with Chef Paulette Licitra

This episode features the cuisine of Sicily. Sicily is the largest island of Italy and is known for it's volcanic mountains and North African influence to it's cuisine and architecture. This Mediterranean island has spectacular beauty and has been featured in the public TV series Inspector Montalbano.

We are joined by our friend, Chef Paulette Licitra. We disuss our Sicilian family heritage, her travels to the island and cooking experiences in Palermo and Ragusa. We delve deep in the cuisine, seafood, street food and certainly the sweets that Sicily is know for.

Paulette discusses her travels and cooking in Sicily, including a visit to Capo Market in Palermo and cooking on a boat in the harbor.

Cooking Essentials - Seasoning with Salt

Thu, 15 Feb 2024 09:00:00 -0500

Cooking Essentials - Seasoning with Salt

This episode is the first in our series on the essentials of cooking. We begin by discussing seasoning and specifically, the use of salt before the cooking process, during the cooking process, and as a finishing touch.

Salt in History

This episode includes a history lesson on salt and features topics from the book Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky. The book is a great read to understand the cultural and societal importance of salt.

Cooking with Salt

We also feature cooking-related tips about why we use salt and the best types of salt for cooking. We discuss techniques to use with salt for different cooking and baking processes from the following books.

Ruhlman's Twenty by Michael Ruhlman
Salt Fat Acid Heat by Samin Nosrat

We begin the cooking section by referencing the many forms of salt and their use in cooking, curing, brining and finishing.

Enjoy!

From Michelin Kitchen to Classroom Professor with Matthew James Duffy

Fri, 02 Feb 2024 11:00:00 -0500

From Michelin Kitchen to Classroom Professor with Matthew James Duffy

This episode features a discussion with chef and professor, Matthew James Duffy. Matthew is a classically trained fine dining chef that has a passion for breadmaking and teaches at the Centennial College in Toronto Canada.

After graduating from University of Guelph, Matthew started his culinary career studying at Stratford Chef School.

While attending school, Matthew was able to cook, during semesters of culinary practice, at Sooke Harbour House in British Columbia, Langdon Hall in Ontario Canada, Il Canto in Siena, Italy and Ichiban Ueno Osaka, Japan. He then had the opportunity to cook at Restaurant Noma in Copenhagen, Denmark followed by opportunities in Spain cooking for El Bohio in Madrid and Comerç 24 in Barcelona.

After returning to North America, Matthew became a chef for Chef Daniel Boulud at Café Boulud NYC. After working in New York, Matthew was a Sous chef opening Café Boulud Toronto.

After years of cooking at Michelin star restaurants, Matthew pursued a teaching career at Centennial College where he is Professor of Baking and Pastry Arts Management.

Matthew has a micro bakery and shares this passion for Sourdough and baking online and has created a social media community of bakers.

To stay connected with Matthew's latest content, sign up for his newsletter.

Learn from Matthew:

Enjoy!

NYC to Nashville with Paulette Licitra

Sat, 20 Jan 2024 08:30:00 -0500

This episode features a discussion with author and cook, Paulette Licitra. Paulette, a native of Brooklyn, first started her career in theater and television production before pursuing an education in cooking at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City.

After her education at ICE, she pursued an internship and subsequent job at Lupa in the West Village of NYC.

After working in the restaurant scene she then worked as a caterer in Midtown and also as a cook at Micol Negrin's Rustico Cooking in NYC.

Paulette then moved to Nashville Tennessee and started teaching cooking classes there. She has appeared many times on television in Nashville as well as performs music with her partner Duane in their group, Duette.

Paulette conducts classes in person and online and also organizes Italy culinary tours. You can reach Paulette at her website, Chef Paulette.

Paulette's published books are:

Links for topics discussed:

La Caffettiera Cafe in Rome
Nonna Betta Rome Restaurant
Ristorante La Campana - Rome
Pizzeria Tavola Calda Felice e Silvana (Rome)

Enjoy!

Panettone, A Christmas Story

Sat, 16 Dec 2023 13:00:00 -0500

A Panettone Christmas

In this episode we discuss the King of Breads, Panettone. This pastry bread is the tradition for Natale (Christmas) and originated in Milan. It's unique in its tall size and has a dome shape and candied citron.

Many of us have had boxed panettone that are stale but if you try a fresh panettone, it's completely different.

The history of panettone dates back to the Romans to panem triticum which was a loaf of bread sweetened with egg and raisins.

During the Middle Ages, in Milan families celebrated Christmas was celebrated with three large loaves of wheat bread. In 1395 was issued that all bakeries in Milan must make a pan de’ sciori or pan del ton available to all on Christmas.

The history of panettone is also legend and there are three versions of the legend.

Legend of Panetonne

The first legend is in 1495 in the court of Ludovico il Moro. A young (14 year old) baker named Toni is assigned to prepare the dessert. He sadly falls sleep and burns the cake which sends the head chef into a rage. To save himself he uses a piece of butter saved for his mother for Christmas to make the soft bread with eggs and sugar. The chef and Ludovico il Moro are delighted. Toni was not credited by the chef but news travels to the city of the creation of the pan de Toni.

The second legend surrounds the love of Giacomo Atellani and Adalgisa, a daughter of a baker in Milan. The Atellani do not approve of the wedding because the bakery poor fortunes. Giacomo secretly decides to work for the bakery to make a bread with sugar, butter and candied citron. The bread is a success and become famous and this convinces Ughettos's love of Adalgisa.

The last legend is that of a group of nuns and Sister Ughetta. As Christmas approaches she decided to prepare a cake that will comfort her sisters during the Christmas holidays. The cake, a mixture of sugar, eggs, butter and candied citron satisfies the nuns and become popular throughout Milan.

Panetone is not just for Christmas

Panettone is given as gifts and is celebrated during the Christmas holiday. The Milanese are known to hold onto leftover panettone and eat it on February 3rd for celebrating Saint Blaise https://italoamericano.org/panettone-san-biagio/

Making Panettone is a labor of love

The process of baking panettone is involved and starts with a lievito madre, a stiff dough that is the starter for the bread. It is a special version of a sourdough starter. The lievito madre is mixed with egg, flour and butter and worked for three days making multiple doughs before baking. The unique baking process of panettone involves cooling it by hanging the panettone after baking, which helps preserve the dome shape, and cools for 10 hours.

Creating Lievito Madre (Pasta Madre)

Don't have time to make panettone, here are some great artisnal ones you can buy. Or you can buy less expensive ones that are still very good

Liguria in Cucina with Enrica Monzani

Thu, 30 Nov 2023 02:00:00 -0500

This episode features a discussion with author and cook, Enrica Monzani. Enrica is the author of the blog, A Small Kitchen in Genoa. Enrica has a new book out called Liguria in Cucina. In the book she explores the culinary regions and foods of Genoa, the Italian Riviera and the vast Forest areas of Liguria.

We go beyond Pesto and Focaccia to explore the diverse culinary regions and flavors of Liguria.

Topics discussed:

· The Regions within Liguria and the influence on cooking (The Sea, The Forest, the Mountains)

· The pantry of Liguria

· Olive Oil of Liguria

· Pesto origins and Salsa di Noci

· Chickpea flour (Panissa, Farinata)

· The unique Pasta of Liguria (use of white wine)

· The many forms of Focaccia (Focaccette al Formaggio, Sardenaira)

· The savoury pies of Liguria (Torta Pasqualina )

· Fish (Anchovies}, Mussels)

· Ligurian Desserts

Enrica also hosts cooking classes and food tours of Genoa.

To learn more about Enrica and buy Liguria in Cucina today, head over to A Small Kitchen in Genoa

Enjoy!

Roasting coffee with Cutbow Coffee

Thu, 16 Nov 2023 12:00:00 -0500

Roasting Coffee with Cutbow Coffee

In this episode we interview Paul Gallegos of Cutbow Coffee in Alburquerqe New Mexico.

Paul was trained in roasting at Peet's coffee and has been roasting coffee for 30 years.

Paul shares with us the history of Peet's coffee and their early relationship with Starbucks. He talks about the specialty coffee movement started by Alfred Peet. He mentions how, at the same time in the 60's, the Berkley California scene also started the Farm to Table movement, with Alice Water's Chez Panisse.

Paul educates us on coffee varieties and cultivation and the bean belt of countries across the world that produce coffee. He discusses about the care needed in selecting coffee and how it is similar to wine making.

Giovanni and Paul discuss Italian coffee roasters such as Illy and Sant'Eustachio. They also discuss the region of Trieste, which is the most known region of Italy for coffee production

We also delve into the roasting process and how this imparts flavor into the coffee before the coffee drink is made.

A show cannot be complete without a food reference and Paul mentions a recipe for short ribs with coffee.

Enjoy!

All Souls Day Celebrations

Mon, 30 Oct 2023 22:00:00 -0500

In this episode we discuss the celebrations surrounding All Saints Day(November 1rst) and All Souls Day (November 2nd). From Mexico's Dia de Los Muertos to Italy's regional celebrations we disuss the traditions and food associated with these days of remembrance.

Vanessa guides us through the celebrations in areas like Atlixco where altars are decorated and celebrations include Pane de Muerto.

Gio discusses traditions in north and south Italy and some of the regional foods. Gio also mentions that Abruzzo has celebrations that include Jack O'Lanterns.

We discuss Italian food from Minestra di Ceci Soup and Pan dei Morti in the north to the wonderful sweets of Naples and Sicily like Ossa dei Morti and Rame di Napoli. In Marche there is a biscuit recipe for Fave dei Morti.

Vanessa features at the end a great chocolate cookie recipe from Naples called Biscotti Toto.

Enjoy!

Sharing the Flavor

Coffee Sustainability with Brandon Bir

Menu

Resources

Coffee Engineering with Brandon Bir of Crimson Cup

Coffee Engineering with Brandon Bir of Crimson Cup

Menu

Resources

Embracing The Art of Pasta with Sarah Ubertaccio

Embracing The Art of Pasta with Sarah Ubertaccio

Menu

Resources/Links:

Sensory Science with Dr. Chris Simons

Menu

Parma and Emilia-Romagna Cuisine with Stefania Bertaccini

Parma and Emilia-Romagna Cuisine with Stefania Bertaccini

Contacting Stefania

Menu

Tomato Sauce: Classic Recipes from Marcella Hazan

Tomato Sauce: Classic Recipes from Marcella Hazan

Menu

Istanbul and Turkish Cuisine

Street food guide

In Movies and Tv

A Touch of Spice

The Chef’s Table- Netflix

Cookbooks

A Taste of Sun & Fire - Gaziantep Cookery

Fetured Restaurants

Ciya Sofrası

Menu

Cooking in Sicily with Chef Paulette

Cooking in Sicily with Chef Paulette Licitra

Menu

Cooking Essentials - Seasoning with Salt

Cooking Essentials - Seasoning with Salt

Salt in History

Cooking with Salt

From Michelin Kitchen to Classroom Professor with Matthew James Duffy

From Michelin Kitchen to Classroom Professor with Matthew James Duffy

Learn from Matthew:

NYC to Nashville with Paulette Licitra

Paulette's published books are:

Links for topics discussed:

Panettone, A Christmas Story

A Panettone Christmas

Legend of Panetonne

Panetone is not just for Christmas

Making Panettone is a labor of love

Liguria in Cucina with Enrica Monzani

Topics discussed:

To learn more about Enrica and buy Liguria in Cucina today, head over to A Small Kitchen in Genoa

Roasting coffee with Cutbow Coffee

Roasting Coffee with Cutbow Coffee

All Souls Day Celebrations

The Menu