Japanese Foodways course inspires research and creativity across disciplines
Each year in Geography and Environment 1301, Dr. Tim Reiffenstein’s Japanese Foodways class collaborates with the MASSIE (51Ƶ Allison Semester Studies in English) students to share what they have learned about Japan’s fundamental flavours through an interactive event — Umami Matsuri II. This year it will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 22 from 6:30-8 p.m. in the Windsor Grand Room. Admission is free. All welcome.
The event features exhibitions on the history, science, and culture behind Umami in Japan, along with delicious food tastings. The class is also co-producing a Ramen Pop-Up at Bagtown Brewery on Thursday, Oct. 23, $15 cash only.
“Whether in the creation of umami-themed haiku, or the penning of original songs about instant ramen, the class has served as an interesting platform for students to exercise their creativity around Japanese food,” says Reiffenstein.
Chemistry and biochemistry students Christian Leger and Tyler Shelton brought science into the course discussion by working with chemistry professor Dr. Andrew Grant on extracting glutamate from Japanese kelp (kombu). They set out to replicate a century old idea using a different process from Kikunae Ikeda’s historical isolation of glutamate in the umami flavour of kombu in 1908, where MSG was discovered.
“This was a great opportunity to demystify science,” says Leger.
While the process is ongoing, Shelton says the results are promising.
“I personally learned from this experience how difficult it is even to begin isolating glutamate from natural products and I appreciate how much effort it took Kikunae Ikeda to achieve such a task in 1908,” says Shelton.
The Japanese Foodways class events are generously sponsored by Future NB.
