Museum of Food and Drink's Meet & Greet
Held on Friday July 19th from 4 to 6 PM ET
Opening
Hi all, welcome to @mofad’s Q&A on Twitter. We have the @mofad team under this handle and Dave Arnold as @cookingissues. #mofad
Q & A
Q2 @cookingissues When did you first have the idea to open a food museum and why do you think it’s important? #mofad
A2 I was at the Museum of Natural History and realized food need a museum on that scale. #mofad
A2 I also realized starting a museum like that is impossible. The solution: start with groups of individual exhibitions #mofad
A2. Make each exhibition as cool and thorough as any exhibition at a larger museum. That's the way to grow. #mofad
A3: Monster “fish tank” labyrinth immersion circulator demonstrating a whole array of low temp cooking techniques. #mofad
@ourcookquest MOFAD meets aquarium, awesome. #mofad
@mofad A3: Traveling pop-up 'food court', representing different immigrant influences in America. Everything $5 or less. #mofad
Jean Dough @ourcookquest
@matthewjennings Good idea. Maybe rotate the offerings depending on which region / city it's in. #mofad
Jean Dough @ourcookquest
What would you make for this? RT @matthewjennings A3: Traveling pop-up 'food court'... #mofad
@mofad @matthewjennings A food truck roundup is one way to make such an idea a reality. Makes sense w/#mofad pop up to have mobile partners.
A3: Next pop up exhibit: an oversized chile roaster with serious BTUs. Could tumble roast all sorts of goodness! #mofad
@ourcookquest We'd have people sneezing for miles around! #mofad
@mofad A3: I'd love to see flavor/texture/temperature preferences in major food cultures and how they are acheived. #MOFAD #crunch
MuseumOfFoodAndDrink @mofad
MuseumOfFoodAndDrink @mofad
Q4 @cookingissues will the @mofad focus on American cuisine? Or more general culinary trends? #mofad
A4 Excellent question. Sometimes we will focus on American topics, but we are interested in the whole world. #mofad
A4 NY is a great place for MOFAD because New York, more than any other US city, represents what happens when the world comes together #mofad
Q5: Everyone, what do you think was the tastiest time in history? #mofad
A5 Throughout history and cultures, people like things that taste good. #mofad
Right now with all the serious creativity, sharing & tech! RT @mofad Q5: Everyone,what do you think was the tastiest time in history? #mofad
Nice. Going old school there. RT @IronWhisk @mofad A5: Hmm.. probably Medieval Times. #MOFAD
@mofad Isn't the best time right now? Seriously. What don't we have now that there was
before? #mofad
@PrfctLitlBites Well, we can't eat Steller's Sea Cow anymore. That was so delicious we drove it extinct. #mofad
RT A5 @entreedallas: @PrfctLitlBites @mofad @CookingIssues I hate it when things delicious themselves into extinction. #mofad
@PrfctLitlBites What about Thai cuisine pre-chiles? #mofad
A5 Hannah says: the height of imperial China, only if I were a Qin emperor #mofad
@cookingissues A5 The whole how much should we manipulate food argument. Some things are best left alone. #mofad
A5 Emma says: Japan (more specifically Nagasaki) at the height of Portuguese and Dutch trading #mofad
Q6 How about the reasons to keep backing the kickstarter even though we've made our goals? #mofad
A6 We've got just enough to fund the puffer, thanks to all of you, but need help moving forward with other programs #mofad
A6 The kickstarter goals were the bare minimum needed to exhibit the gun. We are by no means flush. #mofad
A6 More backing means we grow faster, can go more places, and it sends a message to NYC govt that we have broad support. #mofad
@mofad A6: Exceeding fundraising goals means ed programming & outreach/education opportunities. #mofad
A6: you guys taking the puffing gun on the road? What would it take to hit the west coast? Sure @evankleiman would like to know. #mofad
@ourcookquest It would take the enough backers and enough resources. We would love to do it. #mofad
@matthewjennings Exactly #mofad
@matthewjennings So true! We can't grow without cash. (Sad truth) #mofad
Q7 Have you tried puffing anything unusual? Would meat products like dried shrimp, bottarga & pork skin work? #mofad
A7 We haven't puffed a lot in the gun...yet. Just a couple of test puffs. #mofad
A7 pork skin (any skin) would clearly work. I have wondered about dried shrimp and scallops --and casein gels. #mofad
A7 in principle, anything that can get soft with heat, without blowing apart, and set on cooling, can be puffed. #mofad
@CookingIssues A7 except for PDiddy. ;) #mofad
@ourcookquest While I can't puff Sean Puffy Combs, I bet I can puff dehydrated cock's combs #mofad
@CookingIssues A7 do you have a dream cereal puffing dough flavor combo? Sweet and savory please. #mofad
@ourcookquest We will definitely be doing some savory work. #mofad
@CookingIssues voting for fish sauced cream of mushroom puff #mofad
@cookingissues A7: is the puffing gun difficult to break? How well does it clean if you put something crazy in it? #mofad
@ourcookquest You clean the gun by tumbling bolts inside of it. No joke. #mofad
@cookingissues very cool. It's all about being industrial. What about residual smells? Sanitation easy? #mofad
@ourcookquest That's what the early cereal gurus wanted -bland, easy to digest pre-cooked starch. Puffs with no milk no sugar no salt #mofad
Q8 Any plans on looking backward to key moments in food/drink history as well as pushing forward? #mofad
A8 Absolutely. One example is looking at how spices drove the Age of Exploration. #mofad
A8 The history of food is vitally important to our mission. We use food as a lens to view history, culture, and science. #mofad
A8 Another: prohibition and how that changed beverage culture in the US #mofad
A8 The temperance movement that pre-dated prohibition is actually tied into the same cultural wave that spawned breakfast cereal #mofad
@cookingissues always thought it would be wonderful to see a cookbook library archiving how home food preparation developed & fads 2 #mofad
Q9 Is overall goal to provide an experience to get folks interested in general, or to really delve into each exhibit? #mofad
A9 Both. #mofad
A9 I don't want anyone to say a bigger museum could do a better job on the subjects we tackle. We must delve in. #mofad
A9: Been to many museums that are general and they turn me off. #mofad
A9 At the same time any exhibit we do has to address larger issues in the history, economics, science, and culture of food in general #mofad
Q10 Why is the puffing gun your first exhibit? #mofad
A10 The puffing gun sits at a great intersection of science, culture, and history. #mofad
A10 Besides the fact that we just love the Puffing Gun so damned much, it really is a good self-contained starting point for us. #mofad
A10 Plus, the puffing gun is only a preview of a much larger exhibit to come on cereal #mofad
@ourcookquest @mofad Q10 would make a great essay. <--why I asked abt a print companion for #mofad
Q11: What do you want us to try puffing in the puffing gun? #mofad
@matthewjennings @PrfctLitlBites @_Mark_S what do you guys want to put in the puffing gun? #MOFAD
@ourcookquest @matthewjennings @PrfctLitlBites I want to make rice cakes with puffed pork skin, dried shrimp and black rice. #mofad
RT @aaronhoskins @_Mark_S @matthewjennings @PrfctLitlBites Pretty sure the talented @brooke_mosley did a Rice Krispie treat like that #MOFAD
@CookingIssues Bringing the rice cake out of the shadows. Maybe puff some peppercorns? #MOFAD
@CookingIssues can you puff ground grains like cornmeal to make micro puffs? #mofad
@ourcookquest I'd think so. #mofad
@ourcookquest Most likely. The guy who discovered puffing (Alexander Anderson) did this with cornstarch #mofad
@CookingIssues would be interesting to find out the optimal sized puff for best texture experience. #mofad
A11: @harold_mcgee wants to try puffing green coffee beans. No guarantee it would be delicious. #mofad
A11: azuki beans, chewy ginger candy, cardamom and nitrogen shattered bubble gum. #mofad
A11: @ourcookquest All at once? Could be good as a topping for anmitsu. #mofad
A11: Piper at @bookeranddax wants to try puffing hot dogs. #NotGoodWithMilk #mofad
Made me think corn dogs! RT @mofad A11: Piper at @bookeranddax wants to try puffing hot dogs. #NotGoodWithMilk #mofad
In my twenties I made a cereal for myself with sugared pork rinds and bean shaped marshmallows. Piggles and Beanies. #GoodWithMilk #mofad
A11: @cookingissues What about tofu skin? #mofad
A11: @matthewjennings Seaweed definitely puffable, at least according to a Japanese co. that makes mini puffing guns. #mofad
Which ones? @_Mark_S @matthewjennings @mofad A:11 I'm also interested in pork skin, but also grains in general. #MOFAD
A11: @cookingissues Will you be developing a custom puff ingredient that you can use in a drink? #mofad
@ourcookquest I can't puff stuff for my business in the museum's gun #mofad
Needs a tshirt. RT @CookingIssues: @ourcookquest I can't puff stuff for my business in the museum's gun #mofad
I want to puff grass (any old Stan Freberg fans out there?) #mofad
@mofad @PrfctLitlBites Legumes? Could we do: alfalfa, clover, peas, beans, lentils, soybeans, peanuts? #puffthemagicPUFFINGGUN #mofad
@ourcookquest @_Mark_S @matthewjennings @mofad Been playing with freekeh & bulgur a lot lately. Love to see it puffed #mofad
A11: @PrfctLitlBites Great suggestions. Farro's been getting a lot of love, and freekeh's feeling left out. #mofad
@ourcookquest Herbal things. Can I puff a sage leaf? Pesto bits. #mofad
Can the puffing gun fit up the Yale College TD Bell Tower, and if so will you puff some delicacies over Harvard-Yale weekend? #MOFAD
@RaviDGoel Not in the bell tower, but we could do it on the quad! #mofad
@ourcookquest @CookingIssues @RaviDGoel I want a full auto-puffing gun. #mofad
@kitchenmage These days, commercial puffing guns are fully automated. Ours... not so much. #mofad
That's what interns are for. ;) RT @mofad @kitchenmage These days, commercial puffing guns are fully automated. Ours... not so much. #mofad
@CookingIssues More science to investigate. My geek-cook mind is racing. So many flat things need puffing! #mofad
@kitchenmage Nice #mofad
Puffed malt. That is all. #mofad @mofad @ourcookquest
@amytmaster Perfect. Maybe we can double-puff malted milk balls. #mofad
Don't forget ground green coffee! RT @mofad @amytmaster Perfect. Maybe we can double-puff malted milk balls. #mofad @cookingissues
Q12: Will there be opportunities for traveling exhibits to visit other parts of the country? From @SustainFood4T #mofad
A12 If we can get the money and the interest we would love to visit other parts of the country with our exhibits #mofad
Q13 Going back in history is there any food that U don't know how they made it? (ie food equiv of the Pyramids) from @rubydeubry #mofad
@mofad @rubydeubry #mofad Roman liquamen. No-one knows just how they made it No-one is gonna experiment, either, as the base is rotting fish
@CatzInCowbridge Sally Grainger has been studying and making that stuff. I have tasted some of it. Pretty damned good. #mofad
A13: @CatzInCowbridge Fish sauces could be their own mini exhibit. Japanese ishiri is probably pretty close. #mofad
@mofad @CatzInCowbridge @cookingissues been working on a fish sauce cured bacon! #mofad
#mofad I believe trumpets may have to be involved (in the Proclamation) as well ;)
@ourcookquest It is. Sally Grainger's guts-only 3 year old mackerel Garum is a dead ringer for aged Japanese squid-guts Ishiri #Love #mofad
Q14 Why does sticking your hand in a bag of lentils feel so good? Curious about the feelings touching food inspires. @Erin_Fairbanks #mofad
A14 Peter likes the way the interior of fava bean pods feel. So soft. #mofad
A14: Like how some types of kale are sticky when you tear it. Also quite delicious. #mofad
Q14 Smashing your fingers through buckets of rice or dry beans like iron-fist kung-fu trainees doesn't feel great. But I am weak. #mofad
Q15: Will there be a restaurant in the museum? With puffed stuff?? from @amytmaster #mofad
@amytmaster Most certainly. The whole idea is to tie the restaurant into the exhibitions, to make a holistic experience. #mofad
A15. Once the museum has a space with 3 full-sized exhibits, we will probably have at least a cafe. #mofad
A15 And DEFINITELY no wraps. @cookingissues hates wraps. #mofad
Aren't egg rolls just fried wraps? RT @mofad A15 And DEFINITELY no wraps. @cookingissues hates wraps. #mofad
@ourcookquest Fried wraps are great #Chimichanga #mofad
Fried wraps + lettuce even better #KoreanSsam #winning #mofad
Can @cookingissues suggest a coating so it stays crispy? RT @mofad Fried wraps + lettuce even better #KoreanSsam #winning #mofad
What if you made the wrap interesting using a different grain & nixtamalization? RT @CookingIssues @mofad All good people hate wraps. #mofad
Q16 Where do you think the food industry is heading? We're organic but food is still processed. From @thesugarchef #mofad
A16 Sometimes I am hopeful, sometimes baleful about the prospects of the food industry. One of the reasons to start the museum #mofad
A16: I have the fear that organic will not end up being as beneficial as local with the commercialization. #mofad
Q17 What other demonstrations do you have planned after Boom? from @amytmaster #mofad
A17 We have a lot planned. One is called Food Forum - take controversial food issues and bring experts together to debate #mofad
Q18, take 2: What will be in the museum? Will any of the exhibits be edible? from @HeritageRadioNetwork #mofad
A18 At MOFAD you will see, smell touch and taste real, live food. Another reason for brick and mortar. You can't eat the internet. #mofad
Examples please. RT @CookingIssues A18 At MOFAD you will see, smell touch and taste real, live food... #mofad
Q19 @cookingissues what are your sons' ideas for exhibits? from @ourcookquest #mofad
A19 Booker only wants to think about Russ and Daughters salmon and fish roe, Dax just wants to blow stuff up. #mofad
Q20 Is it feasible you think to puff larger hunks of stuff: fist-sized rather than pellet-sized? from @PopSciEats #mofad
@PopSciEats You have to heat through to the core of the product before the outside scorches. I don't know the upper size limit. Yet. #mofad
Q21 Will the museum have more of a domestic or international bent? from @amytmaster #mofad
@amytmaster Both. To the extent that the history of US food is the history of its immigrants, I don't always have to choose. #mofad
How much money would it take to make all of your @mofad dreams come true? #mofad @ourcookquest
@amytmaster We will roll out in a number of iterations. Puffing gun:150k, Full sized exhibit+gallery 2-3mil, 3 exhibit space 23 mil. #mofad
@amytmaster By the time I'm dead I want the museum in a huge space --100's of millions of dollars (as long as we are talking dreams) #mofad
Q1 What is your favorite breakfast cereal? #mofad
A1 Frosted Shredded Mini Wheats and Life #mofad
A1 Cocoa rice krispies to yield crazy sweet chocolate cereal milk! #mofad
A1: Honey Nut Cheerios #mofad
A1: Honey Graham Os! #mofad
@matthewjennings Good one! Do they even make those anymore? #mofad
@IronWhisk A classic. (Though not made in a puffing gun.) #mofad
A1 Sweet cereal was forbidden fruit for Peter as a child so he has a weak spot for Cinnamon Toast Crunch #mofad
@nanasmamee One of our faves. According to our cereal personality test, Cap'n Crunch lovers live on the wild side. #mofad
I wonder if cocoa nibs can be puffed to make a cocoa puff analog #mofad
Puffed ground coffee for micro bursting caffeine delivery. #mofad
@ourcookquest ground coffee is already partially puffed --coffee puffs as it is roasted. Bet we could puff green beans and post roast #mofad
@CookingIssues what about coffee beans then? #MOFAD
Closing
That wraps MOFAD's first Twitter Q&A. Thanks everyone. <24hrs left on our Kickstarter, help us break $100K http://boom.mofad.org #mofad
If we hit $100K, Dave @cookingissues does lemonade cleanse, Peter does Special K diet, Emma does Cowboy Diet. Bring the pain! #mofad
Enjoy the weekend everybody! #mofad
@mofad Can't wait to see this become a reality. Huge thx to @CookingIssues for all the ways you've influenced me & the culinary world #mofad
@mofad @CookingIssues thanks for taking the time to let us know what #MOFAD is all about. The potential of this museum is simply amazing.
Thanks to everyone who participated in the #mofad chat!