Kevin Jeung (Noma / Noma Projects) calls in from LA to talk about Noma’s upcoming Los Angeles pop-up and what it changes when you suddenly have citrus, avocados, and California seasonality on the table. Kevin walks through how the team is doing early-stage R&D—ingredient exploration, fermentation setup, and testing techniques for hard problems like cactus slime and variable produce.
Dave detours into Denmark: Christmas market roast pork sandwiches, crackling technique, and what cut the Danes actually use (loin vs belly vs skin-on neck). They also get into Noma Projects curiosities like peach tree sap (rehydrated for a tendon-like chew), plus a few practical bar/kitchen notes: a clarified spec for the Brandy Savage cranberry cordial build, and a quick take on stabilizing acidic whipped cream (gel/fluid-gel approach vs citric acid straight into dairy). Closing beat: Kevin’s Turkey method for the Noma team—compound butter under the skin, and mayo outside for browning/crisping.
","author_name":"Cooking Issues"}