Have you ever wondered if Twinkies® could survive an apocalypse? By Erin Short

Well, I often pondered this thought...mostly when I was hungry. Hi, I’m Erin Short. Let me tell you a little bit about how I became interested in food, studied food, and will hopefully one day inspire others to do the same.

At a young age, this girl often day dreamed about the composition of food and was known to binge watch Good Eats with Alton Brown and Unwrapped.

In this picture, she was processing the tomatoes she had picked barefoot in her family garden. She and her mom transformed these tomatoes into gazpacho and homemade sauce.

Quantity wise, it was an enormous amount of food. A supply that would not only last the Short family throughout the fall, winter, spring but even enough for the next year. The yield of tomatoes, along with berries, potatoes, and peaches was so plentiful, even the neighbors could reap the benefits. What she didn't know was that this lifestyle created a community. Even more so, that these experiences would mold her into what she is today.

In some shape or form, all of her memories from childhood encompass food.

At a very young age, she enjoyed eating sardines and anchovies straight out of the can but some of her MOST favorite foods were kimchi, veggie pancakes, olives and of course any sweet under the sun.

At 6 years old, she remembers her mom putting her to work in the kitchen and tirelessly processing food. Slivering, slicing, mincing, dicing, cubing, julienning, all those onions, garlic cloves, peppers, potatoes, and tomatoes. Every week felt like a Thanksgiving meal prep.

At 8, she vividly remembers the bright and zippy ceviche her mom used to make. How the white fish used in the dish was the ‘catch of the day’ that came from her neighbor who often traded fish and other seafood for produce.

At 10, she ate her first avocado and remembers not liking it…

At 16, she remembers teaching her older brother how to whip up 'the 5 essentials' made from scratch before he set off to college: chicken soup, a homemade dressing for any and all salads, a solid pot of chili ( b/c sports!), pasta and the sauce using just 5 ingredients and of course... fudge brownies.

Outside of the kitchen, she vividly remembers early mornings dedicated to weeding the garden: the hot summer sun beaming down on her face, breaking out in a tremendous sweat while endlessly stretching her arm out as long as she could to reach for the last rosy red raspberry buried in the endless thorny bush.

The thought of knowing exactly what to study in college terrified her. At the time, she struggled with embarrassing her inner nerd; chemistry seemed too boring, engineering too daunting and the chef’s life- too strenuous! It wasn't until a UNH recruiter came to her high school and shed light on EcoGastronomy when she experienced an eureka moment. Deep down, she always wanted to understand the whole science behind Pop Rocks, Gushers, Boba tea, and Vitamin Water. The science behind ice cream, a solid, frozen substance, that remains so entirely smooth.

She was able to create a well rounded education dedicated to food, which focused on each individual process from when a specific item is grown to how it gets to your fridge or dinner table. She also grew to learn that food has so much to offer us: place of origin, cultural impact, economic factors, and nutritional values.

She received a dual major in EcoGastronomy and Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems and double minor in Hospitality Management and Nutrition in her undergrad, at UNH. Her award winning thesis was focused on a food truck with a rooftop garden. A triple bottom-line business model which prioritized health, nutrition, sustainability, and giving back to the community.

After graduating, she became an account manager at Island Creek Oysters (ICO), a pioneer in the development and distribution of the finest oysters on the American East Coast. A company that delivered farmed bivalves directly to more than 400 of the best restaurants across the country, she managed more than 200 accounts. What she was best known for, however, was conducting the weekly quality control of more than 50 types of oysters to personally ensure high standards, education, and tasting notes for chefs across the country. This process required a highly tuned sense of taste and creativity in order to find a perfect pairing of ICO products with chefs’ menus.

She was eager to learn the scientific approach of sensory, and quality control. The science behind taste, smell and not just how to cook food but chemically how fats, lipids, and proteins work together in unison. This insatiable curiosity led to the pursuit of a Masters in Food Science at UMass Amherst.

Being lactose intolerant she wants to utilize her time studying, understanding, and quite frankly obsessing over how plant based cheeses can create the same sensation and meltability of a hot Papa Gino's slice.

To save money she continues to make ~80% of what's in her kitchen from scratch. Not because she has an abundance of time between writing her masters publication, working part-time at Trader Joe’s, and the full time commitment of 16 credit classes- but simply because it's more affordable, a heck of a lot more flavorful and nutritious but most importantly, it brings her joy.

Before she becomes celiac, she hopes to take advantage of the fact that she can drink beer (with ease but not poise) and one day get her Cicerone certification. With this, she dreams of replicating the same sensory components of a double dry hopped India Pale Ale in a gluten free and non alcoholic form. Because being gluten intolerant, honestly, ciders just don't cut it.

Her goal later in life is to teach others the specialty in improvisation of cooking and then retire. All because she loves food, and embraces that a life of happiness and fulfillment embodies and incorporates: purpose, community, and collective wellness.