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Most visitors that come to my hometown of St. Augustine, FL have never heard of one of our most beloved treasures: the datil pepper.  Its history sounds like that of the typical immigrant that arrived on North America’s shores and made good here, though its success story is one that has been mostly ignored by historians.  Minorcan settlers from Spain brought the little pepper with a big personality to St. Augustine in 1777 via the Caribbean, where it is believed to have been native.  The settlers planted datil bushes upon arriving and incorporated the peppers into many of their dishes.  Local Minorcan historian Michelle Reyna says it was probably a way to mask the taste of meat gone bad.  “In those days, without refrigeration, meat didn’t keep long.  So the Minorcans added datil peppers to their foods to hide the foul taste,” she explained to me.

Today a handful of families that trace their heritage back to the original Minorcan settlers continue to grow datil peppers and make unique products with them.  One such family is the McQuaigs, who own the Minorcan Datil Pepper Products Company (www.minorcandatil.com).  Their line of datil products includes a spice mix, a mustard, a BBQ sauce, and their top-seller--a hot sauce that is sweet, tangy, and spicy all at the same time.  Like most of the Minorcan families, it all started as a hobby.  Marcia McQuaig, who married into her Minorcan heritage, learned how to make her various sauces from her mother-in-law, Mildred, who would bottle batches at Christmas for friends and family.  When a few local restaurants took interest in her tasty concoctions, the family decided to start the business.  “It all started with the mustard, but today we’ve expanded and our hot sauce is the big draw,” she told me.

The greatest challenge the company faces is the low quantity of peppers produced, since almost all production is centered around St. Augustine, and only a small number of farmers can meet her demand.  “It’s a temperamental little pepper,” she said.  Hurricanes and droughts have made growing conditions less than ideal in the past few years.  Still, many locals grow the delicious pepper in their backyards and carry on the tradition of bottling small amounts as gifts.  Unlike some peppers, datils have both heat and flavor, making them quite versatile.  Locals add them to such dishes as chicken pirlau and Minorcan clam chowder, and you can find a bottle of vinegar infused with datils on the table of many local eateries.  No one is sure if the datil will ever be as common as the jalapeño, but for now, locals are fine keeping their little treasure right here at home.

Please see the Recipes section for a recipe of Minorcan Clam Chowder.

South Carolina: From Columbia to Charleston (25-26 June 2007)

Our first leg of the trip took us to Columbia, SC to visit Anson Mills (www.ansonmills.com), a producer of old-fashioned stoneground grits, rice, and other grain-based foods.  Unlike some other “traditional” mills, Anson Mills seeks out heirloom varieties of corn, rice, wheat, and other grains that are rarely found in stores and some that are even considered critically endangered. 

Founder Glenn Roberts has created in Anson Mills not only one of the country’s finest producers of grits, but also a research center where he has been able to locate and preserve ancient grain varieties scattered across the country.  Some of the corn varieties he showed us can be traced directly back to pre-colonial or early colonial times, such as the Henry Moore and Bloody Butcher types.  Such corn is stored in large freezers that keep it at a constant -10 degrees to preserve it.  In addition, the mill works with Japanese buckwheat, French oats, Italian farro, and numerous rice and wheat varieties.  Some of the varieties of grains were already thought to be lost, but Roberts found them on farms on which the farmers themselves didn’t even know that the varieties they were planting were extremely rare or, in some cases, the last of their kind.

Although Anson Mills is a remarkable seed bank, we went for two main reasons:  the stoneground grits and the Carolina Gold rice.  Both of these ingredients had been common in Southern cuisine for hundreds of years, but as large food companies began industrializing the production processes, traditional varieties and methods of production gave way to the insipid foods found today in supermarkets.  Anson Mills grows only organic grains and sells them both wholesale and retail.  Their main customers are chefs or people looking to try higher quality, traditional, heirloom foods.  Anson Mills’ stoneground grits tend to be coarser with more flavor than typical supermarket grits.  Carolina Gold rice looks like brown rice, but comes out like white rice when cooked.  When I asked Roberts why he got involved in the heirloom grain business, he said, “One word: flavor.”

If flavor was the reason for Anson Mills’ existence and success, we realized the next thing to do was to sample one of their products.  We headed to FIG restaurant (www.eatatfig.com) in Charleston, where Chef Mike Lata uses local ingredients from nearby farms and local fishermen to create elegant Southern dishes, such as Baked Local Scamp Grouper with Fresh Herbs and Warm Asparagus Salad and Warm Salad of Local Shrimp and Radicchio with Crispy Pancetta.  But we were there to sample one of his signature dishes—Carolina Gold Rice Pudding with Black Walnuts and Cherries.  I am a huge fan of rice pudding and this one was outstanding in texture, spice, and complex flavors.  The cinnamon was fragrant but not overpowering, the vanilla bean added complexity, and the clean, sweet flavor of the Carolina Gold rice lent itself well to this dish.  It was simply the best rice pudding I have ever had (Just don’t let my mama know!).  I don’t want to downplay the quality of the rest of the meal, as it was exquisite as well, but the highlight of the evening was definitely the rice pudding.

In talking with Chef Lata, a friendly, down-to-earth man who took the time to answer our many questions, we discovered someone who shared Glenn Roberts’ passion for local heirloom foods and was happy to be sharing them with his customers.  Lata said that at some points in the year, local foods comprise 75% of the ingredients used in his kitchen.  He told us that Carolina Gold rice was a great success story and that he was proud to feature it on his menu.

As for the grits…we headed to one of our favorite places in Charleston, the Hominy Grill (www.hominygrill.com).  Although they do not feature Anson Mills grits, they do use a small, old-fashioned mill called the Old Mill of Guilford (www.oldmillofguilford.com) as a supplier.  We ordered their famous Shrimp and Grits and were delighted with the creaminess and texture of the stoneground grits (not to mention the shrimp, bacon, and mushrooms spooned over them!). In addition to this masterpiece, we ordered the Veggie Plate, featuring yams, collard greens, Hoppin’ John, squash casserole, and a big piece of cornbread.  Now that is Southern hospitality!!!

Please see the Recipes section for recipes of Carolina Gold Rice Pudding and Shrimp and Grits.

We continued on to the Carrboro-Chapel Hill Farmers’ Market (www.carrborofarmersmarket.com) where gracious manager Sheila Neal introduced us to many community members involved in local agriculture.  Each one had a unique story and reason about why they were there.  Jack and Sandy Pleasant of Sunset Ridge Buffalo Farm (www.sunsetridgebuffalo.com) decided because of health reasons to reintroduce buffalos to North Carolina on the same farm that his family has owned since the 1700s.  Jack loves red meat, but as someone who worked in health care, he knows that it isn’t very good for him on a regular basis.  When he read about buffalo’s many health benefits, he became convinced they would flourish on his farm and has been happily tending to them since.  Alex Hitt of Peregrine Farm (abhitt@mindspring.com) brought numerous breeds of heritage turkeys onto his farm not with profit in mind, but to reduce the number of insects on his land.  He boasted that they are the best pest management plan he has ever seen.  Finally, we met Eliza MacLean of Cane Creek Farm (www.canecreekfarm.us), a pig farmer who found it hard to buy naturally raised, antibiotic and hormone-free pork in stores, and did what she thought was the easiest:  raise her own.  Not only is she raising healthier pigs, but she is helping to save a rare breed, the Ossabaw Island hog.  This particular tasty breed was introduced by the Spanish, who left a herd on Ossabaw Island in Georgia as an emergency food supply after long trips across the Atlantic.  Over the centuries, these pigs adapted to the Southeast’s climate and environment, and along the way developed interesting qualities.  They can resist heat and humidity better than most pigs and have natural immunities against worms and other pests.  Maybe this is the Christmas ham Don Schrider was talking about!

In what has been the best meal of the trip thus far, we feasted on a whole local flounder that was crispy-fried with a spicy chili and cilantro sauce drizzled over it.  As evidence of her support for the area’s farms, we even encountered her shopping among locals at the Farmers’ market the day after dining in her restaurant.  Look for her Ossabaw Island pork recipe in the Recipe section soon.

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Apalachicola, FL:  “The Last Great Bay” (1 July 2007)

“So, you’re here about food, huh? Well, how is this for you?  I have a recipe for disaster!”  “Welcome to Apalachicola,” I thought, as I introduced myself to Linda Raffield of the Franklin County Seafood Workers Association (FCSWA).  “Take greedy land developers, mix in lots of bureaucracy and red tape, stir in some competition from cheap foreign seafood imports, and take all of the water that Atlanta is using out of the mixture and you get Apalachicola Bay,” she continued. 

We had been to Apalachicola a few times before and on our last trip here I had learned about the hard times the local oystermen had fallen on.  Apalachicola Bay is where the Apalachicola River meets the Gulf of Mexico, and together these two bodies of water give and take to create one of the most productive estuaries in the world.  The area produces the bulk of Florida’s oyster crop, and roughly ten percent of the nation’s supply.  People from all over the Southeast flock here to sample the town’s crown jewels.  These oysters are considered some of the best out there, as the Apalachicola Bay is in relatively good condition, ecologically speaking.  Unlike the Chesapeake Bay, where pollution from agricultural runoff has been devastating, the Apalachicola Bay and its tributaries have been helped by the State of Florida’s land acquisition program, keeping much of the area pristine.  But estuaries are fragile and even the slightest change in freshwater flow can alter the chemistry of the water system.  If adequate freshwater is not available, the estuary becomes too salty, and the sensitive organisms that normally thrive there, such as oysters, begin to decline. 

The main threats to Apalachicola Bay’s productivity include population pressures to develop more of the coast line, government aid not reaching the oystermen, cheap foreign seafood being dumped on the American market--thereby making it hard for locals to compete, and water wars between Florida, Georgia and Alabama.  All this adds up to the tasty mollusks’ troubles.  “These oysters aren’t dying, they’re being murdered,” insisted Raffield.  Several groups are working with the FCSWA to save the oysters, most notably the Apalachicola Riverkeeper (www.apalachicolariverkeeper.org), led by Dave McLean, an articulate gentleman whose love for the river and the community runs deep.  “We have made some mistakes in handling negotiations with some of the stakeholders, and we can’t afford to make any more,” McLean explained.  “In the past, the State of Florida has tried to use the Endangered Species Act to help us out, but it was actually to our detriment.  What it did was to frame this dispute as a fight to save a little critter against the water that the folks up in Atlanta say they need.  But this is not just about the oysters.  The real endangered species out here are the oystermen.”

As if the decline in the Bay’s productivity were not enough, the cost of living in Apalachicola has become too high for many of the oystermen to survive.  Wage increases have not kept up with the cost of rent and other basic expenditures, as outsiders who have “discovered” the area snap up properties as second homes and put their price tags out of reach for many locals.  Many oystermen are overworked and tired from such a hard trade, but their pay does not match their labor.  More and more oystermen are being forced to leave their jobs, and indeed the lifestyle they know, because they simply cannot make a living.  Raffield rattled off a half dozen names that came to mind of oystermen who were no longer practicing their skills.  In such a small town, oystermen do not have the luxury of falling back on an assortment of jobs.  Many end up having to leave town with their families in search of a new life.  The oystermen that for generations have served as the backbone of this community are now disappearing.  “You know, clams and oysters produce pearls, but our pearls are our oystermen,” Raffield sadly remarked. 

The community is trying new things to salvage the oysters and the oystermen.  Recently, oystermen have been able to make the harvesting season year-round by relaying the oyster beds, which is comparable to crop rotation on farms.  By moving the oyster beds around periodically, certain parts of the bay are given a time to heal and improve their output.  One new idea that holds much promise is a type of ecotourism program in which visitors could be an oystermen for a day.  “People come from all parts to enjoy our oysters—and our oysters aren’t just good, they’re the best.  But I think that many folks would like to know more about our bay and the hard work of the oystermen,” said Raffield.  Richard Bickel (www.richarbickelphotography.com), a local photographer who has received national recognition, has tried to put a human face on the issue by capturing frames of the bay and the oystermen who work it everyday.  His book, The Last Great Bay, documents the recent challenges the estuary and the community have experienced.  Finally, McLean would like to see a long term scientific assessment conducted to resolve the water crisis. “Look, we can sit and argue all day about whether the farmers need the water, or if Atlanta needs the water, or if we need the water.  But let’s let science decide what is good for this bay.  Listen, it takes good water to make a good beer, and it takes good water to make a good oyster.”  Let’s just hope—for the good of the oysters, the oystermen, the community, and those of us that appreciate such a rare delicacy—that the fresh water keeps flowing into Apalachicola Bay. 

Please see the Recipes section to for two Apalachicola seafood recipes by Chef Frank Stitt of Highlands Bar and Grill in Birmingham, Alabama (www.highlandsbarandgrill.com).   Chef Stitt is a huge fan of Apalachicola seafood and was kind enough to share an oyster recipe, as well as one for flounder.  We are hoping to meet with Chef Stitt towards the end of our journey and tour the Birmingham Farmers’ Market with him. 

Baton Rouge, LA: The Spice of Life (2 July 2007)

Lionel Key is a proud man.  “How’d you hear about me?  You came all the way from Florida to see me? I don’t know how I do it but people always want to find out about my secret,” he exclaimed with a grin.  The secret Key is referring to is the process by which he makes handmade fié for gumbo.  He continues his questioning, “How did you know how to pronounce filé?  Most people call it file, like it rhymes with mile.  But it don’t.  It rhymes with day.”  Filé is a powder made from ground up dried sassafras leaves.  The sassafras tree is of the same family as the bay or laurel tree.  The sassafras powder is added to numerous Cajun dishes (in particular gumbo) as a spice and thickening agent.  Though handmade filé was once common, today Key is one of the last individuals in the country who makes his own.  Most of the filé used today in homes and restaurants is produced industrially, and Key will let you know right away that his is better.  “Aw man, it just don’t compare.  The stuff I make, that’s the real thing.  You can see the difference, smell the difference, and you sure can taste the difference.”

Key gave us a backyard demonstration of how he produces the homemade filé.  “I can’t tell you when—that’s a secret—but once a year I go out and harvest the sassafras leaves.  I put them in old cloth sacks and air-dry them.  Then when they’re ready, I get to work.”  Although the sassafras trees’ habitat is quickly shrinking due to land development in the area, a worried Key tells us that at least he knows of one secret grove on private property where he can still harvest the leaves.   He pulled out of his garage a big ancient cypress mortar and pestle.  “This here is over 100 years old,” he told us.  “My Great Uncle, Joseph William Ricard, was the guy that taught me how to use this, they called him blind Willie.  When he died my Great Aunt passed it on to me.  He started making filé back in 1904, and I’ve been going at it for 22 years.  I get asked to do some demonstrations, like at the New Orleans’s Jazz and heritage festival, and people like what they see.” 

His two young sons, Christian, 10, and Colton, 8, came out to join us as we watched Key pound away at the sassafras leaves.  The pestle had two ends, one for crushing up the leaves into small pieces and the other for grinding those pieces into a fine powder.  After a minute or two we could see the fruit of his work.  The powder was fragrant and deep.  His sons enthusiastically took turns making some too.  “Lionel, who else knows how to make filé like you?” I asked.  “These two boys do this is the future of filé right here.”  Just like cultures have done from the beginning of time a parent passes down what they learned from an elder to the new generation with the hopes that they will do the same one day.  We will have to wait a few more years for Christian and Colton to truly carry on this tradition.  But I think Lionel’s secret handmade filé recipe is in good hands. 

Lionel Key’s company, Uncle Bill’s Spices supplies a few restaurants in the Baton Rouge and New Orleans’ areas.  If you would like to order his handmade filé online, his website is www.unclebillspices.com.

San Antonio to Austin, TX: A day in the Hill Country (3 July 2007)

They say everything is bigger in Texas and they are not kidding.  Judging from the portion sizes of the restaurants we have tried while driving through Texas, even we’re going to get bigger while we are here.  We started the day with a whirlwind tour of the Alamo and the Riverwalk in San Antonio.  To be honest we were disappointed with the magnitude (or lack there of) of the Alamo.  The building and grounds are well maintained, but I guess we were expecting something bigger and grander.  I suppose the legend of the Battle of the Alamo is greater than the Alamo itself, and maybe that is how it should be.  We dined at the Casa del Rio, the oldest restaurant on the Riverwalk.  When we saw the size of the dishes on our fellow customers’ tables we decided to be good and split a platter between the two of us.  It came with three chicken enchiladas in a green tomatillo sauce, refried beans, Mexican rice, guacamole salad, and of course, the proverbial chips and salsa to start things off.  Even this was more than enough for the both of us.  It was a tasty, if not altogether authentic, introduction to Tex-Mex cuisine.

The rolling green terrain of the Hill Country, punctuated with mesquite trees and cattle ranches scattered everywhere, made for a great ride to Austin.  Along the way we came across Dry Comal Creek Vineyard (www.drycomalcreek.com), one of the only places in the world where you can sample wines made with the Black Spanish Grape, a cross between the grapes the Spanish missionaries brought to the area (to make communion wine) and the Native Texas Mustang grape. 

Although we found the Black Spanish wine to be a little too acidic, we can recommend two others.  The Orange Muscat is a fruity and floral white that we found to be quite drinkable, while the Comal Red VI is a demi- sweet red that is best served chilled and enjoyed with a summer barbeque.

Further along we came across Love Creek Orchards (www.lovecreekorchards.com), which specializes in Native Texan trees and apple trees.  A slice of their homemade apple pie on one of their picnic tables was a perfect afternoon snack.  Depending on the season you can pick your own fruit here and at many other Hill Country orchards between San Antonio and Austin. 

The Hill Country has no shortage of cute little towns filled with character, like Boerne and Bandera, but none more so than Fredericksburg, a town whose German heritage is evident in its bakeries and biergartens.  You will not find any chain stores along Main Street, just charming boutiques and places to try apple streudel and local brews, depending on what you are looking for.  They even celebrate Oktoberfest and many of the buildings remind you of Bavaria. 

We made it to Austin just before nightfall and decided to try some local Texan barbeque for dinner.  We headed to Ruby’s BBQ (www.rubybbq.net), which specializes in all-natural, antibiotic and hormone free brisket from the Coleman Family Ranch in Colorado.  We ordered the combo platter to share.  It came with two choices of meats and two sides.  We decided on the brisket and the baby back ribs, along with black beans and a creamy coleslaw with poppy seeds.  In addition, we ordered a side of rosemary-jalapeño homefries.  The coleslaw and homefries were delicious and showed a little innovation on Ruby’s part but the star of the show was the tender brisket, which had been slow-cooked and smoked for hours.  It was as good as brisket gets. I am not certain what western Texas has in store for us but if it is anything like the Hill Country I am looking forward to it.

New Mexico: The Case of the Stolen Pepper Identity (6 July, 2007)

People in New Mexico have been adding chile peppers to their foods for hundreds of years.  The state is home to 16 native chile peppers.  In villages such as Chimayó and Española in the northern part of the state, farmers have been growing and harvesting a variety of peppers for generations, and the towns are honored with namesake chiles that people not only in New Mexico, but across the country, covet and add to their most cherished recipes.  Many of the Southwest’s most famous dishes call for chiles that are native to New Mexico. 

One of my favorite soups is New Mexican green chile stew, a spicy concoction of potatoes, beef or pork, and green chiles that comforts the soul, yet leaves your lips tingling.  The Chimayó Red chile can be added to many dishes and can be utilized fresh or dried, whole or ground into a powder, or even frozen as a paste.  They have a unique redish-orange glow akin to the red clay of pottery.  More commonly, people will see and purchase dark burgundy red chiles with the name “Chimayó” on the label, even though these are most likely grown in the southern New Mexico town of Hatch, the self-proclaimed “Chile Capital of the World.” 

Though Hatch can boast high production levels, experts and true connoisseurs prefer the native Chimayó peppers, which are hard to find and many would agree, endangered.  The farms in Chimayó are small and have a tough time competing against the huge tracts owned by large food companies in Hatch.  Many of the peppers planted in Hatch are not native to New Mexico, but that doesn’t stop companies from marketing them as such.

Planting and harvesting chiles is backbreaking work, and many people in Chimayó have abandoned the traditional farming lifestyle.  The town, however, is proud of their pepper and the people there know that the soil, climate, and conditions here are perfect for the chile that has evolved in their community.  This adds up to something similar to what the French call terroir, or the local characteristics that give a product its unique smell, flavor, and texture.  A group of 21 farmers have incorporated to pool resources and have begun to produce Chimayó peppers in small quantities with the hope of expanding their niche market.  Most of these farmers use organic methods and know they have a very special product—so much so, that they are in the final steps of gaining trademark status based on historical qualifications.  The name Chimayó has both geographical and culinary importance that has been recognized by the State of New Mexico.  With the help of the Santa Fe Institute of Native Hispanic Cultures (http://www.nativehispanic.com), the farmers hope to raise the legal status of their chiles in the same way that Champagne makers and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese producers have done to eliminate imitation foods of lower quality that threaten their integrity by using their names.  “We will never sell out the farmers' interests” declared Marie Campos, director of the Institute.  “We are trying to preserve a unique food through economic development programs and legal and technical assistance that these small farmers might not otherwise have.”  This is good news for the farmers, but even better news for the chile peppers and the people who love authentic Southwestern foods.  But until the trademark is granted fully and the farmers of Chimayó can increase their production, don’t forget to read the label carefully or you might end up with a phony chile on your plate.

Please see the Recipes section for Rancho de Chimayó (www.ranchodechimayo.com) restaurant’s Carne Adovada recipe.  The restaurant serves the finest traditional New Mexican food that we sampled while in the area.

The Capitol Reef Orchards:  A Garden Blooms in the Desert (10 July 2007)

When I first learned about the Capitol Reef orchards and looked their location up on a map, my first reaction was, “Southern Utah????  Why would they plant an orchard in the middle of the desert?”  Now that I have visited the place, I can see why.  It is hard to imagine a more striking setting for a group of orchards than the spot that Mormon pioneers chose in the late 1800s in Fruita, Utah, in what is now Capitol Reef National Park. 

Located at the confluence of the Fremont River and Sulphur Creek with a backdrop of deep orange canyons that glow in the sunlight, the Fruita Orchards are both a geological and cultural wonder.  The canyon’s microclimate and geology combine to produce a lush oasis of farming, even here in the southern Utah desert.  The Mormon pioneers that settled the area were a tough bunch, but when they realized the canyon gave them a mild climate with plenty of water, they unpacked and called the place home. 

They began to plant fruit trees as a way to earn a little extra money or to barter the fruit in exchange for other goods and services.   Today, the National Park Service manages the numerous orchards that include apple, pear, peach, nectarine, apricot, and cherry trees.

The orchards are perhaps best known for their several types of apples, such as the Rhode Island Greening (a crisp, juicy apple great for pies) and Winter Pearmain (an excellent all-purpose apple). Both of these are heirloom varieties.  One of the most fascinating apples found here is the endangered Capitol Reef Red, a subvariety of the Red Delicious apple. 

The Capitol Reef Red is indigenous to this national park and park rangers are diligently grafting samples from existing trees on to hardy rootstalk to propagate new ones.  According to the National Park Service, the apple is characterized by “prolific clustered fruiting on downward curving side branches, nearly stemless fruit, and characteristic russeting on the upper half of the fruit.”  Although the apple harvest is not until September, and we could not sample the Capitol Reef Red, we were able to walk through the orchards and feast on other fruits, most notably, deliciously ripe apricots. 

Visitors to the park are free to pick and eat whichever fruits are in season for free.  There is a small fee, however, for fruit you take home with you.  I’ll never forget the experience of picking apricots off the trees as a warm breeze through the canyon filled my lungs with the sweet scent of the fruit.  In addition to fruit picking, visitors are enticed with homemade ice cream, preserves, and pies made with the park’s own fruit and sold at the park’s museum center.  How’s that for having dessert in the desert?

To learn more about the Capitol Reef Orchards, please visit the park’s website (www.nps.gov/care/historyculture/fruita.htm).

The Monterey Peninsula: Lessons Learned (16 July 2007)

After spending a week in the deserts of the Southwest (something almost deadly for a Floridian like me), we headed for the Pacific Coast of California.  I was born in the beautiful Monterey Peninsula area but moved to Florida when I was only 12 years old.  This trip marks only my third time back since we moved almost 20 years ago and I was anxious to see if the area was still familiar to me or if “progress” had changed it beyond recognition. 

Monterey has a long history as a fishing town, and it is depicted famously as the setting for John Steinbeck’s book Cannery Row about the sardine canning plants and the colorful characters who call the neighborhood home.  Overfishing here caused the canneries to shut down long ago when the sardine schools were wiped out, and as I thought about the places we have visited so far this summer and the many foods that are endangered across our country, it occurred to me that Monterey held some important lessons to share.  Though Steinbeck would not likely identify the place anymore as it is filled with T-shirt and souvenir shops, one impressive attraction on the strip that would make him proud is the Monterey Bay Aquarium. 

It’s ironic that at the very location where sardines were once canned to the point of near-extinction, the aquarium today greets visitors as a renowned center for the conservation of the world’s oceans.  As we have traveled across the country this summer, we have found that chefs from every region seem to agree that one of the most critical challenges they face is to provide their customers with sustainable seafood.  Tremendous population growth and technology such as sonar that makes fish easier to locate have caused the world’s oceans to be threatened like never before.  Pollution and unsutrustainable levels of harvesting seafood are causing fish stocks to plummet worldwide and fishermen everywhere are being forced to catch and sell fish that 10 years ago would never have made it to your table.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program (http://www.mbayaq.org/cr/seafoodwatch.asp) was created to help chefs and seafood lovers make better choices about the fish they buy, cook, and eat.  The aquarium has several displays to educate visitors about the state of the world’s fisheries and it provides a number of pocket-sized pamphlets (both national and regional) to assist people in making better choices when ordering or buying seafood.  The pamphlets can also be downloaded online and printed for your convenience and are updated frequently as new information is gathered by the scientists who work tirelessly for the program.  Juliet Pool, one of the informative staff members at the aquarium, told us she thought the pamphlets were one of the most effective tools the institution had in promoting conservation.  “We have found that many of the visitors appreciate the pamphlets because it helps them make better choices when they are at the supermarket or in a restaurant.  It all starts with education.”  One of the great success stories she shared with us was the increased demand for sustainable wild Alaskan salmon, rather than farmed or Atlantic varieties, which are either depleted or cause great levels of pollution.  “We have seen people really go out and ask their waiters where the salmon on the menu is from and put pressure on the restaurants to buy wild Alaskan salmon if it is not being offered.  Consumers have a lot of power to influence the fate of the oceans.”

The aquarium has also partnered with several chefs and restaurants in the area who have agreed to feature on their menus only fish that are sustainably harvested. One such eatery is the Turtle Bay Taqueria (www.fishwife.com/turtlebay.htm) in Monterey’s historic downtown. 

The restaurant is known for its fresh ingredients and inventive Yucatecan-style Mexican specialties.  We were very impressed with how knowledgeable the staff was when we inquired about the Seafood Watch program.   As we feasted on Pacific sanddab tacos, Turtle Bay’s manager, Javier, informed us on how important he felt it was to serve sustainable seafood.  “In the beginning, customers were a little frustrated.  They wanted to see snapper on the menu.  When we explained to them that the snapper stocks were being depleted and that we wanted to do our part to help them recover, they began to understand and appreciate our commitment.  Most of our customers now know about our partnership with the aquarium and realize that there are alternative fish that are just as tasty.  And it has really helped our business!”  If the delicious sanddab tacos we ate were any indication, eating sustainable seafood will be a great pleasure.  The fresh fish was perfectly battered and fried and rested on a slightly grilled tortilla with beans, then covered in cabbage and a tomato-based salsa.  The final magical touch was a creamy roasted tomatillo and avocado salsa that had us licking our lips with delight.  We ended the meal with an extraordinary homemade coconut flan and a rich, spicy Mayan chocolate mousse to share.  They were the perfect ending to a meal that not only made our stomachs happy, but left us feeling good about the seafood choices we were beginning to make. 

I may no longer call Monterey home, but I am proud to say I was born here.  Perhaps other places around the country that are struggling to maintain their traditions or resources can look to Monterey as an inspiration and do something like it did with Cannery Row and the aquarium.  If this city can learn from its past mistakes and make a dramatic yet successful transition from canneries to conservation, anything can happen.  It’s an ending I don’t think even Steinbeck could have penned.   

To learn more about the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the Seafood Watch program, or to print out helpful seafood buying guides, please visit http://www.mbayaq.org/cr/seafoodwatch.asp.

Morgan Hill, CA:  Tasting Gold at Andy’s Orchards (19 July 2007)

“Wait a minute, wait a minute!  You can’t eat a peach like that!” Andy Mariani scolded me as I bit all too casually into a Baby Crawford peach at his Morgan Hill orchard.  “Bite into it at the bottom, right where it comes to a point.  That way you won’t waste any of the sweet juices.”  Mariani is a walking, talking encyclopedia of fruit knowledge and I just got my first lesson on the perfect peach protocol.  His family has operated their 55 acre historic farm since 1957, and although much has changed in the surrounding Santa Clara Valley, his family’s commitment to growing the highest quality fruit has not wavered.  “I didn’t want to do this for a living,” Mariani advised me.  “I went to college and studied political science and public administration, but I realized in the end, this is what I know and love.”  And it shows.  Mariani is many things:  an expert farmer who could talk all day about the intricacies of each of his fruits; a keen scientist who works with University of California- Davis to stay abreast of new horticultural advances; a talented artist who has designed many of the orchard’s old-fashioned signs and labels; and a shrewd businessman who has found in heirloom fruits a niche market to help compete with the California agri-giants. 

“We work from the market backwards,” Mariani told me as he explained why he became interested in rare heirloom varieties that no one else was planting.  “I like to experiment with different varieties and plant all kinds of fruits that haven’t been around for years.  But I also know that sometimes you come upon such a tasty heirloom variety that you know you’ve hit gold and your customers will snap them up.  Sometimes it’s luck.  I was one of the first guys in California growing “donut” or Peento peaches.  We had a few growing in the orchard and a tour bus from San Francisco packed with Chinese tourists came for a tour.  In China, donut peaches were called the “Emperor’s Peaches.” The emperors favored them because they were flat and would not get their beards messy as they ate them.  But eventually they fell out of favor even there.  When the people on the tour saw I was growing some here, they went crazy.  They weren’t even ripe and they wanted to buy them.  I told myself that I needed to start growing more of them and for many years I had a solid market in Chinatown, but now everyone grows them.   You can get them at any supermarket.”

You might find something similar at a supermarket, but judging from the fruits we tasted, you won’t find the flavor, sweetness, and character that Mariani’s fruits demonstrated at any retail outlet other than his own.  While on a tour of his orchard, we sampled the finest peaches (Baby Crawford), apricots (Blenheim), and nectarines (Honey Royale) we have ever encountered.  It was like being a kid in a candy store with no restrictions—only this candy was good for you.  Mariani would come upon a fruit he liked, would pick a ripe one, and say with enthusiasm, “You gotta try this!!!!  It’s great, isn’t it?”  And each time we would heartily agree in amazement.  We couldn’t believe how good the fruit was and each time we thought we had found our favorite, until we tried the next one.  “We let each fruit ripen on the tree.  Sometimes it takes several rounds and days for our pickers to get each fruit that’s on each tree.  We never pick them before they are ready to be eaten immediately.”  Mariani told us it takes two or three years before a picker is good enough to know how to gently handle the fruit and know when it is ripe.  Most of the fruit on the orchard does not have a long shelf-life since it is picked ripe and can be easily bruised, so the orchard packs each fruit individually in special containers.  “You know those beautiful peach pyramids you see in supermarkets?” he continued.  “You can’t do that with our fruit because they would all bruise.”

 One of his newest adventures in rare fruit varieties is in saving the Green Gage plum, a classic European plum that is considered too small for American consumers, who generally prefer larger fruit.  The flavor of these small plums is so intense and delightful, however, that a friend of Mariani’s asked him to plant some and even funded the endeavor with grant money.  “I’m open to growing anything if it is flavorful and unique, and the fact that someone wanted to help with the financial burden made them an even sweeter fruit,” he quipped.  It will take another few years before the plum trees are ready for production, so we’ll have to wait patiently to try some.  But until then, we can order some of Mariani’s other fruits for next-day delivery and imagine how good those plums will be.  “Some of my fruits have a cult following,” he stated, though we needed no reassurance.  He had made converts of us in just one afternoon.

To order some of Andy’s Orchards fine fruits or to learn more about heirloom fruits, please visit www.andysorchard.com.

Napa Valley, CA: Charbono Grapes—What’s in a name?

Pliny the Elder, the legendary Greek scholar who penned the world’s first encyclopedia, mentions a grape called carbonica in his ancient tome.  When crushed, this very dark grape yields an almost black juice, hence the term carbonica (from the root word of carbon).  It is largely held that this antique variety of grape is the one we today call Charbono.  Although its story of migration to the Napa Valley is unclear, it is believed to have been introduced to the area in 1847, yet for many years it was some how confused with and labeled as an Italian grape variety called Barbera.  Many of the local growers and wine makers scoffed at the suggestion that the two were related, noting several obvious differences between them, but the claim was finally put to rest when a scientist at the University of California-Davis later identified it properly as the Charbono grape, which is related to the Charbonneau or Corbeau grape of southern France.   New theories now suggest it may also be related to the Bonarda grape, the most widely planted grape in Argentina. This theory seems to be more palatable to locals, though they are encouraging the Davis researchers to either prove or refute it.  For now, they are happy calling the wonderful grape Charbono. 

Not many people have heard of the Charbono grape, perhaps because there are only approximately 65 acres producing fruit in the entire United States.  It is a late bloomer, ripening at the end of September and requires lots of heat, which would explain why it is mainly concentrated in the Calistoga area where the northern valley hills intensify the warm summer afternoons. We visited the Frediani family’s vineyard just outside of Calistoga to learn more about the grape.  Jeanne Frediani and her son Jim warmly welcomed us to their home and told us how they carefully tended to their vines as they have for decades.  The family has owned the land since the 1940s and inherited the Charbono grape vines from the German family that previously worked their plot.  “Wait until you see some of the Charbono vines.  They are so old and gnarly,” commented Jim excitedly as he gave us a tour of the property.  Some of the Charbono grape vines he showed us were over a hundred years old and they looked their age with large twisted roots and vines that displayed heartiness and almost a wicked sense of resolve on their part to keep growing the way they have for over a century.  Charbono grape vines like to hang low as opposed to other grapes that climb, and they produce beautiful fruit.  Because most of the crop was not ripe when we visited, the multicolored clusters of grapes created a stunning collage of hues and tones.  The Fredianis devote eleven of their one hundred and thirty acres to the Charbono grape, making them one of the countries biggest producers.  “We have the perfect setting for Charbono grapes and they make a lovely wine,” Jeanne told us.

One of the wineries that purchases Charbono grapes from the Frediani vineyards is Duxoup Wine Works (www.duxoupwineworks.com), a two-person entity in Healdsburg, CA.    Andy and Deb Cutter have been making wine together for over 25 years after separate careers in the wine industry.  “The thing I loved about Charbono early on when I worked at another winery was how resilient the grapes were.  I remember once seeing Charbono grapes that had dried up almost like raisins and yet they produced some gorgeous wine,” Deb informed us.

Charbono wines are deep in color and have moderate acidity with heavy berry flavors.  The Cutters produce excellent Charbono wines at their all-gravity winery that uses only open top containers with manual punching.  The wine is aged in oak (which is at least four years old) for about 10 months, but the wine holds up very well for 20 years or more.  “It’s one of the best aging wines out there,” Andy explained.  “It’s our secret little wine!”  The winery uses solar power and though small, offers other varietals as well, such as Gamay Noir, Syrah, and Sangiovese. 

When I asked Andy why he thought Charbono was so rare, he replied, “The wine industry is so tricky…so many fads and fashions.  Merlots, Cabs, Syrahs, now Pinots are planted everywhere.  You never know what will endure.  But Charbono has a long history here and we have some dedicated clients.  We really don’t market our wines.  We are happy just making them, and they sell themselves.”  Many bigger companies invest so much in the other grape varietals that by the time the Charbono grapes are ready to be harvested in the fall, the wineries no longer have funds or the patience to do so.  That leaves only a dozen or so smaller enterprises producing the unique wine, and that means less of the wine for consumers.  But who knows, maybe one day the Charbono fad will return and Duxoup might be a household name.  “We really don’t want to expand,” Andy shrugged. “We are doing what we love to do and drinking what we love to drink and that’s good enough.”  Maybe, but given the quality of their wines and the demand from their loyal customers (now including myself), they might just change their mind and that little grape with so many names could end up on your table.