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eberico 's review for:
American Terroir: Savoring the Flavors of Our Woods, Waters, and Fields
by Rowan Jacobsen
Side note: I'm willing - no, happy - to admit that a lot of food writing is excessive and sanctimonious. Writing about local food can be even more insufferable. A book about great American foods, then, has the potential to be unbearably smug. This was not that book.
Another side note: while Shane was happy to give me this book for Christmas, he takes issue with the concept of terroir - specifically that place and context can play such an important role in the characteristics or quality of specific foods. This book, and our discussions of it, changed both of our minds.
In 200-or-so enjoyable pages, Rowan Jacobsen explores why and how specific foods are so uniquely American. It's not quite as simple as you'd think.
Take the Yukon River salmon. The size and quality of the meat will vary depending on where it is caught in its journey upriver. At the mouth of the Yukon, the fish is outrageously fat, having stored all the energy it needs to make the difficult trip. Closer to the spawning grounds, the fish will have expended all of that energy, so the muscles will be lean and strong. Worn out fish might not be good eating, but they may provide amazing caviar. The quality and quantity will also depend on the state of the Bering Strait, where environmental changes can affect the food supply.
And on we go, learning about how mother nature, natural selection, and human intervention have produced Michoacán avocados, PEI mussels and potatoes, and Jasper Hill Winnemere, which I can't wait to try. Each food has an interesting, well-written, and occasionally drool-inducing story. Overall, the book is less about eating local than it is about celebrating the ways that man and nature have cooperated to create amazing foods. I would highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys food writing and enjoys knowing about both the process and the end product.
Another side note: while Shane was happy to give me this book for Christmas, he takes issue with the concept of terroir - specifically that place and context can play such an important role in the characteristics or quality of specific foods. This book, and our discussions of it, changed both of our minds.
In 200-or-so enjoyable pages, Rowan Jacobsen explores why and how specific foods are so uniquely American. It's not quite as simple as you'd think.
Take the Yukon River salmon. The size and quality of the meat will vary depending on where it is caught in its journey upriver. At the mouth of the Yukon, the fish is outrageously fat, having stored all the energy it needs to make the difficult trip. Closer to the spawning grounds, the fish will have expended all of that energy, so the muscles will be lean and strong. Worn out fish might not be good eating, but they may provide amazing caviar. The quality and quantity will also depend on the state of the Bering Strait, where environmental changes can affect the food supply.
And on we go, learning about how mother nature, natural selection, and human intervention have produced Michoacán avocados, PEI mussels and potatoes, and Jasper Hill Winnemere, which I can't wait to try. Each food has an interesting, well-written, and occasionally drool-inducing story. Overall, the book is less about eating local than it is about celebrating the ways that man and nature have cooperated to create amazing foods. I would highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys food writing and enjoys knowing about both the process and the end product.