"Local" the newest advertising hook
I found this story in the NYT very interesting.
It's about time. When I was a kid, there was "peach season, tomato season, artichoke season" and "asparagus season." I hate to sound like an old fogey ("We had to walk 23 miles to school, uphill, in the snow!") kids today have no idea what's in season and even less of a sense of what's local. I live in FL and it's extremely frustrating to see citrus in supermarkets from every other country with an orange tree given so much of it grows here.
While a global economy might be nice (and I'm not completely convinced about that, either) it will do us all good to remember what comes from where and when...naturally. It seems like modern transport gave us the ability to pay a lower price for something grown halfway around the world during the off-season, we lost our grasp of what happens in our own backyards.
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6 Comments:
I agree with growing up and knowing the "seasons" - btw, you left out "both ways"!
In my area, there is a concentrated effort on "buying local". Kenyon College has spearheaded a program bringing together local restaurants and producers. Kenyon itself, along with a couple of restaurants in Gambier, buy a good portion of their food products locally.
I've always had an aversion to "grocery-store corn". I knew it wasn't as good as what we picked - eating corn on the cob in Ohio in January is WRONG! Over the last few years, I've developed a huge aversion to buying tomatoes in the winter. I suffer through with grape tomatoes for my salads. I recently learned of a large hydroponic farm about 7 miles away - and they produce year round. Guess where I'm going this winter????
As horrible as it sounds - I would rather eat home-frozen, home-canned veggies through the winter than most of the stuff sold in stores.
thewrighttaste at 10:16AM on 08/06/08
@chiff ~ Great topic!
I grew up eating with the seasons and I raised my daughter the same way. We won't consider eating tomatoes in the winter. I anxiously await the opening of our local farmer's market to enjoy corn and tomatoes. When we travel, we always order dishes featuring the seasonal local ingredients. I remember being in California a couple of years back eating artichokes for lunch and dinner everyday! I was so spoiled, I can't even look at artichokes here in PA.
When my daughter was younger, she thought cucumbers were a treat. I knew I had succeeded in the veggie department at that point!
izatryt at 10:35AM on 08/06/08
I recently moved to Florida from Colorado - I find the lack of local produce unbelievable. Not to mention the produce in the markets being of most inexplicable low quality. I went to one Farmers market here and found it more of a hippie shopping mecca than a market with veg or fruit. It has been so disappointing! I would cheer if I could get local produce even at a bit higher cost!
On that note - if anyone knows of any good produce in the Orlando area (besides the new Turkey Lake WF) let me know!
katarina_santiago at 10:46AM on 08/06/08
I also grew up eating in season. The off-season fruit and veg would usually be of the "home-frozen, home-canned" variety - both my Mum and Gran were very good at it, they would make all kinds of preserves, salads, pickles, etc. Then I lived in Turkey and in Israel for several years, where the variety of in-season produce was significantly larger than what I grew up with, and I got somewhat spoilt, I guess - for instance, I got used to having fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, etc available at all times.
Back in London, and later, when I got married and moved to the States, I tried to eat the same way at first, but having had a taste - or rather, lack thereof - of winter tomatoes in NJ a couple of times, I came to my senses. I, too, use grape tomatoes for my salads in winter. This summer, I've been doing a lot of freezing, from blueberries to bell peppers. I've been singing praise to New Jersey summer produce all summer, so you all know how I feel about that:-). Nothing beats fresh, local produce, and while more often than not, I'm rather skeptical about "trends" in general and food trends in particular, this is one food trend that I support wholeheartedly.
brooke29 at 12:34PM on 08/06/08
That is definitely something to think about.
I totally understand that produce grown in it's 'natural' location (or where it is native to) would have it's perks (like optimum growing environments, providing optimum nutrition and flavour);
but (if possible) I will still try to buy local just to support my community--and it will still be it's 'natural' location.
hungrychristel at 5:26PM on 08/06/08
I love eating local foods, but there is a long period of time when there's nothing local growing. After the first frost, there are still some root veggies and winter squash, but after the farmer's market closes down, you're pretty much stuck with the grocery store, and unless there's some reason to call it out, they don't say where anything was grown. Then the farmer's market opens in spring, but at first it's all leafy greens and bedding plants. It takes a while before there are actual veggies that could qualify as more than a salad.
In between (October to May) I'm not going to try living off a root cellar that I'm going to have to dig, and I'm not going to be taking vitamins to thwart scurvy and rickets. I do stock up on winter squash at the end of the year, and I freeze what I can, but there's a limit to how much space I have, and some things just don't freeze (defrosted lettuce, anyone?)
And to be honest, I like bananas and pineapples and citrus anf avocados. And I like lettuce in the winter. And seafood (no oceans nearby. When local produce is available, that's about all I buy. But when the market closes, I'm still going to eat. Given the choice between having no vegetables for seven months, or buying non-local veggies in the off-season, I'll go with the non-local.
dbcurrie at 2:09AM on 08/08/08