A Book To Savor

Why does honey from the tupelo-lined banks of the Apalachicola River have a kick of cinnamon unlike any other? Why is salmon from Alaska's Yukon River the richest in the world? Why does one underground cave in Greensboro, Vermont, produce many of the country's most intense cheeses? The answer is terroir (tare-WAHR), the "taste of place." Originally used by the French to describe the way local conditions such as soil and climate affect the flavor of a wine, terroir has been little understood (and often mispronounced) by Americans, until now. For those who have embraced the local food movement, American Terroir will share the best of America's bounty and explain why place matters. It will be the first guide to the "flavor landscapes" of some of our most iconic foods, including apples, honey, maple syrup, coffee, oysters, salmon, wild mushrooms, wine, cheese, and chocolate. With equally iconic recipes by the author and important local chefs, and a complete resource section for finding place-specific foods, American Terroir is the perfect companion for any self-respecting locavore.

Jackie says:

"It will help you to know that "terroir" is basically "taste of place"--the unique qualities a place gives the food that grows up there. Sometimes it's mineral in the soil, sometimes it's the surrounding flora and fauna, sometimes we just don't know. But it's noticeable, and BEING noticed by more and more people these days. It used to be a wine thing, but has now expanded to a far greater gastric range.

I got sucked in immediately, and savored every single page of this engaging, tantalizing,
magical menu of culinary adventures (yes, there are recipes included). I now know that my life will never be complete if I don't go try some high mountain maple syrup while standing in the steamy evaporation shack, sweating in my flannel shirt. Or squish through the strange Totten oyster farm in Puget Sound at 3 am, when the tide is low. Or tromp through the fields of Quebec for cattails that Francois des Bois (Francis of the Forest) will show me how to cook and eat. Really, pretty much visiting anyone that Jacobsen interviewed and worked with for this book would be a delight. I was ecstatic to realize that I have actually tasted Taza chocolate (and so can you--we're selling it at Tattered Cover!!!), though I was thrown off my it's texture until I read their part in this book and now understand that what I was tasting was hundreds of years of history.

This is a fantastic read that will leave you drooling for the food and searching for anything and everything that Jacobsen has ever written (thankful, he does have other books). And, of course, wistfully scheming a way to visit those same places too. (sigh)"