Field to Food

June Taylor

I love June Taylor's conserves, fruit cheeses and candied peels.  I mentioned that I was planning to take June Taylor's conserve class, but failed to share my delight.  I feel fully equipped to make conserves (not jam because of the low sugar content).  The class was really fantastic.  June covered all the basics, but provided a great deal of background information and food history.  I love old cookbooks, so I particularly enjoyed that she peppered her discussion with bits of history.  During the class, we had two tastings.  At the beginning, we tasted fruit and heard June's take on what would work well and what wouldn't.  Her opinion, given that she personally makes 25,000 jars a year of this stuff, is worthwhile to hear.  We then watched her cook a batch of conserves and then as a class cooked our own, from fruit we prepped and set to macerate in lemon juice, orange zest and sugar.  Watching June work and then having her help us duplicate her process really cemented the lessons for me.  We then finished class up with a tasting of a variety of jams, jellies, conserves and other fruit concoctions.  It was fun to hear her take on mass market and other artisan conserves.  I feel like my knowledge level quadrupled.  We also sampled many of June's tasty creations, which alone would have made the session.  June is knowledgeable, patient and friendly, so I give the class 5 stars!  As students, we received a discount, so I bought a jar of the Meyer Lemon and Lime Marmalade.   Amazing on just about everything.  Great with pork and chicken.  Yum. 

I am sorry that I didn't take the class earlier in the summer, but I have to say that I am anxious to try my hand at marmalade this winter.  Although past the prime of the season, we still have a fair amount of fruit available at the farmer's market for a trial run.  I thought I would follow up with a post of my first solo experience.  That post will have tips and pointers from what I learned... like roughly 1 pound of fruit per 8 oz jar. 

Eccolo Sous Chef Samin Nosrat on American Public Media's The Story

The former sous chef at Eccolo, the great Berkeley restaurant that went out of business this summer (see here), is featured on an episode of the radio show The Story.  It's a great listen.  She talks about her own interesting background, and how she came to be a line cook at Chez Panisse and then sous chef at Eccolo.  Nosrat also talks about how Eccolo couldn't survive, especially with the high cost of sustainable and locally grown produce.  It's a great story, because she's so passionate about the food and Chris Lee really tried to make something special happen with Eccolo.  It breaks your heart to see it fail.  It's a fun listen, I definitely recommend it.

Pickle

Matt once said to me that he was debating whether he should take up pickling or focus on bread making.  I thought this was hilarious because it didn't seem like an either or decision to me.  In the last couple of years, we have eaten a wide range of pickles.  In Berkeley, there is a fantastic cultured organic sauerkraut maker.  They attend the Berkeley Farmers' Market, which afforded us a chance to try their inspiring flavor combinations. Ready Made Magazine has a piece on pickling and it looks like we aren't they only aspiring picklers. 

In other canning or preserving news, I am taking a class on conserves with artisanal jam maker June Taylor.  I can't tell you how excited I am!  Throughout the summer, I read about jam making.  Homesick Texan made it sound both tricky and doable, which fueled my obsession even more.  I've come up with a couple of savory options I've been wanting to try, too.  So why haven't I done it?  The idea of filling and properly sealing jars scares me.  I think that the class will cover the basics.  I will let you know how it goes and we can post about trying a recipe at home.  It dawned on me that we could just use some of my new techniques with our upcoming pickling experiments, too.  What a tasty coincidence indeed!

Photo from June Taylor Organic Conserves

Berkeley Bowl

Spending the summer in Berkeley meant shopping at the Berkeley Bowl.  It is difficult to describe the store to the uninitiated without being interrupted to hear it sounds just like any other grocery store.  Sure, it has a lot in common with a typical supermarket, but it doesn't have just one or two options for a product.  Berkeley Bowl has virtually every option available for a product-- one article mentioned a selection of 15 different organic apples.  The low prices and extensive selection are unparalleled.  True to it roots as a produce market, Berkeley Bowl maintains the largest, most complete selection of produce that I have ever seen.  When I saw the produce section for the first time, I literally gasped out loud.  It was my version of heaven on Earth.

Monterey Market Mention

I wrote about Monterey Market earlier this week, wondering how to recreate it elsewhere.  Well it looks like an expert from Monterey is consulting elsewhere.  Here is the an SF Chronicle blurb:

Bill's return: It's been a couple of months since produce expert Bill Fujimoto parted ways with his family business, Monterey Market in Berkeley (1550 Hopkins St.). But Berkeley's loss is Lafayette's gain - Fujimoto is consulting with Diablo Foods (3615 Mount Diablo Blvd.) to strengthen the market's produce section.

Fujimoto says he's looking to make the selection more seasonal. "I'm just trying to celebrate what's going on outside," he says. "It's been very satisfying for me."

Berkeley Student Organic Garden

Driving around in Berkeley, I was pleasantly surprised to find a little farm plot nestled in among the row houses and businesses:

This is the Berkeley Student Organic Garden.  UC Berkeley students tend the garden as part of a project to encourage urban gardening.  As the students put it, they're "mending the rift between farm & fork".

Monterey Market

Monterey Market has the most amazing selection of produce.  I love the concept of this place.  The market works directly with a wide range of farmers to supply fresh fruit and vegetables at incredibly competitive prices. Under an enormous canopy, the outside section features the ripest in season offerings.  Matt and I spent the month of August trying as many new melon varieties as we could and Monterey Market proved to be a fantastic resource. 

After living in several large cities and paying through the nose for fresh produce, I wonder if it would be possible to introduce this type of market in other cities.  I would like to interview the owners to understand why it works in Berkeley and what may be transferable to other locations.  The quality of the product and the low prices are unbeatable. 

Farmers markets allow farmers and consumers to interact.  Monterey Market provides an everyday farmers market experience pairing central distribution with a critical mass of variety.  Although the link the to farmer is not as direct, the market makes sure to label each item with the name of the farm that grew it.  Having hit a number of local farmer markets, I felt like I recognized the farm names or at least knew the locations of the farms.  Not the same as meeting the farmer or going directly to the source, but it is nice to make the connection.

Berkeley Farmers' Market

Last night, we stopped by the Berkeley Farmers' Market (yes, the name has a possessive apostrophe).  The market has a great atmosphere.  People sit on the grass covered median and eat grilled corn on the cob from Flacos.  As we waited for our corn, we noticed that Flacos will bring fresh masa to the market with advanced notice.  Matt and I have been making our own corn tortillas all summer, but we have never used fresh masa.  We quickly added this to our to-do list: track down fresh masa. 

I would argue that if Flacos is the most popular stop, judging from the number of people juggling corn in one hand and purchases in the other, the second most popular place to visit is the sample bar at the Frog Hollow Farm stand. 

The peaches, pluots, nectarines and plums from this stand were phenomenal.  Choosing stone-fruit is a balancing act between immediate desire to eat everything in sight and to save some for a rainy day.  Then, there is the challenge of choosing less ripe fruit that will mature nicely by the time it is eaten in an hour in two days.  I need to talk with a farmer about this one!  

With heirloom tomatoes on the mind, I had to take a photo of this display at the Happy Boy Farms stand.  Just look at the those green zebra tomatoes!