Ever since the devil tempted Eve with one in the garden of Eden, people have had a hankering for a good apple. Apples are the most popular temperate-zone fruit in the world. With modern storage techniques, they are available year round, but for real apple fanciers there is no time like autumn. This is when […]
Salt has been used for thousands of years to make food more palatable. In modern times it has gotten a bad name, and many people work hard to restrict their sodium intake. However, it may be that ancient people were on to something. The salt that traditional people used was not the same as the […]
Onions are one of those foods it is easy to take for granted. Yet they are an essential ingredient in a variety of dishes. Anybody who does much cooking probably uses onions several times a week. I can think of countless recipes which start with the words: “sauté onions until they are translucent.” Because they […]
Henry David Thoreau, in the years after he wrote On Walden Pond, devoted himself to the study of the native plants in the vicinity of his home town: Concord Massachusetts. One plant he wrote about at some length was the wild grape (Vitis labrusca), which abounded in his neck of the woods. In one passage, […]
In the natural foods business, we are always looking for the next “superfood.” Last year it was mangosteen, a tropical fruit from southern Asia. This year it is goji berries, a Tibetan food from the Himalayas. Both are revered in their native habitats and have long traditions of use as health supporting foods. Both have […]
