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OverviewWhy does food taste better when you know where it comes from? Because history-ecological, cultural, even personal-flavors every bite we eat. Whether it's the volatile chemical compounds that a plant absorbs from the soil or the stories and memories of places that are evoked by taste, layers of flavor await those willing to delve into the roots of real food. In this landmark book, Gary Paul Nabhan takes us on a personal trip into the southwestern borderlands to discover the terroir-the taste of the place -that makes this desert so delicious. To savor the terroir of the borderlands, Nabhan presents a cornucopia of local foods-Mexican oregano, mesquite-flour tortillas, grass-fed beef, the popular Mexican dessert capirotada, and corvina (croaker or drum fish) among them-as well as food experiences that range from the foraging of Cabeza de Vaca and his shipwrecked companions to a modern-day camping expedition on the Rio Grande. Nabhan explores everything from the biochemical agents that create taste in these foods to their history and dispersion around the world. Through his field adventures and humorous stories, we learn why Mexican oregano is most potent when gathered at the most arid margins of its range-and why foods found in the remote regions of the borderlands have surprising connections to foods found by his ancestors in the deserts of the Mediterranean and the Middle East. By the end of his movable feast, Nabhan convinces us that the roots of this fascinating terroir must be anchored in our imaginations as well as in our shifting soils. Full Product DetailsAuthor: Gary Paul NabhanPublisher: University of Texas Press Imprint: University of Texas Press Dimensions: Width: 14.00cm , Height: 2.00cm , Length: 21.60cm Weight: 0.340kg ISBN: 9780292725898ISBN 10: 0292725892 Pages: 144 Publication Date: 01 March 2012 Audience: General/trade , General Format: Hardback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: In stock  We have confirmation that this item is in stock with the supplier. It will be ordered in for you and dispatched immediately. Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Prologue Chapter One. The Verve in the Herb: A Culinary Natural History Chapter Two. Hungry for Home: Mostafa al-Azemmouri Discovers a New World of Desert Foods Chapter Three. Seek-No-Further: Foraging and Fishing through the Big Bend Chapter Four. A Flour Blooms: Esperanza and the Magical Mesquite Tortillas Chapter Five. From the Beeves' Lips to Paul's Fears: Grass-Fed Flavor Chapter Six. Pan on a Mission: Capirotada Comes to Baja California Chapter Seven. Camel Chorizo: A Missing Link Chapter Eight. My First (and Last) Rodeo: Catching Corvina in the Sea of Cortes Chapter Nine. A Desert Communion Epilogue Literature CitedReviewsOne of Napa Valley's most prestigious winemakers recently said that there is no such thing as terroir. He scoffed at the idea... that wine somehow captures the essence of place. A scientist by training, he insisted instead that wine is the result of chemical processes that can be analysed and controlled, nothing more. Gary Paul Nabhan's new book, Desert Terroir: Exploring the unique flavors and sundry places of the borderlands, is an eloquent refutation of that assertion. Like other proponents of terroir, Nabhan argues that sunlight, wind, rain and minerals in the soil all affect the way a given food tastes. But for him there is more. Terroir is also an expression of the hands of the women who rhythmically pat out tortillas in the borderlands between the United States and Mexico, and of the labours of ranch hands who graze sturdy Corriente cattle. It is found, too, in the ancestry of both human and plants. If we attune ourselves to our own history, and to that of the natural world, we stand to gain a keen appreciation for our planet's myriad distinctive tastes... Nabhan is a natural storyteller. Times Literary Supplement One of Napa Valley's most prestigious winemakers recently said that there is no such thing as terroir. He scoffed at the idea... that wine somehow captures the essence of place. A scientist by training, he insisted instead that wine is the result of chemical processes that can be analysed and controlled, nothing more. Gary Paul Nabhan's new book, Desert Terroir: Exploring the unique flavors and sundry places of the borderlands, is an eloquent refutation of that assertion. Like other proponents of terroir, Nabhan argues that sunlight, wind, rain and minerals in the soil all affect the way a given food tastes. But for him there is more. Terroir is also an expression of the hands of the women who rhythmically pat out tortillas in the borderlands between the United States and Mexico, and of the labours of ranch hands who graze sturdy Corriente cattle. It is found, too, in the ancestry of both human and plants. If we attune ourselves to our own history, and to that of the natural world, we stand to gain a keen appreciation for our planet's myriad distinctive tastes... Nabhan is a natural storyteller. * Times Literary Supplement * Author InformationGary Nabhan is a desert explorer, plant hunter, and storyteller who has spent more than four decades foraging, farming, hunting, and fishing in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands. He is regarded as a pioneer in the local foods movement by Time magazine, Mother E Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |
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