Calais author Rowan Jacobsen toured North America in search of the best match of food and place. He brought back a fascinating account of his travels, his dining adventures, and of the people who wrest culinary delights from often unwilling soil.American Terroir: Savoring the Flavors of Our Woods, Waters, and Fields; by Rowan Jacobsen; published by Bloomsbury USA, New York; 2010; 272 pages hardbound; $25.
Reviewed by Joseph Gresser
In his new book, Rowan Jacobsen examines “great foods that are what they are because of where they came from.” The issue of where they come from, the terroir of the title, is central to his consideration of such foods as apples, avocados, maple syrup, cheese, king salmon and chocolate.
Terroir is a French term which Mr. Jacobsen translates as “the taste of a place.” In Europe, where the concept has long years of tradition, it can both preserve culinary heritage and impede innovation, Mr. Jacobsen suggests.
In the New World, where the connection between place and flavor is still being explored by dedicated food artisans, the concept exists in a state of flux.
Mr. Jacobsen wanders throughout North and Central America, tasting a wide variety of wonderful foods at their source and reporting on his findings in lively, engaging prose. He is traveling and dining so we don’t have to, which could provoke intense jealousy among the homebound. But Mr. Jacobsen doesn’t overdo his presence in the story, appearing just enough to serve as our eyes, ears, and taste buds.
His account of a nocturnal jaunt across an Oregon oyster bed is a delight. Mr. Jacobsen and a couple of companions, equipped with powerful headlamps, wine glasses, and shucking knives tracked down transplanted East Coast oysters that thrive in the waters of Puget Sound. The ramble has a predictably delightful end for the humans if not for their quarry.
Vermont maple syrup is one of the few longstanding declarations of terrior in the U.S. Like all such denominations it is a marketing tool and a claim to superiority that most people, at least most Vermonters, find convincing.
When Mr. Jacobsen declares that Thetford is the purest example of maple syrup terroir, my Northeast Kingdom heart rebels, for in part, terroir is an expression of pride of place.
I don’t care what the best terroir for carrots is, objectively. I would always give pride of place to those that grow in my garden.
Mr. Jacobsen was led to the Oregon mudflats and he helped judge a national oyster competition. The fact that his favorite did not win first place is a reminder that different people have different tastes.
That is not to argue with Mr. Jacobsen’s contention that commercial wineries and chocolate manufacturers tend to produce products that most people find perfectly satisfactory, but eliminate the rough edges that make the less worked-over versions more interesting. But once introduced to the more complex flavors that he advocates, people will have different preferences.
As much as it would please me to believe that the Northeast Kingdom inherently produces the best cheeses in the world, I know that’s unlikely. What can be said is that our fields offer excellent pasture and the opportunity for people with the passion and the knowledge to make outstanding cheese.
That ultimately is the point of this book. Wherever Mr. Jacobsen travels, he meets people who are devoted to an aspect of the bounty provided by the land. From a woman who collects varietal honeys from all over the continent, to a Quebecois forager whose quest for wild delicacies drew him north as far as the Arctic Circle, and to a man whose search for the perfect coffee inspired him to develop an apparatus for brewing that will set the connoisseur back over $1,000.
Mr. Jacobsen uses the much-mocked vocabulary of the wine writer to describe flavors. But he defends that choice by pointing out that it is not mere metaphor. Foods share a similar chemical makeup, and the molecules that give raspberries their distinctive taste really are found in some wines.
His willingness to expose his well-developed palette to experiences that are not always pleasant — he samples an oyster that I would not have touched with an oar, and a long one at that — allows us to vicariously sample flavors we are unlikely to ever share.
From his travels Mr. Jacobsen brings back a sampling of recipes, which he includes at the end of each section along with contact information for those who want to follow his gustatory path.
American Terroir only skims the surface of the variety of foods produced in North America. But Mr. Jacobsen’s brief tour opens the door to a number of deep questions that will engage the reader over the course of many future meals.
