Farming

In Iowa, you can hear the corn grow. The other night my friend Howard brought over some grass stalks to show me the sound. Corn kernels, like other grains, are the edible seeds of certain types of grass plants. He wanted to demonstrate the sound he heard growing up on an Iowa farm, so he pulled the stems of each stalk through its leaf sheath; one weedy stalk made the gentle popping sound he’d heard on hot humid nights.

Produce seasons ebb and flow in familiar ways. Ramps at the farmers market hail winter’s end, and the first July tomato marks the advent of high summer. Even as home cooks have reacquainted themselves with produce seasons, cheese seasons remain mysterious. Learning how cheeses change with the seasons is key to developing a deeper appreciation. Just as fruits and vegetables come into and fade out of season, the grasses, wildflowers, and legumes cows, sheep, and goats eat do the same.

There is so much controversy surrounding genetic modification of foods, from where the genes come from, to whether the genetic modifications can be transferred to other organisms, to whether producers should label genetically modified foods to alert consumers, and so on. Controversy aside, I think it’s important to understand the science behind genetic modification of foods, starting with one of the latest milestones: An apple that doesn’t brown.

I’ve prepped and readied for my CSA this season, and now the real work begins: finding ways to eat everything every week before it goes bad! If it’s your first time participating in a CSA, you’ll soon learn it’s not uncommon to end up with more than double what you’d have ever bought yourself at the grocery store. Sure, you buy cucumbers, but do you buy eight at a time? Welcome to CSA life. Sound scary? It can be, but it’s really just a lot of fun.

The markets are flush with gorgeous produce. Instagram feeds are exploding with colorful strawberries and asparagus and greens galore. Maybe some of your friends have started picking up their CSA boxes and you’re thinking: Hey! I want my piece of produce paradise every week. I should join a CSA! Well, I am sorry, but I’ve got some bad news for you. You’re probably too late. And there’s a good reason why you can’t join a CSA in the springtime.

Up until now, the discoveries showcased within this series have highlighted achievements made during the 19th century. Not by design, I promise you. All of these food science breakthroughs were hand-picked on merit alone, as is today’s: genetically modified crops. But genetically modified crops come with some baggage. Unlike canning, fermentation, or milk pasteurization, where we have a solid understanding of both the science and the result, GM crops are still in their infancy.

By now we know that a tomato isn’t a tomato isn’t a tomato: the difference between the industrially-produced pale pink softballs from the grocery chain and your backyard beauties is astonishing. Here in California, people are rejoicing that we’re finally seeing dry-farmed tomatoes in the farmers markets and smaller grocery stores. So what are dry-farmed tomatoes, and what’s so special about them?

I’m a member of a Facebook group where people share what they’re making in the kitchen: the trials, the tribulations, the recipes. It’s a fun group, and most of the cooks are southern like me. Recently, a member posted this, “I made really good rice!!!!!!! yeah 2014.” I responded to the post, asking what brand she used, prepared to hear about her amazing rice cooker. Her answer surprised me, though it shouldn’t have.

July is just around the corner and for me that means just one thing: it’s the time when the local tomato production starts to get serious and the farmers’ markets starting running red (and yellow, and pink, and chocolate, and green stripe). Sure, there’s the occasional basket of cherry tomatoes the last few weeks of June and I guess they’re pretty good.  But when the dry-farmed Early Girls start showing up, that’s when then I know all is right in the world.