Open Writing

As the result of a highly developed horticulture industry, a finely tuned distribution system, and a wide range of climates within the North American continent, these days almost all fruits and vegetables are available year-round in US supermarkets. And the Caribbean and adjacent South American countries are ready and willing to fill any gaps if US crops fail or are depleted. The price to be paid for this easy availability is in the quality of the produce. Crops are harvested prematurely so that they will ripen on the way to the stores, and there is a noticeable difference on the palate of such fruits and vegetables compared with those that are harvested at their prime, which have more flavor and better texture.

As a child growing up in England in the 1930’s and 40’s, the year was defined by the seasonal availability of fruits and vegetables. Anything that could not be kept fresh in storage over the winter simply would not be found in the stores until the new season came in. Brussels sprouts would be around from October until Christmas if the frosts were not too hard. Tomatoes, lettuce and cucumber were only available at the height of the summer. Cherries would be in the stores for about two weeks at best, and all the various berries for roughly the same amount of time. Runner beans and peas also made only a brief appearance.

The English gustatory calendar at that time was punctuated by some highlights that took on almost cultish significance, and we would await them like primitive people enslaved by the “Cargo Cult.” The first treat of the season was “Jersey” potatoes. We would salivate just at the thought of eating them. No bigger than the biggest marble, and with fine, flaky skin, the slightly musty taste was as good as any truffle in my view. My all-time favorite meal was a Dover Sole filet with “Jersey” potatoes, green peas and parsley sauce. There are “Jersey” potatoes in America too, but these are from the State of New Jersey, and don’t come close to the flavor and texture of their Channel Island counterparts.

One of the other highlights of the season was the much anticipated “Blackpool” tomato. Small compared to other types, and with a fine golden freckle shading the bright red skin, the almost tart flavor literally burst on one’s tongue. It was important for the flower case to still be attached, proving that the tomato had not been picked until ripe. But I digress.

The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York State, graduates some of the USA’s finest chefs. It is a successful and wealthy institution, devoted to the latest and best of the culinary arts. It has five restaurants on its beautiful campus, where students plan, cook and serve meals to the general public, under the supervision of master chefs. Each restaurant is based on a distinct branch of gastronomy and these include Escoffier, serving, as one might expect, French cuisine; St Andrew’s Café, which is less formal; Ristoranti Caterina de Medici offering guess what, and then there’s the American Bounty restaurant. The American Bounty restaurant is devoted, as the name suggests, to presenting traditional American dishes with a gourmet flair, taking advantage of produce in season at any given time of the year.

Even though most fruits and vegetables are available year-round in the US, the most prized produce is still that which is in season locally, just as it was during my English childhood. As I write, the North Eastern American summer is at its height, and every day offers a feast of choices. The local corn has crisp, small, pearly kernels that are delicately sweet, not like the corn on sale in February, brought in from Florida. To be enjoyed at its pristine best, corn needs to be eaten within a few hours of being harvested, and the trip from the Florida fields to the Northern markets is long enough to turn the kernels to sugary pulp.

Many US states produce peaches, but the Pennsylvania Cling Peach is unquestionably the most desirable. Large and furry, and with a rich flavor that is just a little tart, the ripe fruit are so succulent that it is impossible to take a bite without juice running down one’s chin. They also make into wonderful pies, and eaten fresh, provide an incomparable desert when combined with a couple of scoops of ice cream. In August, the peaches can be found in abundance on roadside stands throughout Pennsylvania and its bordering states, displayed alongside large and intensely flavored strawberries, blueberries almost the size of grapes, cantaloupe, and many varieties of pepper and squash.

The road-side stand, or so called “farm stand,” is the singular distribution system for all this bounty. I have no clue how the produce gets from the fields to the stand, but from there on it’s the drive-by motorist who gets it home. The stands vary in size from Mom and Pop tables offering tomatoes, corn and cucumbers, mint and basle from the family garden, to larger operations that include home-made pies, local honey and cheese. In New York State, as Fall approaches, the stands begin displaying barrels of local apples in profusion. Northern Spy, Red Rome, Empire, McIintosh, Cortland, Red Delicious and Braeburn, all vie for the pie-maker’s attention.

If one adds to all this bounty the coastal pleasures of fresh caught Lobster, Snapper, Striper, Bass, Fluke and Yellowtail, along with crab, clams, oysters and mussels, then the North East American summer is truly a cornucopia of nature’s bounty. Bon apetite!

# # #