American Terroir: Savoring the Flavors of Our Woods, Waters, and Fields

Rowan Jacobsen

Bloomsbury Publishing, Sep 10, 2010 - Cooking - 288 pages

Why does honey from the tupelo-lined banks of the Apalachicola River
have a kick of cinnamon unlike any other? Why is salmon from Alaska's
Yukon River the richest in the world? Why does one underground cave in
Greensboro, Vermont, produce many of the country's most intense cheeses?
The answer is terroir (tare-WAHR), the "taste of place." Originally
used by the French to describe the way local conditions such as soil and
climate affect the flavor of a wine, terroir has been little understood
(and often mispronounced) by Americans, until now. For those who have
embraced the local food movement, American Terroir will share the
best of America's bounty and explain why place matters. It will be the
first guide to the "flavor landscapes" of some of our most iconic foods,
including apples, honey, maple syrup, coffee, oysters, salmon, wild
mushrooms, wine, cheese, and chocolate. With equally iconic recipes by
the author and important local chefs, and a complete resource section
for finding place-specific foods, American Terroir is the perfect
companion for any self-respecting locavore.

What people are saying

Review: American Terroir: Savoring the Flavors of Our Woods, Waters, and Fields

User Review  - Brooke - Goodreads

Fun facts about foods that made me think about food differently, especially coffee, chocolate and wine.

Review: American Terroir: Savoring the Flavors of Our Woods, Waters, and Fields

User Review  - Kristina - Goodreads

Only complaint- more chapters needed! Great book- thoroughly informative and entertaining. I checked it out of the library for a book club, but found it so good, I had to order a copy for my library ...

About the author

Rowan Jacobsen writes about food, the environment, and the connections
between the two. His work has appeared in the Art of Eating, the New
York Times, Wild Earth, Wondertime, Culture & Travel,
NPR.org, and elsewhere. He is the author of A Geography of
Oysters, which was nominated for both an IACP and a James Beard
award, Fruitless Fall, and The Living Shore. He lives in
rural Vermont with his wife and son.

Bibliographic information

• Title: American Terroir: Savoring the Flavors of Our Woods, Waters, and Fields
• Author: Rowan Jacobsen
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2010
• ISBN: 1608194590, 9781608194599
• Length: 288 pages
• Subjects: Cooking / Essays & Narratives; Cooking / General; Cooking / Regional & Ethnic / General