Sara Bir
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Handle with Care
Prickly pears bridge the wild and the cultivated, giving us a fruit that’s adored by some and ignored by others. When did you last eat a prickly pear? Most Westerners have probably seen hundreds more of these hardy fruits than they’ve actually consumed. In the fall, they ripen on the lopsided, many-lobed cacti in the…
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22 Things about a Strawberry
1 Strawberries are unique among fruit for having seeds on their exteriors, which is why botanists don’t consider them true berries. 2 Strawberries dipped in chocolate are not the best pairing, especially with some of the more fruit-forward artisanal chocolates, because you get this competing berry/acidity thing that’s not very complementary. 3 Native Americans in…
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Saving the Season
Putting up the harvest doesn’t just fill our pantries—it preserves community. Abundance is something we can influence, but not control. A bumper crop operates on its own schedule, forcing you to adjust yours. That’s where preservation comes in. Once a necessity for survival, food preservation—specifically that of vegetables and fruits—now carries a different kind of urgency,…
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Sweet Tart
Shrubs are the oldest thing to be new again. Somewhere between cordials, aperitifs, lemonade, and kombucha is a cool, tart drink that’s equally trendy and quaint. It’s also got a homely name: The shrub. Novelty-hungry foodies can brush up on its history with a raft of new shrub cookbooks, four having been released last year…
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Tree Jewels
Persimmons: The (other) food of the Gods. Abundant, gorgeous, and just a little perplexing, persimmons are emblematic of a Sonoma County state of mind. No school here claims persimmons as their team mascot, but it would not be a stretch. Persimmons offer ease of cultivation, culinary possibility, and ornamental beauty. Finding persimmons is easy enough:…
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Beer by Bite
Your guide to a totally local craft brew holiday bash. ’Tis the season for the cavalcade of Gerwurtz/Reisling/Cab recommendations to begin their flurry as we collectively wonder what lovely adult beverage will go best with the turkey, ham, and prime rib that mark the groaning boards of the holiday season. But what about beer? Exactly.…
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Tough Love
Quince isn’t a cash crop—it’s a cult crop. Quince is hard to love, and that’s because it’s not easy to eat. Unlike an apple or pear, you can’t simply pluck one from a tree and sink your teeth right in; it’s bitter as all get-out. There’s peeling involved, plus cooking, plus sugar. Lots of sugar.…