Note to my readers at GoodFood World
Dear Readers, I apologize for my prolonged lapse in writing these stories. I took a long sabbatical during the fall to harvest and preserve the …
Author: GoodFood World
Salal: Food, Medicine and Culture of the Coast Salish Peoples
Salal, a native shade-tolerant shrub that produces little hairy berries and has a long affiliation with First Peoples as a source of food, medicine, lore, and much more. Sadly, while the salal plant has long been part of the food, medicine, and culture of Coast Salish peoples, the arrival of settlers led to the exploitation of the land, forests, and workers.
Salmonberry: Food, Medicine, Culture – Part 2
The Chinook believe that when salmonberry was first discovered, the Coyote was instructed to put its berries inside the mouth of every salmon he caught from the river to ensure continued good fishing. This is how the name “Salmonberry” originally came about long ago.
Salmonberry: Food, Medicine, Culture – Part 1
For centuries berries have been used for various reasons within many native tribes in the Pacific Northwest such as the Chehalis, Cowlitz, Lower Chinook, Makah, Quinault, Quileute, Swinomish, and the Iñupiat. Each berry has its own unique history that sometimes can be told through native legends, as seen with the salmonberry. According to storytellers in the Chinook First Nation the coyote was “instructed to place these berries in the mouth of each salmon he caught in order to ensure continued good fishing” and for that reason this berry came to be known as the Salmonberry.
The Wild Strawberry: a Sacred Purifier
The wild strawberry has been recognized and used by indigenous peoples since the dawn of time. Native Americans have valued the wild strawberry as food and medicine, recognizing it as a blood purifier. Native Americans also have a spiritual understanding and relationship with the groundcover plant as illustrated by the Anishinaabe name for the wild strawberry, odeiminidjibik, which translates as “root of the heart” and illustrating the intimacy of the people and this wild berry.
20 Years, 20 Trends in Food Culture, Sweet and Sour
Thumbs up and thumbs down for the foods and beverages trends we’ve applauded and booed in our more than 20 years immersed in the exploration of mainstream and fringes of food culture. Here is a sampling of trends that have influenced food culture in sweet and sour ways.
What Happened to All Our Apples?
We used to have 16,000 varieties of apples. What happened to them? Gary Nabhan, author and ethnobotanist, talks about preserving those that are left.
Rebuilding our local food system
This essay by Quita Ortíz on the work of Ralph Vigil and his family to restore traditional food and farming systems in northern New Mexico highlights one of the most significant qualities of acequia agroecosystems, their rootedness and adaptability to place.