Terroir, from the French word for land, or terre, is an expression used to describe the notion that specific geographies influence the flavors of the foods produced there. Traditionally used when talking about wine, coffee, and tea, the term terroir is also gaining in popularity as a way to describe the flavors of artisinally-produced items like cheese, bread, and charcuterie—and, produce, like apples!

Heirloom produce varieties and terroir are intimately connected—heirlooms are cultivars that were commonly grown and produced in earlier periods of human agricultural history that fell out of fashion with large-scale mono-cropping in modern farming. When you’re tasting an heirloom apple, you’re tasting not only the land that it was grown on, but, also the agricultural history of that place—the seeds of your particular apple could be the direct descendents of a tree that first fruited well over 200 years ago!

Along with the taste of an heirloom apple, there are also those names that we mentioned in the first paragraph, which could be considered a more literary version of the concept of terroir. The story of the Baldwin apple, one of our native Massachusetts varieties, is just as specific to its place of origin as its flavor, after all! Discovered as a chance seedling on the farm of John Ball in Wilmington, Massachusetts, it eventually became known as the Baldwin in honor of Col. Loammi Baldwin who introduced its propagation to areas outside of Wilmington (where it had been grown nearly exclusively for forty years after its initial discovery) and on into eastern Massachusetts.

So, the next time you’re having a sip of cider, or biting into a crisp fall heirloom apple, know that what you’re tasting isn’t simply the fruit—the flavor of the land is in the flesh, but, the story of the soil and the people who tilled it is too.

Here are some links to local heirloom apple information, farms, and products:

An article about Scott Farm in Vermont

Farnum Hill Cider in New Hampshire

Slow Food USA

West County Cider

Caramelized Onion, Fig, and Blue Cheese Mini-Galettes

1 box pre-made rolled pie crusts (or, make your own, w/ your preferred recipe)
1 jar of Stonewall Kitchens Fig and Ginger Jam
2 large white onions, peeled and sliced very thinly
2 tbs. good quality butter
1 container of 365 Blue Cheese crumbles

1. Unroll pie crusts on a clean, lightly floured surface. Using a biscuit cutter, trim invididual rounds out of each crust. Flatten, and re-roll and cut additional rounds until all of the dough has been used up. Arrange on a parchment-lined cookie tray and place in the fridge.

2. While the dough is re-chilling, melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add onions, and sauté until softened, and then turn heat down to low. Stir onions frequently, cooking over low heat until sweet, soft, and deep brown. While still warm, combine onions in a bowl with the fig and ginger jam, to taste.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, or the temp. specified on your pie dough package.

4. In the center of each dough round, place a scant tbs. of onion/jam filling. Pinch the sides of each round to form a rough ‘cup’ of dough around the filling. Top each cup with a sprinkle of the blue cheese.

5. Bake in oven until dough is lightly browned, and the cheese has melted. Serve warm, or at room temp!

Our spring goat cheese class may have been postponed, but, nothing can stop the great spring flavors of goat cheese going on in these recipes! Tart, fresh, creamy, and versatile, we love pairing goat cheese with all kind of spring flavors–from the savory to the sweet. Try one of these at your next dinner gathering, or for a fresh take on a weeknight meal.

Goat Cheese And Pea Purée

serves 4-6 as an appetizer

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of fresh green peas (thawed from frozen, or shelled and blanched)
1/2 cup of fresh goat cheese (the 365 brand is a great bargain!)
1/4 cup crème fraîche
2 tbs fresh tarragon (or, mint, if tarragon isn’t your thing)
salt and cracked black pepper, to taste

Blend all ingredients together in a food processor until a thick (not runny) purée forms. Serve on toasted baguette slices, or on your favorite crackers. (or, as a sandwich spread, or a sauce for roasted chicken…the possibilities abound! also makes a great fresh cold soup!)

Orecchiette With Asparagus and Goat Cheese
(adapted from Saveur Magazine)

Serves 2-4

1 bunch asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces on the bias
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
zest of 1 lemon
12 oz. orecchiette
cracked black pepper
salt

Take a large mixing bowl, and fill it halfway with a mixture of ice and water. Set aside. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Drop asparagus pieces into boiling water. When asparagus is just tender, and bright green, immediately remove from boiling water and place in the bowl containing the ice/water mixture. Set aside. Add pasta to the boiling pot of water, and cook according to instructions on the package. When pasta is nearly done, reserve a scant quarter cup of pasta water in a cup. Drain pasta, and add goat cheese, lemon zest, salt, pepper, and pasta water, tossing until a creamy sauce forms. Add the blanched asparagus, and serve!

Goat Cheese Tarts With Apricot Preserves and Pistachio
(adapted from Laura Chennel)

For the crust:

Serves 8
Pasta Frolla Crust:
4.5 oz All Purpose Flour
2 oz granulated sugar
2.25 oz butter
1.5 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1 Tbsp milk
zest of ½ a lemon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a standing mixer, blend well all the dry ingredients, add butter and mix until it becomes a sandy texture. Then, add the zest, egg, and milk and mix on the lowest speed briefly until a soft dough comes together. You can finish this process by kneading a couple of times by hand, wrap in plastic and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. Line eight 4″ individual molds or one 10″ tart mold, line with parchment and fill with pie weights. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until the edges are golden and the bottoms are still tender.

Goat Cheese Filling
12 oz chevre (goat milk cheese)
6 oz sour cream
3 oz sugar
2 oz honey
2 LG eggs
zest of 1 lemon

Topping:

1 cup of Apricot preserves, warmed until thinned and runny
1/2 cup toasted chopped pistachios

Mix ingredients quickly in standing mixer until creamy and homogenous, adding the eggs at the end to prevent a souffle effect when baking. Remove pie weights form the prepared shells, and fill with the goat cheese mixture. Return to oven at 325 degrees for about 20 minutes for individual tarts or 45 minutes for a large one. The tarts are ready when they jiggle lightly in the center but the edges are firm. Let cool to room temperature.

Before serving, top each tart, or the whole tart, with a thin layer of the warmed apricot preserves, and the chopped pistachios.

This February Whole Foods Hadley offered the Engine 2, 28 Day Challenge to our customers and team members. We are happy to say, at this point, that approximately twenty participants successfully completed the challenge. The Engine 2 diet, from the book by Rip Esselstyn, one of our affiliates, promotes a diet that is 100% plant-strong, eliminating all extracted oils and sugars, limiting sodium intake, and introducing nutrient-rich vegetables and fruits for a holistic lifestyle of eating. This diet also follows Whole Foods Market’s Health Starts Here Program, a program that is Whole Foods’ newest core value. Health Starts Here focuses on four core principles: plant-strong, whole foods, nutrient-dense and healthy fats, and Engine 2 takes it one step further to 100% vegetarian.

Over the course of the month, Joan Eckert, our Healthy Eating Specialist, conducted weekly meetings to explain the program and motivate our participants with cooking presentations, sharing recipes, and encouraging everyone to make it to the finish line. We started off with an orientation, attended by a crew from Channel 22 News, where we showed a film by Rip on how to restock a healthy pantry and recommended that everyone take the time to view the documentary Forks Over Knives.

also sampled recipes from the Engine 2 cookbook, including the signature Raise-the-Roof Lasagna. The second class fell close to Valentine’s Day, so we focused on dessert, sharing samples and recipes of naturally-sweet and nutrient-dense, like chia pudding, raw apple pie, carrot walnut cookies, and hot chocolate (found seasonally at Whole Foods’ Hadley’s espresso bar!)

In our next class we transformed pizza from a showcase of fat and empty calories into a delicious Greek pizza where we maximized the nutrient intake of every mouthful (Read the recipe at the end of this post!).

For class three we taught how to broth saute (or steam fry), a cooking technique that eliminates the need for extracted oils (even olive oil has 140 calories per tablespoon and minimal nutrients!). We used this technique to make a collard green, aduki beans and sweet potato dish. In our final class we shared a celebratory meal of spinach quesadillas, a golden beet, apple and arugula salad, and toasted to the successful completion of the program with a sparkling apple-lemon aperitif.

In sharing our experiences of eating a 100% plant-strong diet for 28 days, everyone agreed that they felt more energetic and lighter. Everyone was amazed that they didn’t miss the foods that they were emotionally attached to, even animal proteins such as eggs, dairy, meat, poultry and seafood. We shared amazing recipes that participants created, conquered eating out and traveling without having to veer off, and experienced new nutrient-rich foods like whole-grain Freekeh, quinoa and forbidden rice (black rice), and vegetables like dinosaur kale, microsprouts and purple sweet potatoes. At the end, many said that the challenge had helped them to lose weight and to realize how important it is to eliminate empty calories. The real results of a plant-strong diet become apparent when you have blood work done before and after the challenge. One of our participants was kind enough to share his results, which were very dramatic. His total cholesterol went from 214 to 118, his LDL dropped from 120 to 44, and his triglycerides from 209 to 95.

Greek Pizza

The E2 homemade Engine 2 pesto recipe is used to top the pizza long with ingredients that are authentically Greek.

Serves 6-8

2 cups homemade pesto (recipe below)
1 Health Starts Here Sprouted black bean pizza crust (found in the Deli case)
1 red onion, sliced thin
6 roma tomatoes, sliced
1 cup Kalamata olives, chopped
2 cans artichoke hearts packed in water, drained

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Roll out t he crust and place on a floured pizza pan or stone. Spread the sauce on the crust, and layer with the remaining ingredients. Bake for 15 minutes.

Pesto

3 cloves garlic
1 cup toasted walnuts
2 cups fresh basil, packed
1/2 cup unsweetened dairy alternative milk (soy, hemp, etc.)

Blend the garlic and nuts in a food processor briefly. Add the basil and the milk and process until it reaches a thick consistency.

Lots of us couldn’t even dream of facing the day without a piping hot cup of coffee–but what about the story behind the beans? What’s the best brewing method? What’s the deal with that ‘toddy’ stuff anyway? We chatted with our resident Whole Foods Market Hadley coffee expert, Chris Millner, to find out!

SK: So, Chris, what was the first coffee that you had that made you realize it could be more than a means to an end?

CM: Well, I can’t talk about coffee without talking about west coast coffee– when I lived in Berkeley, I lived near Royal Coffee, which was notorious for being the place to go once people had decided that Peet’s had ‘sold out’. But Peet’s is really the brand that started it all, so to speak–all of the guys that went on to found Starbucks started at Peet’s Coffee. They definitely changed the coffee game. I was also working out here at Dean’s Beans at the crest of the organic/Fair Trade movement, right when it was being federalized. Allegro actually came to visit Dean’s, to learn about our Fair Trade production methods at the time. It’s cool to be able to look back on that, and to have been part of that shift within the entire industry, and to see how Allegro has changed as a result of it.

SK: Speaking of Dean’s, who’s your favorite local roaster? What would you want people to try in the store right now?

CM: Indigo, for being one of the first kids on the block locally, doing specialty coffee–they have some great blends. And Rao’s. I always want people to try Ethiopians–I think of that as being the real coffee-drinker’s coffee. They always have unusual flavors–there’s a sweetness, and a fruitiness, that you get sometimes with Sumatran beans as well, that’s unique to Ethiopian beans. The fruity quality is from the wet-pulped method of removing the fruit from the bean before the bean is dried–essentially, the fruit is fermented off of the bean. If you open bags of green Ethiopian or Sumatran beans, the fragrance is really raw, fruity, and funky–I’ve tasted some Ethiopian beans that tasted intensely of blueberries, that were processed using that method. It’s wild.

SK: Do you have a favorite Allegro product?

CM: Again, the Ethiopians–and I always come back to the Moka Java. It’s a Sumatran mix, with a great spicy, earthy flavor.

SK: What’s your favorite brewing method? Does it make a difference?

CM: Oh, it definitely makes a difference. In general, I’d say that I’m kind of anti-french press. I love a perfect espresso. But, really, I’d say that the pour-through (or pour-over) is the best way to get the true flavor of the coffee.

SK: Sort of like cupping? Or is that different?

CM: Oh, that’s different–the point of cupping, or coffee tasting, isn’t so much to produce the perfect cup of drinkable coffee, but, to really get all of the flavors of the beans in the most essential way. It’s about the ritual–like wine tasting.

SK: Speaking of coffee flavors, what about coffee and food pairings? If someone is building an after-dinner plate to pair with coffee, what do you suggest?

CM: Chocolate. Anything sweet–it’s such a strong flavor on its own, that you don’t really want anything that’s going to compete with it. I’d avoid cheese.

SK: Good to know! So, as we’re approaching summer, what’s the deal with the ‘toddy’ brewed coffee we’ve been seeing lately? What makes it special?

CM: It’s delicious! It’s cold-brewed–and yes, it’s more time-consuming, and proportion-wise, uses a lot more coffee to produce a smaller amount, but, it makes the most smooth, delicious cup of coffee that you’ll ever have. Heat breaks down the oils in the coffee beans and causes bitterness, so, the less heat involved in the brewing process, the better the flavor. That’s why coffee left heating on a stove or on one of those warmers always gets so bitter.

SK: And why percolators are bad?

CM: Yeah, in my opinion–but, coffee, moreso than anything else I’ve seen, I think, is all about instinct, and sense memories. People have very definite ideas about what they like, and a lot of that has to do with the first cup they ever had, or, watching a parent or grandfather brew coffee a certain way. It’s comfort. I think coffee is absolutely comfort food.

So, the next time you’re in need of a cup of comfort, be sure to stop by our coffee section in our Specialty department, and speak to Chris–he’ll steer you in the direction of that next memory-generating brew, or, help you reconnect with an old favorite (or, just help you look forward to mornings a bit more than usual).

This recipe was a big hit at our recent One Day Shrimp Sale–give it a whirl while the mangos are great!

1 lb. shrimp, peeled and de-veined
1 small container Whole Foods Market mango salsa
1 container of your favorite spring mix
1 16 oz. package of whole wheat orzo
1 lime
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbs. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

optional: hot sauce, extra jalapenos

Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package, and drain, running pasta under cold water to halt the cooking. Set aside in a bowl and toss with 1 tbs. olive oil to prevent sticking. Heat the remaining olive oil in a nonstick pan and toss shrimp and garlic in the oil, sauteeing until shrimp are pink and cooked through. Remove from pan, and chop the shrimp roughly. Combine shrimp, greens, orzo, salsa, the juice and zest of the lime, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve! (optional additional add-ins include more hot sauce or jalapenos, if you’d like to spice it up a bit.)

What’s Corny About Our Beef?

The term ‘corn’ doesn’t refer to the golden ears of the summer harvest–it actually refers to the grains of salt that the beef is cured with. In the United Kingdom, it’s also sometimes referred to as ‘bully beef’, from the French term ‘bouef bouilli’, or ‘boiled beef’. Most manufacturers of modern corned beef include either potassium nitrate or sodium nitrite to preserve the beef’s pink color–but not Whole Foods Market! Our corned beef is what is known as ‘gray corned beef’–beef brisket or round that’s pickled in a salt-based brine. Beet powder is added to make the meat a little pink, since most people aren’t used to the gray color, but, the flavor is all beef.

Though corned beef has been produced on an industrial scale in Ireland since the 17th century, the association of beef and St. Patrick’s day is actually an Irish-American tradition. It’s generally believed that corned beef first gained popularity among Irish immigrants in the late 1800s in New York’s Lower East Side neighborhood–and that the cooking method is a variation on Jewish slow-cooked brisket.

For a modern take on the traditional meal of corned beef and cabbage, give these Corned Beef and Cabbage Rolls a try!

It’s Good To Be The King (of Cheese)

What’s in a name? If that name is Parmigiano Reggiano, quite a bit. The name itself is only allowed to be applied to cheese that is produced exclusively in the provinces of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, and particular parts of Mantua and Bologna. Cheese, just like wine, is an expression of terroir, or the ways in which a particular geographic location will influence the flavor of the food grown and produced there. The flavors that are unique to Parmigiano Reggiano are flavors that can only be gained via traditional production methods, in these unique places–everything from the grass that the cows eat, to the water that they drink, is part of what makes Parm, well, Parm. (In fact, traditionally, the cows whose milk is used to produce the cheese can only be fed on grass or hay–and only natural whey culture is allowed as a starter, along with calf rennet. The only additive allowed is salt.)

After the cheese has aged for 12 months, The Consorzio Parmigiano-Reggiano comes to inspect each and every cheese, armed only with their knowledgeable ears and a hammer. By tapping on each wheel at different points, the master grader can identify undesirable voids and cracks within the cheese. The cheeses that make the grade are then heat-branded with the Consorzio’s special logo–wheels that don’t quite make the cut used to be additionally marked with crosses all the way around the rind to let consumers know that they weren’t getting top-flight Parm. (Newer practices have simply left lesser wheels unmarked by any logo or designation.) Whew! It takes a lot to call yourself ‘King’!

No matter which way you slice it though (or, in the case of parm, crack it!), the ‘King of Cheeses’ is one tasty bite of terroir. We hope you’ll join us for our Crack Heard ‘Round the World event this week, on March 10th, to see for yourself! At 3 PM sharp, each Whole Foods around the globe will be cracking open a wheel of Parmigiano at the same time–expert know-how, five different, specialized knives, and attention to detail will yield a mountain of delicious cheese. Join us! And then take some of this Kingly cheese home for yourself–perhaps to try out this recipe (that we’ll be sampling on the day of the Crack): Fennel Baked in Milk (from Saveur Magazine).

We like to think that most of our Team Members stand out thanks to their passion for what they do, and their dedication to bringing you the finest the organic grocery world has to offer. But, it also helps if you’re well over six ft. tall. Today, we’re talking to the wordsmith behind our News & Brews newsletter–you might know him as ‘that really tall guy in the beer department’, but we know him as Travis Clark, beer expert ‘bar’ none.

SK: So, what got you into beer in the first place?

TC: Well, I was a post-college regular at this Irish bar, up in Burlington, VT, and I had just gotten into drinking Guinness. It was the first time that I had had a beer that made me realize that beer could be more than watery and yellow. After I moved down here [to the valley], I started going to the Moan and Dove, which some friends had told me about. I learned a lot just by reading the menus, which had a lot of information on them back then, and trying different things. That led me to coming to Whole Foods Market, actually, to buy beer, and I started talking to (former beer buyer) Brian about what to get. He’d recommend things, and talk to me about the things that were new, or that he was really into right then–it was a big part of what led me to want to work here, as well.

SK: What was the first beer that you remember having that really made you sit up and take notice, and think wow, this is something special?

TC: Stone Brewing IPA, and probably Dogfish Head–but definitely Stone. Previously, in college, I’d had other IPAs and thought ‘ugh, this is like drinking flowers, in the worst way’, but that beer really changed that for me, and made me see IPAs as something that could be interesting and complex. That, and a Saison that I had at the Dove–which is still probably my favorite style of beer.

SK: What do you think makes the Whole Foods Market beer department unique or special? Why buy beer here?

TC: Definitely the deep selection, both of New England beers, and a really nice range of more esoteric imports, alongside the more common ones. I have a lot of freedom in ordering–they really trust Team Member judgment, and I’m bringing in cases of new and interesting things all the time. I really try to keep things new, even within breweries that we order from regularly. If we had one thing last month, I’ll make a point of trying something different from them this month, that we’ve never had before.

SK: In that vein, what do we have in right now that isn’t mentioned in News&Brews that you’re personally excited about, or want people to try?

TC: The Divine Brown, from local brewing company High & Mighty—it’s a beer made with coffee that’s not a stout, which is unusual. There’s also the new beer from Pretty Things, Lovely Saint Winefride. It’s a brown lager brewed using the decoction method, which is kind of complicated, but, basically involves taking a portion of the mash and cooking it at a higher temperature for a period of time, before tempering it back into the rest of the mash. (ed note: see description here–it’s sort of like tempering eggs into a warm batter when baking). There are really nice notes of caramelized malt.

SK: What are some beer trends that you see emerging in 2012, that you think that people who are into craft brewing should be aware of?

TC: I see a couple of trends continuing in 2012 that have been building for the past couple of years–the first being black IPAs, which I’m personally not a fan of. The other big one that I’ve noticed is barrel aging–aging beers in whisk(e)y or wine barrels. Founders just came out with the Curmudgeon’s Better Half, for example–it was aged in bourbon barrels. It’s really incredible–a lot of maple, bourbon, and caramel notes. Going forward, another thing that I see a lot of breweries moving towards is developing their lines of session beers–something High & Mighty really led the way on. (For those not in the know, the term ‘session beer’ simply refers to a lower-alcohol brew that you can drink all day long–i.e., a drinking ‘session’.)

SK: Okay, to wrap things up, what’s one thing that you can think of, that you learned early on about beer, that you wish more people knew or thought about?

TC: Beer and food pairings. Especially the book The Brewmaster’s Table, by Garrett Oliver. There’s so much more stylistic variation in beer [than in other spirits] that lends itself to more versatility with food pairings. You can say that you should be drinking this particular wine with fruit and chocolate for dessert, for instance, but it’s just never going to pair as well as a stout might, to really bring out those deeper flavors.

SK: What’s one of your personal, all-time favorite food and beer pairings?

TC: Definitely Saison and goat cheese–one of the most perfect flavor combinations. Any kind of goat cheese, really, but, especially something like Humboldt Fog.

So, there you have it–the next time you’re in a beer quandary, or are just looking to be introduced to something new that’ll really knock your socks off, be sure to find Travis! And now, if you’ll excuse me, this interview had made me a bit…thirsty….

Belgian Style Pale/Wrigian Ale/Hooksett Ale (NH)
White Birch Brewing Company

Est. 2009 in Hooksett, NH, White Birch is one of the newest New England breweries to reach Massachusetts. We currently have 3 of their brews; the Belgian Style Pale is a dry & crisp blend of subtle hop character & fruity esters; the Wrigian Ale is a Belgian Golden Strong Ale, in the tradition of Duvel & La Chouffe, but a bit lighter & brewed with an abundance of rye, providing an intensely spicy finish; & the Hooksett Ale is a Belgian IPA, with lots of apricot & citrus hop aromas & a bracing shot of bitterness & spice on the palate.
On the Beer wall in the center section, 2nd shelf down, and in the cooler, top shelf.

Chocolate Ale
Boulevard Brewing Company (MO)

One of the more unique chocolate beers being produced today, Boulevard’s Chocolate Ale is brewed with a rare variety of cocoa from the Dominican Republic, and pours a deep ruddy golden color, rather than the deep black of most chocolate stouts. The flavor is a rich blend of cocoa, brandy, caramel, nuts, and a touch of resiny hops.
On the Beer wall, right hand section, 3rd shelf down.

Noble Rot
Dogfish Head Brewing Company (DE)

The newest & one of the more unique offerings from Dogfish, Noble Rot is a “sorta-saison” brewed with must from botrytis-infected Viognier grapes grown in Washington state. Surprisingly light for 9%, with a great mix of barnyardy saison notes & honey & orange citrus botrytis flavors, this beer is a delicious meeting between the worlds of wine & beer. Vocab notes: “must” is freshly pressed grape juice that still contains the stems, skins & seeds; “botrytis” (aka “noble rot”) is a fungus that while occasionally destructive, can also be used to produce some of the finest dessert wines in the world.
On the Beer wall, center section, 4th shelf down.

Union Jack IPA
Firestone Walker Brewing Company (CA)

It’s back! A month or two ago we got what was thought to be a one-time only shot of Firestone’s phenomenal Union Jack IPA- well we were wrong, it’s back, though likely not for long. Brewed with 6 different varieties of Pacific Northwest hops, over 4lbs per barrel, and 5 different malts- Union Jack combines a big grapefruit, and tropical fruit hop profile with a solid caramel malt center for a refined, intense, and balanced drinking experience.
In the cooler, bottom shelf between Stone Brewing and Green Flash.