Last Chance Foods from WNYC

A few weeks ago, cantaloupe from a farm in southwestern Indiana was linked to an outbreak of salmonella that sickened 178 people across the nation. Between this recent incident, and a similar problem with listeria-contaminated cantaloupe from Colorado reported last year, the fruit is causing a great deal of concern for consumers and farmers alike. Thomas Wickham of Wickham’s Fruit Farm in Cutchogue, Long Island, sells cantaloupe at his farm stand and says he’s been fielding questions from many of his customers. “We think that most of the disease problems come from big packing houses where they actually submerge the melons in different kinds of solutions, and sometimes that solution gets contaminated and covers them all,” explained Wickham, who added that his cantaloupe sales have remained steady. "We just brush them off, get the sand and dirt off them and sell them fresh, just they way they are.” Food safety expert Marion Nestle expounded that, when the melon is cut, bacteria on the outside of the melon contaminates the flesh inside when it travels on the blade of the knife. “You can try washing,” she said. “You can drop it in boiling water for a minute, and that’ll take care of everything that’s on the outside, but otherwise I guess there’s a risk involved in it, especially if you’re buying it from a big commercial grower.” If the prospect of slightly boiled melon is not particularly appealing, Nestle believes that avoiding mass-grown cantaloupe is a good way to lessen the risk of getting contaminated fruit. “If they’re coming from a farmers market, the probability of contamination is much, much less,” she said. That reason for that, she added, is because oftentimes the contamination occurs during the washing and packing process, as Wickham noted. Smaller operations generally don't include those steps before sending the melons to market. Wickham also had some advice on picking out a sweet, ripe melon, though he said it can be hard even for farmers to tell. First off, he discounted the method of pressing on the stem point of the melon. (Photo: Thomas Wickham at Wickham's Fruit Farm/Courtesy of Thomas Wickham) “If you press very hard, you go right through it — you got to be careful — and, really, it’s not about pressing,” he said. “There are two indices that we think are really important and one of them is, it has to have a lot of netting. That white netting on the outside — the more netting there is the sweeter and the better quality the melon.” The netting, or pattern on the exterior of the melon, should be consistent. “Uniformity is important,” Wickham said. “It would be good to have that netting all the way around it, more or less uniform. That makes a better quality melon.” When it comes to locally grown melon, though, the farmer did explain that it’s challenging to grow melons on Long Island, given the rain and humidity of the area. Cantaloupes are a desert crop that thrive in hot, dry conditions. “It’s just very difficult to prevent mildew and those kinds of diseases of the plant,” Wickham explained. “That’s what fungicides and what spraying is for. And I don’t think that any of us who grow melons, or scarcely any of us who grow melons, on Long Island try to do it organically. It’s just too risky.” Organic methods of fungus control, like using sulphur, are not effective, Wickham said. Without the fungicides he applied once every 10 days, he said, the plants simply wouldn’t survive. Once the crop is safely harvested, Wickham has a simple method of enjoying the fruit. “For myself, just to cut it, remove the seeds and have ice cream on it,” he said. “That’s just perfect in the summer time.” For those looking for more innovative uses of cantaloupe, try the recipe Wickham provided for cantaloupe granita, which is below. Cantaloupe Granita Yield 4-8 servings 1 ¼ cups superfine sugar ½ cup water ¼ cup lightly packed fresh mint leaves 2 medium cantaloupes (about 4 lbs each), peeled and seeded, cut into 1-inch wedges Pinch of sa

A tree grows in Brooklyn — a pear tree, to be specific, and it’s currently flourishing in 18 inches of soil piled on top of asphalt at the Red Hook Community Farm. A few weeks ago, the tree offered its first ever harvest of pears, and, as part of the farm’s Added Value youth empowerment program, Brooklyn teens helped clip off the ripe fruit. The pears served as both a snack for the kids and as part of the farm’s community supported agriculture shares.  Ian Marvey, the co-founder of the Red Hook Community Farm, explained that the tree is a Red Bartlett and, like many fruit trees, grows for several years before bearing fruit. “It’s a tree planted about seven years ago, and for whatever reason this year, the harvest has been fecund,” he said. “It’s beautiful." Selena Gonzalez, a senior youth leader at the farm, added that the farm grew and sold melons for the first time this year, and also recent harvests included collard greens, kale, chard and corn. “Corn isn’t one of the easiest things to grow on our farm,” said Gonzalez, who explained that the crop is susceptible to bugs. It also has to contend with growing in the relatively thin layer of soil on the farm. The geographic context of the farm is nearly as remarkable as the asphalt that lays under its plants. “It took me awhile to get used to the fact that there was a farm, like, right across the street from the projects,” admitted Gonzalez, who lives a few blocks away. The teenager added that the experience has been invaluable, in particular, because it taught her to enjoy vegetables — a lesson she now helps pass on to her peers through work on the farm. “I’m not even going to lie, I didn’t like the words ‘You gotta eat your greens’ at all,” Gonzalez said. “Before I started working there I wasn’t a greens person …I would literally just eat carrots and lettuce. Like, I wasn’t a tomato person. You would not catch me eating collard greens.” (Photo: Red Hook Community Farm/CP Thornton) Planting, growing and harvesting fresh produce on the farm provided her more exposure to different vegetables, but it was really the farm’s weekly community meal that changed her mind. “We take about an hour out of time to prepare a meal with food grown from the farm, and that really expanded my horizons,” Gonzalez said. “I really started eating a lot of different thing, like beets, collard greens, kale — I didn’t even know what kale was until we had this little workshop about it about two [or] three years ago.” Marvey explains that convincing kids to eat healthfully is hard work. “Behavior change ... is very difficult,” he said. “The commercial food industry is several billion dollars in advertising, and so we’re coming up against constant community saturation of images, ideas and marketing of unhealthy food.” One introductory vegetable that Marvey uses to warm kids up to leafy greens is lemon sorrel. He has the kids munch the tart, tangy green and likens the taste to sourpatch kids. The hope is that teens like Gonzalez will serve as catalysts and encourage their peers and families to eat fresh produce. For instance, she now encourages her mom to buy kale when they go food shopping together. “I’m trying to get her to come to the market on a Saturday, you know, when she can use her food stamps there,” Gonzalez said. Marvey added that part of convincing kids to enjoy vegetables is to give them room to have their own opinion about what they do — and don’t — like. “We have a policy on the farm that’s ‘Don’t yuck my yum,’ so people are allowed to not like food, which also super important,” he said. That policy stems, in part, from Marvey’s own tastes. “You know, there’s lots of vegetables that I just don’t like, but I got turned on to kohlrabi this year," he said. Marvey’s change of heart with regards to the vegetable is a symbolic success for the Red Hook Community Farm: He decided he liked it after sampling a kohlrabi and apple salad made by the kids on the farm. “I think it really is that exposure [t

With farmers markets currently offering everything from lemon cucumbers to Asian cucumbers, author Mindy Fox said now is the time to try the different varieties. Cucumbers are at the peak of their season, and many types provide a welcome contrast to their conventional watery and waxy brethren. “It’s one of the most exciting veggies at the market,” said Fox, the editor of La Cucina Italiana magazine and the author of Salads: Beyond the Bowl. “Even though we have corn and beets and all the summer peaches and everything, I go nuts for cucumbers.”  That’s in part because cucumbers are so versatile, thanks to their subtle, grassy flavor, she explained. While the fruit (that’s right, cucumbers are considered a fruit) can be a star player in any salad or cold dish, “they also are great equalizers for other ingredients,” Fox said. “For example, if you make a cucumber and pineapple pico de gallo, they kind of counterbalance the sweetness of the pineapple, or you can use them with beets and they counterbalance the earthiness.”  Cutting cucumbers in different shapes also changes the texture and quality of the fruit. Fox particularly likes to use her mandolin to thinly slice cucumbers to make a vegetable-based carpaccio. Though cucumbers may not pack the same nutritional punch as other late summer fruits and vegetables, they do have a high water content that makes them refreshing on warm summer days. A fan of the popping crispness of cucumber seeds, Fox pointed out that lemon cucumbers have a particularly large seed pod. “When you cut open that one,” she said, “you’ll see and understand the relationship of cucumbers to melons, which they’re actually in the same family.” (Photo: Mindy Fox) Some people may prefer “burpless” cucumbers, like long, thin Asian cucumbers because they are nearly seedless. “[There are called burpless] because some people, as they digest a cucumber, they end up having a burping reaction, and that is because they’re not digesting the seeds well,” Fox explained.  Asian cucumbers are about an inch in diameter and slightly curved. They are similar to the straight and uniform European cucumbers, also known as English cucumbers, which often come wrapped in cellophane at grocery stores. “Though they’re not the same, they share that [burpless] property, too,” Fox said. Fox recommended making the most of this season’s cucumbers with a salad recipe (below) that pairs them with heirloom tomatoes and fresh herbs. “[This recipe is] one of my favorites,” she said. “It’s really easy to do and it’s super duper refreshing.” For those looking to add a little zing to their cukes, Fox also offered a recipe for Spicy Sesame Cucumbers. Cucumber and Summer Tomato Salad with Fresh Herb Leaves and Barely Pickled Red Onion By Mindy Fox When summer tomatoes finally arrive, I keep a bowl of mixed varieties at the ready; they seem to make their way into nearly every meal of the day. Any type of good fresh tomato works well in this salad, and the same goes for the cuke, but when you can, use a mix of heirloom tomatoes—like teardrop, cherry, grape, or cocktail—and try an unusual cucumber—like the crunchy Armenian, the pale green, mild-tasting Persian or sweet, yellow lemon varieties—any of which might be found at a farmers’ market or large supermarket. —MF Serves 4 to 6 1 small red onion, halved and very thinly sliced 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar Fine sea salt 2 1/2 pounds mixed tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch wedges 1 medium cucumber, or 2 to 3 Persian or lemon cucumbers, very thinly sliced crosswise 1 cup loosely packed combination of mint, basil and tarragon leaves, large leaves torn 2 tablespoons snipped chives Flaky coarse sea salt Very good extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling In a small bowl, toss together the onion, vinegar and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Let stand for 10 minutes, then drain, discarding the vinegar. In a large serving bowl, arrange the tomatoes and cucumber. Scatter the marinated onion, herb leaves and chives over the salad. Crush

Author Robin Shulman still remembers shoveling syringes into plastic bags while cleaning up East 4th Street in the early 1990s. A new resident of the block between avenues C and D at the time, she explained that drugs on the street were common and violence a regular occurrence. Despite the dangers of the neighborhood, residents soon began to transform 12 adjacent lots into El Jardin Del Paraiso, the community garden that would, in part, inspire Shulman to write the book Eat the City: A Tale of the Fishers, Foragers, Butchers, Farmers, Poultry Minders, Sugar Refiners, Cane Cutters, Beekeepers, Winemakers, and Brewers Who Built New York. “It very slowly began to dawn on me that the reason people were interested in producing this beautiful space, and other spaces like it in the neighborhood, was not just to create a pretty place but actually because people were interested in producing food,” Shulman said. “So that was something that brought people together and really transformed the neighborhood." Annalee Sinclair, who has been the garden coordinator for El Jardin Del Paraiso for more than a decade, still remembers when she first started planting in El Jardin Del Paraiso. Part of the garden was still rundown and strewn with buttons from an old button factory nearby. Now a days, her 4 by 8 foot plot is overflowing with cucumbers and beans. “What made me most interested was getting the chance to get my hands dirty and grow food,” said Sinclair, who also grows tomatoes, arugula and radishes.  (Photo: Robin Shulman/Beowulf Sheehan) She explained that vegetables do so well in the small raised beds that some of her neighbors have found a shortcut to planting beans. “I’ve seen people grow beans out of a Goya bag — buy a ninety-nine cent bag of Goya lima beans, open it up, and just sow them into the ground,” Sinclair said. The community garden, however, still faces its share of urban-centric challenges. In addition to battling the birds, like many suburban and rural gardeners, Sinclair explained that El Jardin Del Paraiso often struggles with a rat problem. Three years ago, the garden even held a rat workshop to learn methods to curb the rodent population. While the rats don’t eat the vegetables (they prefer trash and junk food), they create problems when they burrow under the garden plots. “We have these 4 by 8 sized raised beds because it’s the safest way to grow because there’s a lot of lead in the soil,” Sinclair explained. “So to avoid any lead content in your food, you plant up and you grow up. So with the rats running around and burrowing through... what they do is create these holes, and then your plot starts to sink.” Since rats are creatures of habit and prefer to stay along established routes, they are trying to impede their progress by blocking their holes with bricks.   Despite urban pests, Shulmlan thinks New Yorkers have long shown their ingenuity by finding creative ways to grow food in the city. (Photo: Annalee Sinclair/Joy Y. Wang) “People like Annalee, and even long before Annalee, have been producing food in the city all through the city’s history,” she said. “There have been immigrants coming to this city who have known how to produce food from the places where they’re from and have grown things on their fire escapes and on their roofs... [They have] been able to create a taste of another place and kind of insist on their own vision of what urban living means — even in an inhospitable environment like New York City.” Below, try Sinclair’s recipe for Country Green Beans with New Potatoes. Country Green Beans with New Potatoes by Annalee Sinclair 2 lbs fresh green beans 1 ½ lb ham hocks 4 strips bacon 4 cups chicken broth 12 small red potatoes 1 large onion, diced ½ stick salted butter Ground black pepper 2 tsps garlic powder 1 teaspoon salt Snap ends of green beans and wash in colander. Set aside to drain.  In a large pot (cast iron if available), cook bacon. Cut bacon into 1-inch pieces.  Put green beans in pot with

Blueberries were providing Americans with their antioxidant fix long before acai berries became popular as a superfood. Native Americans relied on the berries for a number of different purposes, said Jennifer Divello of Patty’s Berries and Bunches in Mattituck on Long Island. “They would actually use blueberries for many illnesses,” says Divello, whose mother Patty converted the family’s potato fields into a 'you-pick' berry farm in the '80s. “They would grind the leaves and the roots together to cure a lot of sickness, but they would use the juice from the blueberry to cure the common cough.” She added that the uses also went beyond the nutritional and medicinal. “[Settlers] would boil blueberries with milk to get gray paint, and then they would also boil blueberries with sage and indigo to get blue paint,” Divello said. “And that’s the color they would all traditionally paint their houses.” While the berries are no longer used as a primary ingredient in paint, they are the second most popularly consumed berry in the United States. (Strawberries are the most popular.) The season for blueberries is nearly over, so now is the time to appreciate the locally grown fruit before it’s gone from farmers markets. Divello shared her tips for picking out the sweetest berry.  “I like to tell our customers the darker the blue, the better,” she said. On the bush, berries start as white before turning pink, red, purple and, finally, a ripe blue. “That is when you want to pick them.” As for the size of the berry, Divello explained that is dependent on variety. “[Jersey] is the type that many bakers prefer for muffins,” she said. “ It’s smaller, but it’s sweet. You can’t really relate size to sweetness as much as color and type.” The biggest pest when it comes to growing blueberries are birds. “The catbird and the red-winged blackbird will clear out an entire crop overnight,” said Divello. Farmers in the area tried a number of methods in their fields to deter the birds. One attempt, which involved a propane tank, worked to keep the birds away, but was far less popular with the farm’s neighbors. (Photo: Blueberry bushes under the net at Patty's Berries and Bunches/Jennifer Divello) “Every five minutes it would make this big boom and all the birds would go flying away, but as annoying as it was for the birds, it was [also annoying] for the people that lived around the area,” admitted Divello.   Instead, the age-old method of netting the bushes proved most effective, and Patty’s Berries and Bunches installed one that covers all the bushes. “It’s one of the biggest [nets] I’ve ever seen,” she said. “Occasionally there are a couple of birds that’ll get caught, but we do let them out at the end of the day. They love being in there.” While blueberries are vulnerable to birds, Divello explained that they are more mold resistant than raspberries and blackberries because they are less porous. “And another thing that I really like about blueberries is that they don’t get as much bugs,” she said.  As for her favorite method of eating blueberries, Divello in true farmer-style opts to keep things simple — she likes to freeze them and eat them by the handful. “I call them nature’s ice cream capsules,” she said.  For another take, try Amy Eddings' recipe below for blueberry cobbler. Blueberry Cobbler by Amy Eddings Adapted from Cooks Illustrated   FILLING 1/2 cup sugar 1 tbl cornstarch 1/8 teas salt, or to taste 1/8 teas cinnamon 6 cups fresh blueberries 1 1/2 teas grated lemon zest plus 1 Tbl juice from 1 lemon   BISCUIT: 1 cup all purpose flour 2 Tbl stone ground cornmeal 1/4 cup sugar 2 teas baking powder 1/4 teas baking soda 1/4 teas salt 1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted 1/3 cup buttermilk 1/2 teas vanilla extract 1/8 teas ground cinnamon   Preheat oven to 375 MAKE THE FILLING: Stir sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and salt together in large bowl. Add blueberries. Toss them gently with a rubber spatula or large fork until they are coated. Add the lemon zest