Customer Reviews

The Taste of Place: A Cultural Journey into Terroir (California Studies in Food and Culture)

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Amy Trubek's Taste of Place is a fantastic book. It's main thesis is that there is such a thing as terroir, or a taste of place, and she explores how this is manifested in the foods grown or developed in four separate locations: France, California, Wisconsin, and Vermont. Her goal, as she states in the introduction, is to provide positive evidence in answering the following question: "Thus can the French definition and embrace of terroir be transmitted, or perhaps invented anew, in the United States?"

There are two claims which she supports throughout the book: 1) Quality food can be produced locally, and should be appreciated as a part of one's own community; 2) The unique qualities of such carefully crafted food cannot be matched by similar foods elsewhere, and should be appreciated for their uniqueness. She notes that the latter claim is a particular challenge in the US, given that the global food system of which we are a part tends to scale up successful foods and mute distinct differences between products that might have exemplify a terroir.

The main reason I like this book is that I take it to be evidence of the positive contributions of the local food movement. That is, in each of the locales highlighted in the book, growers and producers have worked hard to develop unique foods and tastes based on locally relevant processes and the surrounding physical environment. That this is possible with distinct and recognizable goods like maple syrup and wine shows that it be beneficial to produce other crops and goods this way. Further, it shows us that we should appreciate those foods that clearly mark a taste of place within any region of the world, as a window to any region we may inhabit or pass through.

Fabulous read! While I'm not much of a wine connoisseur, the opening section on wines was excellent background material for what was, for me, the "meat" of the book. That is, the sections on local food pioneers in different parts of the US. I want to go to those markets!

Trubek did an excellent job of portraying both the theoretical and practical perspectives of "taste of place" such that I, the reader, am further inspired to be involved with a growing local foods initiative in my own community. Well, hey, isn't that the hallmark of a good non-fiction read? I do believe it is. And on my next venture past Madison, WI, I'm planning to do some exploring.

My wife and I had the opportunity to see the author speak on the Taste of Place at a local library. It was pretty fascinating, and in some ways added more perspective to the book. They had maple syrups from around New England to taste as an example of the diversity of taste opportunities. This is why I attended, as I'm a local sugarmaker (http://www.tillinghastmaple.com). Covering the topic from a social as well as a food perspective, the book is much more than just a set of observations of product diversity related to location. It's more about people and how they develop community patterns of production and consumption. I highly recommend the book, even if you're not a "localvore" and typically find food production issues tedious.

Amy Trubek's book is really outstanding. She traces her cultural journey in different regions of the country (and France) to help the reader understand the importance of food that comes from one's own town or region. As a food anthropologist, the text is rich with examples of what chefs, farmers, and enlightened individuals are doing to connect local delicious food to the activities within their communities, in other words, how they are creating a taste of place.