Tuscon The Next Food Heritage Site

Tuscon Arizona may be known for lavish spas or beautiful sunsets but food? Surprisingly this desert town is now part of the Unesco World Heritage sites joining the more culinary sophisticated cities  like Lyons, France and Chengdu, China. Tuscon has deep roots to food, along with a varied indigenous and European diet, started centuries ago.

Kim Severson, a regular contributor, wrote about this interesting food-centric city and its' recent honor in today's New York Times Food section.Eight months ago it was the only city in the United States to be designated a City of Gastronomy by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, known by the acronym Unesco. About six years ago the international agency began including food as a part of a cultural heritage worth protecting as it recognizes and protects such diverse dishes as Armenian lavash,the recipes from the Mediterranean diet and the lush gastronomic meals of the French, Tuscon joins not only Chengdu and Lyons but also Parma, Italy,Bergen, Norway and Ensenada, Mexico, The reason why this southern Arizona was selected was explained by its'officer for historic presentation, and the author of the application, Dr. Jonathan Mabry. Towns were chosen because the designation will make a difference. Still, it's a puzzler. After all there is New York City, although the city doesn't celebrate it's indigenous culinary
 heritage  (which is obvious in the oyster beds in surrounding waters and acres of wild grapes grown just outside the city).

Tuscon has a history that stretches back 4,000 years when it was a farming community to local tribes such as the HoHokan and Tohono O'odham.Dr. Mabry was one of the archaeologists, hired by the city in 2000 for a dig  not far from the downtown section. What he found was amazing, There were layers of layers of irrigation trenches and then charred corn.It was proof that this modern day city was built on top of a four millennia old farming village. The surrounding desert can still yield up interesting crops that have created unique dishes with a definite Southwestern taste. There has always been agave,cactus pads and amaranth along with tiny wild peppers called chiltepin. Mesquite is not only used for barbecuing  but also used for baking cookies thanks to its' pods being pounded into a sweet flour.. Descendants of the fruits trees, first planted by Italian born ,Reverend Eusebio Francisco Kino in the 1600's yield up quince, figs and white pomegranates, the last with a taste that combines apples and grapefruits. Tuscon chefs also use cholla buds that bloom into cactus flowers in salsas and salads. They have a vague asparagus flavor  which makes them also good for certain  soups. The one tribe, Tohono O'odham, dry them and sell the buds in jars at the local San Xavier Co-op Farm. This devotion to creating livelihoods from heritage food is what got it noticed from Unesco.

Tuscon is a fascinating city full of food history and unique flavors. Unesco was right in choosing it as a World Heritage Site. It is fascinating from so many angles, both in its' story and in its' foods.

The Szechuan Battle

One of the most food oriented cities in China is Chengdu. It's considered to be the food capital of this amazing country, the Lyons, France of the East.It is also a culinary World Heritage site , attracting thousands of foodies and gourmands a year. Unfortunately this is what's spoiling the broth so to speak.

Chris Buckley, who has covered several aspects of Chinese life and politics wrote about the tug of war between traditional chefs and the next generation who is trying to draw in crowds in today's New York Times Food section. Lively debates have even broken out about upholding culinary traditions and embracing new ways and new customers.The country , as it always, got involved. The  recipe guidelines got updated and, yes, it seems that the government gives a kind of  forced advice on how to cook. One traditional dish " strange flavored chicken strips" , a cold dish that includes dark vinegar should use the meat of a one year old rooster and no other kind of chicken.To outsiders this may seem too much., however tradition is important to the Chinese and that includes recipes. (although Szechuan cooking as we know it is only a century old). The regulations are kind of pointless here  because Szechuan cuisine is really a melange of other recipes from other areas of the country.Several centuries of war, trade and migrations brought outsiders who contributed chiles, fermented bean paste,sugar and other spices along with their own cooking traditions. It solidified around 1916 as a regional cuisine.Local food writer Wang Shiwu describes the Chengdu attitude this way:"whatever is attracted in your cuisine,I can absorb and adapt it."

However too much of the new is creeping in and bastardizing the cuisine. New chefs are using such diverse and Western ingredients as mayonnaise or using  a new ingredient such celtuce or asparagus lettuce to kung pao chicken  which doesn't need it.Traditional chefs there need to grasp the idea that their cuisine, like others, needs to evolve. A camp of chefs hope to remake Sichuanese cooking for more urbane, middle class tastes.but built on the core of traditional ingredients and techniques.Some have opened airy , modern restaurants that serve dishes with contemporary twists and presentation. According to one savvy chef , Yang Wen, whose restaurant Lotus Shadow features those same kind of dishes. "There's no survival without innovation." One creation is  braised shrimp infused with jasmine tea, a world away from the home spun fare favored by old fashioned revivalists.Others hopefully will follow , especially this last group. As English food writer Fuschia Dunlop a longtime Chengdu  resident puts it , Chengdu has an incredibly high concentration of restaurants and a fiercely competitive restaurant industry so people are looking for the newest best thing. The old gets old very quick and that means no interest in it, despite any cultural meaning.

In the end, a new kind of tradition won out. It's taking traditional spices and cooking methods and giving them new spins and twists. Will it work? Probably . It's the old with a refreshing whiff of the new.

Foodie Holidays

Even though it's August , foodies can still have a holiday revolving around their favorite hobby - food of course. There are several ideas that can provide  any traveler with some fun times and good eats. You can take a city or region specific one or one that centers around a favorite food.

For those who love the Big Easy , New Orleans provides some excellent restaurant choices. Funny enough ten years ago foodies and restaurant critics were writing off this city of eateries thanks to the horrific damage from Hurricane Katrina. Kim Severson recently visited New Orleans and wrote about it's culinary renaissance in Wednesday's New York Times Food section. It is still known for it's delicious blend of Cajun and Creole food but also it's becoming known  for   its' growing number of Vietnamese restaurants and array of internationally born chefs. For those  who go wild for Southern cooking think  about trips to Savannah or   Nashvillle too . Some smaller inns in the region also offer home   cooked   specialties and even allow guests to pitch in with cooking and prepping. Many foodies go to UNESCO World Heritage food sites such as Lyon in France or Chengduin China. Of course Provence and Tuscany top the list of foodie vacation spots and there are several packages out there that feature tasting tours of these regions. Check online for late season discount packages regarding these.

Some of us just want a holiday where we compare one kind of food and head off the beaten path for it.Try the blues route that the Deene boys took in their Food Network show , Southern Fried Roadtrip. Jamie and Bobby Deene, Paula's sons,  went   in  search of the best barbecue, recently and they literally went off the beaten path, heading to small dives and storefronts for good old fashioned cooking. If you have time - and gas money- you can do the same.If not, stick within a contained area. A big city like New York works, Take public transportation to search for the best hot dog or pizza slice. If you're from Small Town  America , then explore your immediate  area  for local treats and farm to table meals. Along the way you may pick up a few historical facts and visit parks you never knew existed. It's a nice way , too, of becoming reacquainted with your region as you become familiar with mom and pop eateries as well as local farms and creameries. This knowledge also comes in handy when you have guests and you're looking for places to eat and visit.

There's still time to take a foodie vacation, whether abroad or local.It's great for enjoying favorites or new dishes. Take a week or even weekend off for a fun food fest!

Chengdu China's Gastronomy Treasure

when you hear about the center of gastronomy you would normally think of Italy or France.Yet there's another capital, and it's Chengdu in the Szechuan region of central China.The best food in China, and perhaps Asia , is found there.The area famous for it's fiery peppercorns' is also known it's variety of gourmet dishes both hot and mild.Eating in Chengdu is like dining in Lyons or Milan.The food is amazing with interesting fillips and dashes. Chengdu is located smack in the center of China's most central Provence.Szechuan cooking hit the US almost forty years ago,adding zest to the Americanized versions of Mandarin and Cantonese cooking.Fire and heat came into fashion and Americans were now buying woks and cookbooks,imitating the spicy dishes .UNESCO declared it the city of gastronomy in 2011. Townspeople brag about it and rave about the dishes.Typical Szechuan cuisine can be most spicy and sweet.Tea smoked duck is a mild ,and addictively sweet dish made up the foul smoked over tea leaves and camphor twigs.It's an elaborate process that involves rubbing the body inside and out with camphor leaves,Sichuan peppers, Chinese rice wine.After this, it 's quickly blanched in hot water to tighten the skin and both towel and air dried..It's then smoked in a wok, with black tea leaves and deep fried to a mouth watering crispiness.Another drool worthy dish Kung pao chicken is also from there.It's a spicy stir fry that has chicken mixed with peanuts and chopped chili peppers.However the most important ingredient are the fiery Szechuan peppercorns that give it it's tongue numbing hotness. Chengdu also has garlicky dishes featuring all sorts of meats and veggies.Hot pot is a favorite and made by every family.It has meat ,along with leafy vegetables and dumplings.Fish and mushrooms are sometimes added as well.A dipping sauce is also served for the solid ingredients .Hot pot is more of a winter dish and the recipe varies from family to family.Twice cooked pork is another treat involving pork bellies.It involves a long cooking process where the pork bellies are first simmered with spices and jujubes.This last is not the famed movie candy but a Chinese date of the same name.It is then wok fried in a small amount of oil with napa or celery, cabbage, bell peppers or scallions.To add to this fieriness is water cooked meat and veggies.It's a kind of boiled dish and then fried with oil and peppers along with dried chilis. To some food snobs France and Italy are the gastronomic centers of the world. Yet there is also another famed area,Chengdu,China.It has given the world interesting and mouth watering dishes, worthy of any picky food critic.