Taste: Local bites

Eating locally here is a piece of cake, so to speak, what with a months-long bounty of fruits and vegetables, flocks of cheesemakers, all sorts of meat on the hoof or the wing, and local grain millers. In fact, the only hurdle is January. And February. And March. Oh -- April, too. Those who champion the "eating local" movement, or locavores, say they're up to the challenge. Yet the issue isn't only about nutritional strategy, but about its philosophical underpinnings: How local is local? Does "big" local count, too? (Think Cargill vs. Shepherd's Way.) Can we still drink coffee? If I crave a shipped-in mango, do I need to plant a carbon-offset tree? Paul Hugunin, who directs the Minnesota Grown division of the state Department of Agriculture, said some people have always made a point of eating locally. "But it's certainly gotten much more public attention now than 10 or 15 years ago," he said. People's motivations, however, are a moving target.

When the economy is weak, Hugunin said, they talk about supporting local farmers. When the economy is strong, they say they're seeking food that's fresh and healthy. Or they like building a face-to-face relationship with a producer.

"There's not just one reason to buy locally, and that's what's making the movement so strong. This isn't a fad. People are building long-term businesses." Witness the record 670 food growers and providers listed in the Minnesota Grown directory (www.mda.state.mn.us/food/minnesotagrown/directory.htm).

Still, the frost literally is on the pumpkin these days, putting a fine point on the locavore lifestyle. "It's the blessing and the curse of living in the Upper Midwest," said Barth Anderson, research and development coordinator for the Wedge food co-op in Minneapolis. "When we have blueberries and raspberries coming in, they're the best ever. But in January, we're getting most of that produce from California."

Meat-eaters catch a break. "It's very difficult to be a vegetarian and a locavore in the middle of winter," Anderson said, who touts grass-fed beef operations such as Thousand Hills Cattle Co. in Cannon Falls, Minn., and eats a lot of bison from Eichten's Hidden Acres in Center City, Minn. "I mean, it just doesn't get any more local than buffalo."

Vegetarians have options, though. Soups based around native-harvest wild rice, local beans, squashes and root vegetables are good. Talk to your U-pick orchard owner about how to best store apples, or to the farmers market seller about squash.

Expanding the notion of local

And while "frozen" may not be the first word association match for "local," Sno-Pac Foods Inc. in Caledonia, Minn., has been freezing local organic fruits and vegetables since 1943.

Ambitious cooks already have been freezing, canning and pickling local produce. Mike Phillips is among them. He's executive chef of the Craftsman Restaurant and Bar in Minneapolis, known for its commitment to local products, both animal and vegetable.

"We're doing all kinds of krauts right now in these big crocks, fermenting pickles and green beans," he said. "Sauerkraut is amazing stuff, full of probiotics and vitamin C. We've been roasting tomatoes by the hundreds of pounds, too."

He also said that vegetarians face more challenges than carnivores, which gets into the philosophical territory of what "eating local" really means and how much compromise fits under that umbrella.

Phillips said his gaze is more regional, bringing in cherries from Door County, Wis., whitefish from Lake Superior, or season-extending produce from Iowa.

Travel miles for food

So where do you stop? Hugunin, from the Agriculture Department, said that "food miles" are the new topic, "one thing we didn't hear about 15 years ago."

The WorldWatch Institute, an environmental research organization, estimates that ingredients for the average American meal travel more than 1,500 miles, 300 miles farther than two decades ago. Concern over how to counteract fuel pollutants inspired the carbon-offset strategy: In short, book a flight, plant a tree.

For the Wedge's Anderson, the world is not so eye-for-an eye as all that. "I personally adore mangoes and it would be very difficult for me to do without them," he said. "But when you do have an actual choice between a local product and one shipped in, I think we all want to support our local businesses."

Coffee offers a good example. Few caffeine lovers can imagine doing without, even for the most pristine of reasons, but it's never going to be a local crop. Peace Coffee walks the line, importing beans from member-owned cooperatives in Guatemala, Mexico, Colombia, Nicaragua, Ethiopia and Sumatra, and roasting them in south Minneapolis, said its director, Lee Wallace. Then it's delivered by bicycles and vans fueled with biodiesel. "We've thought very hard about our footprint," Wallace said.

She credits Michael Pollan's bestselling book, "The Omnivore's Dilemma," for inspiring more dinnertime conversations about food origins. It's an evolving dialogue. "Sure, you could say, rigidly, that local is all that's important," she said, "but I would encourage people to think for themselves what's important. You're not going to find everything, but can you find a company that matches your values?"

That may be the bottom line for getting through the winter if you warm to the idea of supporting local growers and purveyors. The northern climes will always face the challenge of year-round fruits, and a root cellar is a thing of the past. Meats and cheeses, though? The sky's the limit.

Anderson urges consumers to take extra time when shopping, thumbing through cookbooks and exploring different foods. There may be more local options than you think -- maybe even, he recollected, a local source for salt.

Really?

He'd check.

Ten minutes later, he called back, laughing and prefacing his rather unexpected answer with the fact that the salt distributor he found is undeniably local: Cargill.

Kim Ode • 612-673-7185

Kim Ode • kimode@startribune.com