What's Up With Eggs?

Isaac Tertel, Perishable Buyer

Charlotte Clement, Marketing Manager

Have you noticed that egg prices skyrocketed over the last couple months? Its because of the Avian Flu. Avian flu outbreaks at conventional egg production facilities (hens living in cages) have significantly reduced egg production. In 2022, over 50 million chickens in the US were slaughtered to prevent the spread of Avian Flu. (Funk, 2022)

Because we do not carry any “conventional” eggs, our supply has not been affected by this shortage. As we see egg prices go up in other stores, ours have remained about the same. However, increased demand may begin to drive up our egg prices soon. One of many great reasons to support small, local, and ethical egg farms is that none of our producers have (yet) been affected by this outbreak.

The beloved egg chart that hangs near our egg cooler. Here folks can learn about farm living conditions, so customers can use their best judgement when purchasing eggs. We carry four types of carefully curated eggs: Deck, Wag, Stiebrs, and Country Eggs.

Ultimately, the egg "crisis" has been demonstrative of the ethical and safety issues associated with commercial farming. Things seem to be going back to normal in larger grocery stores as the egg supply strain is healing, but nothing has changed about the practices and conditions in major egg production facilities.

As long as conventional farms continue to prioritize profit and output above all else, their supply will be particularly susceptible to outbreaks and other disasters. Consider buying local to source ethically produced eggs, mitigate the environmental impact of eating animal products, and support your farmer!

We stand with the workers of Amy’s Kitchen

If you haven't already heard, the workers at the Amy's Kitchen Santa Rosa factory have called for a boycott of Amy's Kitchen products due to unsafe working conditions, union busting, denial of bathroom breaks, and not providing access to drinking water.

People’s Food Co-op’s buyers adhere to a strict set of buying guidelines so that we only stock the most ethically sourced products that we can find. Workers everywhere deserve safe working conditions, access to bathroom breaks and clean drinking water, good healthcare, good wages, and more. Until Amy’s Kitchen can meet their workers’ demands, People’s will not stock their products on our shelves.

As the Boycott evolves, we will post updates via this blog post. We have had contact with both the union, Teamsters, that is working with Amy’s employees, as well as representatives from Amy’s. We have also begun to stock comparable alternatives to the Amy’s products that we have carried. This includes Upton’s Naturals soups and Tofurky frozen pockets . We are in the process of connecting with and supporting other co-ops who are involved with/interested in the boycott. This includes our frequent collaborators, the Alberta Co-op. 

You can support Amy’s Kitchen workers by signing their petition. You can also support Amy’s Kitchen workers by boycotting their products and asking other grocers to do the same.

Thank you for your support, patience, and understanding. Please reach out to info@peoples.coop if you have any questions. Our staff are available to assist if you need recommendations for alternative products!

FAQs

Who called for the Amy’s Boycott?

The Food Empowerment Project and Veggie Mijas were in conversation with workers at Amy’s Kitchen about their experiences there, and supported them in officially calling for the boycott. After the boycott was called, the Teamsters Union got involved and backed the boycott as well.

What exactly are the workers’ demands?

The workers are calling on CEO Andy Berliner to meet with them and their advocates, Teamsters Local 665. They want to discuss 

a) how to put an end to needless injuries and the implementation of safeguards so that these workers have guarantees that these workplace issues don't happen again, and 

b) allow the unionization process to play out without the interference of management or outside anti-union consultants.

What kinds of conditions are the Amy’s workers facing?

• Unsafe Working Conditions 

  • Repetitive motions causing multiple injuries 

  • Fast pace. Workers have to roll 12-14 burritos a minute. 

  • Over $100,000 fines in OSHA violations and current/ongoing OSHA investigation

• Unlivable wages

  • Workers make under $20/hr. In 2017 living wage in Sonoma County was $23.17/hr

• Unaffordable Health Care that has minimal coverage and costs upwards of $750/month for family coverage. Many of the workers and their families have to depend on MediCal – California’s state medical plan.

Product Spotlight: Nana's Shea Butter

Written by Isaac Kwasi Obeng and Sadie Gordon (Partner Proprietors of Nana’s Shea Butter)

Shea butter is a vitamin and fatty-acid rich solid oil with many anti-inflammatory and emollient properties. It can also be used in cooking with a similar profile to cocoa butter.

Nana’s Shea Butter origins are rooted in my childhood in Ghana, West Africa.  I grew up in a small savannah village called Debibi, surrounded by wild expansive canopies of shea trees.  During my childhood, I often rested under old shea trees that thrived throughout the region.  I helped my grandmother, mother, and village elders collect shea nuts under the old-growth shea trees.  My grandmother, whom I call Nana, taught me how to use shea to make soap, hair and body butters, and even oil for cooking. From my Nana, I also learned the importance of shea in my culture and environment.  

Isaac & his Nana

The African Shea Tree is indigenous to West Africa and thrives in arid environments without fertilizers.  It is sacred in my Nafana tribe because of its versatility and abundance.  It is taboo to kill the tree without a ceremonial offering to Mother Nature.  Not only does shea provide for humans, the hardy tree plays an essential ecological role on the African savannah.  This tree provides habitat for other native species, as well as transpiration, shade, and soil erosion protection with its robust roots.  

Tragically, shea trees are being cut down at an alarming rate to make charcoal for fuel.  I am saddened when I return to Debibi and see fewer and fewer old growth shea trees while the village consequently becomes hotter and dryer.  

The long and laborious process of collecting, shelling, and producing the shea is traditionally upheld by women.  Women are usually paid very little for this work.  Women earn more money by cutting down the trees than by making and selling shea butter.  Rural community members, especially women, need to be paid a living wage for the production of their shea butter in order to discourage rapid deforestation and the devastating ecological effects it has on the region.

As a local Ghanaian, I am able to connect directly with women shea foragers and cut out the multiple middlemen who control and profit from the shea business in Ghana.  By eliminating intermediaries, I am able to pay the local women exponentially more than the local rate for their shea butter, thus supporting the regional economy, shea tree protection, and the human right to a livable wage.

I buy directly from shea foragers on each visit to Debibi.  Nana’s Shea Butter is hand-processed by local Ghanaian women and is 100% organic.  As a result of being hand-processed, the shea retains its many beneficial properties.  The nutty aroma, beige color, and creamy consistency are unique to unrefined shea.  As a result of being hand-processed, there are often dark flecks of the shell and chaff in the nut butter, both of which signify a pure and unrefined product. 

I return to Ghana frequently where my siblings, mother, and Nana still reside.  In fact, my Nana just turned 104 and is still vibrant and sharp.  I continue my commitment to the Debibi community and the greater Brong-Ahafo region.  I return five percent of the proceeds directly back to the women who provided the shea butter to support female-led businesses in Ghana.  As our small enterprise grows, my wife and business partner, Sadie, and I plan on turning Nana’s Shea Butter into a nonprofit organization supporting shea foragers in Ghana.  Thank you for supporting our grassroots business!

Nana’s Shea Butter

$13.99

Shea Butter-based Underarm Ointment

By James A. Holland, Physical Plant Manager & Co-Manager

Empower your armpits with this gentle recipe that changes with the seasons.  Exercise your vomeronasal creativity by blending your favorite essential oils to create new scents for every batch.

This is a basic, open-ended recipe.  Experiment by modifying this base recipe with your own additions and exclusions, especially for those with sensitive skin.  See notes below:

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon - Unrefined Shea Butter (Nana’s!)

• 2 teaspoon - Vitamin-E rich oil (avocado, jojoba, etc.)

• 1 teaspoon - Arrowroot Powder

• ≤ 1 teaspoon - Baking Soda

• ≤ 10 drops - Personalized Essential Oil Blend

• Small container with lid

Add shea butter to small saucepan over low heat until butter is just hot enough to become fully liquified. Reduce heat to low.

Add oil to melted shea and mix. Add arrowroot and baking soda.  Whisk thoroughly until liquid is consistent. 

Allow mixture to remain on low heat for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly to promote ingredient integration.  Do not allow the mixture to boil.  

Remove from heat. Add essential oils, if using, and mix thoroughly. Pour mixture into small container. Place container in refrigerator or freezer for about 15 minutes.  Remove to shake every few minutes to dissuade ingredient settling until the product has solidified.

Notes

• Apply a small amount of product to your underarms as often as you like.  It does not take much and you may be surprised at how long such a small batch of product will last.  

• Consider using less baking soda or essential oil if you experience skin irritation.

Beam me up, Host Defense!

Paul Stamets’ mushroom products help people and the planet live long and prosper.

By Paul Conrad, Member-Owner

Since Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock first boldly went in the 1960’s, the many iterations of Star Trek have been part of popular culture. Countless viewers mentally time traveled to a future where humanity thrives and spreads to the stars. The current Star Trek Discovery has its own unique time-travel twist. One of the lead characters, astromycologist Lieutenant Commander Paul Stamets, is the 23rd-century version of a genuine 21st-century namesake, the legendary mycologist Paul Stamets. The contemporary Paul Stamets is the founder and president of Fungi Perfecti, makers of the Host Defense line of mushroom-based nutritional supplements sold here at People’s Food Co-op. 

23rd-century Lt. Stamets harnesses fungal power to create a “spore drive” that can instantaneously transport the Discovery across vast reaches of space. 21st-century Paul Stamets is the author of half a dozen books on mushroom cultivation, mushroom identification and the use of fungi to improve human and planetary health. He is also the holder of a dozen fungal-related patents. Stamets is dedicated to utilizing the power of mushroom-bearing fungi to help reverse the damage humankind has wreaked on our ecosystem so we can survive until the 23rd century. Host Defense is part of that effort.

The mushrooms we are familiar with are the visible parts of larger organisms. They are “fruiting bodies,” the reproductive organs of subterranean fungal beings comprised of mycelium – cobweb-like networks of cells that extend beneath the surface, exchanging nutrients and engaging in symbiotic relationships with the myriad plants, bacteria and other beings that make up living soils.

Found in soils, and decomposing vegetal matter from forest floors to compost piles, mycelium networks are ubiquitous upon the Earth. Stamets believes that mycelium networks embody a planetary intelligence. 

““The mycelium is an exposed sentient membrane, aware and responsive to changes in its environment... A complex and resourceful structure for sharing information, mycelium can adapt and evolve through the ever-changing forces of nature... like a matrix, a biomolecular superhighway, the mycelium is in constant dialogue with its environment, reacting to and governing the flow of essential nutrients cycling through the food chain.... I see the mycelium as the Earth’s natural Internet.””

— Paul Stamets in “Mycelium Running”

Stamets has made it his life’s mission to partner with fungal intelligence to create solutions to some of the existential environmental challenges we humans have created. He is the originator of the emerging field of mycorestoration, the applied use of fungi to repair and restore weakened and compromised ecosystems. This includes mycofiltration (using mycelial mats to remove pathogens and chemical pollutants from water), mycoremediation (using fungi to degrade or remove toxins from contaminated soils), and mycopesticides (using fungi to both attract and kill insect pests including termites, carpenter ants, and disease vectors like mosquitos and flies). 

The Host Defense line of supplements is all about the protection and restoration of our internal ecosystems. Since our hunter-gatherer days, humans have known about the beneficial properties of particular mushrooms and contemporary scientific research bears traditional wisdom out. Paul Stamets and Host Defense take things to the next step by incorporating the rest of the fungal organism, the mycelium network, to create fungi-based nutritional formulas that:

• support stress and fatigue reduction;

• augment the body's immune system;

• provide support for daily environmental assaults

• deliver enzymes to support digestion and absorption of nutrients;

• & provide polysaccharides to increase the activity & impact of natural killer cells and macrophages.*

Host Defense harnesses mycelium power by taking pure fungal strains, inoculating them onto an organic brown rice substrate, and growing them under strictly controlled conditions at their Washington State production facility. During the growing process, enzymes in the mycelium break down starches and sugars in the brown rice substrate, forming complex substances with their own complimentary immune-enhancing benefits. Once harvested, the mycelium, the digested brown rice substrate and, in some cases, the fruiting bodies and/or primordia are then processed for maximum effectiveness. The mushroom products in Host Defense capsules are carefully heated to release their active compounds, then freeze dried. The mycelium in Host Defense extracts and sprays go through a two-step alcohol and cold water extraction process. Those containing fruiting bodies receive an additional hot-water extraction. 

People’s sells a selection of Host Defense mushroom capsules, extracts, and sprays. They include single-variety products such as Chaga Extract (for anti-oxidant support), Lion’s Mane Extract (which promotes mental clarity, focus and attention), Cordyceps Capsules (for enhanced energy and stamina) and Turkey Tail Capsules (for immune system support). We also offer several Host Defense multi-mushroom formulas (MyCommunity Extract, MycoShield Spray and  Stamets 7 Functional Food Mushroom Blend) for enhanced immune system support.*

Host Defense mushroom products are certified organic. They use mushroom fruitbodies and mycelium that are sustainably cultivated, protecting wild species and their environments. A portion of proceeds from Host Defense sales are devoted to saving rare strains of mushrooms that dwell within old growth forests and supporting ongoing research initiatives, like the BeeFriendly Campaign to help preserve endangered pollinators. The processing, extractions, and formulations of Host Defense products are state of the art, drawing on Paul Stamets’ four decades of experience as a pioneering mycologist. Your purchase of Host Defense products helps Paul Stamets and Fungi Perfecti in their work to build a healthier world with the power of mushrooms. 

To learn more about Paul Stamets and his pioneering work on the environmental and health benefits of mushrooms and fungal mycelium, check out his TED Talks on YouTube. To meet Lt. Commander Paul Stamets of Starship Discovery, go here.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Decolonizing Turmeric with Diaspora Co.

By Sofie Sherman-Burton, Marketing & Membership Manager and Comanager

The prospect of building alternatives to totally unjust food systems built on the exploitation of people and the land for the benefit of a handful of corporate executives is… really daunting. Lucky for all of us, Sana Javeri Kadri wasn’t too intimidated to take on the spice industry. 

Sana founded Diaspora Co. turmeric in the summer of 2017. A year before, after graduating from college, she had seen turmeric exploding in popularity and questioned who was benefiting from this boom. So Sana flew home to India to find farmers growing turmeric to start her own single origin spice company.

At first, finding a farmer that was growing exceptional turmeric using sustainable growing methods was harder than Sana anticipated. Many turmeric farmers, stuck in the cycle of industrialized agriculture, spray their turmeric crops with pesticides. Thankfully, Sana connected with the Indian Institute of Spices Research, who had both seeds for heirloom turmeric and connections with farmers that were willing to grow it for her. 

Sana ended up partnering with Mr. Prabhu, a fourth generation turmeric farmer who grows his turmeric without the use of pesticides and is in the second year of the organic certification process, which takes three years. The heirloom turmeric that he grows requires less water and is higher in curcumin, the chemical that makes turmeric so yellow and delivers the spice’s health benefits; about 4.6% compared to less than 2.5% in most commercial turmeric (if it has any at all). Diaspora Co. turmeric is also super fresh. Batches of turmeric grown in the last year are milled three times annually which is great for making sure that turmeric’s floral flavor is intact and helps maintain the curcumin potency. 

Mr. Prabhu’s farm is run by his family except during the harvest season when he pays the workers he hires considerably more than neighboring farms. All of this is reflected in the price that Diaspora Co. pays him for his turmeric: $1.50 to $1.50 per pound, which is significantly higher than the market rate of 15¢ per pound. 

But that’s not even all of it. As a queer woman of color, Sana wanted to be sure to make social justice a central part of Diaspora Co. Paying Mr. Prabhu so much more than the conventional spice market and prioritizing heirloom, organic turmeric is part of that. Those efforts work to decolonize and disrupt the corporate spice trade, with its history mired in colonial conquest. Paying Indian farmers generously also creates a less exploitative system of buying and trading an indigenous, culturally significant crop. Sana is also always looking at other ways to make Diaspora Co. radically inclusive in everything from hiring to business operations. That means hiring queer folks and people of color and deciding to pack all of the turmeric in-house instead of hiring a larger packing company to do it for her. It also means wrestling with decisions like selling Diaspora Co. on Amazon and being transparent about why. 

When I get down thinking about just how bad our food system is and all of the powerful structures that keep it in place, companies like Diaspora Co. give me a little faith that we can build systems that are better for people and the planet. The only question is, how can I eat way more turmeric? Luckily, Diaspora Co. compiled a sweet zine of recipes, including the two hot beverages below.

Turmeric Coffee

This little recipe finally convinced me to put butter in my coffee, and now I am a zealot! It tempers the effects of the caffeine and is gentler on my guts. The Ancient Organics ghee is particularly delicious and offers delicious nutty notes. If you don’t have a blender, I’ve found that vigorously shaking this mixture in a mason jar (wrapped in a towel I don’t mind staining with turmeric) works pretty well. 

• 1 cup brewed coffee

• 1 ¼ teaspoon ghee

• ¼ teaspoon turmeric

• ½ teaspoon coconut sugar or 1 ½ inch piece of jaggery

• Pinch of ground cardamom (optional)

• 1 tablespoon unsweetened hemp or almond milk

Add your hot coffee to the blender along with the ghee, turmeric, sweetener of choice, and non-dairy milk. Add a pinch of cardamom if you’re feeling like it! 

Give it a quick high-powered blend (about 30 seconds), just to make sure the ghee emulsifies and the mixture becomes foamy. 

If you over blend, you risk the fat separating, which will give you a weird gloopy drink. Gloopy drink woes can be remedied by adding a splash more boiling hot water or coffee to the blender to melt the ghee back into the mixture. 

Pour the ghee coffee into a mug and enjoy!

Turmeric Tonic Tea

• 3 inches whole fresh ginger, peeled and sliced 1/8-inch pieces

• 1 heaping teaspoon turmeric

• 2 lemons, juiced

• 2 cups filtered water

• 1 ¼ teaspoon organic apple cider vinegar

• 1 teaspoon raw honey (optional)

Add the ginger to a saucepan over medium-high heat, along with the turmeric, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, and water. Bring the mixture to a boil. 

Allow it to simmer for 2-3 minutes to steep and infuse the ginger and turmeric. If you are sick or want a more fiery and strong tonic, increase the heat back up to medium high and bring the mixture to a rolling boil, reduce the heat and allow it to simmer for 2-3 minutes. Repeat the process of boiling and simmering three more times. Then strain the liquid into a mug and enjoy!

What makes wine organic?

By Ryan Gaughn, Alcohol Buyer and Comanager

Curating the wine selection at People’s is so much fun, but not always easy. As the alcohol buyer, it’s my burden to make challenging choices between a beautiful world of all the wines I want to carry, and the limited space we have in the store for them. I am guided by one principle which you, loyal wine enthusiasts, have repeatedly asked for in the selection: organic wines.

Customers, Member-Owners, and staff often approach me with the question, “Why aren’t there more organic wines at People’s?” It turns out that many of the wines in our selection are made from grapes grown organically, but you wouldn’t be able to tell with a cursory view.  

Over the years I have cultivated relationships with vendor partners at People’s, who I meet with regularly to try out new bottles for our selection.  These vendors know in advance that the wines I’m interested in need to meet the Co-op’s buying guidelines; non-GMO, vegetarian/vegan, and organic, whenever possible. They also need to be affordable to most of the people who shop here.

As a result, there are many bottles on the shelf that contain organically grown grapes, and many others which also qualify as Biodynamic (a process of land stewardship that takes organic farming to the next level.) Montinore Vineyards of Forest Grove, OR, the largest organic and biodynamic vineyard and winery in the country, is strongly represented. There are other French and Italian bottles which also come from wine growing regions where organic farming has been a standard since long before the authorities gave it a name.

Why, then, aren’t these wines labelled clearly with a USDA “Organic” certification label, so that customers can readily see that information? The two most prominent answers are sulphur-dioxide, and economies of scale.

As a food ingredient, Sulphur-dioxide, or SO2, is used in preserving dried fruit. “Sulphurized” fruits retain more of their original coloring, and are generally shelf stable for longer periods of time. The addition of SO2 to food is considered by the USDA to be too much human intervention to qualify a product as organic. Thus, you will never find organic yellow raisins, or organic bright orange dried apricots.

In the world of wine making, sulphurization is very common. Fermented grapes, like most fruit, contain naturally occuring levels of sulphur. Winemakers will add SO2 to wine as a stabilizing agent. Because wine must often travel great distances, be stored in multiple settings, sometimes at fluctuating temperatures, sulphur plays an important role in preserving the wine between winery and consumer. Many wineries, such as Montinore, are certified organic, but also add SO2 to the finished product for quality control reasons.  

In contrast, you will find a select few bottles in our selection which do have USDA organic labels. These are produced by Frey Vineyards, of California. Frey sources grapes from Certified Organic vineyards, but they refrain from adding sulphur-dioxide to the finish product.

Because the addition of SO2 disqualifies U.S. wines from organic certification, many winemakers bypass the certification altogether. Emphasis on quality control and brand consistency outweigh the marketing advantage of a USDA Organic symbol, even if the vineyard goes to great lengths to grow grapes organically.  Furthermore, wine is unique in agriculture in that many consumers travel at length to visit the places where the grapes are grown. This exposure to the fields and techniques of wineries, generates a wine enthusiast culture in which growing methods must be of high caliber in order for wines to be valued as exceptional.

This winter, I invite you to try out some of my favorite wines featuring organic and biodynamic grown grapes!

Montinore Estate: Pinot Noir (Vegan) 

Forest Grove, OR

$17.99

It's hard to find a Pinot that reflects its place, is farmed biodynamically, and offers such complexity at this price point. Made to drink now, as a "go to" wine, but you'll feel like you're drinking a special occasion bottle. Plush red fruit, fine tannins and round texture. Delicious and balanced, and can pair with everything from savory slow cooked beans to fresh seasonal vegetables.

Frey: Agriculturist (Certified Organic & Vegan) Red Wine    

Mendocino County, California

$11.79

An approachable blend of family-farmed grapes. Bright garnet hue with a sturdy structure and grippy character that has a remarkable ability to pair with most foods. Gather around the table or fireside and enjoy a smooth, lingering finish.

Troon Vineyards: Vermentino

Applegate Valley, 

Southern Oregon

$14.49

Exceptionally fragrant and fresh, but not at all a light wine, it offers surprising richness on the palate with a savory, creamy freshness. All of Troon's vineyards are Certified Salmon Safe, and they are currently in transition to organic and biodynamic certification.  An incredible expression of Southern Oregon winemaking.

Stinging Kombucha Hot Sauce

By Paul Conrad, Member-Owner

In the beginning, there was Tabasco. Throughout most of the 20th century, supermarket shelves offered few other alternatives for folks that wanted more heat to their eats. But as diverse communities grew and thrived in this country, and as more eaters began sampling cuisines from all over the world, their palates were exposed to the distinctive burns of pepper sauces from Asia, Central and South America, and Africa that they may not have experienced before. Today, Tabasco Sauce shares the condiment shelf with hot sauces such as Thai Sriracha, Mexican Cholula, Korean Gochujang, as well as a selection of the hundreds of other hot sauces that have hit the market over the past couple decades.

Annual US hot sauce sales have passed the billion dollar mark after increasing 150% since 2000. There are hot sauces containing bourbon and other liquors, tropical fruits, green apples, blueberries, garlic, bacon flavoring, and on and on. There is, however, only one hot sauce made with kombucha, and People’s was the first store to sell it

Stinging Kombucha Hot Sauce was created by Portland chef Karel Vitek. For thirteen years, he and his wife Monka ran Tabor, a famed downtown food cart serving what Karel describes as Czech “grandmother” food, traditional goulash, stews, and dumplings. But as he was serving up food whose zingiest ingredients were black pepper and Hungarian paprika, Karel developed a taste for hot sauce. Starting with Tabasco, he kept searching for more and more heat, but while his taste buds craved the burn, his gut paid the price. Most hot sauces consist of roasted peppers and other ingredients in a vinegar base. As Karel’s palate developed an increasing tolerance for pepper heat, the unpleasant sour of the vinegar began to dominate.

More than a decade ago Karel began to experiment with kombucha as a hot sauce base. Kombucha is by far the most popular product in People’s Food Co-op’s beverage coolers, with 10 different brands and over 30 different flavors. These products all begin with sweetened tea fermented by a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY). Kombucha beverages are tangy, naturally effervescent, and are touted for their probiotic, antioxidant, anti-aging, and anti-inflammatory benefits.

Karel is definitely a kombucha believer and extols these benefits on the Stinging Kombucha website (kombuchahotsauce.com). But kombucha’s unique sweet/sour flavor and living nature are what inspired him to build his hot sauce around it. “A mature kombucha has about the same pH (acidity) as vinegar, but has sweetness and is less bitey and obtrusive. It doesn’t leave the sour aftertaste vinegar does,” Karel notes.

Since kombucha is a living, fermenting process, its sweet to sour ratio changes over time as its sugars are consumed. This gave Karel plenty of opportunity to experiment with different acidity levels. During the first year or so of the development process, it also left him with plenty of messes to clean up when early iterations of his recipe burst in the refrigerator as fermentation ran out of control.

After years of experimentation, he settled on a three-step fermentation process. First, ferment the kombucha to the point where just about all the sugar is digested and the culture is practically dormant. Next, revive the culture by adding a melange of four different carefully roasted hot pepper varieties and allow this mixture to ferment to near dormancy. Then, add the final ingredients, bottle the not-quite-finished product and chill it, allowing Stinging Kombucha Hot Sauce to continue a slow fermentation process while under refrigeration. It matures and develops more flavor and depth as it waits in your refrigerator.

What about those additional ingredients, eggplant and red-cabbage sauerkraut? The eggplant gives Stinging Kombucha Hot Sauce extra body so that it stays on your food rather than leaching through onto the plate. The sauerkraut is the result of further synergy.

“For years, some buddies and I have been having weekly get-togethers at The BeerMongers down on 12th and Division,” Karel recalls. “We drink beer and talk politics and whatever. Most evenings I’d bring in samples of the different recipes I was working on for the guys to try. They most always preferred the ones that had sauerkraut in them. It seems to bring everything together and seal the deal.”

And what a deal it is. The variety of peppers (serrano, habanero, cayenne and sweet chili) produce a complex flavor profile that changes as it lingers in your mouth. It’s a pleasant burn but not an inferno. Best of all, it won’t leave your taste buds blasted. It makes its statement and then subsides, leaving you still able to savor your dish. It augments without overpowering. As Karel says, “I believe the kombucha base gives the heat experience a soft landing.”

Dealing with a living product creates challenges for Karel’s growing business. The vast majority of hot sauces are shelf stable and inhabit the condiment section in the grocery aisles. Since Stinging Kombucha Hot Sauce must reside in the refrigerated section, it doesn’t get to grab the eyeballs of shoppers scanning the condiment shelf looking for a new flavor experience. Friends have suggested he cook his sauce down to stop fermentation and make it shelf stable. Karel won’t hear of it. He is passionate about his living, changing hot sauce.

Just how passionate is illustrated by the way Karel and family use Stinging Kombucha Hot Sauce at home. “We keep Stinging Kombucha in a small ceramic crock out on the kitchen counter,” Karel says. “It continues to ferment and gets fizzy and smells great and never tastes the same way twice.” 

It’s hard to imagine a more vivid and flavorful example of a “living food.” Look for it in the refrigerated section at People’s, next to the kombuchas that inspired it.

Melchemy Craft Mead: Makers in the Forest

By Ryan Gaughn, Alcohol Buyer

As the alcohol buyer at the Co-op, it’s one of my great pleasures to discover new, exciting beverages for our shelves – products which stand out from the crowd and speak to the place we share on this planet.  Mead is one of these specialties that, with a somewhat undeserved bad reputation, is nevertheless perhaps one of the truest expressions of our region’s flora.

Mead is known as the world’s oldest alcoholic beverage. It is the end product of fermented honey, water, and additional botanicals. Evidence of human production of mead dates as far back as 7000 BC in China, where found pottery remnants contain chemical clues of the beverage. Mead has played a prominent role in Greek and Scandinavian early civilization, where it was often produced in places or times when making wine from grapes was not available (or not yet known of). Several centuries of innovations in alcohol production – beer and various liquors, primarily – and the international transport of wine resulted in greatly decreased mead production, to the point where it was almost forgotten.

In recent years, the Pacific Northwest has seen a burgeoning revival of this ancient delight. Spurred by innovation (and an overtapped beer market) but definitely rooted in a quest to continue the legacy of PNW craft beverage exceptionalism – mead producers in Oregon & Washington have dug up the old techniques, and thrown out the overly sweet amateur mead stand-ins. Just as wine and cider consumers have grown accustomed to terroir – the idea that the ingredients in an alcoholic beverage can impart a sense of the place in which they are grown – so, too, does honey production suggest the flavors of plants and crops in our bioregion. Bees, afterall, are critical players in modern human survival, being responsible for a massive portion of the pollination required in industrial farming, both conventional and organic.

I’m very pleased to present Melchemy Craft Mead as a harbinger of the great things to come for this category of alcohol.  Produced by two friends, Tim and Jeffree, from their beautiful communal home and farm property in Carson, WA, Melchemy Mead holds many values – as a brand and a product – that are in alignment with the Ends Statement at People’s:

A passionate community working together for sustainability, progressive land and animal stewardship, human rights, social and economic justice.

My visit to Melchemy began shortly after a trip over Bridge of the Gods, and into the beginning of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in Southern Washington. The property is nestled into a  tree lined mountain side, and it doesn’t take long to feel as if you’ve left much of the contemporary world behind. It’s difficult to believe that not that long ago colonizing interests coordinated the large scale clear cutting of timber in this region. In fact, the land we were standing on was probably devoid of vegetation in the mid-20th century, like much of this part of the Columbia Gorge, as trees were pulled from the land en masse to fund the accumulation of capital.

“We have a neighbor who logged in this area,” Jeffree tells me.  “He can tell you exactly which acres came down, for miles. It’s a source of pride for him, and many people in this community.”

Jeffree’s speaking to a reality of life and economic existence in the region which has profound implications. The land we’re standing on as we talk is the ancestral home of the Wishram Tribe, members of what is currently known as the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation. For centuries, the Wishram harvested food from the forest and the great river which flowed below it. As this area was colonized, workers from around the world were imported to extract seemingly endless natural resources.

In current Carson, WA – as in much of Skamania County – the remnants of small, colonizer communities linger around a severely diminished timber industry. For much of the latter part of the 20th century, environmentalists and the timber industry in this region engaged in struggles mutually held as critical for human survival and prosperity under the backdrop of the Gifford Pinchot, some of the last remaining, pristine rainforest in the state.

“How do you make money in the forest, other than cutting down trees?” Jeffree asks. It’s a great question, because the geography of land here – mountainous, rugged – prohibits large scale agriculture and urbanity from sprawling along its surface.

Addressing this question, and breathing new economic (and sustainable) life into Skamania County is a key component of Melchemy’s mission. Tim and Jeffree routinely participate in the South Gifford Pinchot Collaborative, a democratic multi-stakeholder advocacy organization frequently attended by the U.S. Forest Service. It’s part of a next generation of forest preservation, in which environmentalists, logging communities, tribes, and business owners meet to talk face to face about balancing the survival of the forest with the economy of sustainable logging. Melchemy Craft Mead has a place in that, operating as a small business with a big mission: build a producer and service economy in the region with as minimal environmental impact as possible.

Beehives kept on the land represent that work. The homestead employs biodynamic farming practices, in which the plants and animals of the surrounding area, along with the seasonal elements of wind, sun, and rain, are integrated into land use decisions. The bees here collect pollen from the Wind River Valley, imparting terroir into the honey they produce. While some of the honey harvested from their hives ends up in Melchemy products, much more is needed to achieve the 17 gallons required for a 275 bottle batch. Priorities are placed on sourcing the most local honey possible, with 10% coming from an ultra local network of beekeepers, and the remainder being sourced from elsewhere in the Columbia Gorge and the Willamette Valley.

Jeffree and Tim are quick to dispel what appears to be a growing piece of misinformation, perhaps promulgated by new mead producers, that increased production of honey counteracts the diminishment of bee populations. Many consumers have become aware of Colony Collapse Disorder, and other complications in bee survival that have been publicized in recent years.  Much of the threat to bees is directly correlated to their interstate transportation for agricultural purposes – primarily to California, and especially for almond tree pollination – and the bees’ exposure to transport stress, pesticides, and herbicides throughout the duration of their work in the fields. While it would be ideal for Melchemy to source honey exclusively from beekeepers who do not participate in this practice, it is simply not economically feasible for them to do so and keep their prices accessible. “The economy values bees for pollination fees,” Tim tells me. “The honey is a by-product.”

Melchemy believes very strongly in this degree of transparency in what they do – from the ingredients sourced for their mead, to their place as landowners and business people in their community. Each bottle produced is hand numbered; you can view the ingredients used in the bottle and their sourcing by visiting their website and correlating the batch number. Their website, www.melchemy.wine, also contains a great deal of information about the mead making process and the founders’ philosophy of land stewardship and community development. One exciting piece of this for me is their commitment to developing Melchemy as a worker-owned business. Both partners want to participate in a business that directly profits the people who produce its products, rather than a small group of investors.

I invite you to enjoy Melchemy Craft Mead this upcoming fall and winter. This mead is a perfect compliment to feasting in the colder months, and a lively addition to cheer around the dinner table. We currently carry “Uprooted” – infused with ginger, turmeric, and peppercorn – and blackberry-infused “Triple Bee”. Both are aged in oak barrels, and are not overly sweet or syrupy.

These meads retail at $21.99, but are on sale at $18.99 throughout the month of October. Come give them a try!

Ayers Creek's Farm-Direct Preserves

Farm-direct preserves are a very special thing: rarely does a farmer devote their time, energy, and dollars to transforming their produce into delicious jams, pickles, or hot sauce. Very lucky for all of us, sometimes they do! Such is the case with Ayers Creek Farm in Gaston, Oregon, where Anthony and Carol Boutard grow everything from berries to beans to chicories to popcorn. They partner with a local food processor to make preserves from the many varieties of fruit they grow. People's stocks three varieties of these special preserves -- right now Veepie Grape, Boysenberry, and Golden Gage. If your sweetie isn't a chocolate lover (and perhaps even if they are), these jars are a perfect gesture for that upcoming holiday. 

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By Anthony Boutard, Ayers Creek Farm

Our preserves are made from the farm's fruit only. If the fruit is shy in the field, it is shy in the kettle and then in the jar, but we hope never shy on toast. The fruit is predominantly the first run from the field, the very best for processing because it has high acidity, along with high aromatic and pectin content. Lots of character and an outgoing disposition. Acidity not sweetness defines a fruit. Paradoxically, on most berry farms this highest quality fruit is left to over-ripen or rot because there is not enough to justify mustering a crew to harvest it, let alone the time and fuel needed to deliver such a small quantity. The economics of berry production are tight. Fortunately, we are diverse enough that staff can harvest for a hour or so in the cool of the day, and then set up irrigation and perform other essential tasks. And we only have to deliver the fruit to one of our freezers.

Anthony (left) at the vat. 

Because of the fruit's quality, we achieve a good set without adding commercial pectin. We freeze the berries whole in the harvest crates without crushing them. This preserves the aromatics and avoids any enzymatic degradation while the fruit is freezing. For the plum preserves, staff harvests a blend of firm, acidic fruit and riper, more aromatic fruit. The mix lends more character to those preserves.

Most are processed using 750 grams of sugar per kilogram of fruit, and freshly squeezed lemon juice. The currants and jostaberry are prepared using 950 grams of sugar per kilogram of fruit. All are cooked in two gallon lots using a set of four small steam kettles. We use sensitive digital thermometers to track the temperature of the fruit. We generally shoot for 220 - 221°. However, each of the 15 fruits cooks differently, and they vary from year-to-year. This year, the purple raspberry set at 216°, the lowest we have ever seen in our fruit. Still scratching our heads over that. The behavior in the pot indicated a set had been achieved, but the reading on the thermometers didn't match, so we decided with our eyes rather than the instrument. An overcooked preserve is a terrible disappointment. As a general matter, we err on the side of a runnier set rather than risk a gummy texture and dull flavor.

When finished, we have concentrated about a half pound of fruit in each 10-ounce jar. When we started making preserves, we found there were all of these baffling rules of identity defining jams, conserves, jellies, sauces, spreads and preserves. We artfully dodge the identity question by avoiding any description on the label. All we do is name the fruit and ingredients.

Carol prepping lemons for the juicer. 

Our ability to make preserves of this quality rests on a very special relationship we have developed with owners of Sweet Creek Foods, Paul and Judy Fuller. Since 2005, we have produced more than 35,000 jars of preserves at their factory in Elmira, about 35 miles west of Eugene. They are set up to process large quantities of fruit in several 200 gallon kettles, thousands of jars a day. The physics of cooking in large kettles require the addition of commercial pectin, something we have avoided because those pectins bind with the fruit's acids and dull the flavor. We pay extra to use the little kettles that otherwise are reserved for testing purposes, and eke out about 1,000 jars each day. As Paul notes, he could do that in an hour if we weren't so damned picky. We sweeten the deal by bringing down a huge pot of soup for Paul, Judy and their staff.

Jam in the vat. 

The difference in price between the different types is not an indicator of quality differences. The difference reflects extra labor costs and shrinkage associated with deseeding, and removing the stems from the currants. In the case of damsons, labor associated with pitting such a small plum. Jellies are their own challenge because the juice and pectins must be extracted by slowly stewing the fruit, and then drawing off and decanting the clear liquid. They are our art project, the test of our mettle as preservers with their fragile, jewel-like essence. With jellies, there is no gracious exit from a mistake.

We don't have a favorite preserve as such; they all find their way onto our table. However, the one that is the true measure of our efforts is the red raspberry. Commercially prepared raspberry preserves, jams, conserves, spreads, however they are identified, are found in every grocery store in the land, and many of us had parents or grandparents who put up some raspberry jam. If we felt our red raspberry tasted the same as Smuckers or some tonier brand, we wouldn't devote the time and effort. On the other hand, we are not foolish enough to compete with memories and are very happy if the quality simply reminds you of the raspberry jam you enjoyed at your parents' or grandparents' table.
 

Serving the Land with Cider: Finnriver Farm & Cidery

This story was originally published in the Winter 2017 issue of Grass/Roots. Read the whole issue here!

by Ryan Gaughn, Alcohol Buyer

It was a People’s customer who first clued me in to Finnriver products. Having tried a cocktail featuring raspberry brandy wine, they started to look around the city to buy a bottle, without much luck. I contacted Finnriver, who dispatched a sales rep to our store almost immediately. From the moment I first tasted that raspberry brandy wine, I knew these products were something special, and a cursory view of Finnriver’s business ethics, particularly with land and animal stewardship, fell right in line with our values as a co-op.

In late September 2016 I was invited to participate in a tour of Finnriver’s farms and cidery, located in the beautiful Chimacum Valley in Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. Along with other alcohol buyers and retailers from Oregon & Washington, I was treated to a first hand, in-depth look at how this cidery accentuates a regional growing and production focus, coupled with a commitment to responsible agricultural practices acting in harmony with the region’s lush natural ecosystem.

Finnriver maintains two farms in the Chimacum area. The central hub of production for the cidery is located just 3 miles away from Finnriver’s main apple & pear orchards. This property hosts vegetable, berry, and hoop-house gardening operations which provide supplemental ingredients in Finnriver products. It was here that I received a tour of the cider making process.  Large bushels of apples are primed and pressed, with juice separating from the pulp in a mechanized pressing. From there, the fresh juice is pumped into massive fermentation tanks, where the addition of yeast and other ingredients encourages the magic that brings cider to life. 

This production facility is seamlessly integrated with the certified organic farm that surrounds it. The entire property is also certified Salmon Safe. Through intentional efforts by Finnriver, spawning salmon have recently begun to return to a creek that runs through the property, after generations of absence due to environmental harm from livestock farming in the area. 

Later in our tour, we travelled to Finnriver’s newest property acquisition, a 50 acre certified organic orchard. Finnriver has been integral in converting this lush soil, which was used as dairy land since the late 1800s, into a magnificent orchard of several thousand apple and pear trees.  Many of these trees are traditional, tannic varieties of apples not commonly found in grocery stores. This location is also where Finnriver has its tasting room and bottle shop, where many extra special products not currently available for sale in Oregon can be tasted and purchased. 

Finnriver operates both properties in partnership with the Jefferson Land Trust. This partnership ensures that the land on which Finnriver operates will remain designated for agricultural purposes in perpetuity — an important protective measure in an area of the state where extra-urban development is increasing (the Chimacum Valley is located South of Port Townsend, across the Puget Sound from Seattle). Much like Our Table Cooperative, a farm operation based out of Sherwood, Oregon which also borders areas experiencing urban development, land trusts help integrate food resources, sustainability, and the needs of urban dwellers by maintaining legally binding regulations which protect agricultural land for future generations.

Oh, and Finnriver cider is really tasty, too! I strongly encourage you to try out some of my favorites!

The Contemporary Series of ciders are the most widely distributed and produced of Finnriver’s selection. The introduction of a small amount of organic cane sugar in the production process helps round out the dryness of the cider, without creating an overly sweet “apple juice” like effect. Two of my favorites are the Sparkling Black Currant, which has an amazing, deep purple wine-like color, and the Habanero, an infused cider that leaves a really exciting spiciness in the endnotes.

If you’re looking for something to bring to a special occasion or dinner, consider the Artisan Méthode Champenoise Sparkling Cider. This painstaking cider-making process requires a secondary fermentation process that takes place in the bottle, which results in a very effervescent sparkling beverage similar to champagne. This bottle is a great substitute for wine, and definitely more on the dry end of the cider spectrum.

For something completely different, pick up a bottle of Raspberry Brandy Wine, a higher alcohol content dessert wine. Raspberries grown on Finnriver farms are coupled with apple brandy wine, producing a dessert beverage to be enjoyed in small pours. Finnriver brandy wines are very versatile, and can be used as toppings on ice cream, in homemade salad dressings, and as a lively kick to sparkling water, to name a few.

Definitely keep an eye out for Finnriver’s Seasonal Botanical ciders. This is a rotating series of bottles that feature unique combinations of herbs and ingredients. In the beginning of 2017, keep an eye out for Cranberry Rosehip and Solstice Saffron.

School Aid Fruit: 90% Proceeds Go To Local Schools

School aid apples and pears, which fill a bin at People’s every fall, seem too good to be true. The little fruits embody everything that the Co-op stands for.

They’re organic. They’re local. At only 99¢ a pound they’re affordable. They’re delicious. But best of all; more than 90% of what you pay for them goes straight to schools in our community. Essentially, when you buy school aid apples and pairs you are making a donation to local schools, and getting local organic fruit in return.

The program is simple. A local farm sells the fruit to the Co-op and donates 100% of the price to community schools. The produce buyers at People’s are committed to buying and stocking these fruits—fruit that the store makes no money by selling—year and year again. Our produce department saves space on the crowded sales floor and sells (they usually add 10% to cover losses) and folks like you chose to buy the school aid fruit instead of any of the other plethora of choices in the produce section. School Aid works because a farmer, a store and shoppers all make the choice together to support their community.

The School Aid apples and pears can make a powerful difference in our communities. However, to understand the School Aid fruits and the program they make possible you have to know where they come from.

The apples and pairs that fill People’s School Aid bins all come from Mt. Hood Organic Farm. The farm lies to the south of Hood River, 6 miles, as the crow flies, form the summit of Wy’east. To call the orchard beautiful is an understatement.

The farm is as unique as it is picturesque. The orchard is the first property to draw from the east fork of Hood River. The melt water that irrigates the trees is as pure as it gets. Mt. Hood Organic Farm’s altitude means that the fruits grown there are usually smaller, but sweeter, than those produced by other orchards. Just like wine grapes from different vineyards, apples and pears from different orchards—with their unique micro-climates—have very different properties. The fruits’ size and unique flavor makes them perfect for light snacking or for school lunches.

One of the most unique things about the farm is the man who runs it; John Jacobs. He exemplifies the old proverb about good deeds: “don’t let your left hand know what your right is doing”. The school aid program is his invention; he just doesn’t want any credit.

John Jacobs has an inspiring vision for the world and in his words it looks a lot like “Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood.” In the Neighborhood, people know one another, and take care of each other. The philosophy informs everything that Mt. Hood Organic Farm does. The orchard was the first to grow and organic apples and pears in the region. Despite the financial challenges of farming in this way Mt. Hood Organic has worked tirelessly to be good to their neighbors downstream, their environment, and their customers.

Mt. Hood Organic Farm also gives back to their communities directly. Through the School Aid program thousands of dollars are donated every year to education. A few times a year the farm even hosts classes of kids who come out and pack bags of fruit to sell which raise money for class trips and other educational opportunities.

In Jacob’s neighborhood “People’s is the only grocery store.” The Co-op fits well into the vision of neighborliness that he describes. The Co-op has been buying organic apples and pears from the farm for 30 years. People’s has always given him the best price for his fruit. Produce buyers from other natural grocery stores consistently try to barter and undercut the asking price for the produce—making the difficult job of organic farming harder. The produce buyers at People’s, according to Jacobs, have never tried to haggle with him or buy fruit for less than the Farm knows they need to cover their costs and make a living.

People’s is also the only store in Portland to currently sell School Aid fruit. The store makes no money selling it, and gives up valuable retail space to do so. But offering School Aid apples and pears year after year is something that our produce team believes in.        

The little School Aid fruits stand for something huge. They stand for strong communities, for a long-term commitment to affordable organics, for high quality foods, and for a much-needed people before profits approach to life and business. It’s not often that a few little fruits can stand for so much good—or that your dollars can so directly support your community and values.