Omaha By Design: Omaha, Only Better

by Ken Mayer

It’s been a good year for tomatoes. My handful of backyard plants has yielded nearly 50 pounds of San Marzanos. I attribute this to the spirits of the Italian great grandmas who once lived in this neighborhood. I like to think they have been watching over the garden and guiding my hand as I’ve made sauce out of the crop.

I started growing tomatoes along with herbs, beets, carrots, leeks, greens and more for culinary reasons. I wanted to cook with and eat produce as natural and fresh as our great grandmas had. It’s been a revelation.

There‘s an intensity, purity and natural sweetness to my produce that I hadn’t experienced, even in high class restaurants or at farmers markets. Maybe it’s my own pride in what I’ve grown, but as a sometime restaurant critic, I’ve worked hard to be objective and rely on what my taste buds are telling me.

Call it Omaha Terrior. Terroir is a French term that comes from their word terre or “land,” the special characteristics that geography bestows upon food. My garden can truly be called local and “organic,” because no pesticides or herbicides have been used, and the only “fertilizer” was a spring application of Omagro, Omaha’s own organic compost.

Only the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Organic Program accredits private businesses, organizations and state agencies to certify producers as organic. Sadly, words like “natural,” “organic,” “heirloom” and “farm fresh” have become mere spin in the hands of some marketers.

The USDA’s 2010 National Farmers Market Directory lists 6,132 farmers markets, representing 16 percent growth over 2009 when the agency reported 5,274. The directory lists 71 farmers markets in Nebraska and four operating in Omaha, only one of which is reportedly known to be organic. You can learn more about farmers markets at http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/FarmersMarkets.

I’ve been surprised a couple of times at local farmers markets. On one occasion, I sought out a free range chicken. Everything seemed fine, until said fowl was handed over frozen, hard as a rock. That got me looking on the proceedings with a bit of a critical eye. I noticed a big bin of salad greens that looked suspiciously like the stuff in plastic tubs at a local membership warehouse. Maybe it was just coincidence.

As I chatted with a few vendors of my acquaintance it became clear that some of them had similar suspicions. I think most farmers market organizers are doing a good job of policing what shows up. But, it seems to me, some caveat emptor is warranted here.

There are a few things we buyers can do to make sure we get the best possible produce:

• Check out the stall. Look for a modest selection of seasonal produce. Try to find sellers where the grower is working with a few relatives and employees. An ordinary truck and bins or boxes without labels and logos might also be a good sign.
• Check out the product. If you find tomatoes during the first week of June, you can be pretty sure they were grown in a green house or shipped in from well south of here.
• Look for imperfections. My garden yields all manner of slightly contorted, asymmetric stuff that a bug sometimes crawls out of. Don’t panic, this is natural and a sign that the produce is fresh and alive. Just give it a wash. If it looks like a perfect supermarket vegetable, it probably is.
• Strike up a conversation. When was the last time you had the chance to speak directly to the person who grew your food? Real growers will talk enthusiastically about what they do and how they do it. Don’t be afraid to flirt a little. It’s probably how your great grandma got the best of the best from the butcher and baker as well.
• Finally, tune up your taste buds. Ask for samples and compare. Learn to trust what your senses tell you.

If we all start demanding the best, we are more likely to get it.