Slow Food O'ahu News

Number 2016-3
Mailed March 20, 2016

Table of Contents

Nominations/Applications Due for Terra Madre by March 31

Ko Sugar Cane added to The Ark of Taste

Chinatown Tour - April 24 (Slow Food O'ahu event)

Slow Food Beef Order from Moloka'i - late April (Slow Food O'ahu sponsored)

Delegate Applications Open for
Terra Madre 2016 in Torino, Italy

Now is the time to nominate yourself or someone else for Terra Madre 2016 to be held in Turin (Torino), Italy September 22 - 26, 2016. Are you interested in being a delegate who can represent our home and the values and lifestyle of O'ahu and Hawai'i? You can be a Producer, Farmer, Rancher, Customer, Teacher, Chef, or Student to attend as a delegate.

Terra Madre and Salone del Gusto is a biennial event in Turin, Italy sponsored by Slow Food International. This international event will bring together the best of the world's artisanal production in Turin with the goals this year of how to be a farmer, how to be a co-producer, and how to be a home-gardener. Terra Made, the conference, is concurrent with Salone del Gusto, "Hall of Taste", the world's largest food and wine fair. "Loving the Earth" is the main theme for Terra Madre Salone del Gusto 2016. According to Serena Milano, General Secretary of the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity, "Looking after the environment and the planet

we live on is the most important issue of our time, and an obligation for everyone who works with food. We want to rediscover the pleasure of taking care of the Earth together with producers, teachers, chefs, academics, farmers, food communities and above all, everyday people and families. For this reason, we are organizing workshops, conferences, tasting sessions, and educational courses." During Terra Madre and Salone del Gusto, Slow Food Education will provide ideas and solutions for growing your own Slow vegetable garden, how to make compost, choose seasonal vegetable, and take care of seeds. There will be something for every preference, taste, and interest.

Learning to

go from being a simple consumer to a conscious co-producer is essential to understand the production techniques involved in bringing food from the farm to the table. Workshops will be dedicated to Slow Food's major themes: Slow Meat, which promotes responsible, sustainable meat consumption; Slow Fish, which raises awareness of the richness and complexity of marine life; and Slow Beans (no website link at the moment), which advocates the many nutritional properties of pulses and supports the 2016 International Year of Pulses (nutritional seeds for a sustainable future). The crucial role of bees in protecting diversity will also be a focus, as well as the importance of sustainable agribusiness, collective purchasing groups and farmers' markets.

If you have ever attended in the past, know that the venue will be completely different from prior years. Terra Madre and Salone del Gusto, organized by Slow Food with the City of Turin and the Piedmont Regional Authority, will take place in some of Turin's most iconic locations. The market will beheld in Valentino Park, within which the Medieval Village will host educational events for adults and children,

while the Terra Madre Forums will take place inside Valentino Castle. The conferences will be held at the Carignano Theater, the Taste Workshops at the Circolo dei Lettori and the Mole Antonelliana (the National Museum of Cinema). There will other events at the Egyptian Museum, Venaria Reale, Racconigi Castle, and the Royal Palace of Turin. The events will offer you a chance to see the city at the same time you participate in events.

The Slow Food P

residia will involve communities of farmers, herders, and fishers from around the world all working to sustain high quality food production. Five thousand Terra Madre delegates from over 160 countries will share their experiences and advice with attendees. The market is the place to meet the producers who follow the principles and philosophy of Slow Food and where visitors can also receive practical advice on how to start farming for themselves. There will also be an opportunity to learn about the Ark of Taste of the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity in Turin (see next article about the newest Hawai'i food products in the Ark of Taste)

Salone del Gusto is one of the world's most important events dedicated to artisan and small-scale food and wine producers, as well as a forum of exchange for producers and consumers from around the world. The last Salone attracted over 220,000 visitors, saw the participation of 3,000 Terra Madre delegates, and featured a large market with 1,200 exhibitors from 100 countries.

The deadline for applications to be a Slow Food USA delegate is MARCH 31, 2016. To learn more about participating in Terra Madre 2016, click http://www.slowfoodusa.org/participate-in-terra-madre-2016. If you are interested in applying as a delegate, you will find information under "Delegate Information" on the application process, evaluation criteria, the actual application with delegate recommendation information click here for How to apply to be a USA Delegate. Submit your application NOW. When you do, we (Slow Food O'ahu Board) would like to know that you have done so in order that we may support you in the selection process. Please let us know as soon as you submit your nomination at slowfoodoahu@yahoo.com.

Of course, even if you do not choose to be an official delegate you are still encouraged to attend as a visitor (and we'd still like to know if you plan to attend to put you in touch with delegates and attendees from O'ahu who are attending).

Ko - Sugar Cane is in The Ark of Taste

Five varieties of Ko Sugar Cane have been recently accepted into Slow Food USA's Ark of Taste. The varieties (as described on the Slow Food USA website) are as follows:

Halali'i is a green and yellow or light orange striped cane with slightly variegated leaves. It is said to be a tough cane, thriving in the most marginal of climates, and that it does not tassel freely.

http://www.slowfoodusa.org/ark-item/ha-la-li-i-sugar-cane

Laukona is a tall perennial grass with green and white striped stalk and variegated green and white leaves.

http://www.slowfoodusa.org/ark-item/laukona-sugar-cane

Maikoiko is a tall perennial grass with dark purple stalk and dark green leaves.

http://www.slowfoodusa.org/ark-item/maikoiko-sugar-cane

Pua'ole sugarcane is famous cane in Hawaiian history, known most for being a flower-less cane. The name Pua'ole literally refers to this characteristics, meaning "without flower."

http://www.slowfoodusa.org/ark-item/puaole-sugar-cane

Uahiapele is a brownish-red, reddish-purple or purple stalk frosted with a white wax bloom and green leaves. Its name means "the smoke of Pele", the Volcano goddess in Hawaiian mythology, and is often used to refer to dark, smoky colored items.

http://www.slowfoodusa.org/ark-item/uahiapele-sugar-cane

While many people are aware of the extensive history of sugarcane in Hawai'i, fewer people recognize that the Hawaiians cultivated some 50-60 varieties of sugarcane prior to European arrival. In fact, the modern sugarcane that spurred plantations and production around the world originated in the Pacific in Papua New Guinea. Because Hawai'i was an essential breeding area and experimental station for early sugarcane production, many modern sugarcane hybrids have distant ancestry of Hawaiian sugarcanes in their pedigree.

Hawaiian

s were perhaps the most innovative farmers in the Pacific, likely due to the broad range of soil types and ecological habitats located in the islands; across these diverse ecosystems they cultivated foods in a variety of ways. Sugarcane was often an essential part of the cropping system, and could be found cultivated along flooded terraces of Taro, forming hedges of windbreaks in extensive Sweet Potato plantations, growing in mulched pits on fresh lava rock, or in a variety of other settings. Hawaiians used sugar much as we do today. The soft, sweet stalks could be chewed on directly as a quick sugary snack. The juice was extracted and used in a range of culinary preparations. Sugarcane juice was used to sweeten medicinal concoctions or as an active ingredient in fermentation. Today it has a wide range of culinary applications. The pressed juice is often used directly in mixes such as for a Mojito. Spears of the pith can be used in cooking m

eat or flavoring other dishes.

The different varieties developed by the Hawaiians excelled in different habitats, vary considerably in their appearance, and also vary in their taste, sugar content, and mineral quality.

The dram

atic history of sugar plantations around the world is what comes to mind when people think of sugarcane. Unfortunately, with the advent of focused breeding programs aimed at maximizing monoculture production the heirloom varieties developed by Hawaiian agriculturalists have been overshadowed by commercial hybrids, and many have already been lost to history. These commercial varieties have been so well engineered for their purpose that they became useless for backyard growers. The tough rind and relatively low sugar content that has been bred into the commercial canes is optimized for large scale mills and plantation-style agriculture, and prevents any small scale usage of these accessible varieties. However, the Pacific heirloom varieties, exemplified by the Hawaiian varieties, are soft, thick, and extremely sweet - ideally suited for low-infrastructure usage.

A core collection of about 30-40 known Hawaiian canes still exists through several small organizations devoted to Hawaiian ethnobotany. These organizations promote their usage and disseminate cuttings of the varieties to all who inquire. Although the remaining varieties are stable and cared for in several collections, they are not widespread outside of these collections. Currently there are only two known producers using the heirloom cane varieties for moderate scale production, both of which make high end spirits.

Slow Food O'ahu Chinatown Tour - April 24 9:30 to 1:00 p.m.
Chinatown near the Maunakea Marketplace

Join us on ou

r exciting Slow Food Chinatown Tour. Explore the history, culture, and food traditions of Honolulu's Chinatown. Shop its markets to learn about seafood, fresh produce, and traditional foods. Visit bakeries, noodle factories, specialty shops, temples and historic sites. Sample local foods such as poke, roast pork, look funn noodles, and tropical fruits. Bring your shopping bags with you so you can buy fresh produce, noodles, and specialty products.

Following the tour we will enjoy lunch together at one of Chinatown's finest restaurants. The 5-course family-style menu cost is included in the tour price. Please alert us in advance of any food restrictions.


	Tom Sheeran leading the last Chinatown Tour with participants

The meeting location and parking suggestions will be emailed to ticket-holders 48 hours before the tour. Please note: We keep this tour size limited to 8 to ensure an intimate experience and avoid blocking already crowded sidewalks and markets, but we also need to set a minimum of 5 participants for this event in order to assure that our volunteer tour leaders' efforts are used to good advantage. If we don't fill the minimum, we will offer full refunds and alert ticket holders to other upcoming tours. Thanks for your understanding.

The cost is $55 for members and $65 for non-members, which includes the price of tastings along the tour as well as lunch. To register, go to https://www.eventbrite.com/e/slow-food-oahu-chinatown-food-tour-and-lunch-tickets-22423614635

Slow Food O'ahu sponsors another Moloka'i Beef Order in April

Slow Food O'ahu is placing another order for Moloka'i beef from the livestock co-op. This next order is anticipated to be here late April, depending on how quickly we can sell all eight portions. Each shipment contains one cow split into 1/8 portions. Generally you will receive about 55 pounds of meat, 1/2 in ground beef and 1/2 in roasts and steaks. Our price for 1/8 of an animal is $400 for Slow Food members and $450 for non-members.

We pick up the order and distribute it at the Queen Lili'uokalani Botanical Garden parking lot, between 3:00 - 3:30 p.m. on the day it arrives from Moloka'i. If you are interested in an order for a 1/8 portion, please send your check made out to Slow Food O'ahu to Laurie Carlson, 1020 Maunawili Loop, Kailua, HI 96734.

Please include your cell phone number in your order and Laurie will keep in touch with you about the timing. It will take a few weeks to finalize the order.

Slow Food Leadership

Slow Food O'ahu Officers: Mae Isonaga, Chair; David Bangert, Treasurer; Sharon Odom, Secretary; Francine Wai, Newsletter Editor; Nina Bermudez, Membership and E-mail correspondent; Matthew Lynch, Board Member; Tom Sheeran, Slow Food Chinatown Tour Coordinator.

Slow Food Regional Governor: Laurie Carlson

Facebook manager: David Bangert

Webmaster: Wendy Hee

Slow Food Membership

To join, go to the http://donate.slowfoodusa.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Member_Benefits

Quick Links

Slow Food O'ahu Convivium website

Slow Food Hawai'i Convivium website

Slow Food Maui Convivium website

Slow Food USA website

Slow Food International website

Contact reservations.sfoahu@yahoo.com for information on our events.
Contact slowfoodoahu@yahoo.com for general information

Slow Food O'ahu on Facebook. Please click here to check us out: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Slow-Food-Oahu/163195710427565