Farming and Food

When I was considering what I’d do during this visit to Israel I had thought I’d cook with people from many different cultures, return to my apartment in Jerusalem, cook foods from those cultures, then shared my experience and recipes with you on my blog.  As usual, things don’t always turn out the way one has planned, and in this case that is true. The issue is that I’m not really cooking very much – it’s very hot here and I’ve pretty much lost my appetite, and I never really figured how to use the oven with confidence.

However, the need to refocus has allowed me to expand my attention beyond just cooking, but also to the foods that are used in making so many delicious and varied meals.  Since I’ve been in the north I’ve gone to three different shuks; the one in Akko I described in the last blog post, and the second, in Haifa, was in an Arab neighborhood called Wadi Nisnas.  I’ll discuss the Nazarath shuk in a future post.  I also spent part of the day at an organic farm. in Kerem Maharal, which is located south of Haifa and north of Zichron Yaakov, in the fertile area of the Carmel Mountains.

Makura Farm is located in the crater of a volcano in the fertile Carmel Mountains south of Haifa near Zichron Yaacov. Guy Rilov, the owner of the farm and whose children and grandchildren grew up on the farm and still live there, generously gave me time from his busy day.  When I first met him and told him I was from Seattle, he laughed and shared that he had just purchased an "anti-frost" machine from Washington State.  

Guy Rilov, owner and CEO

Guy started farming in this location in 1981 and changed to fully organic in 1989 as he learned more and more about the disadvantages of chemical farming.  He uses compost rather than fertilizer, and “beneficial enemies” to protect the orchard from harmful pests.  One hundred percent of the electricity is produced by solar energy.

Guy proudly explained that the farm cultivates approximately 250 of its 400 acres and is fully organic.  The orchards produce olives, Cabernet and Merlot grapes, litchi, avocados and persimmon, with the primary business of the farm is olive oil. There is a winery on the farm that sells wine made from these grapes. Some of the olive trees on this farm are over 1000 years old.  Apparently the first cultivated olives were in northern Israel. The Romans took olives from Israel to two parts of the world – to Greece and Italy and to Northern Africa.

Litchi behind protective netting

Persimmon

Avocado

Merlot grapes

This says Cabernet Savinion

I always wondered how the olives got off the tree without someone climbing up and picking them. Guy showed me  a piece of equipment that was made specifically for Macura that shakes the trees, collects the olives and separates the olives from the non-olive products. He explained that with their system there are only 30 minutes from the time the olives leave the trees until they are actually pressed.  Yes, pressed. Minutes from tree to press is one of their quality measures.  The other is the acidity.  In order for an olive oil to be called “extra virgin” the acidity level must be 0.8 or less.  Macura's olive oil average acidity is 0.17.

Olives

The drip irrigation system, whose timer is fully automated, provides water from a natural spring located on the farm.  This method of irrigation was developed in Israel and is now used widely throughout the world.  

In the last few years Guy dedicated 1.5 across as an educational farm about organic farming and ecology.  With funding from a friend in memory of his son who was killed in the second Lebanon war.  This year over 1000 children came to learn and experience farming.

The educational farm

Just about the food:

I thought it would be fun to show some of the food that I’m seeing in the shuks   Most of it is familiar in one way or another, but in Israel, the varieties are different than what we generally see.  Not only are they interesting to look at but I’ve learned a lot of tidbits about each one.

Fakus is a zucchini like vegetable that looks like cucumber and zucchini in shape and like a cucumber inside.  But the color is much lighter green and it has a bit of a fuzz on its skin.  As with a peach, you can eat the skin.  The taste has a tang, almost tart, which is heightened and improved with a little squeeze of lemon and a few shakes of salt.  Fakus grows primarily in the Galilee and is seen frequently in Arab markets and is used more like cucumbers in cold soups, salads and just plain.  Learn more on the blog Galilee Seasonality from my new friend Abbie Rosner.

 

Cousa is the type of zucchini that is typically used for stuffing in Arab kitchens.  It’s lighter in color, chubbier in size and has a nuttier flavor than regular zucchini.  Cousa originated in Lebanon and is also known as Lebanese zucchini.  For maximum sweetness, Cousa is harvested when it reaches about 15 cm in length (about  6 inches)

Baby Eggplant.  I’ve never seen these in the US, but they’re all over the Arab markets, and are known to be less bitter than eggplants we traditionally use.  They're only 2-3 inches long and even that small are often stuffed.  My lunch with Balkees (see next post) included pickled baby eggplant.

Sabra is the Hebrew word for “prickly pear”  or  “cactus fruit”.  The word sabra is also used to describe native born Israeli’s.  It is said that sabras the fruit and sabras the Israeli’s have in common that they’re tough and thorny on the outside and soft and sweet on the inside.

Melukhia is a Middle Eastern spice used as fresh whole leaves or dried, either crushed or as a powder.  When it’s cooked whole it has a gelatinous texture, and overcooking causes it to congeal at the bottom of the pot.    Melukhia is often made into a sauce and added for flavor to soup.  See the link for an interesting article by an Israeli food blogger, Sarah Melamed.

Taking the malukhia leaves off the vine

Baklawa.  Yes, I spelled it correctly.  Apparently, Baklawa (pronounced “w”, not “v”, is a cateogory of Arab pastry.  Those triangular or square shaped ones that we call “baklava” are only one variety of Baklawa, and they’re called “triangles”.   All over the Middle East baklawa stores sell these beautiful pastries, and I’ve asked multiple times what the different names are – the vendors always say “baklawa”.  Finally in Wadi Nisnas the salesperson in the Baklawa store understood what I was looking for, but he only knew the names in Arabic.  Using “Google Translate”, we learned what the names would be in English.  They seem to be based on shape and probably make more sense in Arabic.  Some of the English names were “triangle”, “shrimp”, “finger”, “Christ Tiles” (squares with cashews on top), and “lips”.  There are many regional varieties all having their own unique ingredients.

 Ending on a sweet note.