Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/635712
ByTerciusBufete tbufete@norcaldesigncenter. com on Twitter OROVILLE Timing is ev- erything: Knowing when to take a risk, when to branch out on your own, and when to reap what you sow. For Jamie Johansson, there was nothing more im- portant than knowing the right place and, of course, the right time. It was in 1993 af- ter college that Johans- son started farming ol- ives in Oroville. While not coming from what he de- scribes as a "farming fam- ily," he was constantly sur- rounded by it. "I grew up in a rural community in the North Coast, in Humboldt County, Fortuna, and I had a lot of friends who were farmers and ranchers, pri- marily dairy or beef cattle stuff. I'd work for them in the summertime," Johans- son said. "I went to an ag- ricultural college, Colorado State, kind of similar to Chico State in terms of ag- ricultural education avail- able there." When he first started, the farm grew primarily mission olives, a variety steeped in California his- tory. It was the first olive va- riety planted in the 1700s by Jesuit and Franciscan mis- sionaries. This variety is ex- cellent for brine-cured table olives and producing oil. The idea of selling from the farm to the consumer was a rarity at the time, but it was necessary due to the operation's size. He then joined up with farm- ers of the Northern Califor- nia Olive Oil Association, a group consisting of oil mak- ers out of the Sonoma and Napa area. "I was able to supply them with trees that al- ready existing in the Oro- ville area and began being a back-end supplier." However, he noticed a lot of recognition for great oils was going to the wine coun- try, instead of where the ol- ives were actually coming from. "I realized that those olives were coming from Butte County, and Oroville in particular, and wanted to really start to giving credit where credit was due in terms of the quality olives that we produce up in our area. And I think that we've been, in the last 20 years, very successful in getting a lot of attention and recog- nition for this area." As a private label, Lode- star Olive Oil garnered a lot of attention and received numerous awards from events like the Sonoma Ol- ive Festival and the Los An- geles County Fair. Johansson says that with olives, timing is cru- cial. He says that the win- dow is generally 24 hours: you pick one day and you'd want to be pressing the next day. It's all about getting the timing down and that keeps the acidity low. He says that being based in Oroville sets the stage for truly exceptional olives and oil. "We have one of the lat- est harvests in California. So we actually harvest in January and we're up in the foothills, it has a kind of a warm air layer and we don't have to worry about our olives freezing — so that produces a unique fla- vor and style that we like to say is a 'true California style'," Johansson said. "We don't produce a European olive and make European- style oils." These factors make for an olive oil variety that has a lighter, butterier, and fruitier flavor without the "real strong kick" that oth- ers have. "Typically, olive harvest in the north state for olive oil begins in November, which produces that re- ally strong olive oil. But re- ally, what we're known for is starting harvest in De- cember and January for the fully ripe style, in between all the rains this year. And the secret to producing a really high-quality oil is how fast you can get it to press." He says that unlike wine grapes, olives shouldn't sit around waiting to be pressed for too long. In this case, being a me- dium-sized producer works to Lodestar Farms' advan- tage: With the goal of net- ting about 50 gallons per ton of olives they can sell all olive oil within 18 months of being pressed. Johansson says olive oil doesn't keep; it's not like wine, it doesn't get better with age. He says that it should be consumed in the year or first couple of years that it's pressed. This includes their award-winning late harvest mission variety, as well as their cold-pressed oil lemon style — with Meyer lemons coming straight from their farm — and the garlic and balsamic dipping oils. As the farm approached its 23rd season, about a quarter of their sales now come online. However, he says that nothing can re- place that impersonal con- nection people should have with their local growers. He says that Butte County, as a whole, should be proud of how it embraced the time- honored tradition of farm to table has made a true and significant difference. "I don't think you can un- derstate how important it is that Butte County, Chico and Northern California embrace their local farm- ers and how important that is to all of us," Johansson said. "It's inspiring when you see all of the variety at these markets to see all the people supported by their neighbors." Locally Sourced is a biweekly feature spotlighting local businesses and the recipes and products that make them special. LOCALLY SOURCED Es se nt ia l ol iv e oi ls Or ov ill e' s L od es ta r F ar ms t hr iv es o n t he l at e h ar ve st PHOTOSBYTERCIUSBUFETE—ENTERPRISE-RECORD Jamie Johansson mans the Lodestar Olive Oil booth at a local farmers market. By Ann M. Evans Special to The Woodland Daily Democrat In California's desert at this time of year, there's a blessing of the dates. The blessing, which opens the Riverside County Fair since dates are a large part of the agricultural industry in Coachella Valley, includes prayers for the date palms, and the safety of the work- ers and equipment as they prune, pollinate and har- vest dates throughout the year. As a part of my research for the Davis Farmers Mar- ket Cookbook, I visited Leja Farms in Coachella, River- side County in the fall of 2010. I enjoyed a tour with Mr. Pat Leja of the fami- ly's processing facility and palm date orchards. Some of the orchards in the area date back to the early 1900s, when the date was intro- duced to California from Al- geria, Iraq and Egypt. Botanically speaking, dates are dioecious — hav- ing male and female trees. Female trees bear fruit; male trees produce pollen. Like the olive, the date is a drupe, a type of fruit in which an outer fleshy part surrounds a shell (or pit) with a seed inside. At this time of year, work- ers are cutting thorns 4 or 5 inches in length off the date fronds. The thorns can pierce a tire, so worker safety around the thorns, as well as the height of the trees, is a concern. The workers watch male treesforthesheathscontain- ing pollen to begin splitting open.Thesheathscanweigh up to 10 pounds. When they begin to split, they are tied shut, removed from the tree, and hung upside down for the pollen to dry. The female trees, planted about 50 to 1 male tree in a date orchard, also have sheaths, which in their case, contain strands upon which flowers grow. Pollination of date flowers is done by hand, as no insects are at- tracted to the flowers, and the pollen in the male frond is too heavy to be blown by the wind. If your Valentine's Day calls for something sweet, this recipe will make the perfect "date" for you. Warmdatecakewith ginger gelato Adapted from "Gjelina – Cooking From Venice, CA" by Travis Lett Serves 12 I couldn't find ginger gelato, and opted not to make it at home. Instead, I served this delicious cake with vanilla bean gelato, drizzled it with ginger simple syrup. I've in- cluded that recipe here. The Whiskey Sauce is a cara- mel sauce with bourbon. I splurged for the bourbon. While making the sauce, it may feel like it takes a long time for the brown sugar to melt, but it will. Date Cake 1lb fresh so date pitted 2tsp baking soda 21/3 cups very hot water 1vanilla bean, halved length- wise 11/2 cups granulated sugar 1egg, plus 1egg yolk 1tsp baking powder Whiskey Sauce 5Tbsp unsalted butter 2cups packed dark brown sugar 1cup heavy cream 2½ Tbsp bourbon Ginger Gelato Vanilla Bean Gelato Ginger Simple Syrup Ginger Simple Syrup 2cups granulated sugar 1cup water One four-inch piece of gin- gerroot peeled and chopped. To make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350degrees F. Butter a 10-by-14-inch glass or metal baking dish or pan. In a small bowl, combine the dates and baking soda. Pour the hot water over the dates and mix with a fork until they have mostly dis- solved and are pulpy, about 5minutes. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into a large bowl. Whisk in the granu- lated sugar, egg, and egg yolk until the mixture is pale yellow and falls in smooth ribbons when li ed with a spoon Stir in the date mixture, incorporating it completely. In a small bowl, si together the flower and baking pow- der. Gently fold the flour into the date mixture until just incorporated. Pour the batter into the pre- pared baking dish and bake until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, 35to 40minutes. Leave the cake in the pan for about 40 minutes before serving. To make the whiskey sauce: In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt the butter with the born sugar. As soon as the sugar has dissolved, gradually add the cream, pouring in a steady stream while whisking constantly. Remove from the heat and whisk in the whiskey. Pierce the cake all over twelve to twenty times with a butter knife or a skewer. Pour half of the sauce over the top of the cake, guiding it into these holes, and set aside the rest. (The cake can be stored at room temperature in the baking dish, covered with plastic wrap, for 1day and in the refrigerator for up to 3days. Bring back to room temperature before serving.) To make the simple syrup: Place all ingredients in a small saucepan over me- dium heat. Stir to com- bine. Bring to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the sugar is completely dissolved, and the syrup is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Let cool. Remove the ginger using a Chinois Strainer or muslin cloth over a sieve. Put in a bottle with a lid. Store in the refrigerator up to two months. Cut the cake into squares, and drizzle with remaining whiskey sauce. Serve on dessert plates, accompa- nied by scoops of the gelato [drizzled with Ginger Simple Syrup if using vanilla bean gelato.] AT MY TABLE In search of the perfect date: when Valentine's Day calls for something sweet 7875 HWY 99E LOS MOLINOS, CA 384-1265 Nosubstitutions ORDERS TO GO BreakfastSpecial Served 6:30am- 2:00pm Mon.-Fri. 2Eggs, 2 Bacon, 3 Pancakes HashBrowns $ 6 99 Visit our second location in Chico • 540 Main Street • 530-343-8383 OPEN 24 HOURS CallRobertoat 530-529-5154 NoJobToBigorTooSmall Now Offering Catering For Your Special Event 604 Main St., Red Bluff www.redblufflosmariachis.com Fajita,Taco,TostadaBar (Plus all the sides) R ou n d U p Saloon Round Up Saloon 610WashingtonSt. (530) 527-9901 Join us for The Big Game BBQ on Sunday Feb. 7 th 365-7194or365-4322 OPEN 7 DAYS 6am-10pm 8080 AIRPORT ROAD Your full service: Meat Department, Deli & Groceries www.kentsmeats.com On-site HARVESTING CUTTING & CRYOVACING 734MainStreet 530-690-2477 11am-9pm Mon.-Thur. 11am - 10pm Fri. & Sat. 11am-8pm Sun. 9 CRAFT BEERS ON TAP Pizza Restaurant FOOD » redbluffdailynews.com Wednesday, February 3, 2016 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B4