Save the date: Sunday Supper October 3rd

In just 6 weeks, we'll be bringing together farmers, chefs, artisans and farmers market lovers for a gala reception and four-course feast to benefit CUESA, and we want YOU to be there. This year the entrée course will feature whole-beast tableside carving by some of the Bay Area's top chefs. Be the first to buy tickets.

Salsa ChampionChip ~ September 12

CUESA and SF Food Wars are co-hosting a farmers market salsa-off! Competitors will make salsa with produce from the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. Attendees will scoop salsa with tasty organic corn chips from Casa Sanchez, and the event will benefit both the SF Food Bank and CUESA’s Seller Scholarship Fund. This "championchip" is already sold out, but we're offering an additional 30 tickets to you, fair e-letter readers. Get them while they're caliente. (The password is "cuesanews").

Dairy Lovers' Farm Tour ~ September 17

A tour like no udder! Travel with CUESA to the rolling hills of Petaluma. We’ll visit two dairies: Achadinha Cheese Company, where Donna Pacheco makes award-winning cheeses by hand with milk from her own goats, and Saint Benoit Yogurt, located at the Diamond M Dairy, where Benoit de Korsak crafts small batches of organic French-style yogurt from Jersey milk. Tour attendees will see the goats and cows in their pastures, learn about how they are raised and milked, and get a close look at the cheese- and yogurt-making processes from start to finish. The tour includes lunch made with farmers market ingredients. Buy tickets.

Shopping with the Chef: Chris Borges

Market Manager, Lulu Meyer, took her weekly jaunt around the market with Chris Borges, the mastermind behind Taste Catering. Chris is a serious tomato lover; not only has he worked with plant breeders to develop the perfect tomato, but he also based the entire lunch menu for Taste's seasonal Thursday market booth around this perfect summer food. Read more on the 7x7 website.

Eatwell Beer at Thirsty Bear Brewing Co. ~ August 24

Help Nigel Walker and the rest of the Eatwell Farm crew enjoy Locavore Ale, a brew made from Eatwell's very own barley. The bar has brewed 450 gallons of this local golden ale, and they'll be serving it next Tuesday (until it runs out) alongside an array of Eatwell's own heirloom tomatoes. Read more on the Eatwell blog.

Critical Edge out, Hapa Ramen in on Tuesdays ~ Starts September 7

The unfortunate news is — starting the first week of September — Critical Edge Knife Sharpening will no longer be attending our Tuesday market. (Bob's last Tuesday is August 31). On the bright side, Critical Edge will still be in on Saturdays and Hapa Ramen will be serving their deluxe noodle bowls and sandwiches on Tuesdays starting the first week of September.

Kitchen Table Talks: Heirloom Fruit ~ August 31

Whether you are a home gardener preserving tradition, an ecologist maintaining biodiversity, an activist protesting industrial ag, or a foodie in search of distinctive flavor, there are plenty of reasons to save, support, and savor "heirloom" varietals. Speakers include Terry Harrison, founder of the Sonoma Antique Apple Nursery (now Trees of Antiquity), Bryce Austin of Austin Heritage Ranch, and Casey Havre of Lagier Ranches. The event takes place downstairs at Viracocha on Valencia at 21st St. RSVP required.

Growing Greener School Grounds Conference ~ September 24 - 25

This conference, hosted by San Francisco Green Schoolyard Alliance, will bring together over 300 K-12 teachers and community members from the Bay Area and beyond to learn more about creating and sustaining vibrant outdoor learning environments. Workshop topics will include: designing, building and maintaining school gardens; organic vegetable gardening; successful fundraising and advocacy for your school garden; and planting, harvesting and cooking with garden produce. Learn more.

 

Saturday, August 21 ~ Preservation Festival

10 am - 1 pm - A series of technique-based preservation demonstrations and Q&A sessions with Sherri Brooks Vinton, author of Put ‘Em Up (Storey, 2010) in the CUESA kitchen

10 am - Cold pack method: Learn to make spicy carrots
11 am - Hot pack method:  Learn to make heirloom tomato salsa
12 pm - Jam demo:  Learn to make sweet pepper jam

Sherri’s books will be available for purchase and signing.

10 am - 1 pm - Taste a sampling of preserved foods created by Ferry Plaza Farmers Market sellers (in the South Driveway). $1 suggested donation.

Tuesday, August 24 ~ Food Wise Booth

12:30 'til whenever the food runs out - Market chef Sarah Henkin will give out recipe cards and samples of a simple meal made with market ingredients. She'll also be on hand to offer advice for all your seasonal meal planning.

Saturday, August 28 ~ Market to Table

11:00 am - Seasonal cooking demonstration
Kara Lind, Kara's Cupcakes

11:45 am - Seasonal cooking demonstration and book signing
Marie Simmons, author of Fig Heaven

All programs take place in CUESA's Dacor teaching kitchen, in front of the Ferry Building on the north side.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO). It’s a label you’ll find on a wide variety of products, but what does it really mean? More importantly, how does it differ from other labels, like “pure olive oil"?  If you find the answer to these questions elusive, you’re not alone.

In July, the UC Davis Olive Center released a study questioning the legitimacy of imported olive oil labeled “extra virgin.” According to the researchers, of the imported samples they examined, as many as 69 percent of those labeled “extra virgin” failed to meet the standards established by the International Olive Oil Council. A startling percentage of the olive oil had either been been degraded over time, diluted by lower quality oil, or made from poor quality or damaged olives.

In August a group of California restaurateurs and chefs turned up the heat on the issue by filing a lawsuit against several imported commercial olive oil companies named in the UC Davis study, such as Bertolli, Star, and the Rachael Ray brand.

Meanwhile, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is preparing to put into effect a new set of domestic guidelines that would spell out standards for a new voluntary label called “US Extra Virgin Olive Oil.” With all this controversy, one thing is clear: olive oil is murky business in more ways than one.

Hot and Cold

“When people hear ‘extra virgin olive oil,’" says Jonathan Sciabica of Sciabica and Sons, “they think it means it’s cold pressed, or it means it’s the first press.” In reality, he says, neither is necessarily true.

Earlier in the history of the olive oil industry, Sciabica says, when people actually squeezed burlap bags full of olive puree, the idea that the oil would be named “first press” or “second press” made some sense. “Now,” he adds, “with the modern method of making olive oil, what we consider a first press is mechanical extraction, so there’s really only one true press. There’s always some oil in the pomace left over, but not that we can get to. Nor would we want to.”

At this point, small companies generally discard the pomace. Some reuse it as fuel; others, like Sciabica, sell the pomace to cattle ranches for feed. Large olive producers, on the other hand, will use a chemical called hexane to extract the remaining oil, which will in turn needs to be refined (taken to extremely high temperatures while in a vacuum) to remove bitterness and other unsavory flavors and colors.

Here’s where “pure olive oil” comes into the picture, a term Jonathan Sciabica finds frustrating. “Your gut reaction is that it’s good because it’s pure,” he says.  In reality, the name refers to a blend made of a minimum of 10% virgin olive oil (a category below extra virgin) with as much as 90% refined, extracted olive oil that has been filtered, chemically treated, and steam blasted to make it edible.

"It's the Olives, Stupid"

Like Sciabica, Sebastian Bariani of Bariani Olive Oil is tired of misleading labels. "People will come up to my booth at the market and ask me what "Extra Virgin Supreme" means. And I’ll say 'nothing — it’s just marketing!'"

To Bariani, whether or not an olive oil qualifies as extra virgin is beside the point. "EVOO has to meet certain parameters and undergo chemical analysis and tasting, but not all EVOOs are the same, so that’s not really saying much." For example, in terms of polyphenols, an antioxidant found in olive oil, EVOOs can contain a wide range — from as low as 200 to around 800 (the latter is the quantity in Bariani Olive Oil, according to Bariani).  

Many large-scale producers use olive varieties bred to produce large quantities of oil, Bariani says. Harder-to-care-for varieties, such as Mission and Manzanilla (both historic California varieties), however, yield a higher quality, more flavorful oil.  The pressing process is also key. “If the process is cold, the nutrients stay in the oil — and it shows in the analysis. But if you heat up the oil to eliminate defects, you lose many of the nutrients.”

Neither Sciabica nor Bariani plans to adopt the U.S. label any time soon, mainly because they’re doubtful their customers will know to look for it. But both men are heartened by the mere fact that the issue is being raised.

"Most people don’t realize there’s a difference between olive oils, and they don’t know that we’re even making olive oil in California," says Sciabica. (99% of the olive oil consumed in the US is said to come from out of the country). "This is the biggest step toward recognition we’ve had since my grandfather started making olive oil in 1936.”

Bariani agrees. “The fact that these other big brands are being questioned has definitely helped our business, as it has other local producers.”

Market Update

Seasonality Synopsis for August