By definition, vodka is a colorless, odorless, tasteless spirit. Not much culinary contribution in that! But Mike Sherwood, owner and distiller at Portland’s Sub Rosa Spirits, has brought his particular culinary sensibility to the creation of herb-infused vodkas.

“I’m a foodie; I’m driven by food,” says Sherwood, who has worked as a winemaker and craft beer executive before becoming a distiller. “With spirits there is an almost unlimited range of flavors you can bring to the table.”

Sherwood started Sub Rosa Spirits with the idea of creating herb-infused vodkas that reflected his own tastes. “Fruit infusions have been popular for years, and I always wondered why culinary flavors weren’t done as much.” Experimenting with various herbs, he settled on two tastes in particular: tarragon and saffron.

For his Saffron Flavored Vodka, Sherwood uses eight organic herbs and spices—including saffron, the world’s most expensive. The naturally yellow-tinged vodka is complex in flavor, with notes of toasted cumin, lemony coriander, saffron, and a touch of orange peel and ginger.

The Tarragon Flavored Vodka also uses a combination of organic herbs and spices. The naturally green-hued spirit delivers tarragon and fennel aromas, and offers light notes of mint and
pepper on the palate.

One of Sherwood’s favorite pairings is salmon tartare with crème fraîche and a cocktail created by Oregon bartender Jeffrey Morgenthaler, called the “French Twist.”

Recipe courtesy of James Patrick Kelly.

Makes 4 servings.

Photo: Cameron Nagel

Our waiter caught my interest when he recommended the white truffle and vanilla bean ice cream for dessert. Admittedly, I was a bit skeptical. But as I rolled my tongue around a spoonful of this creamy white concoction, my taste buds awoke with surprise at the delicate interplay of nutty, white chocolate flavors accentuated by earthy undertones. As it turns out, his recommendation was the perfect culmination to a wonderfully indulgent five-course meal at the Jacksonville Inn Dinner House in southern Oregon.

For centuries, truffles have reigned among the world’s great delicacies. Yet there was a time when the demand for these elusive underground fungi was mostly centered on European imports. As consumers became increasingly interested, the focus shifted to the Pacific Northwest as a less expensive source of culinary-quality truffles. Oregon, especially, is gaining recognition as more and more chefs are enhancing their menus with these locally found treasures.

“When Oregon truffles are at their best, they can actually outshine the fantastically expensive European truffles that cost more than ten times as much,”

says Dr. Charles Lefevre, founding partner in the Oregon Truffle Festival and president of the North American Truffling Society. Lefevre harvests Oregon truffles recreationally and is also the owner of New World Truffieres, a company specializing in the cultivation of culinary truffles.

Oregon is currently the largest producer of truffles in the United States, with Washington coming in a close second. Whether collected in Oregon or Washington, these walnut-to-potato-sized gems are all likely to be labeled as Oregon truffles. Hundreds of truffle species have been identified within the prime habitat of the Pacific Northwest. However, the species most often harvested include the Oregon black truffle (Leucangium carthusianum) and the Oregon white truffle, which has only recently been differentiated as two different species—the winter white (Tuber oregonense) and the spring white (Tuber gibbosum).

Lefevre says that the region for both species of Oregon white truffles extends west of the Cascades crest, from just north of the San Francisco Bay Area through Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia. The geographic range for the Oregon black truffle is nearly identical. All three species are found a few inches underground and mostly at the base of Douglas fir trees. However, these fruiting bodies of mycorrhizal fungi have also be found hidden beneath the topsoil around both oak and hazelnut trees.

On the hunt

Truffles appear on the market from late fall through spring, depending on the region, with peak harvests typically occurring in January. Truffle rustler Louis Jeandin, who sells truffles and mushrooms at the Growers’ Market in Grants Pass (he was also our waiter at the Jacksonville Inn Dinner House), usually collects white truffles from October through January, and black truffles from December through April. Fruiting is less reliable with the spring species of Oregon whites, but when they are available the earthen white orbs are harvested from March through May.

Jeandin has immersed himself in fungi, whether serving them as a waiter, featuring them in his cooking classes, or collecting both truffles and mushrooms for his business, Mushrooms All Year. Armed with an eight-inch rake, he hunts for truffles around 15- to 25-year-old farmed Douglas fir trees. Jeandin checks his patches every two to three weeks, disturbing the beds as little as possible to outwit the competition and allow the truffles to properly mature. “I also look for bumps formed by truffles pushing the surface of the soil or debris left by critters,” he explains.

One thing that can’t fully be explained is the experience of eating truffles, which some say is incomparable to anything else. “Truffles are a rare gift from the forest gods,” Jeandin says. “White or black, they are mystic and glorious.” In fact, some say that truffles are the culinary equivalent of sex. When fully mature, the beguiling odor is simultaneously primal and sublime, earthy and fascinating.

Oregon white truffles, which compare well with the extraordinarily expensive Italian whites, are a delicate encapsulation of nuttiness with subtle hints of vanilla and white chocolate. Black truffles are heady and aromatic with a complex flavor that faintly suggests chocolate.

“You can smell them even before you open the bag,” says Chef Geddes Martin, who, along with his wife, Mary Anna, owns and manages the Inn at Ship Bay on Washington’s Orcas Island.

The ripening factor

Truffles exhibit certain indicators when ripe. “A truffle is only at its best for a day or less, and they must be used during that optimal moment to really experience them,” Lefevre says. “The ripening process can take hours to a week or more depending on the truffle, and it’s important to check each one daily to determine when it is ready.”

One indicator of a fully ripe truffle is color change: Oregon white truffles become mottled brown inside, while the interior of an Oregon black truffle turns mottled gray. The best indicator, however, is your nose. A truffle should smell musty, earthy, even pungent, eliciting such extreme responses from intensely foul to fabulously sensual.

Until truffles reach their aromatic peak, the best way to store them is in a cool, dark place or in the refrigerator. Chef Geddes Martin stores truffles in the cooler alongside fresh eggs. According to Martin, truffles permeate the shell of the egg, infusing it with their aroma and flavor. Eggs can then be scrambled with shaved Parmesan and truffle, and the truffle-infused eggs, without doubt, make for the ultimate omelet.

The experience

“When truffles are at their peak, you must eat them when they are ready—not when you are ready,” says Jeandin. If you have too many ripe truffles at once and cannot use them all, he recommends making compound butter, or, as a last resort, to freeze them covered in butter, duck fat, or olive oil.You can also store the truffle overflow thinly sliced in a screw-top jar filled with good bourbon or vodka. Within a couple of weeks, the liquor is infused with the essence of truffles.

Chef Jack Czarnecki of the Joel Palmer House in Dayton, Oregon, says that the flavor of truffles carries extremely well in light olive oil. Just recently Czarnecki developed the first domestic all-natural truffle oil in the United States. (Most truffle oils are not, in fact, made from actual truffles, but are instead a synthetic product that combines organic aromatics with an oil base.)

Whether fresh or preserved, truffles go extremely well with rich cheeses and sauces, or practically any food having a fair amount of fat—including beef, lamb, and fatty fish like salmon. “One of our most popular dishes at the Joel Palmer House is beef stroganoff topped with shaved truffles and a drizzle of white truffle oil,” Czarnecki says. Shaving truffles over pasta is a classic way of enjoying them, as the heat of the pasta helps release the aromas.

“You never want to overcook truffles as the gasses will boil up and leave,” Czarnecki explains. He recommends adding truffles at the very end. “That way you can experience the gasses through your olfactory system as you are eating the food.”

When fresh, ripe Oregon truffles are on the menu at home, keep in mind that a little truffle goes a long way. “Paper-thin shavings on top of a dish are the most common way of serving them,” notes Jeandin. But there’s nothing common about the result, as shaved truffles can take any dish from ordinary to extraordinary.

By Kris Wetherbee from the January/February 2009 issue of Northwest Palate magazine.

Photo courtesy oregon truffle festival/Andrea Jackson photo.

Tarl Waara lives on the corner of Cranberry and Turkey roads—an uncannily appropriate intersection for a cranberry farmer. But Waara does not think the tangy, little red berries that he grows should be exclusively relegated to the holiday dinner table. Not at all.

“I’d like to see people eat cranberries year round. Every day would be nice. They’re so healthy!” Waara exclaims. Cranberries contain bacteria-blocking compounds that are known to prevent urinary tract infections, stomach ulcers, and gum disease. Plus, they are packed with powerful antioxidants that may help in the prevention of heart disease, stroke, and cancer.

Waara, a fourth-generation cranberry farmer who tends 30 acres, operates one of the 80 cranberry farms that reside along a stretch of Washington shore—from Westport to Grayland—known as the Cranberry Coast.

Summertime is often when tourists visit the coast, so many do not realize that the greenish low-profile bushes they see growing in the tucked away marshlands are really cranberry vines. If they were to visit in late spring, though, they would see an explosion of vivid pink flowers, while in autumn they’d find a flourish of red berries, ripe for harvesting.

The Pacific Northwest is certainly known for the quality of its berries and tree fruits, but it is not common knowledge that cranberry farming is a viable agricultural resource here. Wisconsin is home to the most cranberry farms in the United States, though many people think of Massachusetts when it comes to growing these ultra-tart berries. Yet the coastal areas of Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia are home to roughly 325 cranberry farms: Washington has 120 cranberry farms, Oregon has 130, and British Columbia has 75.

Waara and all but four of his neighboring Grayland farmers tend dry bogs, meaning the fields do not ever get flooded in order to harvest the cranberries.

“We do get occasional tour buses, but people are always surprised when they don’t see berries floating in water. They say, ‘I thought that cranberries grew in water?’ It’s a misconception that all bogs are flood bogs, and the ones that are, only get flooded for a few days during harvest,” Waara explains.

Dry harvesting does not have the same aesthetic appeal as crimson cranberries bobbing in water, yet it allows greater diversity in what the fruit can be used for. Once cranberries get wet, they lose their protective sheen and absorb water. Consequently, dry-harvested cranberries are used for fresh, dried, and other processed products, while cranberries harvested in flood bogs are turned into juice and sauces.

“You won’t find two cranberry farms exactly the same around here,” says Wendy Hatton, of Hatton Farms in Grayland, who has several dry bogs. “Flood bogs are much more efficient at harvest time, although we have a pretty good system for collecting the berries dry.” She should know: her husband, Don, designs much of the equipment they use on their farm.

The Hattons have grown cranberries in this area since the early 1970s, and Don has become known for his engineering ingenuity—attested to by his big-wheeled transport buggies and vibrating destemming machine used on the farm.

In fact, homegrown invention seems a hallmark of Cranberry Coast farms. A special harvester called a “Furford Picker” is used to collect cranberries in dry bogs. It was designed in Grayland during the late 1940s by local legend Julius Furford. Farmers push it along like a lawn mower: it tosses the cranberries into burlap sacks secured on the back and, at the same time, prunes the vines. Furford Pickers are still made in the same facility, a weather-beaten set of buildings that doubles as a cranberry museum.

Many of the dry bogs have outstretched railway tracks so that rustic-looking flatbed cars can roll across the fields during harvest, picking up bags of cranberries which are then brought into large sheds to be taken off the vine, or “shook,” as farmers call the process.

“We just shake the berries off the vines [with a vibrating machine] and hold them in these large storage bins,” Waara says, pointing toward a row of hard plastic containers brimming with plump cranberries.

Most of the cranberry farmers in the Grayland area, and throughout the Northwest, for that matter, sell their fruit to Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc., the largest cranberry company in the world. This Massachusetts-based, grower-owned processor has plants near wherever cranberries are grown in the United States, including a plant just down the road in Markham.

Besides going into Ocean Spray-branded bags of fresh cranberries, juice, canned sauce, and Craisins, the local fruit gets turned into nearly every conceivable form of cranberry-based product in the Grayland and Westport areas. Most of the stores and shops that cater to travelers on this stretch sell everything from cranberry saltwater taffy to cranberry pancake syrup to cranberry soap.

“Cranberry products appear to be popular with the tourists, or the shelves wouldn’t be packed with the stuff, ” Waara is quick to point out.

Story by James Patrick Kelly from the January/February 2009 issue of Northwest Palate magazine.
Photos: Dana Hopper-Kelly

The Marketplace on Sunday is an opportunity to purchase fresh native truffles , talk with harvesters, taste wine and  artisan food samples, see truffle cooking demonstrations with tasting and recipes, and catch  a truffle dog demonstration.

When you get back home, try this recipe from the Jacksonville Inn Dinner House in Jacksonville, Oregon for White Truffle  and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream.

MARCH  2nd – 4th The Ashland Springs Hotel is host to the 8th annual Oregon Chocolate Festival, Ashland OR.

More  in Datebook:

Washington Events | Oregon Events | British Columbia Events | Idaho Events

The popularity of saké in America has risen dramatically in the past few years, and not incidentally as a result of increased national marketing of quality saké produced by SakéOne. Founded in 1997, the company has pioneered the production in America of traditional premium-grade sakés (with advice and help from partners Momokawa Brewing in Japan), but also sakés that have an added Oregon twist to appeal to American palates.

SakéOne’s “brewer” is Greg Lorenz, a self-defined lab geek who is also the only American sakémaster in the world. Using Oregon Coast Range water and Northern California-grown special rice, Lorenz crafts traditional Japanese-style sakés under the newly re-designed Momokawa label, as well as innovative flavor-infused styles under the Moonstone brand.

Saké does not taste like vinifera wine—how could it, being made from a grain instead of a fruit?—though it has consistency on the palate, aromas in the nose, a complex sense of layered flavors, and a rich aromatic finish as does wine. It is tempting, therefore, to approach tasting saké much as one would wine. This is a reasonable idea, but risks trying to “compare” a saké to a wine—which I believe should not be done. After all, much as wine made from grapes tastes of the original fruit, so saké made from rice tastes of the original grain—which for Americans is not a widely shared cultural experience as it is in Japan. Even so, it is fascinating that the fermented product of a grain—rice—can deliver so many nuances of fruit smells and flavors as a good saké does.

The notes that follow read much as my wine tasting notes would, but they are not based on my wine tasting experience as much as my admittedly more restricted, but not insubstantial, saké tasting experience. For those wishing to explore saké, something I heartily encourage, these sakés will provide a well-made introduction to some of the many styles of saké available. —Cole Danehower

Momokawa Silver

Junmai Ginjo Craft Saké

Dry Crisp Saké

Crystalline clear white center, with only the barest perceptible hint of green gold color on the edges. Scents of pear skin and green melon are quite clean-seeming, with perhaps a whiff of sencha tea combining with subtle shadows of Daphne blossoms on the pleasing nose. Lean, clean, and dry on he palate, tastes of cut pear, melon rind, and cantaloupe are forward and tasty, followed by background notes of white pepper and minerals. The finish has a light, almost apple-skin bite to it that gives a gentle jolt to end on.

Momokawa Diamond

Junmai Ginjo Craft Saké

Medium Dry Saké

Very light electrum color with flashes of green. Notes of sweet green tea, banana, and ripe green melon are fresh and fruity. A slightly viscous texture on the tongue delivers notes of apple, pear, and melon, with a distinct edge of peppery spice and melon rind. Around the edges of the tongue some sweet flower blossom nuances can be detected. A bigger and bolder style than the Momokawa Silver, this saké seems like the masculine counterpart to the feminine style of the Silver.

Junmai is a term that refers to the purity of the saké, indicating that it contains only rice, water, yeast, and koji (the critical mold that turns rice starch into fermentable sugars), with no added spirits or flavors. Ginjo is a term reserved only for saké made from rice that is milled (also called “polished”) to at least 60% of its original size (a better quality is therefore implied).

Momokawa Ruby

Junmai Ginjo Craft Saké

Lightly Sweet Saké

Very lightly-hued, steely white gold color. At first the aromas are subtle and soft, requiring teasing to arise, but soon sweet white flower blossom scents, pear blossoms, notes of talc and minerals, and a nuance of dry dust provide interest and complexity to the nose. Soft flavors of apple (without the acidic zing) and ripe cantaloupe are nicely focused, while a gentle twang of spice lingers on the finish.

Momokawa Pearl

Junmai Ginjo Craft Saké

Creamy Nigori Saké

Milky, almost opalescent, gray white color—as is normal for a Nigori (see below). Tropical aromas of banana and melon lack some force, but offer sweet and appealing aspects, including a subtle floral tone. On the palate, notes of banana are immediately forward, followed by a sense of guava, pineapple, and perhaps coconut, though I am particularly sensitive to coconut, and I don’t really detect that specific flavor, the combination of milky white color and clearly tropical overtones would seem to suggest coconut. There is a fruity sweetness on the palate, and a texture imparted by the rice lees in suspension, but there is also a sharpness to the flavors that delivers a taut edginess, keeping it from devolving into a rice milkshake.

Nigori is a particular style of unfiltered, or partially filtered, saké, leaving in suspension the rice lees (to use a wine term). This gives the saké a greater sense of sweetness and added floral tones. Personally, I find Nigori sakés to be among the most interesting to sip on their own, though they are also excellent complements to spicy foods.

Momokawa Organic

Organic Junmai Ginjo Craft Saké

Creamy Nigori Saké

Milky, almost opalescent, gray white color. The aromas have a distinct pineapple emphasis, with underlying notes of banana and fresh-cut melon—more defined and clear than the previous saké. Light on the palate, with fresh notes of pear and green melon offering a crisp edge, even while a soft sweetness at the core delivers a complex sense of tropical fruitiness. The finish seems long, with flavors of pear, apple, and melon lingering nicely.

The last two sakés are both Junmai (pure) Ginjo (craft) Nigori (only partially filtered), yet the added sense of purity implied by the term “Organic” does actually seem to deliver a somewhat more delineated saké, with flavors that have a slightly more defined edge to them and an overall lighter, perhaps brighter, character.

Momokawa Organic

Organic Junmai Ginjo Craft Saké

Medium Rich Saké

Almost totally clear-as-glass white color. Lean aromas of white peach and minerals are sparse and require considerable swirling and time to emerge. More potent on the palate, yet still with delicacy, flavors of pear blossoms, pear flesh, honeydew melon and—dare I suggest it—steamed sweet rice commingle on the palate to deliver much more flavor than the nose would suggest. There is an appealing high-tone to this saké, and I found myself frequently dipping back into the glass for additional sips to contemplate.

Chief Chef
Come along as Matt Bennett, the classically trained chef/owner of a small Northwest bistro, and a couple sous chefs haul volumes of Willamette Valley produce across the country to cook a menu using the traditional foods of the Kalapuya people—foods such as eel, nettle, and camas bulbs—but in contemporary preparations. By Bonnie Henderson

Donut Revolution
Who doesn’t love doughnuts? No matter how you spell them, or whether they’re glazed with chocolate, filled with cream or jelly, or sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, donuts have found a place in the collective hearts of Pacific Northwest chefs, bakers, and entrepreneurs, who are putting their spin on where and how this classic American snack is made and enjoyed. Some are even making the world a better place, one donut at a time. By Bonnie Hasselbring

A Winter Picnic —in an excerpt from his new book, chef and author Greg Atkinson explains why more creative and adventurous souls picnic in winter, and why they’re better off for it—especially if they pack along a baguette sandwich or two. By Greg Atkinson

Cider Makes a Comeback
It tickles the nose and harks back to earlier times. Cider, the fermented brew made from apples and pears, is attracting a new audience, thanks to a growing number of Northwest cideries and places to enjoy a glass. By Peter Szymczak

Bravo for Barley Wines
Cheers to the big flavors and burly alcohol content of the beers known as barley wines, our favorite winter sipper with desserts or before bedtime. By Lisa Morrison

Essential Northwest  Wineries
In 2012, five wineries from Washington, and five more from Oregon, emerged as deserving of the rank “Essential.” In this update to his book, Essential Wines and Wineries of the Pacific Northwest, Cole Danehower profiles key wineries that he feels embody the best characteristics of the region.

More in this issue: Plan your culinary calendar with our region-by-region overview of Northwest food and wine events in our Datebook and Travel Planner. Plus restaurant news and Recent Opening : Seattle’s Terra Plata.

READ IT ALL:  Get Northwest Palate Magazine now!