Falk - Culinary History of the Finger Lakes

Published by American Palate

A Division of The History Press

Charleston, SC 29403

www.historypress.net

Copyright 2014 by Laura Winter Falk

All rights reserved

First published 2014

e-book edition 2014

ISBN 978.1.62585.077.5

Library of Congress CIP data applied for.

print edition ISBN 978.1.62619.545.5

Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Courtesy of www.earthobservatory.nasa.gov.

The book is dedicated to my parents, Henrietta and Don Winter, who taught me to always embrace the opportunities and experiences that life brings.

CONTENTS

PREFACE

In the words of Ulysses Prentiss Hendrick, the author hopes that anyone who opens this book will take the time to read its brief preface, as it lays out the intention of the book so that the reader can decide whether he or she wants to read it. This book is a celebration of a region and its people. It weaves a story of the relationship between the two from the beginning of their coexistence to the present day and how it has evolved over time. It is not a comprehensive sourcebook of the complete history of Finger Lakes wine, agriculture or food. If you are looking for that, I suggest you peruse some of the wonderful books referenced in the bibliography, like Mr. Hendricks. Instead, this book is intended to be more like a conversation people would have while sitting on the front porch of their farmhouse, drinking beers or wine on a warm summers nightDo you remember when? So how did that get that way anyhow? Have you tasted the food or wine at?

The book is also intended to be a gift. Seven years ago, when my husband and I founded Experience! The Finger Lakes and set out to start a company that showed people why those who live here stay here, and those who visit come back again and again, our goal was to show off the best that the region had to offer. We set out to provide our guests immersive experiences that create a relationship with the people and the region. Achieving this mission requires the forging of partnerships with businesses and artisans who 1) have amazing products and 2) understand the value of providing the best possible experiences. It means asking our partners to dedicate their valuable time and staff, often during the busiest times, to stop and visit with our guests and share their products, passions and stories. This book is not only a thank-you to them but also a gift to all the readers who now have the opportunity to get to know these businesses and artisans and the fabulous items they are creating. Then, perhaps, they will get inspired to come here and experience the Finger Lakes for themselves. In doing this, it is very important to note that there are hundreds of wonderful farms, wineries and other artisan beverage manufacturers, food producers, chefs and restaurants in this vast region doing incredible things. To try to include them all would go way beyond the purpose of this book. Instead, I tried to offer readers a metaphorical and literal taste of the regionan impressionistic painting intended to invite them to come and fill in the dots and details for themselves when they visit.

Lastly, pairing recipes with currently available Finger Lakes wines was a way to link the culinary past with the present. With each era, a chef was given the task of using specific ingredients or a type of recipe (or even re-creating an entire menu) to pay homage to the period he or she was representing. The exciting part was giving the chefs free reign to personalize and/or modernize the recipes so that they would be as exciting today as they were when they were first conceived. Pairing them with todays wines was truly the icing on the cakemy tip-of-the-hat to the timelessness of our local food and beverages, which are so seamlessly intertwined in defining our region and its culinary history.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Many acknowledgement sections in books start out by thanking the editor, for without him/her, this book would not have been written. At risk of sounding clich, I have to do it. I must start by thanking my editor, Whitney Landis, as were it not for her, this book truly would not have been written. Somehow, she identified me as someone who might have a story to tell about the Finger Lakes, and she trusted that it was a good one and that I had the skills to write it. What a leap of faith! I hope I created a book that validates the trust that she had in me from the start. She was incredibly patient and highly supportive during the entire process, and I am truly thankful for her and The History Press editorial board for buying into my vision and giving me this opportunity to share my love and passion for this region.

Much appreciation goes to Robyn Wishna, who photographed the amazing recipe and wine pairing images for this book. Robyns talents in capturing the essence and beauty of the chefs creations are so apparent in every shot. Her love and appreciation for the local food scene in the Finger Lakes practically jump off the page when you look at her images. I am so proud and honored to have her as a significant contributor to this book, and I truly enjoyed working with her on this project.

To me, what makes this book so special is the contribution of my eight very busy and very talented chefs: Mary Jane Challen-Kircher, Samantha Buyskes, Brud Holland, Cookie Wheeler, Scott Signori, Wynnie Stein from Moosewood, Suzanne Stack and Emma Frisch. They were all so generous with their time and energy. They all embraced their assigned eras with excitement and enthusiasm and translated their passion for food and the Finger Lakes into their recipes and stories in the most beautiful way. I am lucky to know and have the opportunity to work with each of these special people. For this, I am truly grateful.

A big thank-you goes out to my winery partners: Cayuga Ridge Winery, Bet the Farm Winery, Sheldrake Point Winery, Hosmer Winery, Standing Stone Vineyards, Six Mile Creek Winery, Finger Lakes Distilling, Long Point Winery, Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinifera Wine Cellars, Red Newt Cellars, Silver Thread Vineyard, Damiani Wine Cellars, King Ferry Winery and Ports of New York. They graciously donated their wine for the photo shoots and the (oh so) important tasting necessary for the recipe and wine pairing section. I am honored to serve as an ambassador to their fantastic products, and I am inspired to tirelessly continue to promote the Finger Lakes wine region and all it represents.

I am grateful to the many organizations and people who generously provided the stunning images to help the culinary story of the region come alive on the pages of this book. In particular, there were those who allowed me to use a number of their images: Bill Hecht, Tony Ingraham, Laura Gallup, Andrew Noyes, Heron Hill Winery, the Ontario Visitors Connection, the Ithaca Visitors and Convention Center and Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinifera Wine Cellars. A very special thank-you goes to the talented Christopher Loomis, who created elegant custom illustrations of the natural history and the Three Sisters for the introduction and first chapter.