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Food growers of Kauai including farmers, ranchers, and fishermen.

Harvesting Hanapepe Sea Salt

By on March 26, 2012 in From Seed
A photo of a photo of the Hanapepe Salt Flats. Daniel Lane photo

A photo of a photo of the Hanapepe Salt Flats. Daniel Lane photo

One of Hawaii’s oldest traditions is making pa`akai, (pa ah kai) or Hawaiian sea salt. Pa`akai means to solidify the sea, and Kauai is the only place in the Hawaiian Archipelago to make salt according to ancient traditions. This labor-intensive process is done by hand, and involves a multistep process of backbreaking work.

These techniques have been passed down for over 100-years, and are still practiced today on the West side in Hanapepe Town near Salt Pond Beach. The Salt Flats, (also known as the Salt Patch), is a large, flat stretch of red dirt about 200 yards from the ocean that holds the salt beds. Like a taro patch, the lo`i is filled with rows of oval beds, that rise 5 inches from the ground. Continue Reading →

Is The Food You Buy Really Grown On Kauai?

By on March 19, 2012 in From Seed
A handful of Kauai Shrimp

A handful of Kauai Shrimp. Daniel Lane photo

Food is as important to a destination, as its beauty, climate, history and attractions. It offers a sense of place, and an intimate connection to local culture. But how do you know if the food you eat is truly from that place? As a visitor to Kauai, you may look forward to eating a mango that was freshly plucked from the tree. At least you think it was.

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Rambutan Season on Kauai is Wrapping Up

By on March 12, 2012 in From Seed

Wintertime in Kauai is playful, lush and wet. Thousands of humpback whales migrate to the coast. They are seen from the shoreline, sending plumes of water into the air, breaching, or slapping their fins on the water. From the majestic Na Pali coast, to the vegetation along the highway, everything is a vivid green. It’s as if you’re in a movie, and the colors are turned way up.

 

And it rains.

A lot. Continue Reading →

Kauai’s Infinite Variety of Avocados

By on March 6, 2012 in From Seed

Wootens Produce of Kauai

Nandi and John Wooten at their farm near Anahola. Daniel Lane photo

Nandi and John Wooten at their farm near Anahola. Daniel Lane photo

Two of my favorite farmers are John and Nandi Wooten, of Wootens Produce of Kauai. Nandi, with a ready smile and easy laugh, is an excellent cook. At market, she furnishes clever tips about exotic ingredients while John plays with children, laughs at his own jokes, and cheerfully explains the virtues of jackfruit. He’s also very smart, and after interviewing him for MidWeek Kauai, he changed the way I bought avocados.

John grew up playing in a neighbor’s orchard in Southern California. A fascination for exotic fruit took root, and as a teenager, he became a farmer at a subtropical fruit farm.

In 1995, the couple moved to Kauai and began growing tropical fruit on a 20-acre farm near Anahola. Today, the farm’s garden rotates seasonally, and includes thirty varieties of avocado, as well as jackfruit, soursop, breadfruit, Meyer lemons, cilantro, basil, parsley, Indian curry leaf, spring onions, lettuce, kale, collard greens, carrots, eggplant, beets and fennel. Continue Reading →

Harvesting Heart of Palm in Kauai

By on February 28, 2012 in From Seed
The stalk of the heart of palm is layered with immature leaves. Daniel Lane photo

The stalk of the heart of palm is layered with immature leaves. Daniel Lane photo

My friends from Colorado are visiting Kauai for the first time. The other day I asked them if they knew what heart of palm is. The gave their heads a confident shake in the affirmative, but when it came to details I got a blank stare from one, and “Fruit?” from the other. Most for of us, including me, can’t visualize the plant that it comes from.

Of course, most of us have heard of it, maybe even put it on our plate at the salad bar. Typically, it’s the canned version, which is a flaccid representation of the fresh version.

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