Leopold Center - Foods that tell the Iowa story

DES MOINES, Iowa – To visitors as well as residents, the Iowa story may be told best by Maytag Blue Cheese, Amana rhubarb wine and K&K's Tiny but Mighty Popcorn.

Iowa Arts Council Folklife Coordinator Riki Saltzman has found that these and other foods help Iowans connect to their region and heritage, and plug into a growing interest in culinary tourism.

Saltzman has received a $10,000 grant from the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture to develop Web-based fact sheets about place-based Iowa foods – highly differentiated food products with strong ties to where and how they are grown or processed. The grant follows up Phase I of her research – also funded by the Leopold Center – to identify and provide outreach for place-based Iowa foods.

"I interviewed producers and others to identify foods in Iowa that meet at least two of three criteria as place-based foods: an ecological and geographical niche, a heritage basis and a narrative that explains those connections to Iowa," Saltzman said.

Foods that met all three criteria include Maytag Blue Cheese, Maasdam's Sorghum, Amana rhubarb wine, Uncle Jack's popcorn, K&K Tiny but Mighty Popcorn, western Iowa mettwurst and black walnuts and pawpaws from southeastern Iowa. Muscatine melons, also researched for the Leopold Center by Sue Futrell and Craig Chase, could be considered place-based foods, too. In addition, Saltzman documented several other foods that meet two of the criteria, such as lefse, flour tortillas, corn tortillas, Dutch letters, pork tenderloins and kringle.

"The Leopold Center is interested in researching the potential of place-based Iowa foods because they could provide new markets for the farmers and processors who produce them," said Rich Pirog, who directs the Center's Marketing and Food Systems Initiative.

In Saltzman's study, most people identified pork tenderloins, Iowa chops, popcorn, rhubarb pie, Muscatine melons, Red Delicious apples, beef and sweet corn as typical Iowa foods that provide a taste of place. Others suggested finished products like mulberry jam, apples, hot beef sandwiches, Dutch letters, kolaches, kringle, wild asparagus and morel mushrooms.

"Iowans and visitors search out the ubiquitous Iowa pork tenderloin or Maidrite, the 'best' sweet corn or ice cream, the 'biggest' cinnamon roll or food on a stick," Saltzman explained. "It's important, however, to distinguish among those foods that really do have an Iowa connection as a result of where and how they are grown as well as where and how they are processed."

The ecological basis for Iowa place-based foods involves the feedstuffs that animals eat, which can affect the taste of meat, milk and cheese; the soils in which crops grow (sorghum, popcorn); the soil and growing climate for grapes and other fruits (Hawkeye apples, Amana rhubarb wine, Muscatine melons); and the effects of molds and humidity (cheese, wine, cider).

"If a food comes from ingredients grown elsewhere or is so common that it doesn't really matter where it comes from – potato chips, doughnuts, hamburgers, sweet corn, for example – it's difficult to develop a niche market for the product, especially if the major ingredients do not necessarily come from this state," Saltzman said. "The foods missing the heritage part that 'tells the story' somehow seem lacking in their pedigree."

In a report to the Leopold Center, Saltzman said she wasn't surprised to find flavors of Iowa derived from regional and ethnic traditions.

"The state's rivers and lakes supply fish and shellfish; farms produce fruits, vegetables and meats; and flyways and woods contribute game, mushrooms and nuts," she said. "In addition, various ethnic groups that have made Iowa their home have added their own distinct contribution to Iowa's cultural heritage."

Those cultural influences vary by region, with smoked, fried and pickled fish found at cafes along the Mississippi River; flaekestage (pork loin embedded with prunes) and rødkal (red cabbage) at the Danish Inn in Elk Horn; kolaches in Cedar Rapids; savory soups at Southeast Asian restaurants in Ames and Des Moines; Dutch marzipan-filled pastry "letters" and stroopwafels in Pella and Orange City; German sausage in Manning; Scavos' and Grazianos' Italian sausage in Des Moines; and tamales or tortillas in Des Moines, Muscatine, West Liberty and Storm Lake.

Saltzman's research and that from other Leopold-funded projects take on a particular importance for Iowa, in part due to the rise of a national interest in culinary tourism.

"Culinary tourism has created a way for people to 'visit' different cultures – via restaurants, food markets, food magazines and cookbooks, Web sites, films and 'The Food Network',” she said. "Eating, like listening to music or going to museums, provides a window into other cultures. But with food, we aren't restricted to just listening or seeing. We can use all of our senses, and even bring home a souvenir such as a special jam, a bag of pastries or a cookbook."

This trend has paralleled interest in locally produced foods, nostalgia about foods from childhood, and the ongoing production of ethnic and regional foods for ethnic and regional markets. In Iowa, culinary tourism can be seen in the increasing popularity of cultural food fairs and regional dining experiences at places like the Amana Colonies, where home-cooked German meals are served with fresh-baked breads, pies, rhubarb wine and potato dumplings.

Additional culinary tourism opportunities include sweet corn festivals in Adel, West Point and Gladbrook; Apple Daze in Donnellson; strawberry celebrations in Long Grove and Farmington; the Czech and Slovak Museum and Library's Houby Days as well as the St. George Greek Orthodox Mediterranean Festival in Cedar Rapids; Nordic Fest in Decorah; Lutefisk and kringle in Story City; and Greek and Jewish Food Fairs in Des Moines.

Other opportunities include Cinco de Mayo festivities in Sioux City; Tai Dam, Chinese, Tet (Vietnamese), Lao and Cambodian New Year's celebrations; Des Moines's CelebrAsian and Festa Italiana; and Elk Horn's Tivoli Fest.

"Community members gather to eat huge quantities of traditional homemade dishes now made from a combination of imported and Iowa-grown ingredients," Saltzman said.

More information about the Iowa Place-Based Food Project, including summaries of the Iowa foods identified by Saltzman as meeting all three criteria of Iowa placed-based foods, will be found on-line at www.iowaartscouncil.org this summer. The web-based fact sheets will use a format developed for the "Iowa Roots" series [ www.iowaartscouncil.org/programs/folk-and-traditional-arts/iowa-roots/index.shtml].

The Iowa Arts Council is a division of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs and works to enrich the quality of life and learning in Iowa communities by encouraging excellence in the arts through leadership, grants and technical assistance. Funding for the Iowa Arts Council and its programs is provided by the State of Iowa and the National Endowment for the Arts.

The Leopold Center, located at Iowa State University, is a research and education center with statewide programs to develop sustainable agricultural practices that are both profitable and conserve natural resources. For more information, go to http://www.leopold.iastate.edu.

Dr. Rachelle "Riki" Saltzman has been the IAC folklife coordinator since 1995. She works with communities and individuals to provide assistance with multicultural and diversity issues, project development, event planning and implementation, presentation of traditional arts and artists, grant writing and curriculum content.