Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Location Unknown

As we've prepared for this journey into local eating, there have been many things and products that have eluded us. Local beans sent me on a winding journey 150 miles east to Quincy, and we all know my tomato drama.

But two products in particular seem challenging to find locally, and nearly impossible to make / can / preserve at home. Tofu and Greek Yogurt.

After a preliminary search for tofu, I found several "local brands", one of which looked especially promising. Island Springs Tofu is sold at health-food stores and co-ops throughout the Seattle area, and from all marketing efforts, struck me as a very "local" company. They create their product on Vashon Island, a quick ferry ride from Seattle, and boasts natural ingredients and certified organic soybeans.

I was about to breathe a sigh of relief until I spoke to a representative of the company directly, who told me their soybeans do in fact come from the American Midwest. Apparently, Washington is a tough place to grow soybeans...and while I think this company is fantastic for it's local roots, it's just not local enough for the year ahead.

On the Greek Yogurt front, I was already investigating home yogurt makers at Bed, Bath & Beyond when I received an email from "3 Greek Gods", a local yogurt company based 20 minutes north of downtown Seattle.

Hello Amy -

I hope you are well today.

Thank you for taking the time to write us an email and for your interest in our products.

We manufacture our products in WI and WA. The product that is manufactured in WA is within a 250 mile radius of Seattle. Since we sell quite a bit of product, it is hard to determine exactly which product comes from WI.

Please have a great day.

Thanks again,
Steve Tselios


And back to Bed, Bath and Beyond I go. Now, onto recipes for yogurt. Any suggestions?

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