The Food of the Pacific Northwest 235
cluding potatoes, corn, and onions) are produced in large quantities, thanks to irrigation in the area. Protein
in this area comes from a large number of cattle ranches and feedlots, a variety of fish (rainbow trout,
crappie, bass, and steelhead), and game (pheasant, quail, ducks, geese, and venison). Large numbers of
Mexican immigrants and migrant workers along with early German settlers have influenced the central and
eastern areas of the state.
The coastal side of Oregon has an abundance of fish and seafood similar to Washington. Oregon
produces tremendous scallops, Dungeness crab, and Coho and king salmon. About 40 miles south of
Portland is the Willamette Valley. This area is known for its rich soil and large amounts of rainfall, which
Wine growers throughout the
Pacific Northwest have
achieved success growing the
finicky Pinot Noir grape.produce high-quality berries, wild mushrooms, and Pinot Noir grapes;
the valley is also known for its cheddar cheese. The central and eastern
portions of the state have a topography similar to the northern part of
Washington and produce many of the same products. The area just
below the Columbia River in the central portion of the state is known
for its high-quality melons. As in Washington and Idaho, the influence
of Native American smoking techniques can be seen here, with an abun-
dance of smoked salmon and trout available in restaurants and shops.
This Native American smoking technique uses a ‘‘hot smoke’’ style,
which creates a drier finished product. For their smoking, Native Amer-
icans traditionally used wood from a variety of sources, from alder wood
to wild rose wood, based on availability.
Famous for its potatoes, Idaho was settled after the Civil War by
many disenfranchised southerners who brought with them the tech-
niques and foods that were used in pioneer fare (cooking in cast iron,
cornbread, fried foods, and a variety of dried legumes). In addition,
Idaho is home to a large Chinese population who came to the area
around the turn of the century to mine and build the railroads. These
Chinese immigrants stayed in Idaho, where they maintained gardens
near the Boise River and opened early Chinese restaurants known as
‘‘noodle houses.’’ Idaho is also home to the highest concentration of
Basque population in the United States. In addition to potatoes, Idaho
is a large producer of farmed rainbow trout, tilapia, lamb, and a variety
of fruits and vegetables. The Palouse Hills (the northwest portion of
the state and an eastern portion of Washington) are home to the most
productive wheat and lentil farms in the country. The region produces soft white wheat that
is best used for pastries because of its relatively low gluten content.
Not unlike Washington and Oregon, British Columbia has coastal and noncoastal
regions as well as a variety of ethnic influences on its cuisine. On the coastal side of the
province, the importance of salmon to the First Nations people and other early settlers to
the region cannot be overstated. Even with a constant drive to ‘‘break all the rules’’ in British Columbian
cuisine, salmon is still central to this region’s cooking. In addition, a wide variety of other fish and seafood
are prominent in the cuisine, including prawns, scallops, clams, Dungeness crab, rockfish, halibut, and black
cod (a.k.a. sablefish).
Canada’s only indigenous cooking method hails from British Columbia and is known as bentwood
box cookery. Well-known Canadian food writer Anita Stewart explains the process: ‘‘Handmade cedar boxes
were filled with water to soak and tighten for three or four days. A fire was lit and potato-sized beach rocks
were placed in it to heat. The hot rocks were then picked out of the fire with a split alder branch, washed
briefly in one box, then placed in a second filled with water and salmonberry shoots. In moments the water
foamed and boiled. Seafood was added... and awoven mat was placed over top to hold the steam. Within
minutes the pure, sweet tastes of the sea were retrieved from the box and the feast began.’’^1
Since the 1970s, the region’s fusion cuisine has been influenced by a blend of Asian, European, Indian,
and Native American flavors combined with British Columbian ingredients. Hydroponically grown toma-
toes and peppers, indigenous hazelnuts, huckleberries, and pine mushrooms as well as a variety of orchard
fruits are just some of the bounty available in B.C.