Letter from Boston Vermont Food By MASAKO YAMADA	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
バーモント州の食べ物 最近、バーモント州を旅行した雅子さん。バーモントと聞いて日本人はカレーを思い起こしがちですが、バーモント州とバーモントカレーには何か関係があるのでしょうか？　そのなぞを解明すべく、雅子さんがバーモント産の食べ物を紹介してくれます。

I think the only image that most Japanese people have of Vermont food is that childhood staple, House brand "Vermont Curry." I don't think any of them would be surprised to know that Vermont Curry is not a native New England dish. I doubt many Vermont Curry lovers know that the state of Vermont exists and I doubt many Vermont natives have heard of that brand of curry.

However, after taking a short trip to Vermont with my boyfriend, I realized that the name of the curry is not too far from the mark. In most of the local shops that I visited, I saw jars of apple butter — which is a kind of apple jam — and natural Vermont honey. Since the special trait of Vermont Curry is that it has apples and honey, it can be said that it captures the spirit of the state of Vermont.

Actually, if I were to choose the top two food specialties of Vermont, I'd choose cheddar cheese and maple syrup. Vermont natives probably eat food that is similar to the food that is eaten elsewhere in the States — that is to say, supermarket food. But to tourists such as myself, the ubiquitous displays of locally produced maple syrup and cheddar cheese products are irresistible.

I was eager to learn more about the maple syrup and cheddar cheese industries so we visited a farm at which both are produced. The farm was very small, and when I entered the main shack there, I saw a bunch of people cutting cheese and dipping it into protective wax.

One of the workers offered samples and explained that they don't actually make the cheese on the farm premises. They milk their own cows but then they send the milk off to another factory to have it made into cheese. They then take the large blocks of cheese and package them into smaller chunks.

It's probably fair to say that Vermont doesn't produce as many subtle and palate-teasing cheeses as, say, Italy or France. But Vermont cheddar cheese is known across the States, and I think it's a good everyday cheese. I usually have some in my fridge to use in sandwiches or to eat plain, with bread or crackers.

Vermont cheddar cheese is milky white in color, unlike its midwestern sister cheese, the famous Wisconsin cheddar (which is orange). Although most cheese-flavored junk-food products in the States are orange, some of the newer products on the market are Vermont cheddar white.

The maple sugar barn was not operating, since the maple trees are tapped only during early spring, when the days are warm and the nights are cold.

We walked around a small forest of maple trees on the farm, however, and saw pictures of how the syrup is made. I had to sidestep a lot of cowpies while walking among the trees, since the cows use the maple forest as a grazing area, and the workers don't bother to clean up after them. There were lots of bugs and flies hovering, and I quickly started feeling that I'd had enough of the country to last me a while.

On the way back from Vermont, we stopped by a roadside stand to buy some freshly picked, freshly roasted corn on the cob. The area around the stand had very neatly mowed grass and some decorative sheep dolls displayed — no cowpies or flies — so I concluded that it was aimed at tourists. However, the corn was genuine: it was roasted in the husk, and after the husk was charred, it was peeled off.

Thinking that the corn-roasting man had some kind of secret, I asked him what kind of wood he was using to roast the corn. He answered, "Anything I can get my hands on. ... But if you want to know the secret of this corn, it's that I soak it beforehand so it steams and roasts at the same time." I think another one of the secrets — an undoubtedly local one — was that the spicy salt that was sprinkled on the corn contained maple sugar. It was delicious.

Shukan ST: Oct. 2, 1998

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