Dumpster dining got trendy again a few years ago. In the process, it popularized the euphemism “urban foraging” for the practice of retrieving edible food from restaurant and grocery waste containers.
An operation called Foraged & Sown is based in Columbus proper, but it doesn’t do that sort of foraging. No dumpsters are involved. Instead it sows gardens in Linden that produce a bevy of goodies including certified organic berries, herbs and nuts.
Still, in these times, it seemed like a good idea for a first-time customer to be extra-cautious. Before buying a jar of preserves from its stand at the farmers market: “The apricots in this: They were sown, right?”
Right.
Okay. The operation is perhaps better known for seasonings, herbs and teas, but preserves are its jam too (that was a pun there, “jam” in the sense of “forte,” not in the fruit-spread sense). A demure little jar of Catawba Apricots & Thyme delivers on all the things you’d like apricots to do (but so often fail to render). The clotted preserves boast rich, full-bodied apricot flavor with that distinctly thick, musky sweetness. The thyme element contributes little flecks of color and backseat complexity.
As is befitting a business with a commitment to organic foods, the ingredient on the labels are pretty simple and include organic cane sugar which really and truly delivers a purer sweetness than you get from a big-box jelly made with high fructose corn syrup.
Beyond the apricot preserves, Foraged and Sown also offers a grape version called “Nobility.” And it makes herbal teas. At the risk of stating the obvious, those would be teas made purely from herbs grown in its gardens (as opposed to black tea, more typically found in countries such as India). Its “Finishing Salts” line-up feature salt amped up with herbs from the same local gardens. You can find its products at the Clintonville Farmers Market, or online here at squareup.com/store/foragedandsown.