I returned from ICC laden with gifts. The best one– a brainload of ideas and information– I continue to unwrap and savor a little each day.
There were also tangible gifts:
A big glossy book containing bios, interviews and recipes of all of the presenters.
A gift package from Heston Blumenthal. In true theatrical form, they were hidden under the seats. The velum envelope contained two packets that were to tie in with his presentation of The Perfect Christmas Dinner, inspired by the gifts of the Magi. The first was a Listerine strip flavored with frankincense and was immediately savored. The second was a newborn baby-scented communion wafer. Despite my fascination with babies, this just felt wrong to put in my mouth.
A flat of micro sprouts from Koppert Cress containing Affilla (peashoots), Mustard, purple and green Shiso, and the unfamiliar Tahoon.
The flavor of Tahoon took me aback. I was not expecting the deep, complexity of wood, humus, and nuts (it's said to taste like beech nuts), trailed by a sting of onion. There are defined elements of earth and fire with aromas that evoke freshly-tilled earth, baked by the sun, along with roasted tree bark. I don't know if this even sounds good, but it is. My taste buds say umami, but I could find no documentation on this.
What I did find is that Tahoon (Toona sinensis) is a tree, native to eastern and southestern Asia, where the young leaves and shoots are enjoyed as an aromatic vegetable. It is more commonly known as Chinese Toon or Chinese Mahoghany.
As I munch on Tahoon, I am visited by a flight of dishes: caramelized onion flan with foie, pomegranate, and Tahoon; roasted potato ice cream, bacon dust, hamachi,and Tahoon oil; Tahoon-infused beets with curried chicken terrine; a dessert of pear, chestnuts, and chocolate–haunted by Tahoon.
My quickly dwindling supply led me to find a source for seeds. I can now grow a steady supply of sprouts through the winter. Maybe I'll even let some grow into plants that I can transplant into the garden come spring. Maybe, in a few years, I'll have a Tahoon tree of my own. But even as I sit here, typing and munching, thinking about steak, mushrooms, corn and Tahoon, I doubt that they'll ever make it past sprouts.
Thank you for your post. I regularly use shiso leaf at work, as well as a lot of micro greens. I had no idea that micro shiso leaf was available, and I am dying to try tahoon-cress. There is just so much out there that I have not discovered, and so little time.
Was this the sprout that is actually a tree grown in Tibet? I could not remember the name of it, but I remember being entranced by the flavor even moreso than the electric Szechuan buttons.
Incredible flavor… like a barnyard wine that tastes like dirt and peat.
Jason-Aren’t we fortunate to have such a diversity of foods available to us–many still waiting to be discovered?
Chad-Yes, that was Tahoon. Did you get umami from it? The Szechuan buttons were fun–kinda like pressing a 9V battery to your tongue.
Hello, I’m interested in buying the cress seeds of the kinds of cress that Koppert Cress has. Do you know where i might be able to buy them.
Regards from Malaysia,
Leng
Playing with Fire and Water 
Thank you for your post. I regularly use shiso leaf at work, as well as a lot of micro greens. I had no idea that micro shiso leaf was available, and I am dying to try tahoon-cress. There is just so much out there that I have not discovered, and so little time.
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Was this the sprout that is actually a tree grown in Tibet? I could not remember the name of it, but I remember being entranced by the flavor even moreso than the electric Szechuan buttons.
Incredible flavor… like a barnyard wine that tastes like dirt and peat.
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Jason-Aren’t we fortunate to have such a diversity of foods available to us–many still waiting to be discovered?
Chad-Yes, that was Tahoon. Did you get umami from it? The Szechuan buttons were fun–kinda like pressing a 9V battery to your tongue.
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Hello, I’m interested in buying the cress seeds of the kinds of cress that Koppert Cress has. Do you know where i might be able to buy them.
Regards from Malaysia,
Leng
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Leng- the only source that I know of is Agrohaitai in Canada. There is a link to their site above (directly under the photo of their seeds).
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