GREEN & SUSTAINABLE

Much of the semiarid Intermountain West lies within Pinyon Nut Nation. From the Front Range of the Rockies to the eastern flanks of the Sierra Nevada, pinyon nuts have been gathered for millennia but are now declining due to the insidious combination of drought, bark beetles, and wildfires.

Ranching and sheepherding traditions remain strong in this region, which hosts the annual National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, an event that features Basque and other cowboy cuisines. The region is rich in freshwater fish, many of them endangered, and in berries, bulbs, and grasses. More than fifty-two of its traditional foods are now threatened or endangered.

– excerpted from Renewing America’s Food Traditions, edited by Gary Nabhan, with the permission of Chelsea Green Publishing (www.chelseagreen.com)

Disappearing Foods | Recipes | Tips | Related Links | Full List of Disappearing Foods | Back to Map

Disappearing Foods

• Alveron de Temporal Pea
• Boulder Raspberry
• German Extra Hardy Garlic
• Jenny Lake Huckleberry
• Little Kern Golden Trout
• Manzanitas Mexicanas Apples
• Mormon Blue-green Hubbard Squash
• Navajo Cushaw Squash
• Nevada Soft-shelled Pinyon Nut
• Paiute Cutthroat Trout
• See Full List

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Find EatingWell recipes for:

• Apples
• Berries
• Garlic
• Nuts
• Peas
• Seafood
• Winter Squash and Pumpkins

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Tips to preserve heritage and heirloom foods:

• Become a seed saver through the Seed Saver Exchange (seedsavers.org).
• Purchase heirloom produce and heritage livestock breeds (American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, albc.usa.org).
• If you think a food is endangered, nominate it to the Slow Ark of Taste, slowfoodusa.org.
• Support community agriculture, farmers' markets and local food groups.
• Attend events that celebrate local foods.

Read more about Renewing America’s Food Traditions (RAFT).

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Related Links

4 Easy Sweet Corn Recipes
America’s Best Farmers’ Markets
Native Nutrition: A movement to preserve heritage foods

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Disappearing Foods (Full List)

Alveron de Temporal Pea

Apache Giant Cushaw Squash

Bear Lake Huckleberry

Bonytail Chub

Boulder Raspberry

Bull Trout

Chimayo Melon

Colorado Blue Flour Corn

Colorado River Pikeminnow

Cui-ui Sucker

Death Valley White Seeded Devil's Claw

Desert Tortoise

Eden's Gem (Rocky Ford) Melon

Emerald Gem Melon

Fort Marcy Cholla Cactus

German Extra Hardy Garlic

Green Nutmeg Melon

Greenback Cutthroat Trout

Hopi Casaba Melon

Humpback Chub

Idaho Pear

Jenny Lake Huckleberry

Lahontan Green Cutthroat Trout

Little Kern Golden Trout

Manzanitas Mexicanas Apples

Mormon Blue-green Hubbard Squash

Navajo (Dine) Blue Flour Corn

Navajo (Dine) Gold Flour Corn

Navajo (Dine) Robin's Egg Flour Corn

Navajo (Dine) White Flour Corn

Navajo Blue Hubbard Squash

Navajo Cushaw Squash

Navajo-Churro Sheep

Nevada Soft-shelled Pinyon

New Mexican Red Garlic

New Mexico Hispanic Alegria Amaranth

Owens Valley Tui Chub

Paite Yellow Tepary Bean

Paiute Cutthroat Trout

Paiute Mixed Tepary Bean

Panache/Striped Tiger Fig

Potawatomi Plum

Pueblo Red Dye Amaranth

Razorback Sucker

Rio Lucio Concho Flour Corn

San Felipe Pueblo Blue Corn

San Felipe Pueblo White Corn

San Juan Pueblo Cushaw Squash

Taos Hubbard Squash

Vadito Blue, Concho, White Corn

Virgin River Chub

White Mountain Apache Red Seeded Sorghum

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