A Time for Treats

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One Christmas my sister sent me a box of kiwifruits that lasted in our cold cellar until March. (They'd probably last equally well in an unheated closet or the refrigerator.) Their durability made them a marvelous addition to the difficult season. Even better, we could grow kiwi locally—at least that's what my husband and I thought. We planted two hardy kiwi. In seven years, the plants grew lustily, producing only leaves. The two of them (they need to mate) probably didn't get enough sun, but one never knows for sure.

There's no kiwi yet in my new garden, but I believe that special foods ought to be allowed in any sort of relocalized economy, so I really don't feel guilty buying a box of kiwis for the winter.

I feel the same about clementines, a variety of mandarin orange. Since I first started preaching about local eating a quarter of a century ago, citrus has been the deprivation symbol of choice for my critics. Suggest eating locally here in the Northeast, and the next thing you know someone is snarling, "So you're saying I can't ever have an orange again?" I'm not saying that, although it's true that citrus fruit just doesn't grow where most of us live. For including non-local foods in a mostly local diet, moderation is the key.

For those living in climates too cold for citrus culture, an orange in the toe of a Christmas stocking has long been an image of specialness. I also think imported clementines, shipped from Spain in little wooden crates just when their sunshine is most welcome, ought surely to be allowed as a special Christmas treat.

And as my gooseberry pie commitment illustrates, sentiment strongly influences my choice of winter treats. Every Christmas my mom used to send my family a big box of juicy-sweet, red Texas grapefruit that we ate at the rate of one or two a day until they were gone. Now that she's gone, I decided to maintain her grapefruit tradition. When I order for friends, I order for myself as well, and spend January happily making my way through a box of sunny fruits.

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