http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/knau/local-knau-696029.mp3
Flagstaff, AZ – Earth Notes: Roasting Agaves
It's tough to miss a century plant in full bloom. The plant's base of wide, pointed leaves sends up an enormously tall stalk that blooms brilliantly in spring. Also called agave or mescal, it's a plant that's common throughout the desert Southwest.
Native people once made use of agaves for fenceposts, needles and thread, soap, durable fibers and probably even paper. And wherever the plants grow, remains of pits used to cook them are sure to be found.
Agave was once widely celebrated because it was one of the first foods available after long, hungry winters. Traditional people would dig elaborate pits near where the agave grew, and cook the hearts for days at a time in a bed of hot coals and herbaceous greens.
The last few traditional agave roasts are believed to have occurred on the Tohono O'odham and Yavapai Apache reservations around World War Two.
Members of the Mescalero Apache Tribe resurrected the tradition in New Mexico about 25 years ago. They host an annual mescal roast on Mother's Day weekend in Carlsbad.
In Arizona, several agave roasts are put on each year by Arizona's national forests and state parks, in partnership with tribes and botany groups.
Over the years the technique has improved. Peter Pilles, a Coconino National Forest archaeologist and agave aficionado, says the agaves were a little unripe and undercooked for the very first roast. Fully cooked, they taste like unsweetened pineapple or yams a bit bland, perhaps, but rich with southwestern history.
-Anne Minard