The ecological crisis is a crisis of disconnection: we only preserve what we love. To renew an intimate link with our territory, we must learn to know it, to name it and to cook it. Fourth in a series of five texts on the edible fauna and flora of Quebec.
Yesterday, during the sea kayaking excursion, you saw two seals, three minke whales and a group of beluga whales, whose white backs glistened offshore in the late summer sun. This morning, your lover introduced you to fly fishing on the Laval River in Forestville. You brought back three sea trout (caught by him) and a basket of lobster mushrooms (picked by you). In the parking lot of the ZEC, an old woman asked you about your picking, and the two of you started talking.
“When I was little, she says, we hardly ever went to the market. My father fished for salmon in the here river, and cod in the sea. He also brought back bourgot and cockles. Partridge, hare, moose. We children picked up capelin on the beach, mussels, clams and sea urchins. Sometimes Ida vine cranberries, blueberries and crowberries. Mom took care of the vegetables, the chickens and the pigs. The lady, after a short pause, added with a sneer: “Today, people go to Provigo to buy exotic things!” »
On the way to camp, you pondered this testimony. In the undergrowth and on the rocks, all around you, you have identified blueberries, Labrador tea, balsam bayberry, green alder, bilberry, juniper and crowberry. You knew, having seen it the day before, that there was a profusion of green sea urchins clinging to the flooded stones on the eastern tip of the campsite. The lady was right. Somewhere between his childhood and today, we had collectively lost the food knowledge specific to the territory. But on this magnificent and wild North Shore, the resources were indeed always present.
Find our seafood
It is rather rare to see fresh whelks, clams, cockles, razor clams and sea cucumbers, Stimpson’s surf clams or green sea urchins on the shelves of our fishmongers and supermarkets, even in regions where they are caught. Indeed, if the St. Lawrence is full of these products, most of which benefit from responsible fishing, we do not seem to know them well, do not like them and manage their distribution oddly.
According to the most recent observation, recently presented at a conference offered by the collective Manger notre Saint-Laurent (a group of fishermen, merchants and restaurateurs wishing the reappropriation of maritime food resources by Quebecers), Quebec exports 81% of its fisheries, and 89% of its seafood consumption is made up of imported foods. Figures that leave you perplexed, especially in the current collective reflection on the subject of the province’s food autonomy.
Guillaume Werstink is one of those who have decided to reverse the statistics. The oceanographer is co-founder of the fisheries company Chasse-Marée, based in Rimouski, born of the desire to see products from the St. Lawrence reappear in Quebec markets and kitchens. “I didn’t understand why I couldn’t find the seafood, caught in front of our house, in the shops in the region. I dreamed of seeing fish and seafood markets in all coastal villages, as is the case in many parts of the world. »
A collaborative education
Guillaume and his partner, Manu, fish and distribute themselves whelks, surf clams and cockles — among others — to their restaurant customers, ensuring the greatest freshness and the most transparent traceability. The two entrepreneurs would like to see the fishing industry transform so that the products caught in Quebec stay in Quebec. “One of the problems, he explains, is the lack of education. People are not familiar with these foods and are not inclined to buy them when they are available in fishmongers. »
Whose responsibility is it to learn to know, love and cook the fruits of the marine St. Lawrence? For Mr. Werstink, this education must be collaborative. “The key is teamwork between consumers, merchants, government and restaurateurs. The demand is growing, and people are ready to pay! The government will have to invest less effort in exporting and a little more in reclaiming the products of our territory. »
Up-to-date preserves
You have surely already tasted the famous bourgots in vinegar or in brine. These traditional ways of preserving seafood are arguably the most widespread and have a pleasant taste of nostalgia. But the cuisine of these gastropods, whose flesh becomes incredibly tender when properly prepared, could benefit from a little more love and creativity.
Chasse-Marée has just launched a range of preserves in which the bourgots are preserved in an inventive way. In camelina oil with wild caraway, in boreal brine with Labrador tea, balsam bayberry and mugwort or in a lobster bisque. Entirely local and high quality gastronomic products that contribute in their own way to the enhancement of our resources.
There was a time (not so long ago) when Quebec families fed themselves strictly from the resources of their territory, all year round. This idea may seem archaic to some — we had no choice at the time — but in the light of current socio-economic, environmental and gastronomic knowledge, we have everything we need for this local and to feed us becomes a life-saving and tasty social project.
If it is true that we protect what we love and we love what we know, as Cousteau said, it is high time that we (re) learn to know our food.