4 foods that are grown in Oregon

Are you growing these foods in your backyard?

Chestnuts

While many chestnut trees can be grown in Oregon, chestnuts from trees native to the Northwest are not edible; in fact, they are toxic. The edible ones are bilaterally flattened. Our Portland farmers have planted many French and Italian chestnuts trees. Chestnuts can be used in cakes, as flour, in beer, and simply eaten roasted.

Rhubarb

You can find traces of rhubarb in Oregon’s beers, ciders and pies. Rhubarb’s bitterness work well in these foods, and can also give them a bit of a tang. The redder the stalks are, the sweeter they taste. Be sure not to eat the leaves though, they are poisonous.

Olives

Did you know that we have an olive mill in Oregon? Olives are harvested from the fields and hard-pressed to make high quality olive oil.

Persimmons

Persimmons are brightly orange fruits most commonly associated with Japan and Asia, but they also thrive here in Oregon. Persimmon fruit needs curing before you can eat them. Place them with either bananas or apples in a sealed container for a few days to cure them.

If you’re thinking of growing a persimmons tree, expect to wait 7 to 10 years before you see fruits. Meanwhile, why don’t you start with rhubarb in your garden?