Beyond mere terroir

Dirt plays an important role in the food world because much of what we eat grows in the soil, and foodstuffs ranging from coffee to carrots have aficionados who tout the ‘terroir’ of the soil coming through in the food’s flavor. Little kids even use dirt to make “mud pies” as a form of play, although the children (usually) don’t eat them. However, for some people, dirt is more than terroir or something to play with, and they consider certain forms of soil as a delicacy to be enjoyed like any other food. Justin Fornal explains in a recent Whetstone article that explores soil’s role in the culinary sphere.

Fornal begins by discussing special termite clay used to make earthen ovens, a cooking method that is as old as recorded history, but quickly pivots to the phenomenon of dirt meant to be eaten in and of itself. He discusses a clay found in an Ethiopian open-air market and sold mainly to pregnant women who crave dirt, a craving which some scientists believe is due to the minerals that the soil contains. Fornal isn’t content to just discuss the clay with the vendor, but samples some himself. “I smile as I take my first bite of Berassa Hill Clay,” he says, noting that “It is smooth, creamy, like biting into a bottle cap candy without the sweetness, just a brittle crumbling texture, fresh rain taste, followed by a long chalky finish.”

Pregnant women aren’t the only ones who eat dirt, says Fornal. Some traditions for eating dirt revolve around supposed health benefits, and the American stomach soothing medicine Kaopectate originally contained two active ingredients: kaolinite (a type of dirt) and plant pectin. Kaolinite’s ability to absorb large amounts of liquid helped it conquer a “runny” tummy. Other dirt eating customs are religious in nature, with the soil cakes containing “sacred benefits.” If eating dirt doesn’t sound like something you want to rush out and try, maybe you would prefer cooking something in dirt such as Chicken baked in clay with pancetta, mushrooms and barley pilaf from Australian Gourmet Traveller Magazine by Janni Kyritsis (pictured above).