by Hans Rueffert

If the old saying “you are what you eat” is to be believed, then you have to eat local to truly be local. The localvore movement has been gaining momentum in this country over the last decade or so, and that’s amazing on multiple levels. Nothing tastes better than farm-fresh produce, so from the kitchen point of view, the benefits are palatable.Buying local foods keeps money in your community and supports passionate people who work hard in fickle conditions and for varying returns. And think of all the petroleum that’s saved when you buy okra from your local weekend farmers market versus buying the green pods from South America. I had a rare opportunity to explore Georgia’s bounty while taping my cooking show, “Hans Cooks the South.”

Our state is blessed with a diverse geography and a rich agricultural history. Georgia is known as the Peach State, and while we may no longer produce the most peaches, we certainly produce some of the best. In truth, I’d all but given up on peaches. The varieties that you find in many grocery stores are rock hard and lack that ephemeral peach smell and flavor. The produce departments of most major markets are jammed full of fruits and vegetables that don’t bruise and last for months without spoiling. Varieties are carefully hybridized and selected for those shelf-stable traits with little regard for solid, old-fashioned flavor.

My first visit down to Fort Valley in Peach County, Ga., however, reconnected me with my love of peaches. If you get the chance to visit during the season (which runs from mid-May to mid-August), the first thing you notice is that intoxicating aroma. These are the peaches of your youth; real peaches with drippingly sweet flesh. I lost count of how many peaches I devoured on the ride back up I-75, but by the time the Atlanta skyline was in view, I wish I’d bought more than I did.

Georgia agriculture has its lineup of usual suspects…famous crops like peaches, peanuts, pecans and apples. But I did manage to come across some surprising food finds during my travels, some of which caught me totally off guard. Looking at Georgia’s coast on a map, it’s hard to imagine that 100 miles between the Savannah and St. Marys rivers could yield much of a seafood crop. But that small stretch is home to some of the country’s best, with Georgia white shrimp gracing the plates of some of the finest restaurants in the land. I travelled to the beautifully sleepy town of

Darien, Ga. in search of the white shrimp, but found so much more.  Did you know that there’s a man in Darien producing some of the world’s finest sturgeon caviar? I had no idea that those prehistoric-looking fish would even venture into the salty estuaries along the coast, yet here is Howell Boone (who also helped to establish the Georgia Wild Shrimp Council) producing caviar so good that other countries come to him to learn how to produce it. My mouth is watering just thinking about the clean, crisp, salty fl flavor of that black gold.

And how about clams? Growing up I was somehow lead to believe that good clams only come from the cooler waters of the North Atlantic or North Pacific. You could drive up and down the Georgia coastline a dozen times and never know that there’s a thriving clam industry growing just off shore. Pioneers like Charlie Phillips are taking advantage of Georgia’s clean tidal marshes (it’s the second cleanest saltwater in the country behind Alaska) to raise plump, juicy clams that rival any bivalve I’ve tasted from any other waters. It’s an industry that thrives without the use of any unnatural fertilizers, feeds, or antibiotics. The clams just sit there, happy as a clam, feeding on the plankton rich waters that rush in and out with every tide. There are more culinary treasures to be found in Darien, but I’ll let  you find those out for yourself.

And that’s the point really. When you start to look around, you’ll be amazed at the local food treasures you’ll find. Start your local food journey at your community farmers markets and see what gems you can discover. You can follow my Georgia food adventures on my Web site at www.hanscooks.com and in my new cookbook “Eat Like There’s No Tomorrow.”

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You can follow my Georgia food adventures on my Web site at www.hanscooks.com

Photography by Hans and Amy Rueffert.