Immortalized in poems, books and songs, few celestial events have stirred so deeply in the human mind as the end of summer arrival of the Harvest Moon. This name, “Harvest Moon”, dates back to the farming traditions of ancient Europe, though celebrations of its arrival are found throughout the world. As summer in the northern hemisphere comes to a close with the onset of the autumnal equinox (the biannual crossing of the Sun over the Earth’s equator, this year on September 22nd), the days begin to shorten and nightfall arrives earlier and earlier each day. However, due to changes in the moon’s orbit around the Earth, the full moon (this year appearing on October 1st) at this time rises in the sky just after sunset, bathing the land in its warm glow. The bright light it provided during these early evening hours was said to provide farmers more time for harvesting the last of their summer crops, and was celebrated as a gift and a symbol of the transition to fall.
With this month’s theme of Harvest Moon, we aim to honor these old traditions and thoughts of transition and the arrival of the new in our unique culinary way. The end of summer heralds many changes, especially in the world of food. The summer fruits with their citrus-y, sharp flavors leave and the warm and hearty flavors of fall arrive, filling us with thoughts of hearth and home. The last of the summer’s wine grapes are picked in this time as well, and the new wines begin appearing in the markets from previous years harvests. We thought this was an especially auspicious time to premiere our new wine-pairing samples, which we believe will be a fantastic addition to the NutriFit Virtual Guided Tasting Experience.
At our local farm, the Mesa, our own summer harvests are coming to a close, with tomatoes bearing the last fruits on their vines and the last lemons of summer appearing on branches. And it’s not just us – our bees are stocking up on honey to prepare for fall and winter and Monarch butterfly caterpillars are munching away on our planted milkweed, preparing to transform themselves and embrace a new, fall world. Like them, we here at NutriFit are embracing these times of change. We warmly invite you to join us in this new guided tasting experience and wish you all a joyful and peaceful transition to fall, under a beautiful Harvest Moon.