California Food: How to Eat and Drink Like a California Native

Moving to California? Here's a crash course in the basics of what you need to know about California food -- from one transplant to another.

I grew up on the east coast of the USA, and I moved to California in the 1990s. It took me awhile to adjust to life in California. The food here is different. I didn't recognize a lot of the stuff I encountered at the grocery store, and it took me awhile to catch on to the best places to grocery shop. Nowadays, I'm eating better than ever, and I'm happy to pass along some of the things I've learned over the years about California food.

Farmers Markets and CSAs

When you're in California, there's no good reason to eat frozen or canned fruits and vegetables; there are even better options than buying your produce at the grocery store. Here you have your choice of the best fresh fruits and veggies on earth. The farmers' markets are open all year around, giving you access to fresh-picked produce. Savvy Californians go to the farmers' markets and buy produce directly from local farms; alternatively, many sign up for community supported agriculture programs.

Rare, Exotic and Interesting Fruits

Californians have access to all kinds of delicious fruit. I'd never tried a mango before moving to California; these days, I can't imagine my life without mangoes. Ditto for other interesting fruits including jujubes, pomegranates, dates, figs, and Asian pears. I've also been spoiled by having year-around access to fresh strawberries. If you'd rather stick to fruits like apples and oranges, you'll find plenty of those too.

Vegetables You've Never Seen Before

When you're shopping at a California farmers' market, you're likely to encounter vegetables you don't recognize. For example, if you see huge white-ish roots that look sort of like carrots on steroids, those are daikons. They taste like radishes. Try 'em! They're delightful. You might also find things like edible cacti.

Avocados

If you want to look like a native Californian, you have to learn how to eat avocados. It's easy: Basically, just put them on anything and everything you might consider eating (with the possible exception of your ice cream.) Put them in your breakfast omelettes; for lunch, put them in your soups, salads, and sandwiches. Put them on whatever you're making for dinner. Avocado enhances hamburgers, cheeseburgers, tacos, quesadillas, and all sorts of other dishes. Eat avocados plain, or slice them up and add a squeeze of lemon and a pinch of salt.

California Honey

Speaking of avocado, you're in for a real treat when you try honey made from the blossoms of avocado trees. There are also plenty of other amazing California honey varieties to try.

California Wines

Californians love wine. With so many vineyards and wineries close at hand, it's no surprise that many Californians are well educated about wines.

If you're new to California and you're hosting a dinner party for native Californians, there's no need to stress about which wines to serve. Here's a quick trick: go to Trader Joes and pick out several bottles of wine at random. Just buy whatever looks interesting. Then at dinner, offer your guests a choice of which one they want. In my experience, Trader Joes doesn't sell anything bad; their buyers make fantastic choices, and any wine you can find on their shelves is going to be an acceptable choice. I can't promise you that your dinner guests will like it, but your odds are better than average.

Trader Joes

Speaking of Trader Joes, just about anything in their store could be a good case study of what to eat if you want to look like a native Californian. Californians flock to Trader Joes in droves, with good reason. Trader Joes usually offers the best deal in town on tasty, trendy, interesting foods. Not only that, their offerings are mostly free of chemicals, additives and preservatives.

The Melting Pot

The concept of the great American melting pot is evident in California, and our food reflects this. In California, you've got easy access to Cuban food, Ethiopian food, Indian food, sushi, Korean food, Thai food, Vietnamese food (pho!) and every other ethnic food you could think of. Aside from Mexico itself, California is the best place to sample authentic Mexican food. It's all worth trying!

So that's my take on California food 101. I am sure I missed a lot of good stuff, so if you think of something else that should be added to this list, please feel free to leave a comment below. Thanks for your interest!