Superabundant
How valuable, and volatile, crabbing can be along the Oregon Coast
The 2022 Dungeness crab season was the most lucrative in Oregon history. Unusually for recent years, it started on time, yields were high and prices soared, leading to a boon for commercial crabbers and the coastal communities that depend on them.
Superabundant in 2023
Superabundant's second course explores the ingredients that sustain the Northwest. Follow Dungeness crab from underwater meadows to the dinner plate. Taste how Oregon's unique soils, give character to Chardonnay. Examine the complex relationship between humans and psilocybin mushrooms. Learn why Oregon is a strawberry paradise. And see why corn could represent Oregon's future.
Past newsletters
Superabundant dispatch: Celebrating Lunar New Year with Portland’s Chinese history
In this week’s Superabundant newsletter, learn about the history of America’s second-oldest (and once second-largest at one time) Chinatown — in Portland. We also present a straightforward (but delicious) recipe for ginger-scallion lo mein.
Superabundant dispatch: Dungeness crab — and new videos — are now in season
In this week’s Superabundant newsletter, Heather Arndt Anderson, a Portland-based culinary historian and ecologist, talks about the new season of OPB’s Superabundant video series and shares a dynamite recipe for Singapore chili crab from Sibeiho Sambal co-founder Holly Ong.
Superabundant dispatch: The buffalo roam in Oregon’s brome
In this week’s Superabundant newsletter, Heather Arndt Anderson, a Portland-based culinary historian and ecologist, talks about how bison shaped the land farther west than previously thought, and offers a recipe for an Oregonized Korean lettuce wrap.
How the Oregon truffle bends humans to its will
Truffles are mysterious organisms that thrive in the damp forests of the Pacific Northwest, especially in Oregon. Like their above-ground cousins, mushrooms, they are the fruit of vast underground networks of fungus.
Meet the delicious purple sea creature destroying Pacific kelp forests
The purple sea urchin population on the West coast has skyrocketed, putting the coastal ecosystem in peril. If you can't beat them, eat them.
‘More than just sweet’: Honey’s surprising abundance of flavors
Since the first domestic beehives in ancient Egypt, humans have been working alongside bees to cultivate the honey we love so much. We speak to Lee Hedgmon, master brewer and founder of The Barreled Bee, where she sells her barrel-aged honey creations.
From dairies to restaurants, robots could be the future of food
Tech and food have gone together since our ancient ancestors made stone hand axes. Increasingly, automated systems — you might call them robots — are part of that equation.
Why people all over the world love Oregon-grown wheat
Most of the wheat from the Northwest travels the world, where it's eaten in countries like Japan, China, the Philippines and Indonesia. But it’s also being enjoyed much closer to the fields where it is grown.
Salmon: The original ‘Superabundant’ food of the Pacific Northwest
Few things unite the Pacific Northwest’s culture, economy and ecology like food. But sometimes the ingredients we eat are also divisive. Take salmon: Once these fish were superabundant throughout the region, but the arrival of western settlers — who introduced overfishing and dams — has taken a toll.
Latest Food Stories
Superabundant dispatch: Celebrating Lunar New Year with Portland’s Chinese history
In this week’s Superabundant newsletter, learn about the history of America’s second-oldest (and once second-largest at one time) Chinatown — in Portland. We also present a straightforward (but delicious) recipe for ginger-scallion lo mein.
How valuable, and volatile, crabbing can be along the Oregon Coast
The 2022 Dungeness crab season was the most lucrative in Oregon history. Unusually for recent years, it started on time, yields were high and prices soared, leading to a boon for commercial crabbers and the coastal communities that depend on them.
Superabundant dispatch: Dungeness crab — and new videos — are now in season
In this week’s Superabundant newsletter, Heather Arndt Anderson, a Portland-based culinary historian and ecologist, talks about the new season of OPB’s Superabundant video series and shares a dynamite recipe for Singapore chili crab from Sibeiho Sambal co-founder Holly Ong.
Plan a delicious trip, from Astoria to Neskowin on Oregon’s North Coast Food Trail. Fresh seafood, locally sourced menus, artisan cheese, craft beverages, farmers markets, cooking classes, and guided tours and foraging, all with scenic views, tall trees and ocean breezes. Named “best foodie trip” by Sunset Magazine.
