What is terroir and what role does it play in the characteristics of food?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answer: The contribution of a location's distinctive physical features to the way food tastes is known by the French term terroir. It is, in effect, the sum of the effects of the local environment on a particular food item. The word "terroir" comes from the same root as terre (French for land or earth), but terroir does not translate precisely into English. It has a similar meaning to the English expressions "grounded" or "sense of place."

The concept of terroir acknowledges that the environment not only influences food preferences, but also contributes to the characteristics of foods produced in a particular area. Terroir is frequently used to refer to the combination of soil, climate, and other physical features that contribute to the distinctive taste of a wine. It is known that the taste of a particular vineyard is affected by not only the variety of grapes and quality of the wine making process, by also by the climate, landforms, and soil. The distinctive character of each region's wine is especially influenced by the unique combination of trace elements, such as boron, manganese, and zinc, in the rock or soil. In large quantities these elements could destroy the plants, but in small quantities they lend a unique taste to the grapes.