Ohlone culinary traditions, indigenous to the East Bay including to the region of xučyun where UC Berkeley is located, is sophisticated, and unique to this landscape. The phrase mak-’amham hinnepa hossi mak-warép—our food looks like our land—reflects the inseparable connection between the East Bay and Ohlone cuisine.
Seasonality is a core tenant of Ohlone ways of eating, gathering and harvesting what the land is providing:
Summertime:
Ohlone berries, such as California strawberries, blackberries and thimbleberries are gathered in abundance, giving needed sugar and energy during the longer days. Seeds, such as chia, native amaranth and lupine are gathered and made into muyyen—rich pinole cakes—after their flowers drop. King salmon and rainbow trout are fished during these warm months. Native potatoes, brodieas, are gathered and roasted.
Falltime:
Acorn, the staple food for Ohlone people, is gathered in surplus in a community-effort to fill granaries, and made into soup and bread after a multi-month process of curing, shelling, winnowing, pounding into flour, sifting and leaching. Acorn is traditionally eaten with every meal as a protein-heavy dish that speaks to intentionality and complexity of Ohlone cuisine. Black walnuts, piñon nuts and hazelnuts are gathered during this season
Wintertime:
Ohlone mushrooms, such as chanterelles, candy caps, black trumpets and oyster mushrooms are gathered underneath the fog-heavy redwood forests and enjoyed for their umami-heavy flavor; duck is traditionally hunted during this time and seared; rich stews of venison are made to accompany the mushrooms as inwardness and storytelling is a central feature to this colder season.
Springtime:
Ohlone greens such as rooreh—Indian Lettuce and watercress are omnipresent near East Bay creeks; seaweed is gathered along the Bay shore; shellfish such as California mussels and clams are gathered in the mudflats nearby the marshes. Elderflower, yerba buena and flowering sages are gathered for nuanced, sweet teas. The young growth of fern, fiddleheads, are gathered and blanched for a nutritious and seasonal vegetable favorite during this time of blossoming