For a recent segment, Lael and I played a ‘Name that Utah City with a Food Name.’ If you missed it, check out this link. Listen to the clues and see if you can guess the Utah cities. There are a few more Utah towns or cities we couldn’t fit into that round; but, they deserve just as much love and culinary attention.
Let’s start by comparing apples to oranges: UPR serves residents across the beautiful state of Utah. So, here’s a shout-out to our listeners in Apple Valley and Orangeville!
Apple Valley is a town in Washington County, south of Zion National Park and 12 miles east of Hurricane by State Route 59. It was incorporated in 2004. The folks behind the town’s web site invite you to come take in breaktaking views of Zion National Park on the town’s ATV and biking trails. Seems to me you might grab some apples for the trail to complete the experience.
Organgeville is a city in northwestern Emery County, two miles west of Castle Dale. You might wonder where to find the orange groves. Actually, Orangeville is not named for the fruit, but for the first man called to settle Castle Valley. Even more interesting, Orangeville is not related to his last name, but to his first name: Orange Seely was born in Iowa and emigrated to Utah with his family in the 1840s.
Two more Utah places with food names may be harder to spot: Kamas and Koosharem may both be named for plants historically eaten by native peoples in the western United States.
Kamas is a city in southwestern Summit County. It is close to 15 miles east of Park City and derives its name from camas with a ‘c,’ a source of food for Native Americans in the region. The bulbs of camas plants are harvested in the fall and roasted or boiled, resulting in a food that looks and tastes similar to a baked sweet potato.
Koosharem, also known as Grass Valley, is a town in Sevier County. Founded in 1877, its name is related to a plant, an edible tuber that served as a staple food for area Native Americans. Koosharem is also the Paiute word for the valley of the same name with red clover that grows in its meadows.
If you travel an hour east from Koosharem to Capitol Reef National Park, you can visit Fruita, Utah, although the townspeople abandoned its buildings in the 1950s when the National Park Service purchased the town.
Today, Fruita is the heart and administrative center of Capitol Reef National Park. According to utah.com, its historic district contains cabins, barns, a one-room schoolhouse and 200 acres of orchards producing cherries, apricots, peaches, pears and apples. Visitors are welcome to stroll the orchards, eating their fill of ripe fruit. Once the designated harvest begins, they may pick fruit to be weighed and paid at market prices.
Having visited Apple Valley, Orangeville, Kamas, Koosharem and Fruita, we’ve reached the end of our edible Utah tour for today. Get out and discover the places you love and love to eat. I’m planning to go back for another stroll in the orchards.
