Terroir (pronounced “tehr-waar”) is the characteristic taste and flavor imparted to a food by the environment in which it is produced (modified from Oxford English Dictionary).
Examples include but are not limited to:
- how the taste of food from one place varies from season to season and year to year
- how the taste of yogurt or cheese varies based on the grazing pattern of each animal from whom the milk is produced
- how the taste of honey varies based on the regional flowers available to bees
- how the taste of produce varies based on the soil content in which it is grown
- how the taste of any artisanal food varies based on the hand of the producer