Home to the oldest continuously cultivated soil in the US, this desert-bound city boasts a fascinating food scene all its own. The shady portico of San Xavier del Bac Mission , a whitewashed oasis set against the cactus-studded mountains of the Sonoran Desert, offered a brief reprieve from Arizona's scorching summer sun as I walked with local chef Ryan Clark. The stucco mission, known as the "White Dove of the Desert", was founded in 1700 when this part of Arizona belonged to New Spain, but Clark was more excited to arrive at nearby San Xavier Co-op Farm on the Tohono-O' odham reservation.
"The ground you're standing on is where agriculture in the United States began," Clark told me. "Approximately 4,200 years ago, the ancestors of the Tohono O'odham transitioned from hunting and foraging in the desert to planting corn. These plots hold the oldest continuously cultivated soil in our nation.
" This year marks the tenth anniversary of when Tucson became the first city in the US to be named a Unesco City of Gastronomy , joining the ranks of Parma, Italy; Chengdu, China; and Lyon, France as a centre of global culinary importance. The Unesco designation was a nod to the city's deep-seated agricultural roots and has transformed Tucson into a culinary travel destination while also inspiring chefs, bakers, brewers and distillers to incorporate the area's traditional ingredients in new ways. Today, alongside iconic staples like birria tacos and Sonoran hot dogs, you'll find American Si.
