Emely Ricci started gardening during the pandemic with the mindset that she would grow food her family would regularly eat.
After a year of sticking with her hobby, Ricci decided to try planting huacatay, an aromatic herb grown in the Peruvian Andes that's used in cooking. She told her parents and grandma about her idea. Ricci鈥檚 dad was a bit skeptical; he didn鈥檛 think 海角换妻 had the right climate for it.
Only a few seeds sprouted the first year. But the next spring, when Ricci went to clean her garden, little huacatay seedlings were growing all around.
鈥淚t has this really gorgeous fragrance to it,鈥� said Ricci, 24, holding a bundle of freshly harvested huacatay in her garden in Shelton, Conn. 鈥淚t does have a bit of a small mint undertone, but it鈥檚 definitely more pungent, but in a good way鈥︹��
鈥淰ery savory,鈥� she added. 鈥淢usky, maybe.鈥�
Ricci鈥檚 grandmother, Ysabel Menacho de Cancho, was the most surprised the plant actually took root. She grew up in the Peruvian Andes and hadn鈥檛 seen the plant in a long time, but recalled how a neighbor would share his huacatay harvest with everyone in her neighborhood.
鈥淚t was just a really nice memory for her to tell me about,鈥� Ricci said. 鈥淵ou just kind of learn a little bit more about how life was when she was younger.鈥�
As for her own harvest, Ricci 鈥� a community planner by day 鈥� is now able to provide huacatay for her family鈥檚 home-cooked meals. She keeps a supply in the freezer.
Gardening huacatay has also been a way for Ricci to stay connected to her Peruvian culture and 鈥渞eclaim that identity I might have put off or just kind of ignored,鈥� as someone who grew up in a predominantly white suburban town.
鈥淭he food for me 鈥� encompasses a whole bunch of things,鈥� Ricci said. 鈥淲hat's cultural, my heritage, my grandmother, my family, my parent's parents' childhood 鈥� you know, just my own search of really connecting to my Latino identity.鈥�
This is the fifth video in Conexi贸n: Rooted in New England's Outdoors, a video series this fall from the New England News Collaborative.
Haz clic aqu铆 para leer y ver esta historia en espa帽ol.
Daniela Allee contributed to this story.
