THE WORLD AROUND US
13
Mountain Views-News Saturday, November 28, 2015
WHERE ALICE IN WONDERLAND MEETS ALBERT EINSTEIN:
A CHESHIRE CAT LOOKS DOWN FROM SPACE
One hundred years ago this month, Albert
Einstein published his general theory of
relativity, one of the most important scientific
achievements in the last century.
A key result of Einstein’s theory is that matter
warps space-time, and thus a massive object
can cause an observable bending of light from a
background object. The first success of the theory
was the observation, during a solar eclipse,
that light from a distant background star was
deflected by the predicted amount as it passed
near the Sun.
Astronomers have since found many examples
of this phenomenon, known as “gravitational
lensing.” More than just a cosmic illusion,
gravitational lensing provides astronomers with
a way of probing extremely distant galaxies and
groups of galaxies in ways that would otherwise
be impossible even with the most powerful
telescopes.
The latest results from the “Cheshire Cat” group
of galaxies show how manifestations of Einstein’s
100-year-old theory can lead to new discoveries
today. Astronomers have given the group this
name because of the smiling cat-like appearance.
Some of the feline features are actually distant
galaxies whose light has been stretched and bent
by the large amounts of mass, most of which is in
the form of dark matter detectable only through
its gravitational effect, found in the system.
More specifically, the mass that distorts the
faraway galactic light is found surrounding the
two giant “eye” galaxies and a “nose” galaxy. The
multiple arcs of the circular “face” arise from
gravitational lensing of four different background
galaxies well behind the “eye” galaxies. The
individual galaxies of the system, as well as the
gravitationally lensed arcs, are seen in optical
light from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope.
Each “eye” galaxy is the brightest member of
its own group of galaxies and these two groups
are racing toward one another at over 300,000
miles per hour. Data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray
Observatory (purple) show hot gas that has been
heated to millions of degrees, which is evidence
that the galaxy groups are slamming into one
another. Chandra’s X-ray data also reveal that
the left “eye” of the Cheshire Cat group contains
an actively feeding supermassive black hole at the
center of the galaxy.
Astronomers think the Cheshire Cat group will
become what is known as a fossil group, defined
as a gathering of galaxies that contains one giant
elliptical galaxy and other much smaller, fainter
ones. Fossil groups may represent a temporary
stage that nearly all galaxy groups pass through
at some point in their evolution. Therefore,
astronomers are eager to better understand the
properties and behavior of these groups.
The Cheshire Cat represents the first
opportunity for astronomers to study a fossil
group progenitor. Astronomers estimate that
the two “eyes” of the cat will merge in about
one billion years, leaving one very large galaxy
and dozens of much smaller ones in a combined
group. At that point it will have become a fossil
group and a more appropriate name may be the
“Cyclops” group.
You can contact Bob Eklund at:
b.eklund@MtnViewsNews.com.
CHRISTOPHER Nyerges
TOYON BERRIES: A TRADITIONAL NATIVE
FOOD WHICH MATURES IN WINTER
[Nyerges is the author of “Nuts
and Berries of California,”
and other books. He leads
ethnobotanical walks. He
can be reached at www.
SchoolofSelf-Reliance.com,
or Box 41834,Eagle Rock, CA
90041]
Toyon is a common tree in the California chaparral
regions. The leaves have small serrations on their edges,
and are a bit leathery in texture. The fruits mature in winter,
which makes them very unusual, and made them highly
prized the native communities who ate the berries. After
all, there are no other wild fruits that do their producing in
winter. Today, folks can go to the grocery store whenever
they want, but if you lived here 500 or more years ago in the
pre-Mission era, “store” was a verb, not a noun. And if you
ran low on supplies in winter, you could go into the hills and
collect some food. Toyon was probably a life-saver!
There are many ways in which Native Americans ate
the toyon berries in the past, and there are many modern
methods of use.
When I am on the trail during toyon’s ripening, I collect
several cups worth of the fruit clusters. Then I take about a
half-hour to remove all the stems. Next, I rinse the berries
well, since even if they appear clean, they have accumulated
lots of dirt.
Typically, you do not eat raw toyon berries because they
are astringent and the flesh is mealy. They are improved by
cooking or drying.
Normally, I put the berries in a pot and cover with water
and bring to a boil. I let them boil for perhaps 10 minutes,
until they have plumped up just a bit. I strain out the water,
add fresh water, and bring to a boil again. This process
removes the astringency of the raw fruit, and brings out the
sweetness. After this second boiling, strain out the water and
then just taste one of the fruits without any sweeteners or
flavoring. There is a fresh flavor which is a combination of
the low sugar content and a sour flavor, akin to a cumquat,
or a raw cranberry.
PREPARING TOYON BERRIES
At one of my Wild Food Cooking classes around
Thankgiving where we collected these fruits fresh, and
boiled them as described above, everyone found them very
likable. “They’re sorta like cranberries of the West Coast,”
remarked one woman. I had to agree.
Most often, I collect the berries, remove all the stems,
wash them, and then spread them on cookiesheets to dry. If
the weather is hot, I put the cookie sheets in the sun for a few
days, and just cover with a towel at night. Or, I will put them
into the oven; the pilot-light temperature is usually sufficient
to dry them in about a week.
The dried toyon is tasty. I often pass these out to school
children. Yes, some will just spit them out, but the flavor is
not objectionable. There is an initial flavor like black tea, and
then, as you chew the hard little fruit you get a very pleasant
combination of both sweet and sour.
My preferred method of preparation was taught to me by
Linda Sheer, who grew up in rural Kentucky and learned how
to experiment with most wild foods to create tasty dishes.
The berries are boiled, and the water changed. Assuming
the berries are no longer astringent after one changing of the
water, the berries are given just a little water and cooked at
low heat while flour is added. I usually use wheat flour, but
any other flour could be used with similar results. I slowly
stir as the flour thickens, and I add a few tablespoons of
honey, to taste. This mixture thickens up, like a pie filling,
and most people find it delicious.
NATIVE FOOD SYMPOSIUM
In early November, my wife and I participated in the
Native Food Symposium Rancho Santa Ana Botanic
Garden. We experimented with several methods of
toyon preparation, and the good results were fed to the
participants of the symposium. One method was the recipe
just described, where the berries were cooked with flour and
sweetened with honey.
Another method, which my wife Helen devised, involved
boiling the berries, and changing the water until it was
no longer astringent. The fruits were then cooked with
tapioca flour, in an amount that was determined by our
volume of toyon berries. We sweetened the pot with about
four tablespoons of honey. The result was like a jam, which
everyone seemed to enjoy. We served spoonfuls of this on
graham crackers.
We have heard many reports from people trying to make
a good toyon product who were disappointed in the result
because toyon is a dry berry, often astringent. However, this
product turned out pretty well. According to gourmet wild
food cook Pascal Baudar, “Toyon is a tough berry to play
with, but Helen and Christopher did an amazing job.” Even
his wife Mia, who admits to not caring for toyon berries, said
that she enjoyed this experiment.
MEET RICHARD TOYON:
Richard Toyon is a 14th generation Californian, according
to the official records of the Mission San Juan Capistrano.
He is descended from the Parra clan of the Acjachemem
nation (pronounced “A-HA-Sha-mem), formerly known
as the Mission Band of the Juaneno Indians. His family
originates in what is now the city of San Juan Capistrano. He
is a descendant of Alejo Parra, and the area was once called
Rancho de los Toyones. Richard Toyon’s grandfather’s name
was Ortiz de los Toyones, and after him the family name was
shortened to just “Toyon.”
Toyon lives in La Crescenta and is active in Boy Scouts,
local politics, and in representing the Tongva Tribe for
various environmental and public issues. Of course, when
we first spoke, I could not wait to ask him about the native
toyon tree, the tree from which his family name comes.
“When I give my walks and lectures a few times a year, I
talk about the native uses of plants,” he explains. “The ethno-
botanical uses of plants, not necessarily just the food uses.”
Toyon went on to tell me about the first real estate venture
just south of Griffith Park. “These guys looked up in the hills
and they saw all the toyon trees with their brilliant red fruit,
and they called the place ‘Hollywood.’ They should have
called it ‘Toyonwood’,” he laughs.
“The toyon fruit played a significant role in the
Acjachemem diet,” he says. Though there are probably a
dozen common ways of preparing the fruit – ground into
meal, made into a drink, made into a dessert – Toyon says
that in Acjachemem get-togethers today, the fruit is cooked
in a wok, fried and lightly seasoned, and served 50/50 with
rice. His relatives have mashed up the toyon berries and
served them on top of potatoes, with butter.
BOTANY NOTES
Toyon is a member of the Rose Family (Rosaceae).
The Rose Family contains 110 genera and 3000 species
worldwide. Species from 45 of the genera are found in
California. The toyon is the only species of the Heteromeles
genus. (Heteromeles is Greek for “different apple.”)
Toyon can get to be a medium sized tree, and is probably
most conspicuous in the winter when it’s covered with its
clusters of orange-red fruits. The tree is found in the chaparral
zones, and often planted on the fringes of the urban areas.
The leaves are leathery, ovate, with toothed margins. The tree
is evergreen and can be a large bush or a small tree. In the
summer, the flowers form in terminal clusters. Each flower
is white and five-petaled, about . inch wide. The clusters of
orange-red fruit ripen from about November into January.
Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com
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