In these winter months, we’re drawn to the comfort of stews and broths, evenings inside while something aromatic simmers or braises. We curl up in fuzzy blankets; outside, we slip on warm jackets and gloves. Often, we forget the connection between what we eat and what we wear. In an era of mass-produced textiles, not only because of the rise of synthetics but also because many in the United States are even more disconnected from clothing production than from the growing of food, it’s easy to forget that fiber has a life source too.
In New Mexico, the connection between food and fiber is embodied in sheep, who arrived more than four hundred years ago and have shaped the land and cultures of this place ever since. In this issue of edible, they are in the spotlight, offering a source of reflection on ways our local food culture can be materially more than food—tactile and textile—and immaterially more than business.
