Prickly pear cactus fruit | Photo: Lori Branham, some rights reserved
When you hear about Californian cuisine, you might conjure up images of Cobb salads, the French dip, Shirley Temple, and tuna tartare. All the above were invented in California, but they're a far cry from the original native Californian cuisine. Thats native as in derived from plants indigenous to California, and original as in eaten by the first occupants of this land - Californias Native peoples.
Our cultural identity has been derived by the land and whatever is growing on that landscape, Tongva tribe member and cultural educator Craig Torres says. We've lost so much throughout the generations. For many of us, it's amazing that we even held onto our cultural identity. We were too busy trying to survive.
--
--
From at least 8,000 years ago, the Tongva tribe have inhabited the Los Angeles basin and (until they were removed) the Southern Channel Islands. Unlike many other tribes across the States, the Tongva people don't have their own reservation. So for Torres, finding places to forage native plants is rather difficult.
Craig Torres | Photo: KCET
The state parks are a lot more strict with foraging rules, he says. But I live near a local park in Santa Ana where they just have acorns growing. No one uses them so I'll pick them up and bring them home.
Unlike the trend-based cuisine of today's mainstream culture, for California's Native peoples, food was (and is) based on a relationship with the land and what grew there.
We don't see nature as natural resources. We see them as relatives. When you see something as a natural resource it just means that you are taking and taking it back, Torres says. Whenever we're taking something, for nature to survive, we have to give back. You have to have a reciprocal relationship with nature.
Unfortunately, with the exception of people like Torres who are actively studying indigenous plants and landscapes, the average Californian does not have a reciprocal relationship with nature.
more from tending the wild
Recipe: Stinging Nettle Tea Medley
What Happens When Native People Lose Their Traditional Foods?
Decolonize Your Diet: a Conversation With Native Food Educators
1 of 10
next
It wasn't always like that. At the time of the first Spanish settlement in 1769, California was one of the most densely populated regions in Native America, with as many as 100 distinct cultures. The tribes here were some of the most omnivorous on the continent and the food could be distinguished by various regional elements. Salmon was abundant in the northwest, pine nuts were a staple in the Great Basin, the southwest had desert and domesticated plants, and central Californians ate a diet rich in acorns and seeds.
The plants really shape who we are, Torres says. If you're living on this land and you're calling this place home, then there's a responsibility to protect it. We all have different mothers but we all share one mother earth and we share that responsibility.
While very few California Natives still rely entirely on hunting and gathering for survival, there is a contemporary movement to cultivate some of these native plants and incorporate them into everyday diet.
Here are some of these plant-based foods that people are bringing back in California:
Live oak acorns | Photo: Franco Follini, some rights reserved
Acorns (Quercus, various species)
By and far, the acorn provided the most significant source of food for the majority of Californian indigenous groups. Of the 50 species of oak that exist, about 15 come from the state of California. Mostly, the acorn was boiled in baskets by hot stones and made into a thick jelly-like mush or porridge. The closest thing to this in markets, Torres says, is the acorn jelly in Korean supermarkets. Acorn can be grounded into flour and fashioned into breads. Of course, depending on region, different types of acorns are prioritized and they are still gathered today by many tribes. Black oak is a favorite in middle elevations in the interior of the State and tanbark oak is more prominent in the humid belt.
Manzanita berries (Arctostaphylos, various species)
The berries of this evergreen shrub can be dried, and pounded into a coarse flour. The Wintu people (based in Northwestern and Central California) made this flour into a sweet soup, and steeped the seeds to make a cider. The Cahuilla of the southern deserts made a sauce out of the fresh fruits for use as a condiment. Manzanitas can be found almost everywhere in California, and peoples throughout the region used these berries for food and medicine.
Developing pinyon pine cone | Photo: Carolannie, some rights reserved
Pinyon pine (Pinus edulis)
Pine nuts were once the most important food source for the Owens Valley Paiute. Harvest was an important occasion. They would build a wagoni - a seasonal home that harvests and processes the nuts. They were generally roasted and then eaten. In northern Baja California, tribal people would gather pine nuts for days. The youth were sent up into the trees to pick pine cones and throw them down into baskets. Other uses for the pine: the sap can also be mixed with black tar to make an adhesive and the resin is especially good for puncture wounds.
Watch Tending the Wild: Decolonizing the Diet
Chia seeds (Salvia columbariae)
Chia seeds have become a mainstream superfood in recent years, and although the species that you get at your local health food store is different from our native species, the concept is by and large the same. The seeds are used as a protein boost. They don't have a lot of flavor by themselves and you can add them to almost anything, Torres says. He puts them in baked goods and smoothies.
Prickly pear (Opuntia, various species)
Prickly pear cact
Most recent headlines
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
30/08/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has adopted its FY 2025 Regulatory Fees Order that establishes the regulatory fee rates for the broadcast stati...
29/08/2025
Australian Red Cross and SBS launch training to help workplaces in the fight aga...
29/08/2025
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
29/08/2025
L3Harris Technologies has concentrated decades of expertise across the entire enterprise to develop affordable and reliable best-of-breed solutions to rapidly c...
29/08/2025
BURBANK, Calif. The CW Network and the Pac-12 Conference have announced a new media rights deal that will extend their broadcast partnership beginning with the ...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK Gracenote has released a new analysis of its global video dataset showing that the number of FAST channels grew nearly 14% from Q1 2025 and 76% since 2...
29/08/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. Harmonic has announced a series of improvements to its live sports streaming solution that the company said will improve fan engagement, protec...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES Fox Corp. and YouTube TV last night announced a renewal of the full portfolio of Fox networks, including Fox News Channel, Fox Business...
29/08/2025
Budapest, Hungary, August 2025 - The integration of Microsoft Teams Rooms (MTR) with Lightware's Taurus universal matrix switchers delivers a new level of f...
29/08/2025
Frequency, the engine behind many of the world's best-known streaming television channels, today announced it will launch Studio Live, a next-generation uni...
29/08/2025
In an era when AI and cyber resilience are essential, Scality will mark the 10th anniversary of Scality Day on October 16, 2025 in Paris. This flagship global e...
29/08/2025
Disguise's In-House Creative and Technical Teams Pre-Visualised, Programmed and Delivered Content for the Experience, All Powered by EX 3+
Technology solu...
29/08/2025
Disguise will be demonstrating the latest workflows for TV, film and live events on a number of partner booths at the show
Disguise, the industry-leading tech...
29/08/2025
STOCKHOLM, Sweden Accedo will showcase Accedo Compose, its AI agent-powered modular orchestration layer that assists streaming providers in transitioning client...
29/08/2025
LOS ANGELES Cineverse has announced that it is working with Xperi to bring four of its streaming channels to automobiles for the first time as part of the DTS A...
29/08/2025
DALLAS & ATLANTA Gray Media has announced an agreement with the sports streaming service Victory+ to simulcast 17 Dallas Stars NHL games in 15 television market...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK AND CULVER CITY Comcast NBCUniversal and Amazon have announced new and extended distribution agreements that will expand the content available on their...
29/08/2025
FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif. RED Digital Cinema will feature its Cine-Broadcast Module supporting live broadcast workflows during IBC2025, Sept. 12-15, at the RAI Ams...
29/08/2025
29 Aug 2025
Kyivstar Rings Opening Bell at Nasdaq Marking Landmark Listing and ...
29/08/2025
More than half of all NFL games live on Sky for the first timeFriday 29 August 2025
Sky Sports has announced a new three-year deal with the NFL, extending its ...
29/08/2025
Back to All News
RIV4LRIES: The Trailer of the New Series With Samuele Carrino ...
29/08/2025
Get ready for an inspiring and emotional insight into the world of competitive Irish dancing with My Story: Tomi Champion of the World airing on RT 2 this monda...
29/08/2025
RT has today announced that David McCullagh is to be the new presenter of RT Radio 1's flagship Today programme, which airs every weekday at 10am, replaci...
28/08/2025
By Kristin Feeley, Director, Documentary Film & Artist Programs
If you want to tell untold stories, if you want to give voice to the voiceless, you've got ...
28/08/2025
Directed by Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, Sundance Institute-supported Amer...
28/08/2025
Corridos have been a cornerstone of M sica Mexicana for generations, telling stories rooted in everyday life. Now, a new chapter is taking shape: motivational c...
28/08/2025
Los corridos han sido un pilar de la M sica Mexicana durante generaciones, contando historias enraizadas en la vida cotidiana. Ahora, un nuevo cap tulo est tom...
28/08/2025
Earlier this month, we promised our Verano Forever party would bring the heat, a...
28/08/2025
L3Harris will provide the Polish F-16V fleet with the Viper Shield electronic warfare system as part of an upgrade program....
28/08/2025
Bilbao, August 26, 2025 - AgileTV, an international television and video technol...
28/08/2025
Ken Wilkinson is an Emmy Awards nominated New York audio engineer who specialises in production sound mixing for film, commercial, episodic and documentary work...
28/08/2025
NEW YORK FuboTV today announced that it will launch Fubo Sports, a skinny bundle that focuses on sports with a subscription price of $56 monthly....
28/08/2025
NEVADA City, Calif. At IBC2025, Sept. 12-15 at the RAI Amsterdam, Telestream will debut its new Global Ingest strategy, introducing a next-generation ingest arc...
28/08/2025
Dr. Rhoda Bernard Releases Groundbreaking Debut Book on Accessible Arts Educatio...
28/08/2025
TAG Video Systems, the leader in software-based IP end-to-end workflow monitoring, deep probing, and real-time visualization, has named Oliver Gappa as Sales Di...
28/08/2025
AI-based voice enhancement will be among a series of innovations making their IBC 2025 debut on the DHD stand B46 in Hall 8 at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Cent...
28/08/2025
Telef nica Servicios Audiovisuales (TSA), the leading system integrator and service provider in the media sector in Spain, with the support of Appear, the globa...
28/08/2025
To fully immerse sailing fans in the world's biggest offshore yacht race, production company, Optical Media turned to LiveU's On-site Production solutio...
28/08/2025
Working with Calrec on its most recent overhaul, radio and television broadcaster, WNED has migrated to a fully IP infrastructure with multiple Type R consoles,...
28/08/2025
Cleeng, the Subscriber Retention Management (SRM ) inventor, has unveiled Cleeng Pro, the first-ever direct-to-consumer (D2C) subscription management platform t...
28/08/2025
Zixi, the industry leader in live broadcast-quality video over IP, today announced that French media distribution platform OKAST has selected Zixi to enable rel...
28/08/2025
Solution offers a streamlined, speaker-free architecture to optimize integration with premium external loudspeakers and advanced loudness metering
Nixer Pro Au...
28/08/2025
Cinegy, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, has announced a strategic partnership with Vision One Touch Film Production Services L.L...
28/08/2025
Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, will debut its new Global Ingest strategy at IBC2025, introducing a next-generation ingest architect...
28/08/2025
Tier 1 operator selects Broadpeak to power high-performance, unified CDN solution across Norway, Sweden and Finland
Broadpeak, a leader in streaming and moneti...
28/08/2025
Leading video software provider, Synamedia, today announced that 24 Frames Digital, one of India's leading live event streaming service providers, has chose...
28/08/2025
Meet VisualOn at IBC2025: See What's Next in AI-Powered Video Streaming Join VisualOn at IBC2025 and discover how our AI-driven Optimizer and advanced media...
Prickly pear cactus fruit | Photo: Lori Branham, some rights reserved 
