Paul Mirocha didn't even know what a “terroir” was until he was commissioned to create the lush illustrations for this book of food history and stories by Gary Paul Nabhan. “Desert Terroir” will be published by The University of Texas Press in 2012.

Terroir comes from the French word terre, meaning "land," and refers to the sometimes indefinable tastes and quality given to food or drink by the native soil, geography, climate, etc. in which it is grown. Specifically, the natural aspects of the environment that are not under human control.

The concept of terroir is the basis for the French appellation system for wines. A Burgundy wine has to come from Burgundy, and they can trademark and protect that from imitators. Now terroir is apparently a borrowed English term, so you can drop it into your next cocktail party conversation.

Terroir originally referred to wine production, but has been applied more recently to the local foods culture. "We crave food with stories," says the author. “We crave stories, I think,” muses Paul.