Special Report
Blair Nosan:
"Judaism and
environmental-
ism had never
before been
linked, let alone
by Je rry Zo ly ns ky
adjacent, in my
experiences."
Preserving The Earth
Young Detroiter blends environmental spirit with Judaism.
Shelli Liebman Dorfman
Senior Writer
G
rowing up in West Bloomfield,
Blair Nosan could not have
imagined making her home in
an urban prairie or choosing the unlikely
profession of becoming a pickier.
"There's not much I can think of that's
more intriguing, bizarre or comical than a
25-year-old purporting to form her career
around being elbow deep in brine," said
Nosan, who owns and runs the Detroit-
based artisanal fermented pickle business,
Suddenly Sauer. But it's part of what she
does to fulfill her passions for preparing
new foods and teaching others how to
make homegrown products.
"And I can base what I do in my house,
20 minutes from the suburb where my par-
ents live she said. "It is an amazing cul-
tural experience and culture shock. I can
be close to my family — parents Jo-Anne
and Terry and sister Stephanie, 22, in West
Bloomfield — but in a place where I am
less than two miles from downtown and
I can look out the window into gardens,
freeways and open space."
Nosan's introduction to the pickle busi-
ness was accompanied by an unexpected
bond with Judaism.
In 2008, she graduated from University
of Michigan in Ann Arbor with a triple
major in English, French and women's
studies. She had lived for four months in
France in 2005.
"At that time, I had little interest in
Judaism," she said. "I had worked on an
organic farm and a `from-scratch' pizza
kitchen. I studied the arts in college, not
environmentalism — not pickling, for
sure. [In France], I fell in love with the
European food system that provides for
a more universal access to fresh, quality
food."
Nosan considered going to graduate
school, maybe becoming a professor.
"Nothing really sparked my imagination,
though',' she said. "My sister, Loren, who is
28 and lives in Portland, had worked on a
Preserving The Earth on page 14
January 20 2011
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