100%

Scanned image of the page. Keyboard directions: use + to zoom in, - to zoom out, arrow keys to pan inside the viewer.

Page Options

Share

Something wrong?

Something wrong with this page? Report problem.

Rights / Permissions

The University of Michigan Library provides access to these materials for educational and research purposes. These materials may be under copyright. If you decide to use any of these materials, you are responsible for making your own legal assessment and securing any necessary permission. If you have questions about the collection, please contact the Bentley Historical Library at bentley.ref@umich.edu

January 20, 2011 - Image 13

Resource type:
Text
Publication:
The Detroit Jewish News, 2011-01-20

Disclaimer: Computer generated plain text may have errors. Read more about this.

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

13

Back to Top

© 2025 Regents of the University of Michigan