The Sunshine State’s culinary map reads like a guide to world cuisine. Nearly every continent on the globe is represented on local menus, along with the state’s own unique fare—a creative fusion of international flavors—plus savory favorites that have trickled down from the Deep South.
But beyond pulling your chair up to a restaurant table, there are other ways to experience Florida’s delicious bounty, and many involve rolling up your sleeves and participating in the process of getting food from Point A to Point M—your mouth.
A Zest for Oranges
If you had to pick the crop most closely identified with the Sunshine State, it would have to be oranges, and counties with names like "Orange" and "Citrus" certainly bear this out, though these two more northern locales are no longer major producers of the tart-but-sweet fruit. Instead, Florida’s "orange belt" is centered squarely in its mid-section and toward points south, in the rich countryside surrounding Lake Okeechobee.
One of the most prolific sources for Florida oranges is Indian River County on the central east coast, where you’ll find Al’s Family Farms, growers and shippers of Florida citrus since 1977 and one of the few places where groups are welcome to tour the actual facility where the fruit is processed.
"We take them along the ‘wash line’ so they can see the fruit being washed, then sanitized, graded and sized," says Shari Bentley, customer relations representative. "They also go into the packinghouse and watch us pack gift fruit."
Guests are then invited to sit on the back porch and learn about the "old days" of fruit packing, and everyone enjoys a taste of fresh-squeezed orange juice as well as samples of fruit varieties that are in season at the time. Visitors also get a few pointers about maximizing the taste of oranges at home.
"We show them how to cut the fruit so that there are no seeds," Bentley says. "So they don’t have to peel it and get all sticky."
Daily tours are offered from January through Easter, with an optional lunch from the outdoor grill provided at the bargain rate of $8 per person. Al’s also will run special tours by advance reservation through May.
"We want people to see fruit!" Bentley says.
Groups of up to 80 can be accommodated, with 30 being the ideal size, she notes.
Another fruitful location for the citrus industry is Polk County, where Ridge Island Groves in Haines City welcomes people to come in and pick their own fruit right off the tree. "Tour buses come in all the time," reports office manager Chad Ritch. "We allow people to come and pick fruit out of our groves. From the picking to the packing, people can observe the entire process."
Fruit processing has blossomed into an entire attraction at Mixon Fruit Farms in the Gulf Coast town of Bradenton. The Mixon family has planted, grown, picked and packaged citrus for 70 years, but recently added a butterfly garden, a wildlife rescue area, a koi pond, tram tours and even a 1,500-square-foot meeting room with restrooms, WiFi and a kitchen. Smaller meeting rooms and an outdoor pavilion are also available for groups.
"We do a little bit of everything," says owner Janet Mixon. "From November to April, there’s actually fruit on the trees, but we do tours all year long. If you come off-season, we have a video we can show."
In-season tours include a visit to the plant, where visitors watch the fruit get washed, waxed and juiced, while a busy calendar of events includes twice-monthly concerts in the orange groves, and a spring Orange Blossom Festival with crafts, food, rides and farm animals.
One thing you don’t want to miss is a visit to the gift shop.
"It’s 14,000 square feet," Mixon says. "We have a fruit area where we give away free samples of orange, grapefruit and lemonade."
If that doesn’t satisfy your sweet tooth, the shop also sells 35 different flavors of fudge, tropical shakes and baked goodies made on the premises.
The Farm Report
The Mixon farm is actually part of a small group of local farmers that has banded together under the name "the Gulf Coast Agventure," working collaboratively to market themselves and offer tours. Plans are still in development, but some programs—like those at Mixon—are in place already, reports spokesperson Gentry Baumline-Robinson.
Another member of the group, Dakin Dairy Farm, is set farther inland in Myakka City, where a 45-minute tour along the "milk trail" takes visitors through the entire dairy process, from milking the cows to pasteurization and bottling.
In addition to the dairy, Dakin offers tours of the entire farm, including a hayride, while a corn maze is assembled from the end of October to January. Pig races, an animal barn and hen house, hay tunnels, a farm market featuring homemade ice cream, and nighttime marshmallow roasts add to the fun.
Just southeast of Myakka City in the picturesque Charlotte Harbor town of Punta Gorda, Worden Farm takes an educational approach to visitor activities, offering a variety of workshops, with topics including food preservation and cheesemaking, as well as apprenticeship programs. The 85-acre organic farm produces over 50 different varieties of certified organic vegetables, fruits, herbs and flowers, without conventional pesticides or synthetic fertilizers.
"The maximum capacity for a workshop is 40," says co-founder Eva Worden. "For a farm tour, our wagon holds 22, but for larger group tours, we can do walking tours or split into smaller groups."
Across the state, set in the rural farmlands of Homestead south of Miami, Paradise Farms is another organic operation. It sells micro greens, herbs, tomatoes, tropical fruits and other produce to high-end restaurants in the city.
Paradise recently introduced new B&B Farm Stay experiences, welcoming guests to the "Zen Bungalow" or the "Bird House." Guests pick their own edible flowers for salads, take food preparation classes and learn the process of organic gardening.
Heading north to the quiet Atlantic city of Palm Coast, the Florida Agricultural Museum is like a blast from Florida’s rural past, with a fully restored pioneer homestead from the 1890s, a turn-of-the-20th-century dry goods store and restored buildings left over from a 1930s citrus business. Visitors hunt for eggs, pump water, shell corn, churn butter and can vegetables and fruits, but the farm can customize group programs as well.
"We will custom-build an open-fire cooking program with cornbread, greens and traditional Southern food," says Bruce Piatek, museum director. "We also work with the local producers for farm tours. So if it’s blueberry season, for example, we can arrange to take people out and show them where their food comes from. Right now, it’s cabbage season."
If you’ll be meeting in Florida’s capital city of Tallahassee this fall, October is the month when nearly 40 nearby farms—covering North Florida and South Georgia—open their doors to the public during New Leaf Market’s annual Farm Tour. Visitors tour working dairies, ranches, orchards, gardens and farms; attend workshops on gardening and other topics; navigate corn mazes; and buy fresh produce, eggs, artisan cheese, nuts, honey, preserves and other goodies.
Catch of the Day
Getting hands-on with your food isn’t limited to dry land. Get your snorkel and fins ready because you can go scalloping in the waters off Taylor County in Florida’s "big bend" region, one of the few places in the state where people can harvest their own scallops. Local operators can help with the boat, diver’s flag and recreational saltwater fishing license, which is easy to acquire, then everyone just needs a mesh bag to haul their prizes in. Scallop season runs from July 1 to Sept. 10.
Nearby is Apalachicola, whose claim to fame is that succulent culinary delicacy, the oyster. The shallow waters and estuarine environment of Apalachicola Bay make it ideal for oyster harvesting, and there are 7,000 acres of public oyster "bars" in the bay. Oyster harvesting hasn’t changed much in a hundred years—"tongers" or "oystermen" go out on small wooden boats, using specialized tongs to bring the oysters to the surface. If your group would like to join in, try Book Me A Charter, Journeys of St. George Island or Captain Doug.
Farther down the Gulf Coast, Captain Gus’ Crabby Adventures invites groups of four to six to be mates aboard a commercial crab boat, learning to pull and bait crab traps, then cleaning, steaming and eating their catch of stone crabs and blue crabs, fresh from Tampa Bay.
