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(C) CROWN PACKING
CO.
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Of Heirlooms, Varieties and other Confusing
Titles
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| Of Heirlooms, Varieties and other Confusing
Titles |
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 Our
produce stands, farmers markets and grocery stores are filled
with an increasing, dazzling but bewildering assortment of
fruits and vegetables, with even more titles to match. To familiarize
you with what we feature at our produce stand, and to help
clear away the fuzziness that accompanies these terms, here’s
a bit of language clarification:
At our produce stand, we often carry different kinds of lettuces,
apples, and other fruits and vegetables. For example, we typically
feature seven kinds of lettuce (iceberg, romaine, red romaine,
green leaf, red leaf, butter and red butter), in addition to
baby spring mix. In both the world of farming and eating, different
kinds of lettuce are typically seen as distinct and not necessarily
interchangeable. Thus, different kinds of lettuce, while not
completely different vegetables, are almost separate categories.
A desperate or easy going customer may substitute, but most
shoppers know what they want, and are not interested in putting
red leaf lettuce in their tacos in place of iceberg.
To varying degrees, depending on the individual shopper and
the item, this semi-distinctness between kinds is true of other
produce. We carry at least three different kinds of potatoes
(red skin, yellow flesh, russet), multiple kinds of tomatoes,
and various summer melons. In the fall we offer many different
kinds of pumpkins, winter squash and apples.
To make matters more complicated, there are specific varieties
of every kind of fruit and vegetable. There are literally hundreds
of varieties of iceberg lettuce for example. The specific variety
of iceberg lettuce is usually uninteresting and irrelevant
to the consumer, as there is almost no significant difference
in taste and appearance. Strawberry varieties, also numerous,
are not of interest to most buyers either, although some home
gardeners and food connoisseurs are curious. Individual varieties
of produce items have typically not been a big issue to most
people.
But in a nation of marketers, enthusiastic gardeners and endless
new cookbook titles, some people are paying more attention
to specific varieties of fruits and vegetables and expressing
a preference for these varieties in their shopping, eating
and gardening. The Yukon Gold yellow fleshed potato and the
Brandywine Heirloom tomato are examples of this phenomenon.
Heirloom varieties are represented as especially colorful,
unusual, or delicious, but this is an incorrect definition.
Heirloom varieties are simply old varieties. While some are
tasty and eye catching, so are many relatively new hybrid varieties.
At The Farm we do grow and experiment with heirlooms, unusual
plants, and interesting varieties. When our tomatoes produce
in August, we will offer fourteen varieties, including heirlooms.
We are currently trialing more than a dozen different varieties
of potatoes, four kinds of beets, six different cucumbers,
and six string beans. We are actively looking for what we can
grow the best, what tastes the best and what looks the best.
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