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Got these two truly great apples at farmers market on Wednesday.
To be specific, there's McIntosh, the tart, balanced king of autumn in these parts. A steal at $2.50/lb.
Next to it is the Chestnut Crabapple, a little wonder that is not to be missed. Proudly marked "Heirloom," it went for $4.00/lb. (!).
So, what makes it an "heirloom"?
Beats me.
Hoary heirloom history
Okay, that is older than me, but "heirloom"? How so?
McIntosh, on the other hand, was a chance seedling discovered by John McIntosh on his Ontario farm.
In 1811.
But no "heirloom" imprimatur for you, Mac.
Note, I am happy to shell out $4 for those Chestnuts, whatever you call them. But it seems a little arbitrary, and a little pretentious, to just slap "heirloom" on every specialty apple. Is Honeycrisp next?
P.S. Suzanne Long of Toronto makes a compelling case for "heritage apple" over "heirloom."
Good point about the current use of the word heirloom for food, I hadn't thought about that carefully. I think in veggies it has come to mean that the variety is open pollinated and somewhat true to parent when grown out, and at least one generation old.
ReplyDeleteFor apples, it seems like people use it for anything that is uncommon, regional, not mass marketed, and not totally new.
Like that word "gourmet," which in marketing-speak seems to basically mean "you can eat this."
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