In eighteenth century America, crop varieties were not patented. Yet they sometimes carried a special distinction, depending upon the farmer who grew them. Certainly the great advocate of enlightenment thinking Thomas Jefferson was aware of this, and spent many a day searching out distinctive varieties for his gardens at Monticello.
This emphasis on the uniquely American combination of new world soils and cultivation challenges, and old world varieties, proved an irresistible combination for early 18th century “foodies.” When Ben Franklin or John Adams dined in a fine Philadelphia restaurant, the meal might end with the offer of a dessert apple, polished and presented in a lidless box with a handwritten label indicating the variety, such as “Pippin,” and the carefully written name of the upstate farmer who had grown it.
Such flourishes may seem a pretension, yet they speak of an appreciation for the effort and time required to produce anything worth eating. Today, we might call this “slow food,” and we see the products of this legacy in the carefully crafted artisanal foods produced with maximum care and minimal processing. I hope you know of such a careful food producer, and that you support them.
Slow food: Liberty Apple tree( left) and McIntosh apple(right) flank a view of the Kieffer pear tree beyond. The pale yellow iris "Flavascens," was brought west by the pioneers.
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