From an early age my parents taught me the importance of “variety” for fruits and vegetables. Not as in “eating a variety” of them, but rather, choosing the right variety. My dad’s grandfather was fruit and vegetable farmer. He took us apple picking every year in the fall and we would pick several different varities. Cortland for pies and applesauce, McIntosh for eating fresh, McCoun for making cider. “Red Delicious” apples were not allowed in our house.
After I started farming at Terra Firma, my brother asked me why sometimes he would buy a nectarine in the supermarket and it was incredibly delicious, but the next week he would buy “the same” nectarines at the same supermarket only to find them very disappointing. I told him that the nectarines the second week were a different variety that looked the same as the variety he liked, and that (especially at that time) supermarkets did not advertise the variety names. The easiest solution to this problem was for him to shop for fruit at the farmers’ market, where the farmers do in fact label the fruit and vegetables with their specific variety name. Moreover, farmers selling directly to the public have more accountability: if someone buys a piece of fruit that doesn’t taste good, they are likely to let the farmer know about it — or simply stop shopping at their stand.
The sheer number of varieties of fruits and vegetables that exist is overwhelming. If you’ve ever read through a seed catalog or tried to navigate a seed company’s website, you’ve only just scratched the surface. For every one offering they might have, there are likely a dozen or more similar varieties. And the number of defining characteristics is even more overwhelming. First, there are the characteristics of the plant itself: how fast does it grow, what climates and regions it prefers, what pests and diseases it can tolerate or not, etc. Then there are the characteristics of the product it produces, the actual fruit or vegetable: Size, shape, color, flavor, texture, post-harvest considerations like shelf life, days to maturity, and others. A variety can taste great but perform poorly in other ways, and vis versa.
Because large retailers buy the vast majority of the fruits and vegetables that bought by consumers, most farmers grow varieties that meet the needs of those buyers — not the end user. Shelf life and appearance are the two most important factors. Display space is limited, so retailers tend to limit the number of different varieties of any one item at a time. They also focus on efficiency and consistency: keeping an item consistently in stock over longer periods of time makes it easier for staff and shoppers alike.’
This has led to any number of abominations developed by plant breeders. Right at the top of my list are peaches and nectarines bred for long-shipping and extended shelf life. They are described with terms like “non-melting” and “low acid”, euphemisms for “hard as a rock” and “no flavor”. Yet they look much the same externally as a traditional peach or nectarine that you might expect to be juicy with a complex balance of sugar and acid. Another Frankenstein Monster of the produce world is the “long shipper” Cantelope, which never softens but instead stays hard for a month or longer. Great for the retailer, not so great for the unfortunate consumer who might be expecting a luscious summer treat.
The continued development of fruits and vegetables with no appreciation for the end user has created a solid niche for small and medium sized farmers like us who are selling direct to consumers. We can’t focus exclusively on varietal traits that appeal to our customers — the crop still needs to produce well for us and make a profit — we take a lot of pride at Terra Firma for selecting varieties that you might not find easily in the supermarket.
One of my favorite examples is Butter Lettuce. When I was a kid, my mom used to buy it any time she found it, but many supermarkets don’t carry it because it is more fragile to handle than iceberg, red leaf or green leaf lettuce. But the eating quality is amazing. Several years ago, I discovered a variety called “Alkindus” that not only had wonderful eating quality and a beautiful appearance, but also had better tolerance for the cold, wet weather we experience during our lettuce season (winter and spring) than most other lettuces of any type. It was a win for our CSA subscribers, and a win for us.
And circling back to the question of Nectarine (and Peach) variety names, it is true that we rarely advertise the names of the varieties we send you each week. There are two reasons for that. First, most of the varieties have very boring names that refer to the month they are harvested and the name of the breeder — or even a number. Second, we only grow “old timey” varieties: juicy with a nice rich flavor that balances tart and sweet. (We do grow low-acid “Donut Peaches” but those are visually quite different).
I hope that our subscribers recognize how hard we work not just to grow the produce we grow, but to find great varieties for you to enjoy. A large variety of varieties, in fact. And I am proud to be “grooming” another generation of eaters — the kids of subscribers who have them — to appreciate what good produce really tastes like.
Thanks,