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| Purple Calabash |
[I now have a column in the Franklin County Free Press (online). There may be different topics covered there. Please visit their page. I am sharing my April 10, 2021, column here.]
Heirlooms provide a sense of history. The wardrobe from Great Aunt Rose’s attic, an antique carved chair, and a rusty tool from a local auction carry a sense of history, of the people who used them. This holds true for heirloom vegetable varieties.
“Heirloom seeds are usually more than 50 years old and have been passed down from generation to generation,” said Kathy McFarland, Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company . “This means they come with fascinating stories and heritage from years past.”
While the stories don’t enhance flavor, shelf-life, or color they are a way to connect to our vegetable heritage. “Heirloom seeds have often been handed down as family favorites,” said Christine Mayer, Director at Wilson College’s Fulton Center for Sustainable Living.
Heirloom varieties are open pollinated which means that, unlike hybrids, seeds you collect from one year will produce the same plants the next year. “Using heirlooms helps preserve the gene pool and assure that resilience from pests, diseases and climate are built into the system,” noted Mayer.
Many gardeners are drawn to stories behind the names. ‘Radiator Charlie’s Mortgage Lifter’ tomato came from radiator business owner, “Charlie,” who came up with a large, meaty, and productive variety that he sold during the depression. He used the money to pay off his mortgage.
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| Aunt Lou's Underground Railroad |
Home gardeners have the luxury to choose what they grow. Many choose heirlooms for taste, size, hardiness, qualities for cooking, and color not found in hybrids; and savings seeds from year to year ensures the same plants.
The Japanese White eggplants, originally from Kyoto, Japan, are considered a Kyoto heirloom and are often found in home gardens and served in upscale restaurants. Their spongy texture quickly absorbs flavors such as ginger, soy sauce and miso as well as any sauces.
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| Japanese White Eggplant |
Heirlooms may not be pretty but gardeners seeking tasty fruit often find them the best. “Most heirlooms taste better than the hybrid and genetically modified produce because these have been bred and selected for generations based on how they taste,” said McFarland.
Pennsylvania heirloom tomatoes include Brandywine, reported to be introduced in 1885 by Amish farmers in Chester County. Other heirlooms include Amish Paste, Hahnstown Yellow, Amish Oxheart and Eva's Amish Stripe.
The Hinkel Hatz pepper is named for fruits the size and shape of chicken hearts – a translation of hinkel hatz. It is a rare Pennsylvania Dutch heirloom dating to before 1880. The peppers are usually red or yellow and reported to have been cultivated for over 150 years.
Fish Peppers date to the early 1800's, grown by African Americans in Philadelphia and Baltimore. Black chefs made white paprika from the creamy white young pods for fish and shellfish white cream sauces, a secret ingredient passed down through oral history. The white paprika did not detract from the dish's appearance.
The rediscovery of these peppers may be due to a barter - bees for seeds. In the 1940’s, Horace Pippin sought a remedy for his war wounds. Hearing that bee stings may relieve the pain, he bought bees from H. Ralph Weaver, in exchange for vegetable seeds which included the rare fish pepper. These seeds were made available to in the 1995 Seed Savers Exchange Yearbook.
Several years ago, I discovered German Strawberry oxheart tomatoes. Strawberry refers to the shape and not the size. Oxheart tomatoes are large (up to 3 lbs.), heavy and meaty with few seeds. Here are a few pictures.
CKagan, Master Gardener
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