This week was the final pick of our juicy sweet watermelons! And apple season has arrived! We're so delighted to be working with Scott Farm Orchards again this year. They grow a wonderful variety of ecologically grown heirloom apples. This week we have ginger gold apples and a delicious heirloom called Hubbarston Nonesuch, check them out!
Heirloom vs. Hybrids. Apples, and produce in general, are generally divided into two large categories- heirloom and hybrid. Many of the commercial apple varieties we see in grocery stores are hybrids combining the favorite attributes of various heirlooms - namely, predictable traits of size, color, transportability and storage life. Heirlooms, on the other hand, are open pollinated and have been preserved and passed along for generations in their “pure” form. In today’s commercial market, heirlooms might be less desirable as they can have funny shapes and unattractive colors (here’s looking at you, Knobbed Russet) and may only get sweet enough to eat out of hand after a few months in storage. But ultimately these heirloom varieties represent an incredible diversity of flavors, shapes, sizes, colors and genetic diversity that is so important to preserve.
