A Slow, But Delicious, Ark

Have you ever tasted a Radiator Charlie’s Mortgage Lifter tomato?  Probably not. This tomato originated in West Virginia in the 1930s.  It was developed by a man named Charlie Byles who owned a radiator repair shop and had no plant breeding experience at all — this tomato was the only breeding work he ever did.  Apparently his tomato was a success for he was able to pay off the mortgage on his house by selling seedlings.  I’ve never tasted a Radiator Charlie’s Mortgage Lifter tomato myself but those who have say it’s wonderful – a very meaty slicer with spicy, roasted flavors and low acidity.  Sounds good to me.

So why won’t you find Radiator Charlie’s Mortgage Lifter tomatoes at Safeway?  Out of over 7,000 varieties of tomatoes in the world, only a small handful are available your local supermarket.  This is simply because the varieties of tomatoes grown for mass consumption are bred for firmness (ease of transport), uniformity, and shelf life at the expense of flavor, texture, diversity and heritage.  But anyone who has ever sliced into a hyper-bland Safeway tomato (you know – the ones of that look red but taste green) already knows this.  I think we deserve better.

My advice?  Climb aboard the Ark of Taste.

The Ark of Taste was developed and is maintained by the Slow Food organization.  The mission of Slow Food is to combat fast food. It seeks to preserve cultural cuisine and the associated heritage food plants and seeds, domestic animals, and farming.  The movement currently has over 83,000 members in 122 countries.  Slow Food’s Ark of Taste is a catalogue of foods that are in danger of extinction due to our current farming system of mono-culture and mass-production. Since 1996, more than 800 products from over 50 countries have been added to the Ark.  These foods include vegetables, fruits and berries, nuts, cereals, cheeses, fish, shellfish, game, livestock, poultry, beverages, honey, spices, syrups, vinegars, and more.  In order to qualify for the Ark of Taste, food products must be:

1. Outstanding in terms of taste.
2. At risk biologically or as culinary traditions.
3. Sustainably produced.
4. Culturally or historically linked to a specific region, locality, ethnicity or traditional production practice.
5.  Produced in limited quantities by farms or by small scale processing companies.

But here’s the really cool thing about the Ark – it’s easy to get onboard.  Check out your local Farmer’s Market for Ark products.  Or better yet, start from scratch – order up seeds from conservation-minded companies such as Seed Savers Exchange and Seeds of Change.  This week I received the last of my seed orders in the mail.  Along with my usual heirloom favorites, I intend to grow 12 varieties of Ark tomatoes in the organic garden at Michel-Schlumberger this year.  We’re also gearing up to introduce several varieties of Ark chickens to our flock.  And maybe a turkey or two.

We’re very excited.  And very hungry.

For a current list of what’s on the Ark, as well as where to find these products in your area check out:

http://www.localharvest.org/ark-of-taste.jsp

Tagged as: Dry Creek Valley, Dry Creek Valley Wines, Michel-Schlumberger Wine Estate, organic gardening, Slow Food, Slow Food Taste of Ark, Taste of Ark