DRAFT, Heidi Busse March 24, 2009

Forgotten Fruits: Conserving Apples in the Landscape

An Overview of the March 2009 Renewing America’s Food Traditions Apple Summit Held at the University of Wisconsin Arboretum in Madison, Wisconsin

Participants include (front row, L-R): Kanin Routson, Tom Brown, Gary Nabhan, Nikki Rothwell, Dan

Young, Tom Burford. Row 2: Gordon Tooley, Michael Phillips, Dan Bussey, Suzanne Nelson, Peter

Klein. Row 3: Cindy Cummins, Jim Cummins, David Karp, John Bunker. Row 4: Bill Moretz, Lee

Peemoeller, DeJa Walker, Jenny Trotter, Lee Calhoun, Kent Whealy, Judy Kern, Heidi Busse, Chuck

Shelton and Ben Watson.

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Hold a single apple in your hand, and the steady roundness fills your palm. If you place

it on a cutting board and slice it in half, cross-wise through its equator, two even halves

will fall. When the apple pauses from rocking to regain its balance, pull your face a little

closer. There is so much sensory delight and diversity in apples – their colors and

scents, flavors and shapes. But no matter what apple you slice, all hide their seeds inside

a five-pointed star. Apple trees of the past and the future are contained within each

apple.

I am a romantic, and easily tempted to find meaning in the mundane. So as I sit here

staring at a knobby little apple, I wonder what lessons can be drawn from it and the

seeds it holds inside. What has gone wrong to make so many apple varieties threatened

and endangered? What can be done? I believe the apple itself might hold some of the

answers – with its seeds that are hidden, but not forgotten.

I hadn‟t thought this

closely about apples

until last week when

apple experts and

advocates from

across the United

States met in

Madison,

Wisconsin. Under

the leadership of Dr.

Gary Nabhan,

founder and

facilitator of the

Renewing

America‟s Food

Traditions (RAFT)

alliance, and Jenny

Trotter of Slow

Food-USA, nearly

20 apple experts

assembled for a

“Forgotten Fruits Summit” to discuss the alarming decline of apple varieties and

identify strategies for maintaining apples in the landscape.

This was the inaugural summit for RAFT‟s Heirloom Apple community, but you

wouldn‟t guess this was their first time meeting by the enthusiastic discussions and non-

stop conversations that tickled the room. This collection of apple enthusiasts have spent

Orchard Restoration Workshop with Dan Bussey and Kanin Routson.

Photo by Mark Dohm

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their entire lives grafting, pruning, harvesting, pressing, enjoying and fighting for

apples.

As the experts went around the room and introduced themselves and their background,

it soon became clear that they were not just talking about apples. But, equally, their life

stories were being told by apples that they have grown, written about and even brought

on the plane to share. So much of

who these people are is rooted in the

landscape they come from.

Take Tom Burford from Virginia,

who is a self-confessed apple

historian, corrupter and educator. His

story begins with how he “was born

under an apple tree on a very hot

August day in 1935. My mother and

grandmother went to harvest some

smokehouse apples to fry for supper.

When my mother arrived at the tree,

she said „I think I‟d better go back to

the house,‟ and ten minutes later I

came into the world. And because

my life has since been devoted to

apples, I later would kid her,

„Mother, why couldn‟t you just let

me be born under the apple tree?‟

That would have added a more

flavorful tale to my life story. But she replied, „Son, it would have been comfortable for

you, but not comfortable for me.‟”

Burford continues to describe how apples and agriculture shaped his ways of perceiving

and being in the world: “My parents were very involved in agriculture in Virginia. They

both were aware of the importance of diversity on a farm… when I walked out our back

door, we had more than 50 varieties of apples in our orchard and perhaps a dozen pears.

I assumed everybody in the world had this. Little did I know at the time that some of

these fruits were quite rare.”

Burford‟s parents encouraged a sense of appreciation and studious observation in him as

a young boy. He gained an early recognition that apples were not just a passive part of

the landscape, but required care and nurture to survive. “[My parents] asked [me] to

keep a journal when I was about 10, and now I have 27 boxes [of old journals] that I

wouldn‟t dare release because of the potential litigation against me that is held in

Tom Burford. Photo by Mark Dohm.

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them… but I did keep a lot of horticultural

notes, and I was particularly interested in

fruit trees. In my later years, I could come

back to these and extract information about

trees… [with lessons] like it was important

to plant diverse varieties. During the

Depression, if you didn‟t have a crop of

fruit, you went hungry. I also recorded the

different harvest times for different

varieties, like Kenneth Troys and

Winesaps.”

Burford‟s early exposure to apples grew

into a lifelong vocation that took a unique

turn later in his life. “I had a production

nursery for about 40 years… I was

collecting hundreds of varieties, and

realized that I didn‟t have a goal for what I

was doing. And then one day I looked at my list and saw that the varieties could be

categorized into regions… apples from the south, apples from New England, apples

from the Great Lakes. I shortly closed my nursery and have devoted my time since to

education about the regionality of apples.

“My work today is about education. I am a corrupter and propagandist… I want to help

people discover that they can have a passion for apples.”

Apples have a system for storing and transmitting their genetic information, passing on

their traits from generation to generation through seeds. Similarly, cultures create

systems for passing on knowledge and tools to a new generation to ensure the vitality

and health of their communities. Burford is one of these cultural pollinators, sharing his

knowledge with young growers to ensure the stories and traditions have a future.

What kinds of knowledge do apple experts have to share with beginning growers? Well,

for starters, apple growers know exactly which apples are best for fresh eating, storage,

baking and cider-making. All of this knowledge can be learned, and much is best gained

through experience and the “school of hard knocks.” Many of the apple experts conduct

seminars and lead workshops at their orchards. Gordon Tooley of Tooley‟s Trees in

Truchas, New Mexico, has developed a 6-month hands-on workshop for growers, to

instruct them in apple production from soil preparation, site planning and apple

selection to harvesting, value-added production options and marketing.

Lee Calhoun discussing his book on Southern

apples. Photo by Mark Dohm.

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But both apples and apple growers are in trouble. Their knowledge-sharing systems

have been disrupted. And as the sheer number of apple growers declines, so too does

their storehouse of knowledge. Because of the apple‟s importance to our cultural

heritage, Slow Food USA has placed 129 varieties on its “Ark of Taste” to raise

awareness and encourage interest in these regional and heritage varieties. For more

information on these 129 varieties and the American apple, visit:

http://www.slowfoodusa.org/index.php/programs/ark_product_detail/american_apple/.

The core task put before the fruit experts at their summit was this: to discuss the

country’s declining apple diversity in order to identify strategies for restoration and

raising a new generation to the trade.

“A decade ago, I would never have dreamed that we would be together in this room.

That we would be a driving force to help nurture the future of the apple in America,”

Burford notes. And their work couldn‟t come at a more critical time.

A brief history of the apple in America - Apples originated in Kazakhstan, and came to

North America via Spanish conquistadors, French missionaries and English pilgrims.

These immigrants and explorers couldn‟t imagine moving to a place without bringing

their apple varieties and culture with them. So they tucked seeds or brought graftings on

the ships. Apples adapted very well to the varied climates and landscapes of the New

World. At one time, North America had over 14,000 apple varieties populating habitats

Apple experts learning about the natural history of the University of Wisconsin-

Arboretum. Photo by Mark Dohm.

http://www.slowfoodusa.org/index.php/programs/ark_product_detail/american_apple/

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from coast to coast. But in the 2001 Fruit, Berry and Nut Inventory published by Seed

Savers Exchange (Whealy, 2001), the number of apple varieties available to Americans

through nursery stocks had dwindled to 1,500. The continued tragedy is that in 2009,

only 11 apples comprise 90% of what Americans can access and enjoy.

So if the goal is to identify and preserve apple

varieties, why are these growers meeting in

spring when the apple harvest season in late

summer and fall? Wouldn‟t a case for them be

better made in October? Well, apples aren‟t just

for fresh eating. Nabhan reminds us that “in

spring, farmers would „drink‟ their apples. If we

go back into early Americana, the average

American male was drinking 50 barrels of hard

cider a year. It was a food that we consumed as

much by drinking as by eating. Apples were on

American tables every day, as a sauce, beverage

or even a fritter.”

Nabhan‟s point is that apples are not just for

fresh eating – if we are going to remember the

abundance of apple varieties, we also need to

document the abundant ways to enjoy them.

Apple cider, apple jack, apple leather, apple

„shrub,‟ applesauce, apple jelly, caramel apples and dried apple rings, to start.

Think about this: if you go out into the woods and find an apple tree in the fall, it

probably won‟t be very good – it might be wormy, warped or bitter. A delicious apple

often requires human intervention. And yet that human intervention can also take a

bitter, tart or sharp apple (most often a blend of all three types), push it through a cider

press and make something exquisite. And fruit growers and food enthusiasts are

realizing the pleasures of apples in this form, as cideries in the Midwest and New

England experience a resurgence, similar to what craft brewers experienced a few years

ago.

Fall remnant, Dan Bussey Orchard.

Photo by Mark Dohm

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Which is why it is so important for apple growers from across the country to come

together to share their work, growing their knowledge and understanding of the larger

movement and activities in diverse regions. As Nabhan noted, the gathering was not just

about saving specific apple varieties but about “saving apple culture. You can think of

this as the Buena Vista Social Club of apple growers. [These apple growers] have all

worked so hard in their parts of the country to grow apples and record their names and

stories. Each is so intent on rescuing apple history in their neck of the woods, that they

never had time to meet each other.”

Okay – he‟s got a point. What would we be without Ruben Gonzalez or Ibrahim Ferrer.

(Or Leadbelly, Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Joan Baez or Greg Brown)? And what if

no one had attended their concerts or made a recording? Food is just as important to our

cultural heritage as music, theater, dance, poetry and other forms of art.

These apple experts spent Thursday, March 19, 2009 at the University of Wisconsin-

Madison Arboretum, using their collective wisdom to discuss solutions for how to

maintain our apple culture. The day included presentations, small group discussion,

brainstorming, debate and a tour of the UW-Arboretum‟s native habitats. A full

description of the guiding questions and outcomes from this meeting can be found in the

“Forgotten Fruits Manual and Manifesto,” available from Slow Food-USA at

http://www.slowfoodusa.org/index.php/programs/raft_detail/publications/.

Bill Moretz, Tom Brown, Lee Calhoun, Tom Burford and Chuck Shelton discussing

regionalities of southern apples. Photo by Mark Dohm.

http://www.slowfoodusa.org/index.php/programs/raft_detail/publications/

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Some of the guiding questions that directed the workshop included:

1. BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOTS: Where are the areas of richest diversity for heirloom, old-

time and heritage apple varieties? Where are there gaps in the knowledge?

2. CAUSES OF GENETIC LOSS: What factors are contributing to the decline of apples and

apple varieties? What are you currently doing to address and mitigate these factors? What

should be done?

3. RESTORATION WORK: What is the single most effective thing that you have done to

bring back apples? What collective actions are needed? And what kinds of funding and support

organizations should be involved?

4. NEW FARMER TRAINING: If you were to ask the younger people of America to take on

one part of your work and legacy, what would it be?

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But if the purpose was just as much to preserve culinary traditions as it was to identify

how to preserve their habitat for apples, then the day could not end without a celebration

around the table.

Tami Lax, owner of Harvest

Restaurant and a founding member of

Slow Food-Madison, hosted the apple

growers for such an evening dinner.

Tami is (in)famous for her passion for

apples and contribution to restoring

Wisconsin‟s food culture, having co-

founded the first Slow Food chapter in

the state and launching successful

restaurants like Harvest Restaurant

and The Old Fashioned. Her

connection to apples began in the late

1990s when she apprenticed with Ken

Weston of Weston‟s Antique Orchard

(New Berlin, WI) to learn the

challenges and benefits of growing

apples. In fact, the first Slow Food-

Madison tasting was an apple tasting

she organized at Weston‟s Orchard

back in the late „90s.

For the fruit experts‟ visit, her

Executive Chef Derek Rowe prepared

a three flight tasting menu, featuring three distinct cider styles with regional artisan food

accompaniments. In addition to savoring beautiful drinks and foods, Nabhan and Ben

Watson (author, editor and orchard grower, from New Hampshire, who has a book on

ciders) facilitated an evening of story-telling.

Glasses prepared for serving, Harvest Restaurant.

Photo by Mark Dohm.

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One of the story-tellers was John Bunker. Bunker hails from Maine, and found his

calling to become an orchardist while working in the produce section of the Belfast

Food Co-op in Maine. One day a grower named Ira Proctor walked in to see if the co-op

would sell some of his apples. Bunker had

never seen apples like these before – colors

so beautiful, skin so smooth, flavors so wild.

His interest in apples took root. Today he

has his own orchard in addition to running

FEDCO Seeds orchard nursery called

FEDCO Trees. On the side, Bunker is a

historian and apple writer, with books telling

the stories of apples from Palermo, Maine.

Amidst the variety of people at the Harvest

Cider Tasting, there was a common purpose,

a common passion that consumed these

growers who have devoted their lives to this

work. They all have a personal motivation

for doing what they do, as unique and

distinct as the mesas of northern New

Mexico are from the wooded pastures of

southern Wisconsin. But it is exactly this

regionalism that each of the apple

growers fights for that has brought them

together. I wonder if their true love lies not

in the flavorful apples, but in the landscape where they come from. They all seem to

carry a sense of home that never leaves them and that they know as true.

Nabhan speaks eloquently to this regionalism, “An apple is as many things as the places

where apples are grown… a Gravenstein from Nova Scotia is not the same as a

California Gravenstein. They have their own distinct flavors based on unique ripening

times, climate, soils, etc.”

It was this hunt to understand the diversity of apples and their landscapes that took

Nabhan on a historical journey of the apple, all the way back to the apple‟s fatherland of

Kazahkstan. “In Kazahkstan, I met an old-timer who ate 16 types of apples a day for his

health. When this man was a young boy, he met the researcher and scientist Vavilov in

1929 who inspired in him a passion for apples… he has since dedicated his life to

studying and conserving the wild apples of his country. He is now 96 years old, and still

lives for apples, protecting their diversity in rural and urban areas alike and making sure

the different habitats are safe.” Nabhan describes the work of Vavilov and apples from

John Bunker describing the Palermo apple.

Photo by Mark Dohm.

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this region in his newly released book entitled Where Our Food Comes From: Retracing

Nikolay Vavilov’s Quest to End Famine (2008).

And here lies the

foundation for

restoring any culture –

it must be rooted in a

place, and reflect the

people and landscape.

Nabhan continues that

his visit to the

Fatherland of Apples

“was one of the most

moving experiences of

my life… to see

someone who had

devoted themselves to

a single topic. I don‟t

think many of us

relate our interest in

land conservation with

that of eating good

food. This was one of the things that inspired me to lead RAFT and restore apple

diversity on our tables.”

“Apples flourished on farmsteads in early America… they were nurtured by farmers and

landowners. But we are losing this land and knowledge for how to care for it. People

like Curt Meine [Nabhan‟s colleague] of the Leopold Foundation have been thinking

about farmland preservation issues for years, and now is the time to link these people

with those interested in preserving the diversity of foods and put them back on our

tables.”

This work is not just for the experts, but restoring apples into our culture is the

responsibility of everyone. Nabhan states that “we all have to re-imagine this apple

culture we are talking about – apples were once used in so many more ways, and each

variety had a purpose.”

“The trouble is a lot of the antique apples are now grown by antique people, and we

need to be sure a new generation is brought into the fold.”

How will this happen? What will it take to pass on the knowledge and wisdom that lies

within each of the apple growers to a new generation to ensure a successive generation?

Dan Bussey, Connie Bussey, Gary Nabhan and Tom Bronw.

Photo by Mark Dohm.

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Nabhan offers that “well, we had a good start in Wisconsin this week. We had 45

beginning apple growers from around Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana, Minnesota and

Michigan who attended a workshop to learn from the fruit experts. It was just as

important for the elders who feel like their excitement and passion for apples is being

heard and wanted by the next generation.”

Burford shares an additional perspective as an elder, and why passing on cultural

traditions is important to the agricultural and political society. He personally is

committing his final years of life to sharing his knowledge with the next generation.

Burford speaks that, “propagation itself is the element that defines society. Today, the

people who hold power in our society are in technology. In my time, the agriculturalists

held the power. We need to understand this, and we need to see a shift… so that

agriculturalists and those who care for our land have [greater] representation again. This

is why we need to teach people not just where food comes from, but also to empower

them to grow it for themselves. Propagation is power. That is why, for me, doing

grafting workshops is so important.”

It is our shared traditions and the sense of coming from a place that gives each of us

character, identity and flavor. But it also gives our communities character, identity and

meaning. And, like the seeds hiding within the apple‟s guiding star, we need to identify

what our foods and food traditions are so that we can share them and ensure they are not

forgotten. This guiding star is found within each of us, if we take the time to look.

*~**~*~**~*~**~*

Renewing America’s Food Traditions (RAFT) is a national alliance, managed by Slow Food USA, committed to restoring America’s agricultural biodiversity and developing a public

understanding of place-based foods. For the past five years, the RAFT alliance has been bringing food producers, chefs and consumers together to develop and promote conservation strategies, sustainable food production, and awareness of our country’s

unique and endangered foods and food traditions. RAFT uses an eater-based approach to conservation --reintroducing the stories and flavors of America’s traditional foods to

larger audiences, so people are once again growing and consuming them sustainably. Founding RAFT partners include: American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, Chefs

Collaborative, Cultural Conservancy, Native Seeds/SEARCH, Seed Savers Exchange, Slow Food USA, and Dr. Gary Nabhan.

For more information about the work of RAFT and future workshops, visit:

http://www.slowfoodusa.org/index.php/programs/details/raft/.

To learn more about Dr. Gary Nabhan‟s work, visit www.garynabhan.com.

http://www.slowfoodusa.org/index.php/programs/details/raft/http://www.garynabhan.com/

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[end of narrative]

3/24/2009

SIDE BAR 1 - HARVEST RESTAURANT Artisan Cider Tasting, March 19, 2009 MENU

FLIGHT ONE

Tandem Cidery, Farmhouse Cider (Sutton, MI) White Winter Cidery, Hard Apple Cider (Iron River, WI) Zydeco Cidery, Cider (Viola, WI)

Paired with - Been, Fennel and Grapefruit Salad Potato-Sarvecchio Croquettas La Quercia Prosciutto with pickled apple Saxon Homestead Creamery Cheese with Apple Graham

FLIGHT TWO

Aeppel Treow Winery, Aeppely Doux (Burlington, WI) Uncle John's Fruithouse Cidery, Apple Cider (St. John's, MI) Seedling Orchard, Sweet Cider (South Haven, MI) Dan Bussey Orchard, Sweet Cider (Edgerton, WI)

Paired with - Duck confit and sunchoke almond puree Pulled pork sandwich with pickled onion La Quercia coppa with shaved fennel Rushing Waters smoked trout with horseradish cream

FLIGHT THREE

Aeppel Treow Cidery, Pommeaux (Burlington, WI) Uncle John's Fruithouse Cidery, Apple Dessert Wine (St. John's, MI)

Paired with - Cinnamon Sugar Zeppole Hook's Blue Cheese Balls with toasted black walnuts and Door County sour cherries Honey Madeleine with sliced heritage apples

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SIDE BAR 2 – LIST OF REGIONAL CIDERIES AEppelTreow Winery Charles and Milissa McGonegal 1072 288

th Ave.

Burlington, WI 53105 Phone: 262-496-7508 Website: www.aeppeltreow.com AEppelTreow Winery specializes in artisan ciders. Launched in 2001 by cidermaker Charles and Milissa

McGonegal in partnership with orchardist Bill Stone of Brightonwoods orchards, they produce award-winning ciders from Great lakes grown apples. Their products include hard ciders, Champagne-method Cider and Perry, table wine style apple, pear and crab-apple beverages and Mistelles.

Albion Prairie Cider Mill Dan Bussey 691 County Hwy A Edgerton, WI 53534 Phone: 608-884-9361 Albion Prairie Cider Mill produces high quality, artisan apple cider for fresh and vintage use from their

250-tree orchard Ela Orchard PO Box 36 Rochester, WI 53167 Phone: 262-534-2545 Ela Orchard has been growing apples since the 1920s. Their orchard consists of about 25 acres of

apples with over 30 apple varieties and several varieties of pears. In addition, they support woodland, marshland, cropland, a flock of sheep, and several goats. Their apples and cider are available at the Dane County Farmers Market, in season.

Future Fruit Farm Bob and Ellen Lane 5363 Knobs Rd Ridgeway, WI 53582 Phone: 608-924-1012 Email: futurefruitfarm@hotmail.com Future Fruit Farm specializes in growing old-time fruit varieties. For over 26 years, Future Fruit Farm

has been perfecting certified organic fruit growing techniques. Their products are available at the Dane County Farmers Market and in the region’s finest restaurants. Their cider products include apple and pear ciders.

Maiden Rock Winery and Cidery Herdie Baisden and Carol Wiersma W12266 King Lane Stockholm, WI 54769 Phone: 715-448-3502 Website: www.maidenrockwinerycidery.com Maiden Rock Winery and Cidery is an award-winning cider orchard presenting a unique collection of

premium hard ciders and wines, produced from fresh local fruit, flavored by Wisconsin. They have over 25 varieties growing on their 80-acre farm. Their cider products include classic hard apple ciders crafted in the farmhouse tradition of southwestern England, like Scrumpy, Somerset Cider and Bitter Love. New and old combine when they blend the juices of Honeycrisp and Northern Spy to produce a semi-dry cider.

White Winter Winery Jon Hamilton 68323A Lea Street Iron River, WI 54847 Phone: 800-697-2006 Website: www.whitewinter.com

http://www.aeppeltreow.com/mailto:futurefruitfarm@hotmail.comhttp://www.maidenrockwinerycidery.com/http://www.whitewinter.com/

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White Winter Winery was founded in 1996 by two couples, Jon and Kim Hamilton and Mark and Nancy Rooney. The Winery was founded on the principals of sustainability, and to use products from northern Wisconsin to make high quality products and to build coalitions and partnerships with growers, producers and other businesses. Their products include Cyser (an apple mead) and hard apple cider.