῀ food 31
Root and branch reformer Preserving heritage fruit and vegetables, says Raymond Blanc,is not romanticism – having that genetic diversity is also how we will develop new varieties for the future Photography Clay Perry I still recall vividly how naïve I was when I first came to Britain. I carried no worldly goods with me – only the food culture that was passed on to me by my parents. At a very early age I already knew about the importance of the soil, seasonality and the varieties of fruit and vegetables. The reason: my father had a huge garden, which we had to tend, and its harvest provided for the table, both in summer and winter. The particular variety we grew was very important, as it often defined the ultimate quality of the dish.
So I am passionate about the seasonality and freshness of the produce I use in my kitchens, as I am about giving my guests (and friends and family) ingredients whose – preferably local – provenance I know. These attitudes are widely shared by those who will read Heritage Fruits and Vegetables, and the arguments for them are too well known to need rehearsing here. At Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, the garden is at the heart of our gastronomy. We are growing 70 different vegetables and more than 300
At Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, as at home, the garden is at the heart of our gastronomy
varieties. A good many of them are heritage varieties. Each garden is very different, not only in appearance, size and the style preference of the owners, but more importantly in the plant communities within it. Crop diversity is as important as habitat and ecological diversity in ensuring that we have plant adaptation to environmental change, but this value often goes unrecognised. This is why we need organisations such as the Brogdale Collections Trust, curating thousands of historic fruit cultivars, and
Above, from left: Spring vegetables, romanesco cauliflower, with its fractal patterning and a flavour close to broccoli; and kohlrabi, which works in gratins or salads, depending on the weather. Below: Valencia oranges, juicy summer treats
Garden Organic, with its heritage-seed library, now registered as a national plant-heritage collection. This collection of some 800 vegetable varieties is a participatory programme, inspired not by some dewy romance for past flavours, but because we need to preserve as much genetic diversity as possible – and who better to champion it than gardeners? Where do new cultivars come from if not from the old? Breeders don’t have access to drawers full of genes to pick and choose from at leisure. But heritage varieties are also not without flavour. In a recent European collaborative leafy-vegetable research programme, several of the collection’s ‘heritage’ lettuces outperformed the commercial standard cultivars in both flavour and disease-resistance; and I’ve found some highly prized and tasty heirloom varieties that we grow for ourselves. While not many old varieties conform
to the standardised stereotypes that some view as ‘perfect’, equally, not all ‘new’ and ‘improved’ introductions live up to their promise either. But every heritage variety of fruit or vegetable comes with a story, and that alone has value. And nuances of flavour cannot be found in standardisation. My own dedication to preserving and, above all, using heritage varieties has led me to plant a new orchard that has a core of historic and heritage British apple and pear trees (along with some historic plums, cherries, berries and even apricots and peaches). In search of the ultimate pear or apple experience, I have cooked with my team hundreds of varieties of fruit: raw, poached, roasted, steamed, baked or puréed. We recorded and noted their history,
breeding programme, origin, taste and, just as important, their best culinary use. I hope you will be inspired to try a taste of history yourself and to support those people who are preserving this living, edible heritage. Q Heritage Fruits and Vegetables, by Toby Musgrave with photographs by Clay Perry and a foreword by Raymond Blanc, £38, is published by Thames & Hudson (thamesandhudson. com). To order a copy at the special price of £28, including p&p, call 01903 828503, quoting ‘TH178’. Toby Musgrave is giving talks at the Garden Museum, London, on 3 July, the Lost Gardens of Heligan on 4 July and the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show on 6 July (tandhblog.co.uk/events)
RAYMOND BLANC, the chef-patron of Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, is totally self-taught and one of the country’s most respected chefs. He is appearing at the Oxford Playhouse on 20 April to talk about his life and work. Tickets are £11; oxfordplayhouse.com