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Taste, Tradition, and the Honest Pleasures of Food

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U.S. Ark of Taste

Beverages
American Artisanal Cider
Hand Crafted Root Beer
Shrub
Greenthread tea
Bronx Grapes
Charbono Grape of California
Napa Gamay/Valdiguie Grape of California
Norton Grape

Grains/Cereals
Chapalote Corn
Roy’s Calais Flint Corn
Tuscarora White Corn
Chicos
Anishinaabeg Manoomin
Carolina Gold Rice
New Orleans French Bread

Cheeses
Creole Cream Cheese
Dry Monterey Jack Cheese

Fruits
American Heirloom Apples
Capitol Reef Apple
Sebastopol Gravenstein Apple

Blenheim Apricot

Popenoe Avocado
Puebla Avocado

Bronx Grapes
Charbono Grape of California
Napa Gamay/Valdiguie Grape of California
Norton Grape

Meyer Lemon of California's Central Coast

Crane Melon

California Mission Olive

Inland Empire Old-Grove Orange

Pawpaw

Baby Crawford peach
Fay Elberta Peach
Oldmixon Free peach
Rio Oso Gem peach
Silver Logan peach
Sun Crest peach

American Heirloom Pears

Beaver Dam Pepper
Bull Nose Large Bell Pepper
Fish pepper
Hinkelhatz Hot Pepper
Jimmy Nardello's Sweet Italian Frying Pepper
New Mexico Native Chiles
Sheepnose Pimiento
Wenk's Yellow Hot Pepper
Chiltepin Chile

American Persimmon
Japanese Massaged Dried Persimmon

American Wild Plum
Elephant Heart plum
Inca plum
Laroda plum
Mariposa plum
Padre plum

Meech’s Prolific quince

Louisiana Satsuma

Algonquin Squash
Amish Pie squash
Boston Marrow squash
Green-striped Cushaw squash
Sibley squash

Native American Strawberry
Louisiana Heritage Strawberry

Pixie Tangerine of Ojai Valley

New Mexico Native Tomatillo

Amish Paste tomato
Aunt Molly's Husk tomato (aka Ground Cherry)
Aunt Ruby's German Green tomato
Burbank tomato
Chalk’s Early Jewel Tomato
Cherokee Purple tomato
Djena Lee’s Golden Girl Tomato
German Pink tomato
Livingston’s Globe Tomato
Livingston’s Golden Queen Tomato
Orange Oxheart tomato
Radiator Charlie’s Mortgage Lifter Tomato
Red Fig Tomato
Sheboygan Tomato
Sudduth Strain Brandywine tomato
Valencia Tomato

Moon & Stars watermelon
Yellow-Meated watermelon

Herbs & Spices
Traditional Sea Salt from Hawaii (Alaea)
Desert Oregano
Handmade File

Meat & Poultry
American Plains Bison

Corriente Cattle
Florida Cracker Cattle
American Milking Devon Cattle
Pineywoods Cattle

Buckeye Chicken
Delaware Chicken
Dominique Chicken
Java chicken
Jersey Giant Chicken
New Hampshire Chicken
"Old Type" Rhode Island Red Chicken
Plymouth Rock Chicken
Wyandotte Chicken

Spanish goat
Tennessee Myotonic goat

American Buff Goose
Cotton Patch Goose
Pilgrim Goose

Guinea Hog
Mulefoot Hog
Ossabaw Island Hog
Red Wattle Hog

American Rabbit
American Chinchilla Rabbit
Blanc de Hotot Rabbit
Giant Chinchilla Rabbit
Silver Fox Rabbit

Gulf Coast Sheep
Navajo-Churro Sheep
Tunis Sheep

American Bronze Turkey
Black Turkey
Bourbon Red Turkey
Jersey Buff or Buff Turkey
Midget White Turkey
Narragansett Turkey
Royal Palm Turkey
Slate Turkey

Meat Products
New Orleans Daube Glacé
Southern Louisiana Hog's Head Cheese
Southern Louisiana Ponce
Southern Louisiana Traditional Tasso

Nuts
American Butternut
American Chestnut
American Native Pecan
Emory Oak "Bellota" Acorns
Nevada Single Leaf Pinyon
Shagbark Hickory Nut

Pulses (beans, peas & lentils)
Arikara Yellow Bean
Bolita Bean
Brown and White Tepary Bean
Cherokee Trail of Tears Bean
Christmas Lima Bean
Crowder Cowpeas (Mississippi Silver Hull bean)
Four Corners Gold Bean
Hidatsa Red bean
Hidatsa Shield Figure bean
Hopi Mottled Lima Bean
Hutterite Soup Bean
Jacob’s Cattle Bean
Lina Cisco's Bird Egg Bean
Marrowfat Bean
Mayflower bean
Mesquite Pod Flour
O'odham Pink Bean
Petaluma Gold Rush Bean
Rio Zape Bean
Santa Maria Pinquitos Bean
Sea Island Red Peas
Southern Field Peas
Turkey Craw Bean
True Red Cranberry Bean
Yellow Indian Woman Bean

Fish & Shellfish
Bay Scallop
Delaware Bay oyster
Geoduck
Louisiana oyster
Olympia oyster
Washington Marbled Chinook Salmon
Wild catfish
Wild Gulf Coast shrimp

Vegetables
Early Blood Turnip-rooted Beet

Lorz Italian garlic
Inchelium Red garlic

Amish Deer Tongue lettuce
Grandpa Admire's lettuce
Speckled lettuce
Tennis Ball lettuce (black seeded)

I'itoi onion

Green Mountain potato
Ivis White Cream sweet potato
Ozette potato

Gilfeather Turnip

Wines & Vinegars
Charbono Grape of California
Napa Gamay/Valdiguie Grape of California
Norton Grape
Wine Vinegar—Orleans Method

Prepared Foods
Poi: Kalo
American Artisanal Sauerkraut
Roman Taffy Candy

Other
Guajillo Honey
Tupelo Honey
Alaskan Birch syrup
Traditional Cane Syrup
Traditional Sorghum syrup

Click here to see Ark products from around the world.

 

Ark of Taste
Saving Cherished Slow Foods, One Product at a Time

Radiator Charlie's Mortgage Lifter tomato (Lycopersicon lycopersicum)
a.k.a. Mortgage Lifter, Halladay Mortgage Lifter

This tomato was developed by M.C. Byles (went by Charlie) of Logan, West Virgina in the 1930s. Charlie owned a radiator repair shop and had no plant breeding experience - this tomato was the only breeding work he ever did. Charlie took 10 tomatoes and put them in a circle with a German Johnson tomato in the center. He collected pollen from the 10 outer tomatoes in a baby's ear syringe and then squirted it on the flowers of the German Johnson. After seven years he had a stable tomato with the qualities he wanted. He was a good marketer and sold his seedlings for $1 each. After 6 years he was able to pay off the $6,000 mortgage on his house. This tomato’s story has helped keep the strain alive.

This large beefsteak fruit is very meaty with few seeds. It has a spicy flavor and low acidity. The taste starts off mild and then builds, with a long finish on the palate. It has a roasted, fruity and slightly salty flavor.

The tomato is available through a number of seed companies but it is not regularly grown. Its lack of popularity may be due to the cracking on the shoulders. According to Kent Whealy at Seed Savers Exchange it is a very productive tomato.


Photo courtesy of Gina Fiorillo

Mineral, VA
Southern Exposure Seed Exchange
PO Box 460
Mineral, VA 23117
540-894-9480
www.southernexposure.com
    
Earlysville, VA
Garden Medicinals and Culinaries
PO Box 320
Earlysville, VA 22936
434-964-9113
www.gardenmedicinals.com

Dickson, TN
Marianna’s Heirlooms
1955 CCC Road
Dickson, TN 37055
615-446-9191
www.mariseeds.com

Woodstock, IL
Underwood Gardens
1414 Zimmerman Road
Woodstock, IL 60098
815-338-6279
www.underwoodgardens.com

West Elizabeth, PA
Heirloom Seeds
PO Box 245
West Elizabeth, PA 15088-0245
412-384-0852
www.heirloomseeds.com

Click here to search for Ark producers via LocalHarvest.

Click here to return to the full list of USA Ark of Taste Products.

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