From flavor to folklore and recipes to records, the Specialty Produce App is your encyclopedia of fresh foods, a map of local markets, and a cookbook of culinary customs. Open the app to access an archive of the ancient histories of fruits and vegetables from around the world that are often whimsical, sometimes eerie, and always satisfying.

Stained Scottish Heirloom Apples 

Tales traveling out of Scotland tell of the Bloody Ploughman, a rare Scottish heirloom apple, whose grim beginnings, as legend has it, are seeded at the Megginch Estate. A ploughman on the property was caught red-handed stealing apples from the estate’s orchard by the gamekeeper, who shot and killed the poaching ploughman on the spot. His body was returned to the ploughman’s wife, who discovered the stolen apples still in his pockets and, in anger, threw them onto a heap of rubbish to rot. Yet in time, one of the apples produced a seedling that grew strangely dark, crimson-red fruits. Superstition led estate workers to believe that the apples had been stained by the blood of the late ploughman, inspiring the name as we know it.

Chocolate persimmon. Image: Specialty Produce.

Persimmon Premonitions

In America, whisperings of an old wives’ tale in the Ozarks warn of upcoming winter weather, predicted by a persimmon seed splitting open. The shape inside will resemble either a fork, indicating a mild winter, a spoon, signifying snowfall, or a knife, foretelling of a bitter and cutting cold. In Japan, persimmons are the fruit of fairy tales, paintings, poetry, and décor, ornamentally drying in door frames and windows, but of course, they are also beloved as a tasty natural treat. 

The elusive Chocolate persimmon—natively known as Tsuru Noko—is one of the most highly-sought varieties by persimmon enthusiasts around the world, boasting a sugary sweetness and a hint of warm spice, with chocolate-brown speckled flesh ripening from crisp to creamy. 

Craving more juicy details? Download the Specialty Produce App to indulge in the rich history and culture of your favorite foods and find something new to sink your teeth into as you explore the diverse fruits of our planet and your plate from the palm of your hand.‍

You can download the Specialty Produce App from the Apple App Store and Google Play.

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