328 pages | © 2015

Cloth List Price $26.00 | ISBN: 9780226228105 | April 2015

“This study of the recent resurgence of ‘heirloom’ crops—tomatoes, apples, carrots, and more—examines the nostalgia and the prestige that surround them. The long reign of the smooth, bright-red tomato began in the mid-twentieth century, when large-scale farms found that standard sizes and shapes were easier to process and looked more attractive on grocery-store shelves. Meanwhile, gardeners kept growing the varieties they knew, whether green or orange, bumpy or freckly, pulpy or crisp. Jordan’s theme is memory and how food connects us to traditions. We are more emotional about some foods than others. Broccoli, celery, and cucumbers, it seems, exist on a B-list of vegetables that will never be widely appreciated ‘heirlooms.’”

--New Yorker