By Scott Mechura EBS FOOD COLUMNIST
Ah, the American frontier—be it the
Wild West, Appalachia, or deep in the heart of Texas—we seem to fall in love
with this idea of what we hope American history was, not what it really was. We
often create a utopian view of history, and I’m not sure why we do that.
Somewhere, there is a balance in America between what we
hear in grade school and what we later learn to be true, historical fact. Time
and time again, we see historical figures who have captured our hearts. They
may be war heroes or political leaders—maybe men or women who have stood the
test of time—such as Abraham Lincoln or Eleanor Roosevelt.
I was reminded of one such figure this holiday season when I
was cooking with a fruit that gets pretty heavy mileage throughout the
holidays: the apple. We were talking about all the wonderful things we can
create during the holiday season with apples. This time of year, apples find
their way into all the baking, feasting and imbibing that takes place during
the holidays. But it was the imbibing that caught my attention.
You’re thinking right now that apples aren’t necessarily
high on your holiday list. And I get it. But apples are so versatile. From
apple pie to warm, toasty turnovers, apples warm our insides. They are also the
key ingredient in fermented cider.
Known as a “nurseryman,” John Chapman was born in
Leominster, Massachusetts on September 26, 1774. But you may know him by
another name: Johnny Appleseed. And he was also a bit of an oxymoron.
People often spoke of a man floating down the river on a
sunny afternoon in a makeshift log floatation device we may now refer to as a
catamaran. Johnny was a kind, gentle, happy-go-lucky fellow, who was most often
seen with a tattered shirt and pants that were torn above the ankles. He very
seldom wore shoes and carried a knapsack that had just the things he needed.
He was known to meet strangers in his travels and divert
what vague plans he may have had and simply endear himself to their hospitality
for days on end. It was also said that Johnny Appleseed was always cheerful
because he was usually intoxicated on fermented cider.
He was also a savvy businessman. Taking advantage of a deal
set forth by the Ohio Company of Associates in 1792, wherein anyone settling
the Western frontier (at that time anything past western Pennsylvania), could
homestead 100 acres for their own—with one condition—that they plant 50 apple
trees and 20 peach trees within the first three years of settling.
Now what if there was someone who did all of the initial
hard work of planting these trees so as to charge a fee to new settlers for
doing the work for them? That’s where Johnny came in.
Johnny planted apples all over the Ohio River Valley. Yet
there is virtually no mention of him ever planting a single peach tree. And the
reason there wasn’t a Johnny Peachpit was that peaches did not make a great
cider the way apples do.
Perhaps the easiest way to view the history of the apple in
American history is this: As author Michael Pollan wrote, “Up until
Prohibition, an apple grown in America was far less likely to be eaten than to
wind up in a barrel of cider.”
Scott Mechura has
spent a life in the hospitality industry. He is a former certified beer judge
and currently the Executive Chef at Buck’s T-4 Lodge in Big Sky.