Describing and Promoting Forgotten Flavors

The US Ark of Taste is a catalog of over 200 delicious foods in danger of extinction. By promoting and eating Ark products we help ensure they remain in production and on our plates.

The Ark is an international catalog of foods that are threatened by industrial standardization, the regulations of large-scale distribution and environmental damage. In an effort to cultivate consumer demand—key to agricultural conservation—only the best tasting endangered foods make it onto the Ark.

Since 1996, more than 800 products from over 50 countries have been added to the international Ark of Taste. The US Ark of Taste profiles over 200 rare regional foods, and is a tool that helps farmers, ranchers, fishers, chefs, retail grocers, educators and consumers celebrate our country's diverse biological, cultural and culinary heritage.

Download the list of USA Ark foods by region

Search for producers of Ark products in the Local Harvest Directory

Patient Wait Farms, Piedmont, SC

309 Trotter Road
Piedmont, SC 29673

Gail Cooley
http://www.patientwait.com/
864-947-8881

Ark of Taste Products:

Tunis Sheep

In 1799, the Tunis sheep's ancestors arrived in the United States from North Africa. Once arrived, the Tunis Sheep quickly spread throughout the mid-Atlantic and the southeast, as they were well adapted to the heat and humidity of these regions.  The Tunis was the mainstay of sheep production in the upper South until the Civil War, when nearly all of the Southern stock was destroyed.  In the last decade, the Tunis Sheep has had a resurgence in the Southeast, as it is considered a gem within American agricultural history. The Tunis sheep is striking and attractive in appearance, with cream or ivory colored wool that is set nicely contrasted by a cinnamon-red face and legs. The meat from the Tunis sheep is tender and flavorful without having a strong mutton taste.

Urban Farms

1848 Hillview St
Spartanburg, SC 29307

Shaun Garcia
shaungarcia.blogspot.com
864-237-0165

Ark of Taste Products:

Amish Paste Tomato

This heirloom tomato was discovered in Wisconsin, although its origins are in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in the heart of the Amish Country. The tomatoes are teardrop or heart-shaped with a brilliant red-orange color. The Amish Paste tomato has a gentle balance of acid and sweetness. When it is sliced fresh the juicy flesh sparkles and has a solid texture. The Amish Paste is eaten fresh or in sauces.

Aunt Ruby's German Green Tomato

The Aunt's Ruby's German Green is a sweet, juicy tomato with a piquant bite. The heirloom is a large beefsteak-type tomato, pale green in color with a hint of yellow striping. This large tomato often weighs one pound or more. Aunt Ruby's German Green has the wetness of a melon and boasts a deep, robust flavor. It is generally used in salads, but is also a wonderful tomato to fry.

Cherokee Purple Tomato

The Cherokee Purple tomato, after years of dormancy, was rediscovered by tomato grower Craig LeHoullier, who reports that it originated with the Cherokee people over a century ago. The Cherokee Purple has a unique dusty rose color, and an extremely sweet flavor with a rich smoky taste. The Cherokee Purple has a refreshing acid, is watery, thick-skinned and earthy with a lingering flavor. The Cherokee Purple plants are very prolific, making this plant a good heirloom for gardeners and farmers.

German Pink Tomato

The German Pink tomato is a Bavarian variety that is currently grown in Festina, Iowa. The plants produce large 1-2 pound meaty fruits with few seeds. The German Pink has a full sweet flavor, even floral, and a tender skin. The tomato is an extremely versatile fruit, as it is excellent for canning and freezing but also slicing and juicing.

Moon & Stars Watermelon

The Moon & Stars Yellow-Fleshed Watermelon has a dark green skin flecked with yellow speckles and golden burst spots, giving it the appearance of a living galaxy. Graced with white seeds and a slightly ridged, thick rind, the Moon & Stars can reach up to forty pounds when thump-ready for eating. Its flesh is extraordinarily sweet and flavorful. The seeds for this watermelon, though popular in the before 1900, were thought to be gone forever until the 1980s, when Kent Whealy of Seed Savers Exchange, in collaboration with a Missouri farmer named Merle Van Doren, helped to resuscitate the breed and widely spread its popularity.

Yellow-Meated Watermelon

The Tohono O'Odham people, who are now the watermelon's cultural stewards, originally cultivated this yellow-meated fruit. The Yellow-meated watermelon is also known as Gepi by the Tohono Odham people and as Sikyatko by the Hopi people. Watermelons were among the most important crops to the Piman and Hopi peoples, who ate them for six months of the year in the dry Arizona climate. The large oval watermelons have mottled green skin and bright orange-yellow meat. The prolific vines sprawl in all directions and are able to survive the high summer temperatures that are common to the desert environment.

Brick House Farms

1139 Brick House Rd.
Gaffney, SC 29340

Eve and Jim Lyle
brickhousefarms1943.com
864-490-7108

Ark of Taste Products:

Amish Paste Tomato

This heirloom tomato was discovered in Wisconsin, although its origins are in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in the heart of the Amish Country. The tomatoes are teardrop or heart-shaped with a brilliant red-orange color. The Amish Paste tomato has a gentle balance of acid and sweetness. When it is sliced fresh the juicy flesh sparkles and has a solid texture. The Amish Paste is eaten fresh or in sauces.

Moon & Stars Watermelon

The Moon & Stars Yellow-Fleshed Watermelon has a dark green skin flecked with yellow speckles and golden burst spots, giving it the appearance of a living galaxy. Graced with white seeds and a slightly ridged, thick rind, the Moon & Stars can reach up to forty pounds when thump-ready for eating. Its flesh is extraordinarily sweet and flavorful. The seeds for this watermelon, though popular in the before 1900, were thought to be gone forever until the 1980s, when Kent Whealy of Seed Savers Exchange, in collaboration with a Missouri farmer named Merle Van Doren, helped to resuscitate the breed and widely spread its popularity.

Cherokee Purple Tomato

The Cherokee Purple tomato, after years of dormancy, was rediscovered by tomato grower Craig LeHoullier, who reports that it originated with the Cherokee people over a century ago. The Cherokee Purple has a unique dusty rose color, and an extremely sweet flavor with a rich smoky taste. The Cherokee Purple has a refreshing acid, is watery, thick-skinned and earthy with a lingering flavor. The Cherokee Purple plants are very prolific, making this plant a good heirloom for gardeners and farmers.

Delaware chicken

The Delaware Chicken is a dual purpose chicken that produces good meat and eggs.  In 1940, George Ellis originally produced this chicken calling it the Indian River Chicken.  This almost entirely white bird was once one of the most popular broiler chickens in its area.  Starting in the late 1950's, the Cornish Rock cross came to dominate the industry.  Delaware Chickens are noted for their rapid growth and fast feathering of the chicks.  The birds are calm, friendly and fast growing.

Milking Devon Cattle

In 1623 the first Milking Devon were brought to Massachusetts from North Devonshire, England, where they were valued for their production of both high quality beef and the rich milk used in Devonshire cream. Their agility when working on hilly, rocky terrain contributed to their popularity in the New England colonies. But with the market for dual-purpose cattle dwindling in the mid-1900s, the Milking Devon cattle mostly disappeared. A few select traditional breeders continued multi-purpose selection, which resulted in a new breed renamed the American Milking Devon, which is a medium-sized, red-hued breed with black-tipped white horns. This historical, efficient, hardy, multi-purpose breed is listed as critically endangered by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy.

Red Wattle Hog

The Red Wattle hog is a large, red hog with a fleshy, decorative, wattle attached to each side of its neck that has no known function. They were quite popular in the US in the 1700s, but unfortunately, as settlers moved west, the breed began to fall out of favor because settlers came into contact with breeds that boasted a higher fat content. Red Wattle hogs are known for their hardiness, foraging activity, and rapid growth rate. They adapt well to a wide range of climates, making them a good choice for consideration in outdoor or pasture-based swine production.  Red Wattle pork is exceptionally lean and juicy with a rich beef-like taste and texture.

Slate Turkey

The Slate or Blue Slate variety is named for its color, which is solid to ashy blue over the entire body, with or without a few black flecks. It is also called the Blue or Lavender turkey. The Standard weight for a young tom is 23 pounds and 14 pounds for a young hen. Since, however, the Slate has not been selected for production attributes, including weight gain, in years, many birds may be smaller than the standard. Careful selection for good health, ability to mate naturally, and production attributes will return this variety to its former stature.

Wyandotte Chicken

This beautiful, medium-sized, rose-combed bird was developed in the 1880s.  It is described as a "bird of curves" because it's loose, white feathering is defined by an outline of chocolate-brown color feather tips, which produce a swirling effect.  The bird is full breasted and has a broad back, with females weighing 6 ½ pounds and males 8 ½.  The breed is named after the Wyandotte American Indian tribe of the Iroquois Nation.  Undersized individuals, narrow backs and relatively poor hatches are all characteristics of this breed.  Consequently, very few farmers bred the Wyandotte chicken.

Healthy Farms

488 N Barton Rd
Taylors, SC 29687
Bob Persson
healthyfarms.raveservices.com
(864) 895-6751

Ark of Taste Products:

Amish Paste Tomato

This heirloom tomato was discovered in Wisconsin, although its origins are in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in the heart of the Amish Country. The tomatoes are teardrop or heart-shaped with a brilliant red-orange color. The Amish Paste tomato has a gentle balance of acid and sweetness. When it is sliced fresh the juicy flesh sparkles and has a solid texture. The Amish Paste is eaten fresh or in sauces.

Cherokee Purple Tomato

The Cherokee Purple tomato, after years of dormancy, was rediscovered by tomato grower Craig LeHoullier, who reports that it originated with the Cherokee people over a century ago. The Cherokee Purple has a unique dusty rose color, and an extremely sweet flavor with a rich smoky taste. The Cherokee Purple has a refreshing acid, is watery, thick-skinned and earthy with a lingering flavor. The Cherokee Purple plants are very prolific, making this plant a good heirloom for gardeners and farmers.

Radiator Charlie's Mortgage Lifter Tomato  

This tomato was developed by Charlie Byles 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. After years of experimenting and selling off his seedlings, he was able to pay off the 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.

Old Type Rhode Island Red Chicken

The rich, reddish-black plumage and red comb of the "Old-Type" Rhode Island Red chicken is an iconic symbol of American agriculture. It is a successful dual-purpose bird, and an excellent-tempered farm chicken, with a highly productive brown egg-laying rate.  Since the 1940's, the Rhode Island Red has been selectively bred for more efficient egg production, becoming smaller, lighter colored, and less broody as a result. Of greatest conservation interest are the "Old-Type" Rhode Island Reds, which are larger, darker, and more broody. The "Old-Type" Rhode Island Red chicken has an incredibly rich flavor that is most appropriate for (and best released in) stews.

Wyandotte Chicken

This beautiful, medium-sized, rose-combed bird was developed in the 1880s.  It is described as a "bird of curves" because it's loose, white feathering is defined by an outline of chocolate-brown color feather tips, which produce a swirling effect.  The bird is full breasted and has a broad back, with females weighing 6 ½ pounds and males 8 ½.  The breed is named after the Wyandotte American Indian tribe of the Iroquois Nation.  Undersized individuals, narrow backs and relatively poor hatches are all characteristics of this breed.  Consequently, very few farmers bred the Wyandotte chicken.