Regular readers might have spotted by now that I’m quite the fan of a deep-dive into the pomological history books (as per, and also…) so it’ll be no surprise that my Twitter-buddy Barry Masterson‘s article for cider-review.com, ‘Perry, Pomonas and Pomology‘ was exactly my cup of tea.
In the piece, Barry traces the roots of pomology, and particularly the publication of ‘Pomonas’ – often lavishly illustrated, catalogue-style volumes of orchard fruits – to the mid seventeenth century, and specifically the desire to promote English cider and Perry as a viable, and indeed highly profitable, alternative to continental wines.
This quest to improve the fruit trees, varieties and orchard stocks of the most productive counties gave rise to the literature of pomology, as orchardists sought to spread their knowledge across the nation. It’s a quest that has continued throughout the intervening centuries, and has been undergoing something of a revival in the past couple of decades.
The Internet has opened up so many more opportunities to share the modern-day equivalent of that knowledge, along with the huge enthusiasm for the subject of amateur and professional pomologists, as well as dedicated orchardists and producers like Barry, whose particular interest in is perry pears (or mostbirnen to the locals) and whose Kertelreiter cider and perry really is really rather excellent.1Although, very sadly, unavailable to import to the UK at the moment, due to the bureaucracy and cost involved in exporting drinks from Germany – where Barry lives, tends his trees and produces his beverages – to a post-Brexit UK. Thank you for that, Mr Johnson. Thank you very bloody much indeed.
It’s a rather fascinating article, definitely worth ten or fifteen minutes of your time, especially if you’re at all interested in the history of cider and perry, or the way in which recommended fruit varieties were and are recorded and the knowledge of them shared.
That link again: ‘Perry, Pomonas and Pomology‘.
Footnotes
- 1Although, very sadly, unavailable to import to the UK at the moment, due to the bureaucracy and cost involved in exporting drinks from Germany – where Barry lives, tends his trees and produces his beverages – to a post-Brexit UK. Thank you for that, Mr Johnson. Thank you very bloody much indeed.