I have had this conversation no less than 18 times this fall.
1. here, try this
apple.
2. oh. Tasty. What variety is it?
1. it's a heritage
apple.
2. what variety of heritage apple
1. It isn't a variety.
2. you don't know what kind it is?
1. No. It isn't a specific variety. The tree is about 140 years old and shows no signs of being grafted.
2. What variety is it?
1. It's not grafted. it's grown from seed.
2. But it's delicious. I want to buy this variety in the store. Can't you just tell me what variety it is?
1. It's a Heritage apple.
2. oh.
That's the condensed version. The actual conversation lasts over half an hour and by the end of the history lesson on the medieval diet, how to apple biology and tree grafting, the early European settlers, the Crimean war, and prohibition combined with some clever marketing to save the apple industry - they seem to long for a more innocent time.
There's got to be a faster way to get through that conversation.