Chicago - December 20, 2004

Apple of My Eye

Seedling Fruit

There’s nothing more seductive than a perfectly ripe piece of fruit. Who can resist its siren song?

Conversely, nothing’s worse than thinking you’ve goosed a winner only to be met with a bruise, sourness, mush — or worse. Just ask your old friend Eve about her apple.

Thanks to Peter Klein, the mastermind behind Seedling Fruit Enterprises in South Haven, Michigan, you’ll never pick a bad one again. Klein guarantees his heirloom varieties of apples, pears, peaches, cherries, berries, and plums are harvested and sold at the height of ripeness. He even uses a refractometer to measure the fruit’s sugar index, to help determine when it will deliver its ultimate taste.

Seedling Fruit has already developed quite the following around town: Green Zebra, Avec, and Lula Cafe are dishing up the goods to their customers. And if you don’t find their fresh fruit baskets to be a perfect holiday gift, try the heavenly dried fruits, preserves, and chocolates for everyone on your Nice list.

And the ones on your Naughty list? They’ll be banished from this little corner of paradise.

Available at Olivia’s Market, 2014 West Wabansia Avenue, between Damen and Milwaukee Avenues (773-227-4220 or seedlingfruit.com).