According to a report in regional daily Észak-Magyarország picked up by portal stop.hu, the village of Szomolya (Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County, near Eger) has begun a campaign to have its prized local cherry given "World Heritage" status. The the "szomolya black" (szomolyai fekete, pictured left), which has a short stem, dark red flesh and very sweet taste, prefers the microclimate of the small settlement, and does not even grow in the neighboring towns of Noszvaj or Bogács. The unique flavor and sweetness of the cherries make the szomolyas among Hungary's very best for making pálinka (below in pic) and jam. Mayor István Guczi said that "regardless of the cost" of the procedure, it is important to get the unique fruit registered as a piece of World Heritage. We're tempted to agree, if only we could figure out what on Earth a "world heritage" fruit is, and who on Earth decides whether something like the szomolyai fekete is one.

We think the answer is that it has something to do with UNESCO's World Heritage Program, which allows countries to nominate not only human-made monuments (like the Great Pyramids) and natural wonders for some kind of protection/promotion, but other notable or valuable "assets." Unfortunately, an extended search of the program's portal didn't produce anything remotely resembling a list of cherries, or any other fruit. Compare this to the extremely high online profile of the Balaton® cherry (see screen shot below), which originated in Hungary and is now such a mark of fruity quality in the American Midwest that it is trademarked.

So the question is, why is Mayor Guczi so intent on having the szomolyai fekete put on a potentially non-existent list of World Heritage Fruits rather than just slapping a ® on the thing and getting some local geeks to throw together a spiffy website to spread the word about its wonders? Because (you guessed it) "it would help local residents apply for grants and financial aid" - probably from the EU, and no doubt of the sort guaranteed to turn otherwise enterprising farmers into subsidy-dependent vegetables. Which to us frankly seems like the pits.