The Apple Hunter
Today’s Living section includes my story about Tom Brown, a R.J. Reynolds retiree who has spent the last 11 years not golfing, but tracking down old and nearly lost varieties of apples along the back roads of northwestern N.C., southern Va., and Tenn., among other places. (Don’t forget to check out the slide show, too - Journal photographer David Rolfe and I went along with Tom on an apple hunt in early October).
This fall, Brown has been traveling around to area libraries, giving talks about his apple hunts and a tasting of a dizzying array of heirloom fruit. His next two talks will be at the Kernersville Library on Oct. 21 at 7 p.m. and Central Library at 7 p.m. on Nov. 4 (Election Day apples!). I went to his first talk in Lewisville at the end of September, and it was an amazing experience to see and taste the differences between the apples. Some were bone dry. One, called the Hillside, was dusky-red and lopsided, leaning heavily to the left. My favorite was a snappy, juicy tart apple called the Lacy.
Tom told us apples were often selected by their use, so a tougher, drier fruit would be good for drying apples to use over the winter. And like today, harder, tarter apples are often better for cooking, though I really like to eat them, too.
You can check out Tom’s list of apples he’s found here.
