Georgia Magazine - May 2018 - 43

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ABBY BREAUX PHOTOGRAPHY

Amanda Wilbanks' Southern Baked Pie Co.
is an extension of her grandmother's kitchen
lessons and reflects her penchant for wild
Georgia strawberries.
May 2018

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COURTESY LARA LYN CARTER

topping and Marsala macerated wild
strawberries.
"I love to serve this light and a bit
tangy dessert topped with petite wild
strawberries," Wilbanks says. "Although they can be time-consuming
to find and pick, wild strawberries
have the sweetest, most delicate taste
and are beautiful to use as garnish
for a pie. It's absolutely decadent and
a perfect early summer treat that's as
beautiful as it is delicious."
Atlanta permaculturalist Stephen
Thomason often finds wild blackberries, raspberries and muscadines on
hikes in the metro area-sometimes
more than he is able to carry. Enough,
he reveals, "for a healthy shake,
topping for cereal or a refreshing
dessert."
Home canning has long been
connected with foraging. Lauri Jo
Bennett turned what was once a hobby into a successful preserving business. From her Norman Park home
near Moultrie, she started with a few
of her great-grandmother's recipes
for pickles, jellies and jams and now
sells more than 40 handcrafted products nationwide. Her version
of mayhaw jelly is a customer favorite.
Peak harvesting
for mayhaws occurs
in May.
The fruit of the
mayhaw resembles
a crabapple, and its
tart
flavor, according
OC
IST
to Bennett, accounts
for the unique taste of
mayhaw jelly.
"Try a peanut butter sandwich
with mayhaw jelly," she recommends.
For a deeper mayhaw experience, Colquitt, near the Florida
border, annually hosts its Mayhaw
Festival in April, drawing thousands
of visitors.
Truffles are perhaps the planet's
most expensive food. Eric and Mollie Cohen are harvesting white pecan truffles from their family-owned
Pecan Ridge Plantation in Decatur
County, near Bainbridge.
Tim Brenneman, a plant pathologist at the University of Georgia in
BJOLA

ends as part of their Georgia Culinary
Vacations program. The experience
includes a foraging walk to gather edible plants. Afterward, Beechwood Inn
serves a dinner made with local wild
foods, with dishes that might include
elderflower fritters, walnut and wild
mushroom hand-pies, potato ramp
soup, gathered greens salad with elderberry vinaigrette, sassafras sorbet,
fresh trout on sautéed wild greens
with wild cherry coulis and wild spice
cake served with roasted dandelion
ice cream. Beverages often include
locally sourced sumac and raspberry
leaf teas and Georgia wines.
You can forage for ramps during
early spring in North Georgia or enjoy them in Blairsville at The Sawmill
Place, Shawn and Amy Kight's busy
restaurant and country store, a reliable go-to destination for ramps. The
wild, leek-like vegetable pickles well,
can be included in salads and takes
well to skillet frying.
If Georgia has a pie queen, Amanda Wilbanks deserves the crown. Her
Gainesville-based Southern Baked Pie
Co. won first place in the 2016 Flavor
of Georgia Food Product Contest and produces highly
popular handcrafted pies,
most notably a buttermilk pie with homemade whipped-cream

Chef Lara Lyn Carter has introduced Georgia's pecan truffles to TV audiences in the
U.S. and Canada.

Athens, believes these delicacies
have a bright future, and with a price
tag approaching $500 a pound, the
Cohens are optimistic about their
truffles' commercial prospects. Restaurants like Liam's in Thomasville,
Five & Ten in Athens and many others serve dishes incorporating these
rare truffles blessed with a hint of
pecan flavor. Albany-based Lara Lyn
Carter, an Emmy-winning TV chef,
has introduced the Cohens' truffles to
U.S. and Canadian audiences.
"We sell all the truffles we harvest," Mollie Cohen says.
Glen Henderson heads the Ethnobotanic Gardens at the Georgia
Mountain Research & Education Center in Blairsville.
"Our gardens were founded to
preserve the indigenous native plants,
with emphasis on the historic human
uses, including food," Henderson
says. Not all wild plants should be
eaten. "Some are safe and delicious;
others should be avoided."
In other words, search and gather, but be informed. Then, enjoy nature's wonderful bounty.
Doc Lawrence is a freelance food,
wine and culture writer from Stone
Mountain.

Spring Harvest
Chef Tyler Bailey, Liam's, Thomasville
12 ounces Anson Mills farro
4 fresh bay leaves
1 ounce butter
43

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