I’m heading to Madison this weekend to learn everything there is to know about heirloom apple preservation. 

Or at least that’s what it seems like.

The occasion is a loose collection of apple-related activities put together under the auspices of RAFT, a Slow Food USA program/cabal of heirloom food freaks. The acronym stands for Restoring America’s Food Traditions.  I like the apt lifeboat imagery.

The guest of honor is RAFT majordomo Gary Paul Nabhan, about whom I know . . . not much. To get prepped I printed out the first draft of the group’s Forgotten Fruits Manual and Manifesto: Apples. Did you know that 108 apple varieties are currently listed by RAFT as “threatened or endangered in trade?” I didn’t.

The manifesto is a work in progress; the Madison apple shindig is, in part, a strategy session to figure out what to do next, which hopefully will involve lot of  clandestine deal-making in juice-filled rooms.

Will have more soon. Right now, I’m just thrilled that I get to tag along.

PS: Speaking of Slow Food, did you see Alice Waters on 60 Minutes the other night? I don’t think AW did herself any favors with that fire-roasted egg, but I also think she did the best she could when conversing with the anorexic fembot that is Lesley Stahl. No one can live without a microwave? You need to get out more, Les.