A Fork in the Road

Cookies are not just for kids.  And 'cookies for adults' doesn't mean anything nefarious. Jonny Boy Cookies in Statesboro features Southern-inspired cookies that will tantalize your taste buds. From classic flavors like Chocolate Chip and Oatmeal Butterscotch to unique flavors like Chicken & Waffles and Banana Puddin'.

Yes, it is true that Georgia is not the country’s leading producer of peaches, that distinction goes to California. But, we do grow a lot of the delicious fruit here in the Peach State. On this episode of the Fork in the Road podcast, David visits a farm in Musella, GA that has been growing peaches for 130 years. 

The owners of 920 Cattle & Company in Millen, GA are the next generation of family farmers. Becca and Jarrod Creasy take a holistic approach to their meat and cattle farm. These young farmers are deeply involved in animal husbandry, land preservation, and the nutritional needs of both their livestock and their consumers. This is the future of family farming.  

Homerville, Ga., is home to the Clinch County Honey Trail, where beekeeping has been a way of life and source of income for many generations. In this episode of the Fork in the Road podcast, we'll talk with Ben Bruce, owner of Bruce's Nut-N-Honey Farm and Bruce's Honey Shack, to learn what the buzz is all about. 

There's a good chance that the milk you bought at the grocery store this weekend(Yes, even at the big chains) came from a dairy farm in the middle of the state. And there is a very good chance that milk was processed in a facility located smack-dab in the heart of Atlanta. In this episode, we'll follow the milk truck from Montezuma to Midtown. 

The old-fashioned country store is alive and well in South Georgia. There's the typical stuff: a butcher counter with fresh-cut meats and handmade sausages, products from local producers, private label jams, jellies, fruit preserves, sauces, seasonings, chow-chow, and more. And at Carroll's Sausage and Country Store in Ashburn, GA, you can even stay in the RV park next door. 

Family and farming seem to go hand in hand. On this episode of the Fork in the Road podcast, we’re visiting Baker Farms in South Georgia where the family, the farm, and the business have been growing for more than 50 years.

Family fun on the farm. This is what you'll find at Calhoun Produce in Ashburn, GA. There's a little red barn full of animals, duck races, pig races, slides, swings, a combine to climb in, delicious butter beans, fresh strawberries to pick, and more varieties of peas than you can shake a stick at. 

Fresh-from-the-garden vegetables, a wide variety of oysters, and expertly crafted cocktails all in one of the 10 best-designed bars in America. In this episode, you'll learn how one restauranteur's passion for the aquaculture of the South has made Decatur, Georgia a prime destination for oyster lovers everywhere. Plus, which is better: oysters from a farm or oysters harvested in the wild?

Does your retirement plan include creating a 100% sustainable farm utilizing agricultural by-products to produce fresh gourmet mushrooms and organic compost for land farmers? It is certainly an option and it is exactly what the owners of Green Box Mushrooms in Gainesville, GA did when they left their corporate jobs. 

Peanuts are close to sacred in Georgia.  And making peanut butter is a serious business. But peanuts don't hold a monopoly on the nut butter game. There's pecan, almond, cashew, and hazelnut butter, too. In this episode, we'll learn how Georgia Grinders in Chamblee, Georgia has the nut butter process down to a science. 

Sapelo Island is home to the last intact Gullah Geechee community in the Sea Islands of Georgia. It is comprised of direct descendants of enslaved people who were brought here in 1802. In this episode, we're going to learn how exactly a green plant turns into the bluish-purple color used to dye denim and how that plant is helping to revive a small island community off the Georgia coast. 

Sapelo Island is home to the last intact Gullah Geechee community in the Sea Islands of Georgia. It is comprised of direct descendants of enslaved people who were brought here in 1802. This episode of the Fork in the Road podcast is about the revitalization of an African-American community that has existed in Georgia for more than 200 years. 

Special bonus episode of the Fork in the Road podcast where we'll look back at the first season to tell some of the behind-the-scenes stories and answer a few questions from you. 

How do cattle farmers ensure their cows will produce tender and tasty beef?  FPL Food in Augusta achieves it by employing a business school concept: vertical integration.  

Georgia is the definition of diversity. Georgia has mountains, farmlands, and beach towns. Georgia has big cities, bustling suburbs, and small communities.  And Georgia is full of people of all colors, creeds, and backgrounds.  Is it possible to unite all of this diversity under one symbol?  That is exactly what Peach State Pride has set out to do. 

One of the most unique coffee roasters in the country is located in the North Georgia Mountains. In this episode, we'll learn about bourbon-infused coffee, wine-infused coffee, IPA and stout beer-infused coffee and get a little history lesson during our visit to JumpinGoat Coffee Roasters in Cleveland, GA. 

A dairy in the North Georgia mountains sells some of the freshest milk and ice cream around. Plus, their special process allows some lactose-intolerant people to enjoy dairy products again. In this episode, we make a visit to Mountain Fresh Creamery. 

A doctor in Southwest Georgia is promoting sustainable organic farming while brewing beer and producing CBD products. And the brewery and taproom has given an economic boost to downtown Albany. This is Pretoria Fields Collective. 

Georgia is the Peach State but it is also home to about half of all peanuts grown in the United States. No matter how you eat your peanuts, be it candy bars, protein bars, peanut butter, or cocktail mixes, the chances are high that you've eaten peanuts from Hardy Farms Peanuts in Hawkinsville, GA. 

Hibiscus is a tropical plant, but it is being grown in Metro Atlanta and is used to make a variety of products. Today David will learn about Pride Road's line of hibiscus-based products: jelly, chutney, tea, and soda. 

Rely on your everyday experts. Follow your grandmama's chocolate cookie recipe, do what your doctor says, and find a mechanic you trust. And when a multi-generation cotton farmer puts his stamp of approval on cotton sheets, rest assured that he knows a thing or two. On this episode of the Fork in the Road podcast, David is talking to the farmers at Southern Drawl Cotton.  

This week we travel to Macon, Georgia to discuss the ins and outs of a very simple product that has been known to bring families together while arguments about its ingredients can also tear people apart. What is this product? Barbecue sauce. Specifically, we are talking about Mrs. Griffin's Barbecue Sauce.

Today we're at Georgia's very first kombucha tasting bar. Cultured South Fermentation Co., the home of Golda Kombucha, is on the west side of the Atlanta BeltLine and David wants to answer a simple question: What exactly is kombucha? 

On this episode, we're in the home of the Georgia Apple Festival, Ellijay. But apples aren't the only thing being grown here. This mountain town is also home to Ellijay Mushrooms where you can find meaty, tasty, earthy mushrooms being grown with pristine mountain water.