Fig Heaven

UNC-TV, North Carolina's PBS station, aired a segment this week on "NC Now" that featured Ocracoke fig cakes. 

You can watch it yourself! Just click here, then scroll to find the program from Tuesday, September 23rd. The Ocracoke fig cake segment starts at 14:17. 

The segment shows Ocracoke's ferry, beach, and lighthouse, then a series of interviews with local fig growers, canners, and fig cake bakers. Foodie Bob Garner from "NC Now" visited the island in August and chatted with fig expert Chester Lynn, fig preserver Dale Mutro, and bakers Annie Lou Gaskins and Gaynelle Tillett. You can also catch glimpses of the Village Craftsmen (where Dale sells his preserves), the Thurston House Inn (where Annie Lou serves her cakes), and the Fish House (where Gaynelle sells fig cakes by the slice.) It's worth watching just to see Gaynelle tell on herself in regards to the first fig cake bake-off. There are cameos with Patti Plyler and Donna Boor, too. It's always fun to see people you know on TV, especially when they are talking about something as delicious as figs. 

Bob Garner, known as UNC-TV's North Carolina barbecue fanatic (we have one to rival him here at the Current) wrote two books about the culture of NC BBQ. Lately, he's been branching out and learning (and writing) about other traditional foods in the Tarheel state including Brunswick Stew, Calabash-style fried fish, and of course, fig cakes.

Garner's latest book, titled Foods That Make You Say Mmm-mmm, is due out in early October.