David Benscoter spent 24 years as an FBI and IRS investigator, working on cases involving bank robberies and political corruption. After he retired, he found the oddly interesting world of long lost 'pioneer' apples. He took his love and knowledge of investigating to the world of apples and started The Lost Apple Project.
In Washington State there are many abandoned and neglected orchards, so Benscoter checks them out and looks for clues like he would at a crime scene. It's a neat way to uncover the past and get some of these old apples into people's mouths again! So far Benscoter and The Lost Apple Project have brought back three varieties - The Nero, T=the Dickinson, the Arkansas Beauty.
Most recently, Benscoter and his team have been in the news for discovering ten apple varieties thought to have been extinct! They include the following:
- Gold Ridge
- Sary Sinap
- Colman
- Claribel
- Butter Sweet
- Streaked Pippin
- Milalfyi
- Nelson Sweet
- Fink
As your apple show of record, you of course know how much we love the delicious fruit, so we knew we had to get David Benscoter on the phone to learn more about The Lost Apple Project!
What's your favorite apple? Yes, we are asking you that question. We genuinely want to know your favorite kind.