Mountain Majesty

Inspired by fresh and foraged ingredients, baker Lauren May crafts traditional Appalachian recipes-but with her own modern twist.

-  LISA KAMINSKI 

LAUREN MAY got her start in the kitchen working with coffee grounds and eggshells. "To keep me busy as a baby, my grandma would give me all the scraps," she says.

Now, 32 years later, Lauren is still working with what her grandmother and family have handed down to her: a love of baking, a wealth of foraging knowledge and an abiding adoration for the bountiful Appalachian countryside.

This appreciation for what eastern Kentucky has to offer is apparent on Must Love Herbs, Lauren's colorful Instagram feed and blog. On these platforms, Lauren shows how she draws inspiration from the wilds around her. In the springtime, it's through a red clover-infused cake with cream cheese frosting. During the heat of summer, she whips up fresh blackberry and honey galettes.

When the Kentucky weather cools come fall, Lauren doesn't slow down. Instead, she fully embraces what she considers to be the basic tenet of Appalachian cooking and baking: "It's about using what you have." That means using a sweet staple from her neck of the woods: dried apples. In autumn, Lauren picks apples; her favorites are Granny Smith, Rome and June, in addition to the wild apples she harvests at home. To keep them all winter, Lauren says, it's common to dry them. "It's a practice from the past," she says, but one that suits her baking style.