"Eat locally, eat seasonally. A simple slogan that is backed up by science and by taste. The farther away from the market something is grown, the l...
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Jan 05, 2008
Anastasia
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This book is an apolitical, fast, easy read. The author includes a lot of scientific and historical information about various fruits and vegetables (very interesting!), discusses how to choose and prepare food, and provides recipes. He's snooty, but not completely over the top. I learned a good amount, but it wasn't quite what I expected-- I think the author could have been a lot more revolutionary in advising "the consumer" (oh, how I despise that term!) to take action to reclaim good
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Oct 05, 2011
Petra X
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Brilliant book, just as good as Parsons' previous one, How to Read a French Fry. Just as that book improved my cooking after I'd read just a few pages (really it did), this one immediately changed how I picked fruit in the supermarket and stored them. For instance, I didn't know that a few small brown spots on cauliflowers were only sun spots, so this week I bought a couple of them that had been reduced because of this, and found, like the book said, they didn't affect eating quality at all. (No
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Nov 01, 2009
Emily
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This is a great resource for people wanting to know more about the common (and some not as common) fruits and veggies they eat: how to select the fruit/vegetable at its best, the seasonally best time to buy them, some very simple preparations that highlight the produce itself, some more complex recipes that sound sooooo yummy. Mr. Parsons states in the introduction that he is all about the taste of food; if you want to learn about the political, social, economic, environmental impact of food, r
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Feb 27, 2009
Djrmel
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A fact filled skim of where and when our fruits and vegies are at their best, along with some classic recipes for showing off the flavors. As we become more aware of the high price of eating healthy (environmentally and economically), it only makes sense to try to get the most for your dollar and your carbon footprint. Unfortunately, Parsons just scratches the surface on all the types of food that fill the produce department and farmers markets in this country, perhaps because there's no gettin
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Jan 06, 2009
Melissa
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So easy to read yet full of factual data on history of agricultural economics and agriculture as a commodity. The best part was I learned so many small things about the produce I eat every day such as the fact that cucumbers should not be refrigerated. This is a wonderful read for any food lover who desires to know how we got to commercial and industrialized farming of the modern world but how some farmers are trying to get us back to the true flavor of our foods. Organized by season, each ch
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Oct 13, 2007
Laura
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This is a really lovely guide to picking local produce. I know, I'm lame, but it's really interesting and helpful. Written by the food critic for the LA Times, the writing is really...delicious.
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Apr 20, 2008
Jennifer
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Interesting book. Had to return it to the library as was in demand. A selection of vegetables and recipes to help you begin to eat with the seasons.
Jan 06, 2011
Tim
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If Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian was my encyclopedia of produce, what I would reference when bringing home produce, Parson's How to Pick a Peach would be the book that got me to seek out new produce. The background on how each variety of produce came into it's modern super-market form, the differences in varieties, and the farming methods employed are all insightful. I feel at least as informed as the local super-market produce manager...actually maybe a little better informed.
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Aug 10, 2008
Shelah
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Russ Parsons instructs the world on how to pick and store good produce. Then he gives some recipes for how to prepare it.
I've heard a ton of buzz about How to Pick a Peach over the last few months. I've heard Russ Parsons on the radio, railing against such hypocrisies as (gasp!) refrigerating tomatoes and potatoes! There was a lot of interesting stuff in How to Pick a Peach (particularly the chapter on the two peach growers who pick ripe, rather than rock-hard peaches and have cult f More...
I've heard a ton of buzz about How to Pick a Peach over the last few months. I've heard Russ Parsons on the radio, railing against such hypocrisies as (gasp!) refrigerating tomatoes and potatoes! There was a lot of interesting stuff in How to Pick a Peach (particularly the chapter on the two peach growers who pick ripe, rather than rock-hard peaches and have cult f More...
Mar 19, 2008
Rebekah
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I enjoyed the author's sense of humor and writing style, as in this passage:
Choosing the right melon is one of the more confusing rites of summer--and you probably don't know the half of it. Some people say you should thump melons. Some say you should give them a sniff. Some claim the secret is all in the skin. Some tell you to play with their bellybuttons (the melons', not the people's). They're all right, and they're all wrong. It all depends on what kind of melon you're talk More...
Choosing the right melon is one of the more confusing rites of summer--and you probably don't know the half of it. Some people say you should thump melons. Some say you should give them a sniff. Some claim the secret is all in the skin. Some tell you to play with their bellybuttons (the melons', not the people's). They're all right, and they're all wrong. It all depends on what kind of melon you're talk More...
Jul 15, 2007
Wendy
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This book is part treatise on modern industrial agriculture and its discontents, part a reference manual on fresh fruits and vegetables, and part cookbook. Some of the information on farming will be old news to people who have read Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma and similar works, though there is some fascinating stuff about plant breeding and how new strains of strawberries and such are developed that was all new to me.
The discussions of how to pick good fruits and vegetab More...
The discussions of how to pick good fruits and vegetab More...
Feb 03, 2009
Kirsten
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Absolutely an essential for anyone who loves food and wants it to taste as good as possible. Not only does the book let you know when different fruits and vegetables are in season, but it gives a brief history of each fruit/veggie family, tells you how to pick a good specimen, and gives both basic and more advanced preparation techniques. In just the past couple weeks, I've been much more adventurous with the different vegetables I've chosen.
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Dec 28, 2010
Mike
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Anyone sufficiently interested in food will enjoy the snapshot of commercial and scientific information about a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. For instance, I'm a happier person knowing that the revoltingly, shockingly astringent persimmon I once tried to eat was probably only a couple days away from being ripe and sweet; that portabello mushrooms are just overgrown brown button mushrooms that were initially considered a mistake; and that fruit growers pretty much can't worry about lous
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Dec 28, 2008
Linn
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I appreciated the organization of the book into seasons and the fruits/ veggies of each. It allowed me to understand the origins of food and to select those that are grown locally and in-season, I have even less of a reason to choose foods that contribute to global-warming. Additionally, it gives important tips as to how to prepare foods I've never made. I now keep the book w/ my cookbooks for easy reference!
Sep 24, 2008
James
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Written much more with the produce consumer in mind, it's useful as advertised (will certainly teach you how to pick a peach). I was hoping for a little more on the agricultural side, but what did I expect from a food critic.
This book should be required reading in high school home ec. classes for lessons on how your food actually gets to your table, as well as produce selection and storage. Unfortunately, tends to read like said textbook for others who may already know much of its l More...
This book should be required reading in high school home ec. classes for lessons on how your food actually gets to your table, as well as produce selection and storage. Unfortunately, tends to read like said textbook for others who may already know much of its l More...
Oct 04, 2009
Mary
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Mmmmmm, books about food...not for the hungry! I did learn a lot though; mostly how ignorant I am about in-season fruits/veggies and how to tell what is mature or ripe. Or the difference between mature and ripe. One thing I really liked about it is that it talked about complex issues without shoving political propaganda in your face.
It almost makes me want to live in California....
It almost makes me want to live in California....
Feb 04, 2008
Hilary
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The cover of this book caught my eye at the bookstore. I opened it to a random page and read for 15 glorious minutes. This book is a resource everyone should have. It contains everything you need to know about a large number of fruits and vegetables. Parsons organizes the foods according to the season in which they ripen. He explains how the foods are grown, how they make it to your grocery store or farmer's market, how they should be selected, stored and then prepared. He provides a handf
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Jan 27, 2010
Paige
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Good, interesting information of the history of fruit and vegetable marketing and cultivation in America. Like, colored bell peppers (that is, non green ones) were a Dutch idea and they used to have quite the monopoly on them, but now they mostly come from Canada. Rather useless recipes, though. Who wants to cook a perfect peach? Sacrilege!
May 15, 2009
Jason
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Not quite a cookbook and not quite a complete taxonomy, this book gives a rough overview of where we get most of our modern food from (California, apparently), how it got that way, how to cook it and when it's in season. I didn't like the fact that the recipes were mixed in with the text, but the back stories were excellent.
Dec 07, 2008
Jenaya
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How to Read a French Fry was an amazing book - a must for those (like me) who just can't quite get through McGee. How to Pick a Peach is good too - definitely worth having for advice on picking and storing produce. However, it is somewhat limited in scope and some of the entries are frustratingly brief.
Oct 21, 2010
Cathee
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I thought it would just be a recipe book but it was much more. Each chapter covers a fruit or vegetable, and explains the history of growing in the US, interesting tidbits, how to choose, how to store, how to cook, along with recipes. Much more interesting to read than I had expected.
Nov 01, 2008
Sarah
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Parsons’s book caught my attention right off the bat - I don’t live in peach country, and I don’t buy them much at the store (the disappointment just isn’t worth it...they’re mealy and tasteless and hard little buggers every time I’ve tried). But the thought of searching for flavor...that was something I could get my hands around.
Oh yeah, and he used the word “farm.” Not just in the cutesy sense, either, but with a feeling of actually having been on a farm. (Different farms than the More...
Oh yeah, and he used the word “farm.” Not just in the cutesy sense, either, but with a feeling of actually having been on a farm. (Different farms than the More...
Jul 06, 2009
Garrett
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Excellent run-down of fruits and vegetables, their history and breeding, their seasonality, and of course, recipes. A must read for those looking to wean themselves off meat a little bit. It'll incite some interest in all that leafy matter.
Jan 19, 2012
Lanette
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This was an interesting read about the history of the produce we eat, as well as neat tips and tricks to choosing the best of the bunch. I can't wait to try his recipe for Lemon Curd once my Meyer plant arrives and starts producing!
Dec 13, 2009
Jeanne
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This is a great resource book. I read it through, but also go back to it for reference depending on the time of year. If the subtlety of fresh produce is sometimes beyond your mastery, this book will get you on the road. A pleasure!
Mar 22, 2009
Kirby
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Interesting. I liked the informal way this book was written. The recipes look delicious but fresh produce is a bit expensive for me at the moment so I've only made dishes from the onion and potato sections. Both turned out well.
Nov 10, 2011
Debbie
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This was a very interesting book. A sort of "Everything you ever wanted to know about Fruits and Vegetables" book which is quite readable and also a terrific reference book. All that and recipes too!
Jul 11, 2010
Paul
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This is a book about produce -- how to select, buy, and prepare all kinds of fruits and vegetables. Straightforward information and some pretty good recipes, too.
Jan 03, 2009
Norita
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Although I rather enjoyed the style of writing, the content was just not enough to hold me. There was not enough information that I didn't already know.
Nov 14, 2008
Laura
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This book takes a look at what has happened to our commercially grown produce over the last 50 years and attempts to discover why so much produce at the grocery store is tasteless and unpleasant compared to home grown. Fascinating. Each chapter is about a different food and he does a good job of describing the breeding progression that got us to where we are today but I felt like he was a little biased toward California (where he lives). I also would have liked to see more about how to choose
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