Ripe: A Cook in the Orchard [A Cookbook]

by Nigel Slater

Britain’s foremost food writer Nigel Slater returns to the garden in this sequel to Tender, his acclaimed and beloved volume on vegetables. With a focus on fruit, Ripe is equal parts cookbook, primer on produce and gardening, and affectionate ode to the inspiration behind the book--Slater’s forty-foot backyard garden in London.
 
Intimate, delicate prose is interwoven with recipes in this lavishly photographed cookbook. Slater offers more than 300 delectable dishes--both sweet and savory--such as Apricot and Pistachio Crumble, Baked Rhubarb with Blueberries, and Crisp Pork Belly with Sweet Peach Salsa. With a personal, almost confessional approach to his appetites and gustatory experiences, Slater has crafted a masterful book that will gently guide you from the garden to the kitchen, and back again.

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Cooking, Nonfiction, Gardening, Culinary, British Literature

603 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Nigel Slater is a British food writer, journalist and broadcaster. He has written a column for The Observer Magazine for seventeen years and is the principal writer for the Observer Food Monthly supplement. Prior to this, Slater was food writer for Marie Claire for five years. He also serves as art director for his books.

Although best known for uncomplicated, comfort food recipes presented in early bestselling books such as The 30-Minute Cook and Real Cooking, as well as his engaging, memoir-like columns for The Observer, Slater became known to a wider audience with the publication of Toast: The Story of a Boy's Hunger, a moving and award-winning autobiography focused on his love of food, his childhood, his family relationships (his mother died of asthma when he was nine), and his burgeoning sexuality.

Slater has called it "the most intimate memoir that any food person has ever written". Toast was published in Britain in October 2004 and became a bestseller after it was featured on the Richard and Judy Book Club.

"I think the really interesting bits of my story was growing up with this terribly dominating dad and a mum who I loved to bits but obviously I lost very early on; and then having to fight with the woman who replaced her ... I kind of think that in a way that that was partly what attracted me to working in the food service industry, was that I finally had a family." As he told The Observer, "The last bit of the book is very foody. But that is how it was. Towards the end I finally get rid of these two people in my life I did not like [his father and stepmother, who had been the family's cleaning lady] - and to be honest I was really very jubilant - and thereafter all I wanted to do was cook."

In 1998 Slater hosted the Channel 4 series Nigel Slater's Real Food Show. He returned to TV in 2006 hosting the chat/food show A Taste of My Life for BBC One.

Slater has two elder brothers, Adrian and John. John was the child of a neighbour, and was adopted by Slater's parents before the writer was born.

He lives in the Highbury area of North London, where he maintains a kitchen garden which often features in his column.

Reviews

[Julie Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rereading. And I stand by my comments below from the first time around.

============

If the book just was published can I still call it a classic?

If I just got it, can I really know it is 5 stars?

Let's just say that I have every confidence in Nigel Slater's Ripe being just as fantastic as Tender (his vegetable garden and cookery book) was last year.

It has the same gorgeous photography in a stunningly produced book. It has Nigel Slater's same quirky honesty. The only difference here is that the focus is on fruit.

As I'm at the beginning, I can't say much more. Except to confide that just reading the first page of the introduction made me look at the back yard and think, "blueberry bushes?" (Right. From the person who finds container gardening a chore. But still, it made me consider it.)

[Kimberly Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a wonderful and different cookbook. The book is comprised of recipes which center around fruits & nuts fresh from the garden/orchard, but is not limited to desserts, jams/jellies or condiments. Main & side dishes are included: Post roasted Guinea Fowl w/ figs, Roast duck legs w/ squash & Blackberry/apple sauce, Mint/peach Tabbouleh, Slow roaster pork loin w/ quinces & Marsala, and Black grape focaccia.

Included are: Apples, Apricots , Blackberries, Black Currants, Blueberries, Cherries, Chestnuts, Damsons, Elderflower/berries, Figs, Gooseberries, Grapes, Hazelnuts, Peaches/nectarines, Pears, Plums, Quinces, Raspberries, Red Currants, Rhubarb, Strawberries, Walnuts & White Currants.

I found this cookbook to be filled with a large variety of new & fresh mouth watering recipes.

[Mrs. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful, quiet and thoughtful book. The recipes for the most part are very simple, but what is amazing are the diversity of these recipes. Lots of inspiration, fun to read, and accessible for all levels of cooks.

[Hannah Moutran · Rating 5 out of 5]

The delicacy of quince blossoms, blackberries that stain yogurt purple, the "gentle nature" of a pear, the "no-nonsense appeal" of an apple: all captivate Mr. Slater in their simple beauty. If time and attention make something precious, the fruits Mr. Slater grows are more precious than gold. It's romantic, in the broader definition, and that is very appealing. This is a cookbook for readers and poetry lovers, gardeners and cooks. It's a must-have reference guide to fruits, not because it is exhaustive in breadth but because each individual fruit has been so thoroughly and lovingly observed.

Though I have the Americanized version, it is still thoroughly English, with many ingredients that are either not easily or not at all available here, including some of the fruits themselves. In this cookbook, this does not strike me as a flaw but rather an opportunity to let my mind wander to far away places. I think that appreciation speaks to how much I view this as a book and not just a collection of recipes. Certainly, in a more utilitarian and less literary cookbook I would probably find that bothersome. My advice is to think of the recipes where ingredients are hard to come by as inspiration. Clocking in at 581 pages, there are still plenty of recipes that can be followed to a tee.

I made: Cheese and apple puffs (p. 39), Apple rabbit (p. 41), Deeply appley apple crumble (p. 47), A cake of apples and zucchini (p. 59), Black grape focaccia (p. 310), poached pears with warm chocolate sauce (p. 391), A cake of pears, muscovado, and maple syrup (p. 392), Goat cheese and thyme scones to eat with pears (p. 400), Vanilla walnut sundae (p. 547), Fig and walnut cake (p. 548).

Would make again: Cheese and apple puffs (p. 39), Apple rabbit (p. 41), Deeply appley apple crumble (p. 47), A cake of apples and zucchini (p. 59), Black grape focaccia (p. 310), Vanilla walnut sundae (p. 547), Goat cheese and thyme scones to eat with pears (p. 400).

Standout Star Recipe: Cheese and apple puffs (p. 39), for both ease and deliciousness.

Pics on my blog: https://mykitchenscratch.com/2021/01/...

[Kaela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nigel Slater not only has a way with food, but a special way of writing about it. This book is more than a collection of a chef's delectable, seasonal recipes; it is a tome that tells a beautifully evocative story of a man's relationship with nature. Caring for his garden connects the author to his childhood while also tying him to the ritualistic nature of tending to the earth. Nigel's affection for cooking and eating good food inspires a feeling akin to reverence in the reader: eating is not an activity to be rushed but rather, enjoyed. The same is true for preparing one's meals: it is a process worthy of the best ingredients and utmost care, never to be taken lightly. Containing both practical gardening and cooking guidelines, and beautiful language and images describing every phase of a fruit's life from seed to slump, Ripe belongs in every kitchen's library. It serves as a reminder that growing, preparing, and eating good food can be as sacred as the bonds we have with those we share our meals with.

[Charlotte Wainwright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspiring cookbook/gardening guide to fruit. Nigel Slater's writing is, as always, evocative of times gone by although the recipes presented are fresh and modern. Ripe also provides great ideas for flavor combinations that I would not previously have considered. I got this one from the library but will be purchasing a copy as I know I'll want to refer back to it often.

[Genevieve Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

One thing I find interesting about this book and Tender is that they are not for the casual cook. They are not easy flavors and many recipes don’t have pictures. However, I totally fell for the supreme respect that Slater has for fruit. I think the recipes are beautiful, and while I certainly wouldn’t try all of them there are luckily 500+ pages to choose from.

[Cameron Toney]

Honestly I haven't cooked a single one of these recipes- I didn't have the time. This was a library book, and that time is not enough to pour over a book, picking meals out at just the right season.
But I will say it's very beautiful, and full of things that look very interesting!

[Moi · Rating 4 out of 5]

an exquisitely produced collection of simple, doable, whole-foods fruit-based recipes, along with the care and harvesting of many types of fruits. the ingredients are easily obtainable, and the technique required is very basic. this cookbook might not be the most challenging or inspirational you've ever come across, but it, quite frankly, LOOKS lovely among my cookbook collection and provides easy suggestions for lovely pairings and treatments on those nights when you just can't figure out what to do with your produce.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

As good as Tender, if not better because...it's fruit! So many sweet and savory things - really nice combos. Same fab writing, photos and book production as Tender. Same minor ingredient issues. Highlight so far - Fig and Blackberry Mini-Pies (although there def needs to be a little water for binding in the dough!)

[A · Rating 4 out of 5]

beautifully put together with photographs; informative and interesting; hits both more common and less common fruits; loved reading it cover to cover, bu not sure how much I would actually cook from it

[Cherie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A- Interesting book - he looks at recipes for fruits. He has a perspective that you'll be growing these (though he understandinds if not) and gives you growing tips as well as great recipes and interesting anedotes. YUM.

[Jennye · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful, but impractical, which is where I return a cookbook to the library shelf instead of keeping it checked out until the last possible minute and then adding to my "to buy" pile. I didn't even bother trying a single recipe from this one.

[Deborah Lonergan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb cookbook with beautiful seductive photographs, using fruit from the orchard as a basis for a variety of dishes. The author is English, thus many of the ingredients listed are in British terminology, as are the measurements.

[Beka · Rating 3 out of 5]

A large and very informative book on fruits and the ways to cook them.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

My only "gripe" is that it's a very British-centric book, so some if the fruits are not common in my area. Really, it's more jealousy than gripe. A beautiful book I hope to own soon.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved reading a book that combined the essence of gardening and nature with food and living. Very inspirational!

[Betsy Dion · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful pictures of the author's orchard and cooking, but not a very practical book. I tried one of the recipes, for a peach and blueberry cobbler, which was yummy.

[Manritas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous reading

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read for wandering--easy to read a section here or there, depending on what fruit you've opened to (or are looking for). Now, if only I could find prunus spinosa here to plant....

[Sasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely brilliant. Great recipes. Absolutely LOVELY writing. Cannot wait to get the companion, Tender.

[Mercedes · Rating 5 out of 5]

If a cookbook can be like a book of poetry, this is it. Recommended read when you are going through an "uninspired cook" phase.

[Tobi Andrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nigel Slater is a writer who likes to cook. This book is as much a dalliance into language as it is an exploration of the flavors, textures and aroma of fruit.

[Phaedra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Basically I wish it was late summer/early fall so I could be making everything in this book with fresh from the market/garden ingredients!

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

unbeleivable level of detail

[Amy Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delicious recipes using seasonal fruit.

[Susan Kriste · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a romance, a very lovely romance ... carry on.