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lisavegan's review against another edition
3.0
No, not “virtually every” as is claimed, but there are many vegetables and fruits covered in this book. Unfortunately, I took the claim seriously and expected to find lots of new produce, and I didn’t. It’s still a very useful book, but it’s not as comprehensive as I’d expected.
It turns out I’m doing some things right! But I will keep this book handy for reference. My weakness (I’m woefully ignorant) is how to store (and wash, and how long they can be expected to last re) vegetables and fruit, so that information was the most helpful for me. The information seems to be accurate; I’ll see for sure as I experiment.
What I most enjoyed were the cultural histories: who ate the food first and where, etc.
There are some delectable looking photos, all together in the middle of the book.
Each fruit and vegetable has the same sections: general description, season, purchase – avoid, preparation, serving suggestions, and flavor affinities.
I did learn a lot and will use this as a reference book as I know I’ll need reminders on how to select, store, and prepare various fruits and vegetables. Storage is where I most often have done things incorrectly, and I don’t have the ideal places either: no crisper drawers in the fridge and no true cool and dry place either, etc. But, this book will be useful to consult when I first bring home fruits and vegetables and am not certain how to store them or how long I can expect them to last in good shape.
It’s just a bit too thick and heavy to carry around all the time, but its small size does make it more portable than many books. I can see some people bringing it grocery shopping, or at least in the car’s glove compartment. I’ll leave my copy in the kitchen. Yes, I have two bookcases in my tiny kitchen. No eating table but two bookcases.
I want to add that most of the preparation instructions can be found in any basic cookbook, but the storage and selection for purchase information could be particularly helpful.
It turns out I’m doing some things right! But I will keep this book handy for reference. My weakness (I’m woefully ignorant) is how to store (and wash, and how long they can be expected to last re) vegetables and fruit, so that information was the most helpful for me. The information seems to be accurate; I’ll see for sure as I experiment.
What I most enjoyed were the cultural histories: who ate the food first and where, etc.
There are some delectable looking photos, all together in the middle of the book.
Each fruit and vegetable has the same sections: general description, season, purchase – avoid, preparation, serving suggestions, and flavor affinities.
I did learn a lot and will use this as a reference book as I know I’ll need reminders on how to select, store, and prepare various fruits and vegetables. Storage is where I most often have done things incorrectly, and I don’t have the ideal places either: no crisper drawers in the fridge and no true cool and dry place either, etc. But, this book will be useful to consult when I first bring home fruits and vegetables and am not certain how to store them or how long I can expect them to last in good shape.
It’s just a bit too thick and heavy to carry around all the time, but its small size does make it more portable than many books. I can see some people bringing it grocery shopping, or at least in the car’s glove compartment. I’ll leave my copy in the kitchen. Yes, I have two bookcases in my tiny kitchen. No eating table but two bookcases.
I want to add that most of the preparation instructions can be found in any basic cookbook, but the storage and selection for purchase information could be particularly helpful.
jenamiller's review against another edition
4.0
I love her cooking guides. It take the guesswork out of what you're cooking and why. This is not a cookbook, though it does offer loose suggestions in how to cook the items.
lizenfrance's review
5.0
This book is GENIUS -- a must-have for idiots like me who have no idea how to select zucchini (soft? firm? smooth? bumpy? squishy? large? small?) or what to do with it once we bring it home (refrigerate in the bag/out of the bag? keep at room temperature in the bag/out of the bag?) and how to cook it. It's helped me expand my culinary horizons.