Customer Reviews

Berries

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This isn't just another cookbook nor is it a gardener's guide: BERRIES is instead a lovely culinary history of usage which focuses on 'neglected' berries which have all but vanished from American tastes, as well as common berries which were often used as additives to such unlikely items as Dr. Pepper soda. From native currants to historic uses and more, BERRIES is a wonderfully different survey offering fine history and insights on many elusive fruits.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

If you are a lover of berries of all types, as I am, then I believe you won't be disappointed if you buy this book. At this price, it is a steal for the enjoyment you will receive from it. It is printed on lovely paper with wonderful illustrations and it would make a great gift as well. I am pleased with this purchase.

It is to my amazement and shock that for all of its detailed information, this book contains nothing about dingleberries. While I will concede that most of civilized society still regards the humble dingleberry as more of a nuisance than as a bona fide member of the berry kingdom, this should hardly be a reason to exclude them from the berry vernacular. After all, I'm not crazy about raspberries but I wouldn't single them out from any discussion about what constitutes a legitimate berry.

I can only guess in contemplating the motivation behind the exclusion of the dingleberry from this volume. Perhaps it's because the dingleberry is not considered a key ingredient of any contemporary delicacy (e.g. pies or muffins) for obvious reasons. I don't anticipate an emergence of dingleberry milkshakes or some kind of off-the-wall Ben & Jerry's flavor (like "Dingleberry Manilow" or something). But even as such, culinary function is hardly the only defining characteristic of a berry. So I really can't comprehend the reasoning. Hopefully the publisher can correct this egregious omission in future editions.