Customer Reviews

The Perfect Fruit: Good Breeding, Bad Seeds, and the Hunt for the Elusive Pluot

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Perhaps written in the tradition of Michael Pollan and Mark Kurlansky's seemingly single subject books (though refreshingly differently), Brantley's book is an excellent read. He manages to take a subject and a fruit that might not even come to mind in the produce section of the grocery store, and give it its due in a personal, even alluring way. I highly recommend The Perfect Fruit, and plan on picking up several copies as gifts this holiday season myself.

I was curious to find out about how an entire book dedicated to one somewhat rare fruit would turn out. WOW! The book not only makes you want to go directly to the supermarket and buy a basket of this interesting and delicious fruit, but it makes you appreciate just about ANYTHING you might have passion for. Chip Brantley uses humor, unbelievable insight and a great deal of research to make a seemingly ordinary subject come to life. The real success of this book is that I wasn't sure I was even interested in the subject and then was brought into this wonderful world that the author gladly let me into.

His love of life, his love of food and the deep love he has for his wife make this book not just an "expert's view' of a pluot. It makes it a wonderful story that is a must for anyone who appreciates beauty...

What a surprisingly delightful read! Whether you consider yourself a "foodie" (or perhaps, in this case, a "fruity") or not, Mr. Brantley's unbridled curiosity, humorous insight, and unabashed dedication to the pursuit of that which he does not yet know will truly inspire you to think differently; not only about fruit, but also, in a very comforting and whimsical manner, about life... I really enjoyed this gem of a book.

Some books make you want to hug your wife, or buy a dog, or go hike the Appalachian Trail (or not). Chip's book, for its part, makes you want to go to the nearest Piggly Wiggly and try to find a pluot -- and that's no mean feat. The Perfect Fruit is an entertaining read and, if you're not careful, you'll learn something about the elusive pluot -- and the author -- in the process.

My son gave this to me to read, and I really didn't know what to expect. I wasn't sure how someone could write a whole book about pluots. But I was hooked from the start! It's really beautifully written, funny, informative (who knew fruit breeding could make for a page-turner?), and filled with fascinating fruit-growing characters who really come alive. I highly recommend this book!

Whether you consider yourself a bon vivant, a culinary neophyte, or someone wandering in the middle, 'The Perfect Fruit' is both history and story, for food, farming, even relationship enthusiasts. Mr. Brantley takes us on his journey where he discovered the pluot, which in and of itself wouldn't necessarily appeal to the masses. But his mixture of naivete, humor, and pure eagerness make the much unknown stone fruit industry not only interesting but intriguing. You find yourself rooting for these farmers to succeed, wanting to see different varieties of pluots and plumcots not just in farmer's markets, but in grocery stores and restaurants, in hands and on plates in kitchens everywhere... you feel as if you have become a part of the long and arduous process of creating something that, in the end, is simply and beautifully delicious and satisfying... much like the novel itself.

"The Perfect Fruit" is a really fantastic book. It manages to do what so many nonfiction books often fail to do: to be both exceptionally informative AND page-turningly entertaining. Brantley introduces us to the strange/wonderful/genius cast of characters who comprise California's Central Valley fruit breeders, growers, and sellers as they try to make their way through the 2007 growing season. Along the way, we end up learning a ton about California's agricultural history, as well as the way the agricultural industry is changing today and forcing these farmers--those who actually can--to adapt to a world in which an exquisitely (and expensively) designed fruit often ends up in bin at a Wal-Mart Supercenter marked at a bargain-basement price that diminishes the intense creative and physical labor that went into producing it.

Even more impressive about the "The Perfect Fruit" is Brantley's own love for the subject. It's clear from the first page that he's passionate about the whole endeavor. His keen eye for detail and facility with language really bring to life a bizarre and complicated world most of us probably don't think about as we cruise the produce section of our local chain grocery stores. He makes this world accessible and, somehow, beautiful. Consider his description of the legendary "tule" fog that often hovers in the Central Valley: "Named for a type of sedge that once grew all over the wetlands of the Central Valley, the tule fog is a high-inversion fog, a bottoms-up weather event that usually starts after a rain when the wet earth cools the air just above ground level. That air condenses, and because the Valley is boxed in by mountains, the lower store of cool air is pushed down by warmer air and has nowhere to go. So it just sits there, like a bored ghost." Dead-on language like this is hard to come by anywhere, and it's this kind of careful, passionate attention to detail that really makes "The Perfect Fruit" such a rewarding read. The book is smart, fun, funny, and sometimes even sad. In the end though, it's simply straight-up good.

The Perfect Fruit: Good Breeding, Bad Seeds and the Hunt for the Elusive Pluot by Chip Brantley is a quick, easy and enjoyable read. The author, while casting about in his life trying different jobs and exploring different passions discovered two at once; his future wife and the perfect fruit--The PLUOT. Fortunately for all of us, the author pursued his new passion for interspecific, hybrid stone fruit obsessively and wrote a book about the stone fruit industry in California as well as a brief history of cultivar development in peaches, plums, nectarines and apricots. At the center of the story is Floyd Zaiger, a plant breeder who now specializes in hybrid crosses between plums, apricots and peaches (occasionally almonds and nectarines slip in there a bit). Zaiger was not the first to hybridize plums and apricots, that distinction falls to the great plant breeder Luther Burbank (at least in so far as intentional crosses to make hybrids, natural hybrids may have occurred in the wild), but Zaiger is certainly the most prolific and he popularized the word pluot (plew-ott) for the fruit. There is a wide range of cultivated varieties of pluots (or plumcots) in a rainbow hue of flesh and skin colors. The newest varieties are very sweet, over twenty brix in sugar; as sweet as wine grapes when they are harvested.
We should all be grateful someone has told the story of Floyd Zaiger and his life's work. Plant breeders are passionate about their work, fanatical sometimes. They are often experts not only on the breeding and genetics of their crops, but also the physiology, production, marketing and culinary uses. Plant breeding, tree breeding in particular, requires long-term vision and commitment. Plant breeders, by developing new varieties to address changing market requirements and plant disease pressure, are at the base of the pyramid for all agricultural endeavors. Plant breeders are very often well read, well traveled, interesting individuals who are not always humble, but certainly know humility.
For any of you who live in the north end of the San Joaquin Valley, it is definitely worth the trip to Modesto for the weekly open-house (open-farm) and fruit tasting at Zaiger's (seasonal only). As the Field Representative for a fruit and vegetable packing shed in Linden for several years, I went to Zaiger's several times to taste fruit and evaluate root stocks. I enjoyed the book very much, all the more so because my copy was an unexpected gift from pepper breeder Dr. Paul Bosland. If you read this book and find that you too enjoyed it, you might want to consider Epitaph for a Peach: Four Seasons on my Family Farm by David Masumoto for a very personal view of the struggle to grow and harvest the perfect peach. If you think plant breeding is fascinating, then definitely add Hybrid: The History and Science of Plant Breeding by Noel Kingsbury to your "Wishlist".

The Perfect Fruit is perfect. From the beginning when the author bites into his first Pluot, to the end when you are wondering about Stone Fruit. Previously, I wasn't familiar with the term, but halfway through the book I was wondering how they are grown, distributed, bred... After reading the book, I am amazed at how Mr. Brantley, armed with only type on crisp dry pages, could make me not only run to my produce section but also want to visit the California Valleys in search of the Perfect Fruit.

This book is great! I work in the California peach, plum and nectarine industry and we are continually battling consumer misconceptions about agriculture and farming in the San Joaquin Valley. Everyones afraid of the big bad "Agribusiness" because city dwellers started writing about agriculture (That makes sense right?) and have spread messages that just are not correct. It was great to see that Chip came out to the orchards and did his homework. He discovered that, while there are corporate interests in other areas of agriculture the California stone fruit industry is largely made up of small family growers. Just as the book came out we were working on filming some of the same growers that were featured in the book like Rod Milton and the Kingsburg Jackson family for the growers YouTube page [...] The information in the book was spot on and entertaining!