The Produce Bible: Essential Ingredient Information and More Than 200 Recipes for Fruits, Vegetables, Herbs & Nuts [Paperback]

Leanne Kitchen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2007

Anyone who has shopped in a farmer’s market knows the abundant glories of seasonal produce, from the deep, fruity notes of a sun-ripened tomato to the crisp, green snap of a just-harvested bean; from the intoxicating perfection of a ripe strawberry to the juicy sweetness of a hand-picked peach. Like a trip to the market, The Produce Bible brings together the best of nature’s bounty, offering delicious recipes and essential ingredient information for more than 100 varieties of fruits, vegetables, herbs, and nuts.

Celebrating the explosion of interest in locally grown and hand-picked produce, this comprehensive volume features 200 recipes that bring out the special qualities of each ingredient, from tender spring peas to earthy autumnal tubers. In addition, the book is filled with practical advice on how to choose, store, and prepare fresh produce, as well as basic cooking techniques, nutritional information, and suggestions for companion foods. If you want to know the best type of potato for roasting or mashing; the perfect uses for a meyer lemon; or the ideal way to eat an artichoke, then look no further. Bursting with luscious color photographs, The Produce Bible is an invaluable resource for gardeners, cooks, and food lovers alike.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

LEANNE KITCHEN, a professional chef for 14 years, has worked in food and travel publishing for the past ten years. She has extensive experience as a food stylist, recipe writer, and cookbook editor, and as a travel features writer. Kitchen lives in Sydney, Australia.

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Stewart, Tabori and Chang (March 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1584795999
• ISBN-13: 978-1584795995
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.6 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #94,216 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #24 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Organic Cooking
  • #33 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Cooking by Ingredient > Fruits
  • #81 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Vegetables & Vegetarian > Vegetables

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not good enough, January 2, 2009

By 

N. Chiampa "BU College Student" (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Produce Bible: Essential Ingredient Information and More Than 200 Recipes for Fruits, Vegetables, Herbs & Nuts (Paperback)

The book delivers well on information for produce, but I didn't really find any information in this book that I can't find for free online. Also, the layout wasn't very helpful, as it doesn't provide a page in the table of contents for each fruit or vegetable. I tried two of the recipes in here, the lemon cake and orange biscotti, and neither came out very well. The flavors seemed off and the cake came out very dense. I think it was more of a coffee cake than the fluffy kind I was looking for. I ended up returning it, because it didn't seem worth the price. However, it is really pretty layout and the pictures are well done.

14 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A pear's a pear, right? Wrong!!! This book spills the beans (and pears, apples, cauliflower, etc.) on produce knowledge., May 8, 2008

By 

Sicklefinger (The rock formerly known as Pluto) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Produce Bible: Essential Ingredient Information and More Than 200 Recipes for Fruits, Vegetables, Herbs & Nuts (Paperback)

I was attracted to this book by the beautiful photograph on the cover and the appeal of a quick reference manual. Sometimes I wonder what the difference is between a Meyer lemon and my everyday supermarket lemon, or perhaps the short history of the pear. Now I have a place to find these answers. This book will give you a basic overview of many common fruits, vegetables, nuts, and herbs in 1-3 page sections, followed by a handful of recipes incorporating the particular produce of interest.

The recipes vary greatly - some are for sweet dishes, others savory. Based on a cursory look at various recipes, most are fairly easy, though some will call for less commonly found ingredients. There are definitely some good recipes in here though.

The layout of the book is straightforward with some really beautiful photographs. The text is large and easily readable. Recipes are cross-referenced (e.g. mango recipes are in the mango section, but a footnote also tells you of the recipes in other sections that use mango as an ingredient). There are omissions - you won't find every type of produce imaginable, just a hundred of the most common things (If you want to know all about persimmons, you are out of luck). I would have liked more produce info and a few less recipes (or even no recipes).

As my other reviews explain, I'm more of a baker than a food cooker, but the information in this book will help either type of food cooking addict. It would be even better if it had some heavy metal madness interjected.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great reference book, December 2, 2009

By 

D. Whittaker "IndiansFan" (Cleveland, OH United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Produce Bible: Essential Ingredient Information and More Than 200 Recipes for Fruits, Vegetables, Herbs & Nuts (Paperback)

I use this book any time I get a fruit or vegetable I am not very familiar with. It provides information on how to pick the best produce, how it should be stored, what the health benefits are, etc. It also provides historical information and recipes.