Ripe: A Cook in the Orchard [Hardcover]

Nigel Slater (Author)

Book Description

Release date: April 10, 2012

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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Mr. Slater’s prose is so evocative that it will tap into the collective yearning that courses through cities and suburbs across the county, into our need to be disconnected from the ‘virtual’ and reconnected to the rhythms of nature.” 
—Wall Street Journal

“As with Tender, however, the real reason to add Ripe to your cookbook shelf is Slater’s smart, supple prose and tart observations, which are at once lyrical, deeply felt, and irresistibly irreverent.”
—KQED Bay Area Bites

“This is so much more than a cookbook. With each chapter focusing on a different fruit, Slater offers tips on growing the fruit in your garden, characteristics of the most common varieties, how to handle them back in your kitchen, and tried-and-true ingredient pairings. Slater feels like a companion on a fruit-finding journey.
—TheKitchn.com

“A comprehensive fruit book that’s sure to please the farm-to-table minded.”
—Library Journal

“Nigel Slater has written an impossibly beautiful and elegant companion to Tender. In Ripe, Slater treats fruit with respect and affection. Apricots are nestled between layers of almond cake. Currants are bolstered with bread. Plums jump with pickling spices. Treat yourself to this treasure.”
—Amanda Hesser, cofounder of FOOD52.com
 
“Nigel’s voice is the most distinctive and expressive among current food writers; his food is original, comforting, and completely delicious. Ripe is an inspiration.”
—Yotam Ottolenghi, author of Plenty
 
“I keep half a dozen favorite cookbooks on a special shelf next to my desk, and three of them are by Nigel Slater. Ripe is Slater at his best: warm, gracious, and profoundly knowledgeable. Start with the chapter on apples--be sure to make that ‘deeply appley apple crumble’--and you’ll know exactly what I mean.”
—Molly Wizenberg, creator of Orangette
 
“Nigel Slater’s masterpiece is a quiet, gorgeous, slow-motion riot where nature teaches the hungry gardener everything about beauty. But this is a cookbook? Absolutely and deeply, starting with how great fruit happens. From there, the sublime recipes seem inevitable. When I thumbed upon the blackberry focaccia, I tore out the page to tuck in my July calendar, whispering ‘genius.’”
—Judy Rodgers, author of The Zuni Cafe Cookbook

About the Author

Nigel Slater is the author of a collection of bestselling books, including the classics Real Fast Food, Appetite, and the critically acclaimed The Kitchen Diaries. He has written a much-loved column for The Observer for eighteen years and is the presenter of the award-winning BBC series Simple Suppers. His memoir, Toast --The Story of a Boy’s Hunger, has won six major awards, including British Biography of the Year, and has been adapted into a BBC film. Ripe is the companion volume to Tender: A cook and his vegetable patch. Visit www.nigelslater.com.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 600 pages
• Publisher: Ten Speed Press; 1 edition (April 10, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9781607743323
• ISBN-13: 978-1607743323
• ASIN: 1607743329
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 2.1 x 9.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #67,268 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #39 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Cooking by Ingredient > Fruits

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Elegant, poetic, and inspiring April 15, 2012

By thejoykitchen

Format:Hardcover

After purchasing Tender and being utterly thrilled with its depth and scope, we knew we had to get our hands on Ripe. And it lives up to its predecessor. Thoughtfully written, with a writer's acuity and a cook's ingenuity, Ripe is an essential addition to the cookbook shelf. Not only is it a pleasure to leaf through thanks to vibrant photos and truly solid writing, the recipes themselves are a testament to thoughtful cooking. Unfussy and highly adaptable, Slater's recipes are enjoyable, relaxed, and usually wonderfully simple. As far as I'm concerned, Tender and Ripe should be part of any home cook's library.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorite all time books April 25, 2012

By K. Gill

Format:Hardcover

Nigel Slater is one of my favorite cookbook authors for his ability to write a story that's as interesting to read as the recipes are to cook. There is nothing pretentious or difficult about his food. It is all quite easy to make. I was a bit crestfallen when I saw that Tender had almost no desserts in it, not knowing that Ripe would be almost all desserts.

This is such a beautifully photographed, fantastic collection of recipes covering so many different fruits, that if I had to get a housewarming gift for someone, I would seriously consider this alone (if they loved to bake or had a garden), or both as a set. I think it's impossible to get just one and not want the other.

I am happy to see his apple and zucchini cake in here (originally appeared in Observer Food Monthly I think), and a couple of other recipes I've seen in the paper, so now I can throw those clippings away. These desserts are my Saturday baking staple for our breakfasts during the week.

What I like most about his style of cooking is that it is all quite intuitive, which just derive from his questions of what would he like to eat, and what does he have on hand. I think you start to get a better feel for how to use what's around you in your food, and you start to feel more comfortable about pulling your own meals together without paying attention to recipes or quantities once you use these books. I never make extemporaneous desserts, but many of the ones in here are highly adaptable, so you can use your preferred fruit with similar results. There are even a few no-cook/bake desserts (cheesecake!) in here. Those are always at the top of my list!!

Of particular interest are the background/intro notes on each fruit and the spice/food/taste pairings for each one.

I love this book.... Is indeed in my top favorite cookbooks ever.

This book is for anyone who cooks!!! Read more ›

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Too Beautiful For Words April 15, 2012

By F. E. De Sanctis

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Who says the Brits don't know food? His Tender was a beautiful book, and like Tender you can sit with Ripe and go page by page, loving how much he loves food & fruit & life. What an amazing book. Just add this to your collection- Like Tender it will make you think in seasons and await every lushous thing that comes our way!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Addicted to Nigel's books August 31, 2012

By Jessica Ferguson VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

J'adore. Completely. Totally. I am just plain in love. Start with book design - beautiful - lovely paper, beautiful photos, fabulous font. Maybe it's a little unwieldy in the kitchen but I'm forgiving of that. The writing is amazing - heart-achingly nostalgic, mouthwateringly descriptive, and personal. A cookbook you actually want to READ. The recipes - perfection. Although some ingredients might be a challenge to find there is a US edition note to help make subs. A great gift book but please, buy a copy for yourself too (get a copy of Tender while you're at it). One complaint (just to try and temper my gushing) - no melon recipes but to be fair it is subtitled "A Cook in the Orchard". Lots of funky berry recipes plus plums, peaches, apricots, pears, quince, apricots, rhubarb, many many more - just good stuff. Best recipe so far - Goat Cheese Scone to go with Pears. In fact, I think I'll go make one now.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars amazing book July 17, 2012

By leftylily

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

i have at least a hundred cookbooks but none as beautiful as this book. the pictures are amazing, the ingredients are available. and I am starting with apples and moving forward. The baked apples seems like an easy one, but this book throws in something you might not expect.. It really is hard to explain. I purchased Tender as well and I would say to anyone who loves cookbooks the way I do... grab yourself a cup of tea and enjoy, enjoy, enjoy. it was like taking a mini vacation.
the apricot and raspberry tort was out of this world. amazing.. its the only word i can think of.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant as ever. June 17, 2012

By Bellefast

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I first tried Nigel's recipes after a trip to a friend's in London. Since then, I have tried many and always look to him first when I want to make something new. Amazing combinations, and often easy once you've got the ingredients together. He also writes beautifully and truly loves food. Thanks, Nige! I've only got Delia Smith and four of yours in my cook book collection.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Devoured it February 7, 2013

By HdeT

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

A passionate ballad for fruit - from seed to table. Each 'chapter' is focused on a different fruit - first with a bit of autobiographical exposition about the author's history with the fruit, then how to grow it, what it pairs well with, how to prepare it in a variety of ways. You'll plan a garden in your head by the time you've only read partway through. Beautiful photography and inspired recipes.

4.0 out of 5 stars Gorgeous production values April 14, 2013

By Dee Jay

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

A visual feast. Many of the recipes are simple and not ingredient-intensive, which works nicely when starting with the freshest, highest quality produce. A fine resource for whole-foods-based eating.