Uncommon Fruits & Vegetables : A Commonsense Guide [Hardcover]

Elizabeth Schneider (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 17, 1998

"Its' a truly invaluable trove of culinary historical, and botanical knowledge," wrote Gourmet's book reviewer in 1997, lamenting that Uncommon Fruits and Vegetables was out of print. Now the classic has returned in its original hard cover.Uncommon Fruits and Vegetables was published in 1986 to a fanfare of outstanding reviews: "If there were Emmys or Oscars for cookbooks, Elizabeth Schneider would surely receive one" Boston Globe; "the book has already become a must-have" Bon Appetite; "the timeliest and most truly helpful book of the year," proclaimed Time magazine.

More timely than ever, the visionary volume includes produce now available nationwide -- arugula, mango, kiwi, snow peas, and Swiss chard, as well as less familiar passion fruit, carambola, tamarillo, and chanterelles. Backdrops rich in culinary, botanical, and historical information set the stage for nearly 100 of these produce items. Detailed methods of selection, storage, and preparation lead to more than 400 easy-to-follow recipes designed to bring out the best in each fruit and vegetable.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

As Elizabeth Schneider points out in her introduction, the immigrant culture of America is constantly restocking our markets and produce stores with "ethnic" fruits and vegetables that were hitherto unknown to any but the most worldly gourmets. Just as ginger, bean sprouts, and avocados were once strange, exotic substances, so Vidalia onions, fava beans, and passion fruit are becoming more common in stores nationwide.

In this magnificent, encyclopedic cookbook, Schneider discusses each of 80 fruits and vegetables, its origins, history, and appearance, its flavor, uses, and nutritional highlights. She tells how to shop for it and what to look for, how to store it and how long it'll keep, then she provides a selection of recipes (there are 420 in all) to inspire and reward your new culinary quests. Richard Sax's Hot and Sour Soup-Stew is a lovely way to try out Chinese cabbage, Sautéed Fennel with Lemon makes one wonder how one existed so long without it, and Collard Greens with Cornmeal Dumplings and Bacon provide you with the wherewithal to enjoy this ultimate comfort food in your own home, even if you don't hail from down South. Schneider's Commonsense Guide is an irresistible reference. --Stephanie Gold

From Publishers Weekly

In this delightfully chatty, alphabetical guide to the many exotic fruits and vegetables now appearing in the local market, magazine food writer Schneider likens cherimoya to a "pre-Columbian jade pine cone"; suggests you meet broccoli raab "head on"; rhapsodizes over the "delicious, promiscuous" chili-pepper; and defends "slippery, slimy" okra. She tells how to select pomegranates and loquats, describes such oddities as malangas and feijoas, and offers brief biographies of the newcomers. Her recipes, collected from across the world, are as unusual as her subject: she includes five different ways to serve nopales (cactus pads) and six taro dishes. Even the relatively ordinary spaghetti squash can be much more than a substitute for pastaSchneider suggests baking it in an herbed cheese sauce. Most recipes are simple to prepare and, aside from their uncommon main ingredient, use items found in any well-stocked kitchen. Now there's no need to quiver in fear when faced with a calabaza: lug it home and enjoy! Illustrations.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 544 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Cookbooks; 1 edition (June 17, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688160646
• ISBN-13: 978-0688160647
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7.2 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #386,531 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The subtitle "A commonsense guide" says it all, September 3, 2000

By 

M. J. Smith (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Uncommon Fruits & Vegetables : A Commonsense Guide (Hardcover)

I love this volume but would still place The Victory Garden as the first essential vegetable cookbook; then I'd place this as the second vegetable cookbook for a well-stocked kitchen.

The book is arranged alphabetically by plant. An index in the back allows you to find produce by an alternative name. An index in the front sorts the recipes by type.

To give an indication of its range the first few entries are: arugula, asian pear, atemoya, blood orange, bok choy, bolete, boniato, breadfruit ... The books gives a basic introduction to the history and geography of the plant, guides for selection and storage, basic preparation, nutritional value and recipes. For breadfuit, for a green breadfruit there is a salad recipe, for a medium ripe on there are soup and pudding recipes.

The recipes are all practical, everyday meal recipes. This book is an excellent guide for using the produce items that are more recently added to your supermarket produce bins.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, but look into buying her brand new book first, January 1, 2002

By 

Renee (St. Paul, Mn. USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Uncommon Fruits & Vegetables : A Commonsense Guide (Hardcover)

I have an earlier edition of this book, and have really enjoyed using it. It includes background and the author's commentary on each fruit or vegetable (and, as one of the authors notes, not your "garden variety" fruit and vegetables, but unusual things like kumquats and quince that those of us who grew up on iceberg lettuce may not have encountered.) She also includes a sampling of recipes for each item. The recipes have the author's usual creative flair, and all the ones I have tried have been really great. But, unless I was really more interested in the fruit part of the equation, I would look into buying her new vegetable book first. It was just published in December 2001, and would therefore be more current. There has been so much change in bringing some of the more unusual foods to market that it may make most sense to have Schneider's most recent book.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A guide to exploring exotic, new fruits and vegetables, April 30, 2001

By 

"petersonreviews" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Uncommon Fruits & Vegetables : A Commonsense Guide (Hardcover)

Is there a special section in the produce department of your favorite up-scale supermarket that has mysterious new plants with unfamliar names such as atemoya, boniato, burdock or calabaza? Have you tried carambola, cassava, chayote or cherimoya? No?

If you had a book filled with descriptions of exotic fruits and vegetables would you try them, especially if the book has delicious recipes? Yes?

Then this is a book you should own. It will help you explore 80 different fruits and vegetables, some of them strange and delicious, others just strange. The book has about 420 recipes for you to try. Enough for you to find some new favorites.