An Apple Harvest (Hardcover)

by Frank Browning (Author), Sharon Silva (Author) "POMONA was the Roman wood nymph who tended the orchards on the Palatine Hill beside the Tiber..." (more)
Key Phrases: other good baking apples, dry hard cider, moisten the dough, Granny Smith, Newtown Pippin, Stayman Winesap (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
You start with Duck Breast and Fuji Apples on Watercress, and end with a glass of Moroccan Apple Sharbat--and it's all apple all the way in between. Such is the slim wonder called An Apple Harvest, courtesy of award-winning authors Frank Browning and Sharon Silva. Both authors grew up with apples in the family--acres of apples--Silva north of San Francisco, and Browning in Kentucky. Browning, in fact, co-owns and operates an orchard with his brother. So these are not supermarket food writers. The appreciation both writers bring to their task begins with the seasons of labor that go into growing and harvesting a good apple.

An Apple Harvest opens with combined reminiscences that give the reader a sense of how large, how grand the world of apples can be, given access to good and varied fruit. The introduction includes a brief history that traces the apple back to ancient origins in what is Kazakhstan today, a section on choosing apples, how to keep apples, a peel/don't peel debate, and a little something on cooking with cider, cider vinegar, and Calvados or applejack. The "Culinary Pomarium" that follows is an illustrated guide to modern apple possibilities. And then there are the recipes.

International in scope, you will find first courses, main dishes, side dishes, desserts, and beverages. You will find a Waldorf Salad, this one including pomegranate seeds and red grapes. There's a Roasted Winter Squash Soup with Cider, and Steamed Clams Asturian Style, which calls for cider as well. How about Fujis and Kale? Or Fox Mountain Parsnips (with dried apples and hard cider)? The desserts section begins with Apple Dumplings. There's a Tarte Tatin recipe, followed by Kentucky Bourbon Apple Pie. Four more pies follow, one of them savory, with Swiss chard. As far as single-subject cookbooks go, An Apple Harvest sets the standard. --Schuyler Ingle

Product Description
This text ranges far beyond the usual compendium of single fruit desserts, leading the reader through savoury appetisers, soups, salads, hearty stews and roasts, and desserts. Woven throughout are the authors' recollections of their childhood spent on apple orchards in Kentucky and California.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 151 pages
• Publisher: Ten Speed Press; illustrated edition edition (March 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580081045
• ISBN-13: 978-1580081047
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 8.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,127,668 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Appealling photos, excellent recipies, new apple lore., October 23, 1999

By A Customer

We just finished Frank Browning's Apple and Country Ham Risotto. Improbable as it seems, the flavors blend beautifully. My husband declared it the best risotto he's ever had--and risotto is his favorite food.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well done, January 16, 2007

By	S. Sumpter (Healdsburg, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is very much about apples for apples sake. Beautifully done. I was looking more for a "everything you can do with apples" rather than a history and genus of apples. Still worth having.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable, but somewhat shallow, August 22, 2007

By	J. Cornett (TN, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I bought this book having already tried one of the recipes (sausage stuffed apples) that I found on the internet. The recipe was yummy, and I love apples, so I bought the book. This book has a small dose of apple history, a small dose of descriptions of different apple varieties, and a dose of recipes. I was a little disappointed by the recipes, mostly because many of them were just thrown-together by the authors based on what they found at the farmer's market or in their kitchen. There's nothing wrong with this approach, of course. I cook that way all the time and it's very enjoyable. But at the same time, I don't really need a recipe book for that. I had bought the book hoping for traditional apple recipes (perhaps from many cultures). That's not what this book has. But "bottom line", I did enjoy the book. It all depends on what you expect...