Fruits and Vegetables Books

Very well written, easy read and very informative. Everything you would ever need to know to grow your own mushrooms!

Very comprehensive with a lot of detail about any kind of mushroom you could immagine! It's a great book to keep in your Garden library and refer to if you have any questions about growing mushrooms. It's applicable to the beginner and the experienced mushroom grower and will satisfy the science geeks that are interested in fungi. I think it's so informative that I've featured it on my new blog about mushroom growing: www.howtogrowmushrooms.wordpress.com

I liked the video very much. It is informative, fun and easy to follow.
I would recomend the video to people who want to grow mushrooms as hobby and learn to do new projects at home.

A very helpful book for mushroom growers and scientist. The only problem with the book is the lack of more color pictures.

This book is definitely not a beginners book, but The Mushroom Cultivator is. This book would be step two in your mycological life goal because it focuses more on the advanced techniques and an industrial approach growing mushrooms. I would recommend this book and every other book by Paul Stamets no questions asked.

This is interesting and amusing to look through ONCE. I wish instead of buying it I just took it out of a library. I had hoped I'd get loads of ideas to add on a plate of food gifts or something but there was nothing much to learn here except for the fact that Black eyed beans make good "eyes". The great photography sold this book. I passed it on to my daughter who is more artistic than I. With just a little inspiration she will do some great pumpkin carvings ETC. However, if you're not born with artistic abilities don't expect it from this book. The real point of the book is for the author to make money.., mission accomplished!

Don't think for a moment that the insane food presentation ideas in this book are only meant to delight children; adults I've entertained become hysterical when served okra lizards or pigs carved from citrus fruits. Two caveats if you try any of these techniques: choose the right sized knife, and make sure it is sharp. Another good idea is to have spare food on hand; you'll ruin an attempt or two for sure as you slice your way up the learning curve.

Food writer Elliot Essman's other reviews and food articles are available at www.stylegourmet.com

A friend of mine gave me a copy of this book a few months back. I'd flipped through it a couple of time, but I finally got around to reading it cover to cover today. It's a fast read ... the edition I have is only 109 pages, and most of them are photos. I finished it during a 1 hour workout at the gym earlier today.

The author basically takes the approach of looking at various fruits and vegetables like a rorschach diagram ... selecting oddly shaped examples and looking at them from all different angles, while looking for standouts that display some unusual inner character or expressiveness - and then, with only a few minor cuts and tweaks, turns them into living art.

It's a very clever book, and some of the results that the author achieves are extraordinary. I was particularly impressed with the author's pumpkin carving ability.

In any case, this book is more about making art than it is about carving food ... the produce is just the photographic subject.

Nits ?

I thought the author dealt with the subject a bit too briefly and narrowly. Although the book is 109 pages, 90% of that page count is mostly photos ... the book can be read in well under 1 hour. I'd like to have seem more page count devoted to discussion and things like carving technique.

I'd also have like to see the author include some examples taking a less ultra-simple and ultra-minimalist course ... by doing some more extensive carving and alteration. Things like carving melons, and cutting interesting & amusing garnishes for parties. Such material could have taken the book a bit out of the land of avante garde whimsy, and into the realm of practical home entertaining.

Still, for what it is, the book is very enjoyable. It's still coffee table fodder, to be sure, but enjoyable none the less.

If you have never had the pleasure of flipping through the pages of this book, then buy it today! At first glance, it is merely a whimsical, albeit beautiful, series of photos. However, upon closer inspection, the expressions on the faces really start to come across. And, yes, I'm talking about produce! This is a great book to put on your coffee table and share with your friends.

Excellent, although it may have been directed toward children, it is a great source of information and pictures for catering and decorating food tables. I use it all the time and marvel at how I now look at fruit and vegetables prior to buying.

Excellent illustrations (pictures and charts) to help define a kitchen garden. Could be more practical for small home gardens.

This book is lovely and inspirational and full of good ideas. I do not have time for such an elaborate garden but I have planted mine using many of their ideas an it is beautiful and functional.

For a couple minutes you may marvel at this book, and then you'll quickly realize it's full of repetition of a theme -- same style, same border plants, sameness throughout. Worse than that, however, is the fact that if you even bothered to lay one of these out it would look just right for only a week or so before you wanted to pick something but decided against it so as not to throw off the symmetry, or worse one part of your composition died away and made the rest useless. Gardening is hard enough work without resorting to this. I have a pretty kitchen garden thanks to borders of allyssum and gravel paths, but it's not as insane as this where I would constantly be dismayed it was dying or wanted to pick something (heaven forbid). There are many books on pretty kitchen gardens. This is a book for people who want to achieve something surreal that will ultimately make them miserable very shortly thereafter. Stop by my house. I'll give you this book for free. Worthless. Sameness. Boring. Useless.

The Gertleys' book concentrates on the design styles for a kitchen garden, based on the parterre de broderie, which achieved its ultimate glory at Versailles. They use a series of simple geometric shapes to achieve their parterre gardens as their designs become increasingly complex. They derive design inspiration from Celtic knots, Japanese crests, and quilt patterns.

Their designs are inspirational to view however, their gardens are very demanding of their creators. The designs might raise or fall on the placement of a radish and are not especially functional. I am a cook first, gardener second, and artist last when it comes to potagers.

Their methodology requires far more nitty-gritty planning than suits my preferred approach. It often appears at counter purposes to a kitchen garden that is meant to supply the table since it is so meticulously groomed and cared for and harvested with such additional planning in order not to destroy the patterns made by the vegetables.

The book's approach is much like Charlie Tuna asking; "Do you want tunas with good taste? Or, do you want tuna dat tastes good?"

I admire the design talent and illustrations if not the philosophy.

This book is wonderful! I wanted to make our garden area look more landscaped and put together rather than having the plants look sloppy. This book gives wonderful pictures and ideas for making it work. It also gives descriptions of types of plants to use as well as edible flowers. It works for the mini garden as well as the large garden areas. I recommend this book to all vegetable gardeners who want more than a tomato plant here or there!

Great book. Lots of useful info. Seller got it to me in a quick mannor and in great condition.

I bought this book for the Hop part I am a home brewer and the Hop shortage worried me, I bought a house last summer, and I have a spot that I can use for growing hops, I bought this book and others, this one has the layout well wrote, it is a clear cut information book, I have no gardening experience, and this book helped me in setting up my hops, and maintain then they are about a foot long now and healthy, the other parts of the book grain, and herb is also nice , it makes me want to grow my herb and grain... this book is the only one you need to grow hops....and I sure other product in it.

INFORMATIVE BOOK A GREAT STARTER BOOK GIVES THE BASICS OF ALL BREWING HERBS AND GRAINS INCLUDING HOPS RECCOMEND READING

I bought this book looking for a guide to grow hops... It is certainly that, and more. It covers varieties and where they grow, how to treat the soil, where to plant, what how to build an effective trellis etc... AND it covers how to dry the fresh hops in preparation for use in a brew... how to build an oast (which is the drying structure)... And it does all of this in a very approachable way.

Bonus for me - was that it covers the same for the cultivation, harvest, and treatment (malting and drying) of barley ... And has a nice run-down of brewing herbs and their uses (how much of what herb to use in the brew - and when to add it)...

Just noticed - the cover says:

How to easily grow prepare, and use your own Hops, Malts, and Brewing Herbs

yeah ... that's about right. ;)
Inspiring.

I thought this book would give me resources to purchasing seeds to grow. It just tells you how to grow them. If you are a gardener you dont need this book.

The first part of the book is dedicated to the philosophy of living foods and why to eat them; how to prepare them; even how to make changes in your kitchen and shopping habits to incorporate more living, raw foods in you diet. The second part of the book are recipes which require from basic to moderate preparation time. There are many color photos throughout the book and the recipes that I have prepared are very enjoyable.

So why the four stars? Before you purchase this book you must understand that Jay and Linda published the book themselves. Let's just say they are NOT publishers. There are many typos and sentences that are incomplete. There is a certain amount of disorganization to the book. Much of the first half is written very conversational style, which is fine, but don't expect a lot of scientific jargon to prove anything.

So do I recommend it? Yes, with the understanding there are a limited number of recipes; that this is clearly geared toward the reader that is unfamiliar with a living raw food diet; and that you give the Kordich's some grace when it comes to overall quality and readability.

Even if you do not want to eat 100% raw food (I don't, in fact I am not even a vegan) by incorporating some of the recipes and life-style changes mentioned in the book you can improve your health and gain more energy. In fact, I hope the Kordich's can soon publish another book with more recipes - I would be in line to buy it.

Jay Kordich is best remembered from his somewhat batty infomercials that I remember watching as a child. Regardless of these odd commercials, He is really an example of great health and energy at any age. As an adult, I bought the juiceman juicer which came with a cassette tape of Jay Kordich explaining the power of juice, which made me want to learn more. I bought this book and was impressed with its layout and ideas, plus it gave me a better idea as to what Jay and his family eat and drink. Really I bought this book because I would like to be more like Jay Korvich prancing around in a gym suit and being strong, maybe minus the big eyebrows.

I like the layout--I can either flip through it for inspiration and ideas OR I can sit and read it in detail. The pictures are lovely and inspiring. There are a few publishing issues as mentioned by the other reviewer, but it doesn't greatly detract from the scope and enjoyment of the book.

Jay Kordich "the juiceman" is the bat s^%t crazy guy from the infomercials!! In fact, it is quit frightening how he is always yelling (probably to be heard over his juicer). My question is why drink the concentrated fructose that is in juice when you can just eat the fruit and get all the fiber and "flavinoids" and whatnot without drinking concentrated forms of sugar. Juicing is dead, eating right is the way to go, and by the way, a greasy burger once in a while is great too.

I spent months in the library looking at raw food books.

When I saw this one in Barnes and Nobles I knew I had to have it!

It has every food combination beautiful colour photos and instructions

and wonderful recipes like raw mango pie, or strawberry or what ever

fruit you want to use. The crust is made from raw sunflower seeds and

and dates. It was delicious and that is just one recipe. Easy to make

no crazy hard to find ingredients.

Great Book buy it you won't be disappointed and I bought it from Amazon.

This book provides wonderful information and recipes for a vibrant healthy raw diet! Delicious and you'll be amazed how great you feel and look!

Food Play is clever, and gave many, many laughs. It's good, creative, innocent fun, suitable for any age, The photographs have good, clear color and lighting. The imagination of the "artist" is inexhaustible, who seeems to discover expression in most unusual sujects. I highly recommend it as a thank-you gift, a cheer-up thought, or just an unusual choice to amuse and delight.

I LOVE this book! I've had one for a while and bought this one as a gift. There are many wonderful ideas for both adults and kids, and I've done it with my grandkids as well as my friends. VERY FUN!

My wife is a teacher and loves this book. We have ordered 3 more as gifts.

Item was a gift and recipient was pleased. Very ingenious ways to "play with your food."

FOOD PLAY is an unique and adorable book suitable for any age person. My grandchildren to whom I gave the book were amazed and tickled by the expressiveness of the food faces and I was astonished at the imagination that created them. The fact that collectively several of them also tell stories is also great fun. I recommend this book for everyone.

The guy uses his blender to break molecules and free the juice! See? One's tempted to quote forever from this laughable treatise, so funny it is, but... verbum sat sapienti. Idiots will buy anything, but you've been warned.
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PS. OK, I can't resist -- a few quotes (capitalization preserved; in no particular order, just read the bits -- this must be enough):

"It has only been within the past two Centuries that people generally awakened to the realization ... the manner in which the body utilises the minerals and Vitamins comprising such food. ... The results ... have been almost phenomenal the World over, particularly in the area of Juice Therapy. ... Even though such fibers reach the Colon in microscopic ... take the best of what IS available and Praise the Lord for what you CAN get. ... be sure to pick the freshest ... buying your vegetables for Salads or making your Juices."

"Life as LIFE cannot be explained, so we describe enzymes as a Cosmic Energy Principle or vibration which promotes a chemical action ... cooked foods ... [do not] have the power to regenerate the atoms which furnish the life force to our body. ... surprisingly large percentage of the atoms making up the nourishment ... triturate the vegetables ... thereby splitting open the interstices of the cells of the fibers, liberating the atoms and molecules."

"I have found that the toxic sprays are retianed in the fibers ... and are not present in the fiber-free juices. ... Our Creator gave food both as nourishment and as medicine. ... just consider how much more concetnrated than the juices are the following items used as food: soy bean and soy bean flour are 870% more concentrated that carrot juice and 940% more than celery juice. Popcorn is 2100% more concentrated than carrot juice and 2300% more than celery juice. White sugar in 4200% more concentrated that carrot juice and 4600% more than celery juice. "

"When the juice is incompletely extracted from the vegetable or fruit, they are in the form of vital organic water ... their effective power is ... diminished due to the absence of the vitamins and enzymes which are left behind in the fiber and the pulp. ... pesticides and sprays ... it is FIBERS that collect these toxins. The enzymes, atoms and molecules are allergic to them. ... our Blessings have been multiplied beyond what we think we deserve, besides having the vibrations of our food raised to their highest nutritional point. It is the Hand of the Almighty God that guides us in our discoveries. We pass them on to you."
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I could simply retype the whole book here, but the small portions above should suffice to show you what goes one in this book. It was originally published in 1938 -- a while ago, but still, 1938 isn't 1638. The author signs his name as D. Sc., which I take to mean "doctor of science". What efin science was this half-literate impostor a doctor of? Nothing comes to mind. Anyway, it's 2007 now. There are mountains of real scientifically based health and nutrition books; written by real scientists; in standard English; based on real, verifiable, current scientific research. In other words, there is no reason whatsoever to pollute your mind with Mr Walker's rubbish. And there's never been, come to think of it.

Otoh, collectors of pseudo-scientific garbage may want to get this book for its historic and curio values. I have never seen anything quite like it; it reads like a 16-century alchemy manual.

It was suggest to me to buy this book when I purchased my first juicer. I love this book. I have read it over and over and enjoy the carrots with 1 stalk of celery juiced daily. I wish I could enjoy fresh juice during the day, but you can't juice at work! My skin, hair and overall health has improved since I started juicing. I took this one step further and bought his other book, Pure & Simple Natural Weight Control, which talks about juicing and raw foods. It give such insight of how the body digests food, and make you want to eat for nurishment. I recently read a article on raw food diet that names Mr. Walker and said he died at 118 from a accident. You won't be dissapointed with anything Mr. Walker has written.

Juicing is definetely a great way of being healthy. Dr Norman Walker lived to be over 110 yrs old and juiced every day. This book is a simple read and gives easy and practical advice into why, how & what to juice.
Highly recommended if you want to live a long, healthy & happy life!

The title says fruit juices, but he hardly mentions them in this book! Well, i guess he preferred to eat them since they digest easier than veggies. He says enzymes can be preserved at any desired low temperature without loss, which i didn't know. He also says that the sprays and pesticides are retained in the fiber, not the juice! He says a lot of good things about raw goats milk, and apple cider vinegar. Also says that the sea & ocean are full of minerals, so you should take sea-salt, kelp, and dulse. And if you wanna eat flesh, choose fish! And take a look in the ailments list, he lists nymphomania! Great book.

This book has turned into my health bible. I have given this as a gift to many friends and family members. Use this as your guide to curing and fighting desease. You can feed your body the nutrients it needs to heal itself. I teach juicing and raw food preparation classes, this is one of the books that inspired me and I recomend it to all that attend my classes.

I'm a gardener who loves to cook, and I love my kitchen herb garden best of all. When I decided to try growing garlic this book was recommended by the seed (bulb) supplier as a great place to start, and they were right! It's well-written, complete, and a great reference. Highly recommended!

I'd recommend this book no matter where you live as the author gives instruction for all weather conditions. My home here in the Southern Hemisphere is quite cold and snows in winter but is dry and warm in summer - so I now know what I can grow and have found a great organic site that I can buy my garlic bulbs from. Bliss!

If you finish this book, unless you're already a garlic farmer, you'll have been endowed with about 10 times the amount of information that you'll ever need. This book needs a major edit as the information is jumbled and unclear. I got the impression that the author definitely knows his stuff but was unable for some reason to convey it in any coherent way.

I read the book in its entirety and all I really wanted to know was WHEN to plant and harvest my garlic -- I THINK I know now but I had to go back and re-check what Engeland said on this topic. So, if you just want to know the simple things about growing garlic, just check the internet. This book would definitely be helpful if you were planning to grow garlic as a source of income.

Maybe a revised version will come out soon, which would surely be an improvement.

I cannot comment on the end results yet, since harvest is still 10 months away. This book introduces the types of garlic and recommends several organic methods of soil preparation. The greatest revelation was when to plant. All the local home garden supply stores stock garlic for spring planting. The author recommends fall, something subsequently confirmed by a local commercial grower. Hopefully with the fertilizing and time of planting tips, my results won't be quite so dismal.

I listen to YBYG on NPR and Mike McGrath is always touting growing garlic. So I found Gourmet Garlic Gardens and bought an assortment of their garlic. This book came for Christmas last year and though I had already planted my garlic, it gave me some good pointers for preparing for my next crop. I harvested almost all the garlic I planted and used this book to prepare the ground for my second crop. I have a VERY small garlic garden (under 50 sq ft) so some of the techniques they outline in the book won't work.

The history and outline of the varities of garlic is great. It's also important to know what sort of garlic grows best in your area. Most of the stuff you get in the supermarket is softneck garlic (that's all they grow in CA) while the garlic with the best flavor is the hardneck garlic.

Get this book, get some good garlic (it's more expensive but you only have to buy it once) and grow some great garlic!

There is some interesting knowledge here but using expensive and exotic vegetables to treat minor ailments seems irrational. Also, seeing an enema instruction next to a recipe is just plain gross.

Diet fads are of no interest to me. Knowing what different foods will do to my body, however, is a subject I've loved to study and talk about. This book was marvellous because it fed my quest for more knowledge of foods, in particular fruits and vegetables.

Contained within this book is a treasury of probably hundreds of natural remedies and "health promoting uses of common fruits and vegetables". It makes a superb reference book, which I've turned to continually to find cures for warts, hair-loss and even the common cold. Almost any kind of malady is given a simple (and perhaps hard to believe!) remedy.

Heinerman has also done us the favour of making this book fun, packing it full of real-life anecdotes spiced with humour and not without authenticity. You may end up reading it just for the fun of it.

One slight unfortunate is that I found some of the remedies somewhat hard to follow. In some cases the explanation was slightly hazy regarding the exact application of the food. Nonetheless, the book remains a great read.

Heinerman is a genius. Using the knowledge in this book saved my life!!! If you want to live a long healthy life this book is a worthwhile investment.

Get the book...Read it....It will change your life !!!
God Bless !!!

I really like this book for the information on beauty care for certain vegetables and fruits. Fun reading too.

TONS of useful information from around the world on using fruit and vegetables in folk medicine.
I own the oldest edition of this book, had been using it extensively for many years. My only complaint was poor indexing. I have to keep literally dozen of bookmarks,or I might have problems finding useful articles again. So - 4 stars for the old edition because of that.

This book is fabulous!! It is great for projects also for young children.

I love the fact that this book covers canning (pressure and water bath) drying, and root cellaring all in equal detail. I have been searching for a good jerky marinade for about 6 months now with many flops inbetween. This book delivers. I LOVE the marinade for beef jerky in it. I have also made the peach jam, very tasty. It was interesting to read about creating a root cellar, and got me thinking into how I can incorporate that method of preservation into my lifestyle. Very good book!

This is a good book for the beginner with a lot of fine details. I have enjoyed reading the book and using a couple of the receipes but I find it a very close copy of the Ball Bluebook of Home Canning, etc. In fact, many of the receipes are quoted from the Blue Book. It is one I will use many times again though.

I just bought this book today, and made the tomato sauce freezer recipe with all of the tomatoes from my garden. Let me tell you, the tomato sauce is so delicious, it could pass for a yummy tomato soup. There are other many delicious-sounding recipes in this book that I am eager to try, and I know I will definitely get my money's worth from it.

I love that the author is just as concerned as I am with what goes into her food. Too many commercially canned foods are loaded with tons of sodium, high fructose corn syrup, and other unpronouncable ingredients. If you are health-conscious and want to serve your family only the best, high-quality preserved food, this book is for you.

Also, I do not agree with the author in not doubling the recipes. Some of the recipes are so small, and there is no way I will not double them to save time. I have made very large batches of jams and jellies for years without any problems, and cannot understand why the author would state not to do so. I also don't agree with the author in not changing the ratio of sugar in the jams and jellies recipes. Most recipes for jams and jellies contain way too much sugar, and I have had no problems halving the sugars in my jams and jellies as long as I have enough fruit pectin added to compensate. If you don't mind tons of sugar in your jams and jellies, then this shouldn't be a concern.

Overall, this book is excellent, and is one of the best canning and preserving sources I have read. I believe beginners as well as advanced canners would find this book very helpful, if not, at least the delicious recipes will be a great addition!

"The Big Book of Preserving the Harvest" is a refreshingly concise how-to for beginners and experts alike. Great illustrations for the directionally-challenged, lots of useful charts. Those include charts for processing times in water bath AND pressure cookers, quantities of produce needed per quart jar, sugar substitutes, etc. Then, there are the simple recipes for fancy foods. This book is a great leasure read or a satisfying quick reference tool, surely a wonderful gift for anyone who enjoys working with food.