Field Guide to Produce: How to Identify, Select, and Prepare Virtually Every Fruit and Vegetable at the Market

The two biggest things cooking problems I have are knowing whether or not an item is fresh and knowing how to store it. This little book is a keeper on both points. In addition, it is helpful in sorting out exactly what you are seeing in today's diverse produce section.

Finally, a book that shares the proper way to store all types of vegetables and fruits. As a member of an organic food co-op, sometimes my husband and I received vegetables we were not familiar with. This book widened our horizons, even providing serving suggestions, how long to store items, what signifies a healthy looking vegetable, and more. We use it all the time and are buying copies for friends and family! A plus!

My husband and I rarely stopped in the produce section of the grocery store. We never knew what to buy, and when we did buy something, it usually went bad before we figured out what to do with it. (We're not big on recipes; we just generally throw a few things together and call it a meal.) This book has been a *huge* help. We're so glad we found it. This book explains what produce is in season, how to pick it out, what to avoid, how to store it, and how to prepare it. Plus, it even gives suggestions on how each kind of produce could be used and lists "flavor affinities" to let you know what other flavors the produce is generally compatible with. Thanks to this book, the produce section is now a regular stop when we go shopping, and we're actually getting our recommended servings of fruits and vegetables. Huzzah.

I'm a Philadelphian, like the author, and have taken cooking classes with her. She's as good a writer as she is a teacher. This book is pretty complete, even to including things as exotic as African horned cucumber, caltrope and yautia. Her advice on using each item is clear and specific, accesible to the rawest cooking beginner and still helpful to the expert. The pictures are beautiful, full-color photos that make identification very easy. I only wish she had ncluded more pictures of different kinds of beans, squashes, tomatoes, greens and so forth. Of course, the book might just get too big to carry to the produce vender's. At Philadelphia's justly famous Reading Terminal Market, such a book is particularly useful as the venders regularly offer all sorts of unusual produce. This lovely book will make the explorations much more fun. Anybody who goes to farmer's markets will find it useful. It's a good read, too; I've read it cover to cover.