Berries

Berries are edible jewels, distillations of sunlight, soil, and floral perfumes. Some offer ambrosial sweetness; others are assertive as herbs and spices. Yet many of us rarely encounter berries outside of a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich, or raspberry-scented seltzer. Berries reintroduces us to these delightful fruits, including neglected varieties that have nearly disappeared from the American diet and garden. Roger Yepsen, author/illustrator of Apples, offers advice on finding wild berries, growing your own, and preserving them for year-round enjoyment. His gallery of sixty delicate watercolors depict berries from black currants and wild strawberries to the exotic salmonberry and Achilles Red gooseberry. And while it s hard to improve on the fresh item, Berries includes almost a hundred recipes: blueberry buckle, raspberry soup, elderberry wine, and black currant crepes. This elegant guidebook will inspire the cook, gardener, forager and anyone with a sweet tooth to get more involved with the wonderful world of berries."