How to Pick a Peach: The Search for Flavor from Farm to Table

I had high expectations in this book hoping to find a modern-day Edward A. Bunyard expounding on the virtues of the varieties of fruit available to us today. However, this book is no Anatomy of Dessert. Admittedly, I haven't read it from cover to cover; I immediately turned to the chapter on strawberries and found no commentary or comparison of cultivars Camarosa, Chandler, Quinalt, etc. or the more fragile, flavorsome specialties some farmers are offering in farmers markets - Seascape, Sequoia and Mara des Bois. There are excellent lessons on how to pick fresh fruit, how to identify and recognize overripe or past-it's-peak fruit and how the different fruits should be handled to preserve the full flavor but for a discussion of the newest pluots, supersweet peaches, exotic citrus and other fruit one must read David Karp or the California Rare Fruit Growers color magazine Fruit Gardener.

Knowledge suggestions for buying fruits, veggies and great recipes.

I've heard that the juice of a really good peach will run down your arms all the way to your elbows. One actually did make it almost to my elbows the other day. Not the kind of peaches you most often find in a supermarket, with only one peach in many having any juice or flavor.The question is, "How do you select and store fresh fruits and veggies to insure the maximum excellence in taste and texture?" The answers are found in Russ Parsons' well written book, "How To Pick a Peach." He classifies each fruit and vegetable by season and not only tells you how to pick the best ones, but also how to store and prepare them. Russ also gives you several simple recipes for using each fruit and vegetable.Some fragile veggies such as peas, corn and green beans should be eaten right after they are purchased. Some veggies, such as potatoes, onions, tomatoes and winter squash should never be refrigerated. When refrigerated the starch in potatoes turns to sugar and they lose flavor. This was new to me.He gives an interesting short history of each fruit and veggie. He also gives a history of industrial farming and the cost of compromise when big farmers take over the production of our produce, which I really enjoyed. Now that I have read "How To Pick a Peach" it will make a valuable reference tool.

Produce presented according to season and meal category. Pleasure to read and interesting. Helped me to be motivated to eat more produce and feel knowledgable in what to look for when purchasing.

Book arrived quickly and in very good condition.

As others have mentioned, this book is a nice reference and fun to read. I have tried only a few recipes, but they have all been WONDERFUL. To me, they give the ideal kinds of insights for simple ways to prepare food more effectively which can be extrapolated beyond the exact recipe. After trying the beet/cuc/feta salad, and not having much experience with beets, I continued to make a cold beet salad for my 3yearold all summer, at her request! Also, after preparing eggplant in ways I was accustomed and accepting that my daughter didn't like it, I tried his recipe for steamed eggplant (go figure!) and again my 3yearold loved it! (So did I. It's now my favorite eggplant preparation as well.)

An interesting read for cooks curuious about fresh fruit & vegtables. Book is a bit disorganized in it approach. Somewhat arranged by season, somewhat by vegetable type. Refreshingly, the recipes are quite simple. Is evident that the author has a lot of knowledge but could have used some helpe with getting it on paper. Overall- recommended.

Learned alot from this little gem. It's a good read and a keeper. Glad to have this one for reference in my library. It will be an essential help with the turn of the seasons.