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.