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

  • Artichokes stuffed with ham and pine nuts

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

    • Categories: Appetizers / starters; Spring
    • Ingredients: pine nuts; artichokes; baguette bread; ham; parsley; dry white wine
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Notes about this book

  • DKennedy on March 23, 2014

    A good read.

Notes about Recipes in this book

  • Asparagus wrapped in crisp prosciutto

    • fprincess on March 23, 2012

      Made this dish to celebrate asparagus season. Perfect week-night dish which requires very little work. I used Parma ham. The ham keeps the asparagus moist. I served them with a poached egg and ricotta crostini. Picture here: http://egullet.org/p1869555

  • Crisp-skinned salmon with braised spring peas and mushrooms

    • fprincess on February 13, 2012

      An easy/weeknight recipe that turned out great. Good instructions on how to obtain super-crispy skin for the salmon. Picture here on eGullet: http://egullet.org/p1861867

  • Grilled corn and arugula salad

    • fprincess on August 25, 2011

      A tasty summer salad recipe that makes good use of leftover grilled corn.

  • Cucumber gazpacho

    • fprincess on March 27, 2012

      This is a really fast recipe to make as there is no cooking involved; the cucumbers and sorrel are blended with yoghurt, garlic and bread for thickening. I used persian cucumbers from my CSA, and sorrel that I am growing on the patio. http://tartinestotikis.wordpress.com/2013/08/22/more-chilled-soups/

  • Cucumber, beet, and feta salad

    • fprincess on June 19, 2014

      The cucumbers are good for the crunch. Cucumber and feta are a natural match. I think I prefer beets with goat cheese. The beets felt a little out of place in the dish. The fresh herbs were a nice touch.

  • Seared scallops with tomato butter

    • sdeathe on September 11, 2020

      Very good dish, and easy to prepare. Cherry tomatoes in season essential for the best flavour.

  • Garlicky braised cauliflower with capers

    • fprincess on April 03, 2012

      Easy to make, the flavors are good. It lacked something so I added grated Parmesan cheese at the end. The cauliflower does not seem to shine in this dish and I did not care for its texture. I much prefer roasted cauliflower.

  • Greens with spicy lemon-cumin oil

    • britt on May 23, 2011

      Made with curly kale and the greens off tokyo market turnips. The result was deliciously savory and had a pleasing texture - soft and almost fluffy.

  • Gratin of potatoes, leeks, and mushrooms

    • fprincess on August 02, 2011

      This is a good gratin. In essence it's similar to a classic gratin Dauphinois. The leeks and mushrooms add a little bit of flavor but less than I was hoping they would. Also it's more time-consuming to make because the leeks and mushrooms have to be sauteed before they are added to the gratin.

  • Cream of parsnip soup

    • fprincess on February 13, 2012

      Very good and earthy. Would be better with white truffle as the recipe was originally intended :-) Picture here on eGullet: http://egullet.org/p1860747

  • Turnip and potato gratin

    • fprincess on May 16, 2011

      A nice change from a classic gratin dauphinois thanks to the addition of turnips.

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  • ISBN 10 0618463488
  • ISBN 13 9780618463480
  • Linked ISBNs
  • Published May 09 2007
  • Page Count 432
  • Language English
  • Countries United States
  • Publisher Houghton Mifflin

Publishers Text

Critics greeted Russ Parsons' first book, How to Read a French Fry, with raves. The New York Times praised it for its "affable voice and intellectual clarity"; Julia Child lauded it for its "deep factual information."

Now in How to Pick a Peach, Parsons takes on one of the hottest food topics today. Good cooking starts with the right ingredients, and nowhere is that more true than with produce. Should we refrigerate that peach? How do we cook that artichoke? And what are those different varieties of pears? Most of us aren't sure.

Parsons helps the cook sort through the produce in the market by illuminating the issues surrounding it, revealing intriguing facts about vegetables and fruits in individual profiles about them, and providing instructions on how to choose, store, and prepare these items. Whether explaining why basil, citrus, tomatoes, and potatoes should never be refrigerated, describing how Dutch farmers revolutionized the tomato business in America, exploring organic farming and its effect on flavor, or giving tips on how to recognize a ripe melon, How to Pick a Peach is Parsons at his peak.

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