The Curious Kitchen Gardener: Uncommon Plants and How To Eat Them

Ziedrich (The Joy of Pickling) introduces readers to uncommon plants and novel culinary uses. In her quest to expand readers’ gardening and culinary experiences, she introduces readers to a variety of fruits and vegetables, including honeyberries (or blue-fruited honeysuckle), orach (a hardy substitute for spinach), and oca (a bumpy pink tuber that’s an alternative to yams or potatoes). Many of the plants Ziedrich discusses will be familiar to gardeners, such as radishes and walnuts, but she proposes using parts of the plants in unexpected ways. However, many of the book’s suggestions are not terribly surprising, such as using grape leaves or bamboo in cooking or chicory for coffee. There’s a chapter decided to each type of plant, which provides growing information, care instructions, and a recipe. (Note that some of the recipes assume that readers have specialized equipment, such as a jelly bag.) The text is accompanied by close-up, colorful photographs.