10 GORGEOUS NEW BOOKS ON FRUITS

This week we are celebrating Beautiful Favorites. The BN team put together a selection of some of our favorite Daily Fix posts, pulled from the BN Archives. We begin with a juicy basketful of 10 recent books on Beautiful Fruits. Jammed with extraordinary images, scientific findings, recipes and memories, these make for great armchair and kitchen counter reading.

1. FRUIT: EDIBLE, INEDIBLE, INCREDIBLE

Fruit: Edible, Inedible, Incredible is an innovative collaboration between graphic artist Rob Kesseler and seed morphologist Wolfgang Stuppy. Together, they questioned what makes fruits what they are, and how fruits came to exist.

The images they created together are shocking, turning familiar delectables into alien lifeforms, using scanning electron microscopy.

The photos are incredible: black-and-white microscope images of seeds and fruits that were once invisible to the eye, hand-colored by Kesseler.  

Earth Aware Editions (2013)

2. THE LAND WHERE LEMONS GROW: THE STORY OF ITALY AND ITS CITRUS FRUIT

The Land Where Lemons Grow, by Helena Attlee, tells the story of Italy’s cultural history through the development of its citrus crops.

Attlee takes the reader on a journey through time, through all the lemon gardens of Italy. With evidence and anecdote, Attlee touches upon travel, human nature and the spread of the zesty fruit.

Countryman Press (2015)

3. FRUITFUL: FOUR SEASONS OF FRESH FRUIT RECIPES

Fruitful: Four Seasons of Fresh Fruit Recipes, by Brian Nicholson and Sarah Huck makes a beautiful addition to any cook’s library – whether dabbling or professional.

You’ll love the full-page photographs of fruits grown in Red Jacket Orchards in New York State. Each of the 140 recipes is sorted by season. From sweet to savory, from peaches to rhubarb chutney, and from summer to winter, this fruit-filled book is a treasure!

Strawberry-Black Pepper Granita, Spicy Roast Chicken with Rhubarb Chutney, Scallop and Blueberry Ceviche, Grilled Peach, Shrimp, and Prosciutto Skewers, and Rustic Apricot Raspberry Crostata are just a few fruity masterpieces that will tempt you.

Twenty-five recipes come from fruit-loving chef-friends of Red Jacket, include Dan Barber, Jonathan Waxman, Karen DeMasco, and Melissa Clark.Check out more about Fruitful as well as other books about fruit pies in our post 10 Most Beautiful Pie & Pi Books.

Running Press (2014)

4. OLIVE ODYSSEY: SEARCHING FOR THE SECRETS OF THE FRUIT THAT SEDUCED THE WORLD

Olive Odyssey: Searching for the Secrets of the Fruit That Seduced the World, by Julie Angus, tells the story of her Mediterranean journey, and her quest to find out why olives have played such an important role in her life as well as on the lives of many.

As they sail around the beautiful waters of the Mediterranean, the Angus family collects samples from ancient plants and people. They discover the origin of the first olive tree, along the way.

Greystone Books (2014)

5. LOVE, BAKE, NOURISH: HEALTHIER CAKES AND DESSERTS FULL OF FRUIT AND FLAVOR

In Love, Bake, Nourish, food stylist Amber Rose suggests that instead of using refined white sugar and white flour, that more flavor and nutrition happen when seasonal fruits and ancient flours are used as alternatives.

Check out her Spiced Carrot Cake with a crumbly topping, Berry Good Fairy Cakes, Coconut & Passionfruit Tart and more fruity delights.

Kyle Books (2014)

6. THE NEW CIDER MAKER’S HANDBOOK: A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE FOR CRAFT PRODUCERS

Claude Jolicoeur takes an in-depth look at the beauty of the apple in his book The New Cider Maker's Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide for Craft Producers.

This book is filled with knowledge on the fruit from a general guide to the brewing process.

Although the book is technical in nature, Jolicoeur provides details for beginners and enthusiasts alike allowing you to truly appreciate the beauty and intricacies of the apple each time you try a new cider.

"Award-winning cider maker Jolicoeur provides a comprehensive guide to cider making, covering the selection of apple varieties, chemical formulas and charts, and the construction of mills and presses.”

– Library Journal

Chelsea Green Publishing (2013)

7. APPLES: FROM HARVEST TO TABLE

Amy Pennington brings out the beauty in cooking apples in her book Apples: From Harvest to Table.

With over 50 recipes for each season, Pennington extends beyond the traditional sense of apples as sweet and savory treats to reveal new and delicate tastes to the palate.

This book is great for any level chef and baker, with beautiful pictures to accompany the recipes.

"Apples are most commonly associated with sweet foods, and Pennington's recipes for breakfasts and desserts, including apple pancakes, apple-stuffed French toast, apple cider doughnuts, and, of course, apple pie showcase their sweetness perfectly. But Pennington goes far beyond the expected. Like many of the other recipes, it bursts with several exciting flavors that blend together perfectly to create something wonderful and unexpected."

– San Francisco Book Review

St. Martin’s Griffin (2013)

8.  THE TRADESCANTS ORCHARD: THE MYSTERY OF A SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY PAINTED FRUIT BOOK

Fruit has been the center of beauty for many hundreds of years. The Tradescants' Orchard: The Mystery of a Seventeenth-Century Painted Fruit Book, by Barrie Juniper and Hanneke Grootenboer, brings together for the first time over sixty stunning watercolor paintings from the early seventeenth century.

Each of these paintings depicts trees bearing delicate fruits with an accompanying introduction explaining the origin of the paintings.

A beautiful depiction of fruits and the history around them, you will appreciate every fruit tree you pass by after reading this book.

"The Tradescants arguably did more to change the botanical and gastronomic landscape in England than anyone else in the seventeenth century."

– Gastronomica

Bodleian Library, University of Oxford (2013)

9. APPLE

Apple, by Marcia Reiss takes a look at the history of the apple and how each society has recognized its beauty.

Taking the reader through time, Reiss outlines the alluring history of the apple, from Central Asia to the common tales of Johnny Appleseed, portraying how the apple has acted as the seed -- a critical part of the development of some of the world’s most wonderful civilizations.

Reaktion Books (2014)

10. LEMONS: A BOOK OF RECIPES

The beauty of lemons extends into new palatal territories in Helen Sudell’s recipe book Lemons: A Book of Recipes.

A simple and delicious assembly of 30 recipes, this book will add beautiful colour and flavour to your dishes in the kitchen.

Lorenz Books (2014)

Read more about Beautiful Favorites, as they relate to Arts/Design, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Place/Time, Mind/Body, and Soul/Impact.

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IMAGE CREDITS:

1. Image: by Wolfgang Stuppy & Rob Kesseler. Krameria erecta – Pima rhatany, fruit. 2008. Hand coloured micrograph.
2. Image: Courtesy of Earth Aware Editions. Fruit: Edible, Inedible, Incredible.
3. Image: Image: by Wolfgang Stuppy & Rob Kesseler. Calamus aruensis.
4. Image: Courtesy of Countryman Press. The Land Where Lemons Grow.
5. Image: Courtesy of Running Press. Fruitful: Four Seasons of Fresh Fruit Recipes.
6. Image: Courtesy of Greystone Books. Olive Odyssey: Searching for the Secrets of the Fruit that Seduced the World.
7. Image: Courtesy of Kyle Books. Love Bake Nourish.
8. Image: Courtesy of Chelsea Green Publishing. The New Cider Maker's Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide for Craft Producers.
9. Image: Courtesy of St. Martin’s Griffin. Apples: From Harvest to Table.
10. Image: Courtesy of Bodleian Library, Oxford. The Tradescants' Orchard: The Mystery of a Seventeenth-Century Painted Fruit Book.
11. Image: Courtesy of Reaktion Books. Apple.
12. Image: Courtesy of Lorenz Books. Lemons: A Book of Recipes.
13. Image: Courtesy of BeautifulNow. BN App.
14. Image: Courtesy of BeautifulNow. BN App.
15. Image: Courtesy of BeautifulNow. BN App.