Editorial Reviews

Book Description:
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 arent 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.

Customer Reviews

Not the “Best Pick” in the Field by Dyslexic Bob
This book has a few interesting chapters but overall it misses the mark. Each chapter describes a different fruit or vegetable along with a few recipes. Any food lover will be disappointed and not learn much.

Great resource for taking advantage of fresh produce by Christina Phillips
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.)

With Juice Running Down Your Arms and Mouth Watering Taste by J. Hagg
I’ve heard that the juice of a really good peach will run down your arms all the way to your elbows. One acturally 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 vegies to insure the mzxium excllence in taste and texture?” The answers are found in Russ Parsons’ well written book, “How To Pick a Peach.” He classisfies 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 receipies for using each fruit and vegetable.

Some fragile vegies such as peas, corn and green beans should be eaten right after they are purchased. Some vegies, 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 intersting short history of each fruit and vegie. He also gives a history of industrial farming and the cost of compromise when big farmers take over the production of our porduce, which I really enjoyed. Now that I have read “How To Pick a Peach” it will make a valuable referance tool.

Help in selecting fruit by David B. Propert
This is a useful book that has given us advice on picking as well as storing fruits. Clues not previously known

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