Vegetables from Amaranth to
Zucchini: The Essential Reference:
500 Recipes, 275 Photographs by
Elizabeth Schneider
One Of My 3 Most Often Used Kitchen Books
Elizabeth Schneiders Uncommon Fruits and Vegetables set a standard for
exact yet lively investigation. Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini
follows in her earlier books footsteps to create a compelling guide to 350
common and exotic vegetables. This seed-to-table exploration does more,
however. In addition to its usefulness as a reference work (vegetables are,
for example, listed by their market, botanical, and common names), the
book offers 500 up-to-the-minute recipes--such as Shredded Yellow
Squash with Garlic Chives and Baked Sweet Potato-Apple Puree with
Horseradish--valuable advice on seasonality and selection, multiple-
method cooking instructions, and color photos of all the entries that make
market identification a breeze. Interested in amaranth? Find its entry and
discover, first, the magenta-veined plants common aliases (among them,

the Caribbean callaloo, the Indian bhaji, and the Korean namul); an
engaging vegetable biography that distills information from many fields (for
example, the Greeks thought amaranth immortal); information on selection,
storage, and preparation (use the vegetables tiniest leaves for salads;
steam, braise, or sauté the larger with garlic, shallots, tomato dice, and a
touch of chilies); and full-dress recipes (such as Garlicky Sauté of
Amaranth and Tomatoes, Cuban Style). A final section, called Pros
Propose, offers recipe sketches from cooking experts, like Paula Wolferts
Amaranth and Sheeps Milk Cheese. This lucid organizational scheme,
common to all the entries, and Schneiders expert handling of it, promote a
full yet relaxed familiarization with the selected vegetables. This is one of
those few books that most cooks will want, as well as need, to own.
--Arthur Boehm
Personal Review: Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini: The
Essential Reference: 500 Recipes, 275 Photographs by Elizabeth
Schneider
This is a beautiful and functional and useful book. I refer to it at least once
a week, sometimes more often. Most people will use this book in at least
one of the following four ways:
1) coffee table book and conversation starter - this is the least valuable
way to utilize such a brilliant tome but if food books appeal to your coffe
table senses you can't go wrong with this one, the photographs are lovely
2) "what the heck did I just buy at the farmers market?" reference. I
frequent farmers markets and sometimes I buy a lovely vegetable that I
honestly don't know what to do with when I get it home. This book tells me
how to clean, store, cook, and serve those farmers market goodies
3) "how the heck do I pick a good [enter vegetable here]?" reference.
Sometimes the best squash is not always the one with the hardest shell.
Can a perfectly good artichoke have brown spots? Should I select leeks
with fat bulbs or slender bulbs? This book tells you how to make the best
selection and what time of year is prime for each item, including varietals.
4) Should I bake or steam or boil or braise or roast or gril or...? This book
tells you how the flavor and texture of your selected vegetable will differ
based upon cooking technique.
Another reviewer indicated that this book does not cover common
vegetables in some cases. That is correct. You won't find an entry for
traditional carrots, but you will find several entries for non traditional
carrots. You won't find green asparagus described (though it is referenced)
but you will find white and purple asparagus entries. The author clearly
indicates omissions and her reasoning is that even basic home cooks
already have that knowledge. I can understand why some reviewers would
omit a star for that but to be honest I use this book so often that it is still a
five star product in my opinion.

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