The Fruit Forager's Companion

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39299133-the-fruit-forager-s-companion

This gorgeous culinary nature guide should find a place on the shelves or Kindles of anyone who enjoys cooking fruit. The author tells us how she walks and forages, mentally mapping out the locations of likely harvests and returning later to take advantage. Whether garden apple trees that are under-utilised, or wild berries (like the eponymous huckleberry of Huckleberry Finn) or pick your own raspberries, the fruit picker has the choice crop and it's free or cheap.

Look forward to the luscious recipes in the book, like buckwheat huckleberry buckle, with colourful photos of preserves and pies to accompany the illustrations; and photos of the growing fruits in situ. After all, you need to be sure what you are picking. A few toxic relatives - like nightshade - are shown so you can tell them apart. And we get a warning to watch out for thorns and poison oak.

The book is set in North America, where folks are lucky enough to have grapes growing wild, paw paws and lemons fruiting in random parks and bogs with cranberries and blueberries. Then there are odder natives like mahonias and mayhaws. If you have not explored your neighbourhood, maybe it's time you did. The history and notable uses of the trees and shrubs - gooseberries or elder, say - are listed, so you can get to know the plant. I found every page a delight, with informative but accessible language and enough detail for the botanist. The photos are an inspiration, whether to plant some shrubs in your garden or to cook and store the crops.

Some useful tools for picking - minimal - and cooking are listed at the start. Some useful resources are placed at the end, such as websites, books and a Youtube vlogger who eats the weeds. The whole is a delight.

I downloaded an e-ARC from Net Galley, which means I now have to go and buy my own copy. This is an unbiased review.