Growing and cooking go hand-in-hand so a book that combines the two is a welcome addition to the bookshelf. How to Grow Food is billed as “The cookbook for gardeners and gardening book for cooks.” and it certainly fulfils the brief.
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It’s been written by friends Huw Richards and Sam Cooper who bring their individual expertise to a book that covers the journey from plot to plate. Huw is a grower specialising in permaculture, while Sam is a chef with an interest in fermenting in particular. Both have written books before and I reviewed their previous collaboration, The Self-Sufficiency Garden, in the past – read the review here.
How to Grow Food opens with the basics of both growing and cooking. There’s an overview of essential gardening tools, cultivation techniques, how to make compost and an interesting way of working out exactly how much of any crop you need to grow. It also covers how to grow in containers if you’re short on space.
The book then moves into the kitchen with a run through of staple store cupboard foods, and tips on techniques from knife skills to making stock. Cooking terms are also explained.
The heart of the book is devoted to crops, how to grow and suggestions of how to cook them. Divided into family groups, such as root veg, alliums and leafy greens, each vegetable or fruit has detailed information on cultivation, including when to sow, when to plant out and things to look out for – in my garden that would be hungry pigeons!
The information is clearly laid out with the essentials given as bullet points at the top and every page illustrated with tempting photos.
There are handy tips: laying a plank of wood over newly sown carrot seed to prevent soil drying while you wait for germination; not watering chillies in the weeks before harvest to intensify their heat.
Recipes run alongside the growing information rather than being a separate section and are an interesting collection that goes beyond the usual. Okonomiyaki, a sort of cabbage pancake, and Quick Pickled Cucumber Salad are just two that caught my eye. There’s even a recipe for Kale Smoothie that Sam assures us is “earthy, vibrant, and properly delicious”.
And what if you have a glut? The book ends with a ‘masterplan’ that outlines exactly how to store each crop whether it be freezing, drying or pickling as well as the best way to cook and eat immediately.
With its easy to read style and clear layout, this would be a great book for anyone interested in eating what they grow.
How to Grow Food by Huw Richards and Sam Cooper is published by DK with an RRP of £18.99.
#Ad You can buy it here for £14.75. (If you buy via this link, I receive a small commission. The price you pay is not affected.) Alternatively, you may wish to buy from an independent bookseller here. All prices correct at time of publication of this post.
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