Sometimes it’s not just the cover that you shouldn’t use to judge a book but also the opening chapters, I decided while reading The Seed Hunter by Mitch McCulloch.
(Given review copy. Not paid.)
The chef turned gardener and seed collector opens with a discussion of what to grow, the tools needed, soil preparation and compost-making among other topics. If, like me, you’ve read this information countless times and practised it for even longer, do persevere as it’s when he moves on to the individual veg that the magic begins.
He’s a champion of what he describes as “heirloom” seeds, varieties that he believes have the best flavour. Many of these have been in danger of being elbowed out of kitchen gardens by modern varieties.
Yet, encouraging gardeners to look beyond the readily available is just one part of his aim: “I’m also on a mission to trace these plants back to their origins and unearth the stories behind them.”
It’s those stories, the fun facts about often common veg and his passion for the subject that bring this book alive.
We learn how the Romans used celery as a hangover cure and that it’s a veg that has been traded since 4,000 BCE.
Lemongrass is used to lure swarms of honeybees, fennel seeds were put in keyholes in medieval times to ward off spirits and the edible flower Acmella oleracea (electric daisy) was used by Indigenous people in the Amazon to tackle toothache.
As for the humble radish, the Greeks had gold lockets made in their shape as an offering to Apollo and there is still an annual Noche de Rabanos or Night of the Radishes celebration in Mexico.
As interesting as the stories are the names of some of these old varieties: ‘Albino Bullnose’, a yellow almost white pepper; ‘Queen Anne’s Pocket’, a fragrant, small melon that Victorian women put in their pockets to scent themselves; ‘Dad’s Barber Paste’, a sweet flavoured, red tomato.
There are also more unusual crops among the commonly grown, such as oca, mashua and yacon.
While it is a fascinating read, The Seed Hunter is also full of useful cultivation information – beyond the setting up of a vegetable garden. Each section on a given vegetable has suggestions for how to use it in the kitchen, advice on growing from seed, potential problems, harvesting, storage, and suggested varieties to try. Asides include an explanation of why onions make you cry, how the ‘Jersey Royal’ came about, and the Scoville heat scale for chillies.
I’ve grown many heirloom varieties over the years. Now I have an even bigger list to try.
The Seed Hunter by Mitch McCulloch is published by DK with an RRP of £27. #Ad You can buy it here https://amzn.to/4k0csMN for £20.77. (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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This sounds like a good book, thanks for the review.
🙂