100 Vegetables
   and Where They Came From
   William Woys Weaver
  2000 Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
    ISBN: 1565122380


A Tour Through Our Extraordinary Culinary Heritage. A fascinating history of vegetables from around the world, their approximate flavors, their preferred usage voilá, onto our platters for supper!

A book about old vegetables shouldn't be that interesting, right? Wrong! I have about as many book marks in this little tome as I do in my guide to Northwest plants! In preparing this review I felt like I do when I've got to thin out my seedlings -- dreadful! Almost wanted to lob the entire book at you & gasp -- just read it! All of it! It is a global feast!

Then when I was reading the names I realized how very primary-colored we've become today in our pursuit of one vegetable to satisfy all palates & one size(huge!) to fit all appetites.

From the Aji Dulce Pepper : Capsicum chinense from Venezuela -- smoky flavored without the “hot pepper overkill and the sensation of fiery lava flowing through the body”

You will find the term : Landrace a lot in this book. It is commonly used to describe noncommercial or “backyard” varieties that have been under cultivation for a very long time. They are the real ingredients of peasant cookery & often provide regional cookeries with their distinctive flavors.

To the Zwollsche Krul Celery : Apium graveolens found in the salt marshes of the Netherlands -- a curly leaf celery that falls under the general English category of smallage -- parsley & such -- used boiling or stewing.

You will find sidebars extolling the virtues of efficiency & flavor of just about every plant W3 hunts down, together with hints for gardeners about spicing up beverages & other mildly improper culinary secrets.

From the Apricot Tomato : Solanium quitoense brought back from Ecuador to the Toad Skin Melon : Cucumis melo caught in Spain; from the Violet Carrot : Daucus carota pulled in Syria to Southern Europe's Snails : Medicago scutellata which are not les escargots! From Black Taro : Colocasia esculenta found in India to Purple Savoyed Orache : Atriples hortensis out of Romania; from Japan's Shungiku Edible Chrysanthemum : Chrysanthemum coronarium to Tartar Bread Plant : Crambe tartarica out of Central Asia; from Wagner's Green Zebra Tomato : Lycopersicon lycopersicum plucked in the United States to Zimbabwe's Red Bambara : Vigna subterranea to Persian Chickpea : Cicer arietinum to Katie's Mustard Lettuce : Brassica junacea out of Australia -- you will follow in this historian's footsteps, drooling over the delicacies he unearths & soaking up their histories.

A word about the illustrations by Signe Sundberg-Hall -- at first I was disappointed by not having photographs of these never-before-seen plants; then I was annoyed with the color scheme until finally, I could look at the lovely delicate renditions & enjoy their simplicity & energy.

Before I forget: you must look up the Küttger Rüebli Carrot from Switzerland -- do not be fooled by what the words mean -- I've begun to recognize that often, when people name their vegetables they have flights of fancy & spasms of modesty... or pride. Oh, & the Zucchini/Cocozelle & the Salade de Roussie Lettuce & the Pskem River Garlic & the...

What did our Third President set upon his table for his guests? Would you know a Cardoon if it got up & stung you? W3 knows & now so do I!

Enough already! Talk about digging for the roots of our roots! A garden book for cooks or a cook's guide to ancient gardens -- either way -- if you like veggies, you're going to want your own copy of W3's latest!

William Woys Weaver has dedicated his life to saving, collecting & growing vegetables of ancient provenance. He maintains an 1830s-style garden in Devon, Pennsylvania, complete with over 3,000 heirloom plants & encourages biodiversity gardening. He has brought many varieties to the attention of seed catalogues & public gardens -- including the New York Botanical Garden & Monticello. He has been collaborating with the United Nations to create an international seed packet program.

More from William Woys Weaver: A Quaker Woman's Cookbook; The Christmas Cook; Pennsylvania Dutch Country Cooking & Heirloom Vegetable Gardening

In between coming home from a pursuit of an elusive tuber to rushing off for a conference, I caught hold of this author's shirt tails long enough to get a lively Interview.
07/08/01)

Rebecca