Greetings! I am coming to you today with another book review. I recently purchased Homegrown Pantry by Barbara Pleasant. This book was published in 2017 and the subtitle tells us exactly what to expect: A Gardener’s Guide to Selecting the Best Varieties & Planting the Perfect Amounts for What You Want to Eat Year-Round.
Does it live up to that big promise? Let’s take a look.
The table of contents is very descriptive, easily allowing us to jump to what we are looking for. There is basic information in the first section, which seems geared to helping the reader decide what to grow. Note that this section is really not intended to be an extensive “how to garden” tutorial. Read on, that comes into play later.
The second section describes five methods for food preservation, including cold storage, freezing, drying, canning, and fermenting. While there is a good overview for each of these methods, if I were going to try any of them, I feel that I would need more instruction than just what this book provides. That said, I don’t sense that it is the intention of this book to provide that level of specific detail. I did really enjoy the sections for drying and fermenting.
There are a few easy-to-follow calendars: food preservation schedule, sowing schedule, and approximate lifespans for preserved foods.
For me, where this book really shines are sections 3-5. These sections cover 55 vegetables, fruits, and herbs. The information provided for each one is comprehensive, encompassing several pages for each veggie. Ms. Pleasant provides the following for most, if not all, of them:
- How to Grow (includes common pests and disease)
- Harvesting & Storage
- Preservation Options
- Recipes (at least for more than half of the different crops)
I feel like this book could replace certain other garden books that I have on my shelf with regard to how to grow each type of veggie, with the added benefit of details on harvesting, storage, and preservation. It’s everything in one place, with the exception of the herb section, which is a bit more abbreviated.
I’ve picked out a couple of recipes that I’d like to try once the harvest starts rolling in this year:
- Beet Kvass, p. 76
- Sauerkraut, p. 93
That was a fairly brief review; overall, I feel the book does live up to its subtitle (remember this? A Gardener’s Guide to Selecting the Best Varieties & Planting the Perfect Amounts for What You Want to Eat Year-Round). From what I can find, it appears that this is Ms. Pleasant’s website: http://www.barbarapleasant.com and she has written other books. Homegrown Pantry is the only one I’ver read so far, but I’m eager to take a look at the others.
If you have any specific questions regarding the book, please leave them below and I will get back to you.
Until next time, this is Angela signing off with a friendly reminder to get out there and play in the dirt.
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