The Forager Chef’s Book of Flora
Recipes and Techniques for Edible Plants from Garden, Field, and Forest
EXCERPTS
| Pages: | 288 pages |
| Book Art: | Full-color photographs throughout |
| Size: | 7 x 10 inch |
| Publisher: | Chelsea Green Publishing |
| Pub. Date: | June 24, 2021 |
| ISBN: | 9781603589482 |
The Forager Chef’s Book of Flora
Recipes and Techniques for Edible Plants from Garden, Field, and Forest
Alan Bergo is the 2022 James Beard Foundation Award Winner for Instructional Visual Media
*As Seen on NBC’s The Today Show!
*Alan is now a chef on HULU’s new series “Chef vs. Wild”!
“With a passion for bringing a taste of the wild to the table, [Bergo’s] inspiration for experimentation shows in his inventive dishes created around ingredients found in his own backyard.”—Tastemade
From root to flower—and featuring 180 recipes and over 230 of the author’s own beautiful photographs—explore the edible plants we find all around us with the Forager Chef Alan Bergo as he breaks new culinary ground!
In The Forager Chef’s Book of Flora you’ll find the exotic to the familiar—from Ramp Leaf Dumplings to Spruce Tip Panna Cotta to Crisp Fiddlehead Pickles—with Chef Bergo’s unique blend of easy-to-follow instruction and out-of-this-world inspiration.
Over the past fifteen years, Minnesota chef Alan Bergo has become one of America’s most exciting and resourceful culinary voices, with millions seeking his guidance through his wildly popular website and video tutorials.
Bergo’s inventive culinary style is defined by his encyclopedic curiosity, and his abiding, root-to-flower passion for both wild and cultivated plants. Instead of waiting for fall squash to ripen, Bergo eagerly harvests their early shoots, flowers, and young greens—taking a holistic approach to cooking with all parts of the plant, and discovering extraordinary new flavors and textures along the way.
The Forager Chef’s Book of Flora demonstrates how understanding the different properties and growing phases of roots, stems, leaves, and seeds can inform your preparation of something like the head of an immature sunflower—as well as the lesser-used parts of common vegetables, like broccoli or eggplant. As a society, we’ve forgotten this type of old-school knowledge, including many brilliant culinary techniques that were borne of thrift and necessity. For our own sake, and that of our planet, it’s time we remembered. And in the process, we can unlock new flavors from the abundant landscape around us.
“[An] excellent debut. . . . Advocating that plants are edible in their entirety is one thing, but this [book] delivers the delectable means to prove it.”—Publishers Weekly
“Alan Bergo was foraging in the Midwest way before it was trendy.”—Outside Magazine
“In this remarkable new cookbook, Bergo provides stories, photographs and inventive recipes.”—Star Tribune
Reviews and Praise
- "Knapp combines a science background with experience running his own farm, and after speaking with cold storage innovators across the country, he is sharing what he has learned . . . [With] practical know-how [Beyond the Root Cellar] ultimately shows that cold storage is within reach for all farmers."—Modern Farmer
More Reviews and Praise
- “Beyond the Root Cellar is the best resource on storing vegetables that I know of. This is next-level market gardening. Knapp is practical and inspiring—he shows modern methods for storing food and makes a strong case for why you should probably be storing more food on your own farm. Storing food is a win for customers, for farmers, and for the planet. If you grow vegetables, I recommend that you pick up a copy of this book.”—Ben Hartman, author of The Lean Micro Farm
- “As a seasoned practitioner and teacher of market gardening, it’s rare for a book to ignite my passion, but Sam’s work does just that. Overflowing with invaluable tips and innovative strategies, this guide goes beyond the typical fast crops seen in most market gardens. It dives deep into storage vegetables for year-round growing, empowering growers to extend their season. In the face of constraints, we discover our greatest teachers, and Sam’s insights from Alaska and its short growing season have broadened his perspective. This new book has certainly broadened mine, and I encourage all growers to study it and level up their farming game.”—Jean-Martin Fortier, author of The Market Gardener and The Winter Market Gardener
- “This book is the next step in creating resilient food systems and communities, telling us how to provide high-quality, nutritious local vegetables all year rather than importing them from warmer places in the winter. It is a vital resource for small farmers and home gardeners who want to extend their growing and selling season. Sam presents extensive and detailed information about the best varieties for long-term winter storage; which crops to harvest first when a fall cold snap is predicted and everything needs to be done at once; how to prepare crops for storage with curing, precooling, and proper washing; appropriate storage containers; and optimal storage conditions for each crop. I wish I had read this before I designed my own root cellar!”—Helen Atthowe, author of The Ecological Farm
- “Beyond the Root Cellar is a must-read for anyone who wants to store produce for any length of time. It’s too much work and investment to grow produce, only for it to decline in quality in storage. Produce can rot surprisingly quickly when stored under the wrong conditions, but it can also last for a surprisingly long time under the right conditions. Sam Knapp shows us the reality that vegetables will last only if harvested at the right stage, with the proper postharvest handling, temperature, humidity, and other factors. Detailing everything from the produce itself to the infrastructure you need to store it and the equipment that will help you maintain the right conditions, this book is an important contribution to making the entire year local food season! Even if you don’t plan on storing produce all winter, this book will show you how to keep it as fresh as possible for as long as possible.”—Andrew Mefferd, editor, Growing for Market magazine, author of The Greenhouse and Hoophouse Grower’s Handbook
- “Beyond the Root Cellar is a very thorough exposition of how to build, stock, and manage a root cellar. While it is definitely most helpful to large commercial operations that are mechanized, it goes into great detail across the board. Sam Kapp lays out the proper crops to store in a root cellar, along with their varying temperature and humidity needs. Because he lives in Alaska, it is particularly impressive what he has done to raise high-quality produce and then store it for later sale. An impressive and highly detailed book!”—Julie Rawson, organic farmer; author of Many Hands Make a Farm
- "[A] creative guide that demonstrates how growers can select, harvest, store, and market vegetables during the off-season. . . This practical, comprehensive book . . . is packed with valuable insights and unique strategies for readers looking to innovate their winter farming practices. It's a great resource for gardeners, farmers, homesteaders, and curious readers."—Library Journal
About Alan Bergo
Chef Alan Bergo is one of America’s leading culinary authorities on mushroom hunting and foraging. A veteran of the restaurant industry, he spent nearly two decades as a professional chef specializing in local and wild foods at St. Paul’s fabled Heartland Restaurant, The Salt Cellar, and Lucia’s Restaurant in Minneapolis. He’s best known for his blogs, recipes, and photography, all featured at his site, foragerchef.com—the web’s largest resource on wild-mushroom cookery. In 2022, Bergo was the James Beard Foundation Award Winner for Instructional Visual Media for his work on The Wild Harvest with Alan Bergo.
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