Whole Foods Companion: A Guide for Adventurous Cooks, Curious Shoppers, and Lovers of Natural Food - Hardcover

Onstad, Dianne

4.38 out of 5 stars

45 ratings by Goodreads

9780930031893: Whole Foods Companion: A Guide for Adventurous Cooks, Curious Shoppers, and Lovers of Natural Food

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 093003189X ISBN 13: 9780930031893

Publisher: Chelsea Green Pub Co, 1996

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Provides buying tips, culinary uses, health benefits, and nutritional values for natural foods

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Reviews

Onstad's authoritative and thoroughly up-to-date dictionary of foodstuffs is bound to be popular among chefs, vegans, gastronomes, and those simply curious about the origins of what appears on their plates. This work exceeds the standard definition of a useful reference; it's well written and filled with accessible information. About 400 entries are featured in six categories: fruit; vegetables; grains; legumes; nuts, seeds, and oils; and herb, spices, and other foods. Each entry includes nutritional value, general information, buying tips, culinary uses, and, when appropriate, health benefits, lore and legend, by-products, and descriptions of the more popular varieties. Barbara Jacobs

Did you know that cucumbers were once thought to ward off snakes? This is one interesting tidbit of information offered by Onstad, a member and librarian of the Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation, a nonprofit organization devoted to nutritional and environmental education. The book's mandate to educate and entertain is achieved with an interesting blend of botanical, culinary, and folk information. Organized into broad subject categories like Fruits, Vegetables, and Grains, the text then explores individual food items in detail. Entries open with botanical names and a description of the plant's properties followed by buying tips, culinary uses, and a nutritional/calorie chart for the food in its raw, cooked, or preserved state. The entries are visually interesting, with sidebar information highlighted in boxes reminiscent of Windows screens and botanical line drawings sprinkled throughout that give the feel of an herbal. Informative without being too technical, the text appears to be well researched. Geared to the general reader, this work is nonetheless encyclopedic in its design and content and would make a good addition to any reference collection?or kitchen. (Index and bibliography not seen.)?Elizabeth Braaksma, Thunder Bay P.L., Ontario
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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