The Green Kitchen Handbook: Practical Advice, References, & Sources for Transforming the Center of Your Home into a Healthy, Livable Place

The Green Kitchen Handbook contains basic tips on and simple solutions to: what to look for on packaged food labels, how to recognize which food additives to avoid, and how to buy organic foods as inexpensively and conveniently as supermarket foods. And it offers advice for more ambitious projects including information on canning, creating root cellars, buying kitchen appliances, and joining community gardens. The Green Kitchen Handbook also includes valuable insights on how to buy local foods in season; how to avoid excess fat, sugars, and salt; where to locate the best food sources; preparing and storing foods; and integrating the principles of keeping a green kitchen with your daily routine. This unique handbook offers economical and environmentally conscious alternatives that make keeping a green kitchen simple, sensible, and delicious.

Berthold-Bond's practical guide answers dozens of questions environmentally conscientious and curious cooks have wondered about for years, such as the geographic origin of common healthful foods, their processing or production, and what makes them healthful or not. High points are the detailed discussion of oils and their uses, fatty acid profiles, and smoke points; the microbiology and biochemistry of food preservation in lay language, along with step-by-step procedures for freezing, drying, canning, and preparing a root cellar; a survey of organic agriculture and its standards; and suggestions on how to reduce food packaging and its attendant toxins and nonbiodegradable waste. The last section covers nonfood issues, including household hazardous waste, alternative and safe cleaning supplies and pest control, water purity and conservation, energy-saving appliances, and equipment choices. Well formatted for easy reference, this handbook offers numerous charts of equivalencies, substitutions, and cooking times and concludes with a resource list and an index. Penny Spokes

This volume provides current, sound, practical information on developing healthier eating habits and mapintaining an environmentally friendly kitchen. A former editor of the newsletter Green Guide and member of the educational organization Mothers & Others for a Livable Planet, the author convincingly states the importance of a green diet and outlines its principles. She includes practical sections on changing shopping habits, seeking alternative food sources, stocking the pantry, and preserving food. Beginners will benefit from detailed descriptions of unfamiliar whole foods and tips on label reading. Advanced readers will appreciate the introduction to food preservation techniques and tips on subscription farms and community-supported agriculture. An extensive list of resources includes publication, organizations, and catalog companies. Highly recommended for public libraries.?Bonnie Poquette, Arthur Andersen, Milwaukee, Wis.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.