Thursday, August 22, 2013

Apple of North America: 193 Exceptional Varieties for Gardeners, Growers and Cooks; Tom Burford

Title: Apples of North America
Author: Tom Burford
Publication Year:  2013 
Publisher:  Timber Press
Edition: eGalley
Source:  Net Galley
Date Completed: Aug - 2013
Rating: 5/5

September then October are soon approaching, and that comes apple season around these parts.  This book looked lovely so I couldn't wait to preview it. (I can smell the apple pies already).

 The intro starts with some interesting history about the "apples" which began in the Asia Minor region of Kazakhstan and by 2500 BC apples were being grown throughout Mesopotamia and Persia, and soon became part of the food cultures of the world.
  • Part 1 of the book is all about  -- Apple Varieties A-Z 
  • Part 2 is  -- The Orchard Primer -- covers: Planning and Design, Planting and Cultural Management, Propagation and Apple Products
  • Apple Varieties section was awesome - each variety of apple has: a photo of the type of apple, other names (if any), history, exterior and interior description, tree characteristics, disease resistance, season of ripening, storage qualities, and uses (cider varieties, pie varieties etc -- did you know you could pickle and fry apples?
I really enjoyed browsing this book and came away with good information. I only wish I had enough land to plant a small orchard now.
If you are looking for an all-encompassing reference book about apples, the author's background can't be beat. Tom's family has been growing apples in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia since 1715. 
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4 comments:

  1. rhapsodyinbooksAugust 23, 2013 at 6:40 AM

    Did you read The Orchard by Theresa Weir? Ever since that, I have been way picky about apples! :--)

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  2. StefanieAugust 23, 2013 at 11:41 AM

    Oh, what a lovely book! I love apples. I have three apple trees and a crabapple in my garden. One is a honeycrisp and this will be the first year we have an apple on it. I don't remember the varieties of the others but they are loaded and will be for apple butter and apple sauce and apple pie and apple crisp. I've heard frying apples before but never heard of pickled apples. Interesting! And in case you haven't figured it out, I love apples :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. JoAnnAugust 23, 2013 at 12:06 PM

    I look forward to apple season every year and would love to spend some time browsing through this book!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Leslie (Under My Apple Tree)August 23, 2013 at 10:21 PM

    Ooooh, apples. One of my favorite fruits. How did I miss this one? I will have to remedy that!

    ReplyDelete

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