Customer Reviews:
 from the dustjacket April 22, 2008
In Jane Grigson's Vegetable Book, American readers, gardeners and food lovers will find everything they've always wanted to know about the history and romance of 75 different vegetables, from artichokes to yams, and learn how to use them in hundreds of different recipes, from the exquisitely simple Broccoli Salad to the engagingly esoteric Game with Tomato and Chocolate Sauce.
Jane Grigson gives basic preparation and cooking instructions for every one of the vegetables discussed, and recipes for eating them in every style from least adulterated to most adorned, but this is by no means a book intended for vegetarians alone. There are recipes for Cassoulet, Chicken Gumbo and even Dr. William Kitchiner's 1817 version of Bubble and Squeak (fried beef and cabbage.)
Try: Eliza Acton's Salad of Young Vegetables, Fricasse of Artichoke Bottoms, Asparagus and Chicken Gratin, Aubergine Kuku, Avocado Pancakes, Greek Stewed Beans, Scandinavian Beetroot and Herring Salad, Goose and Sauerkraut, Italian Carrot and Almond Cake, Chayote Creole, Chicken with Cucumber Cream Sauce, Apicius' Lentil and Mussel Dish, Cypriot Lamb Stew, Potatoes and Pears from Lucerne, Turkish Candied Pumpkin, Spinach Souffle, Fried Chicken Maryland with Corn Fritters, etc.
Simply the best book on vegetables - Jane Grigson! July 25, 2006
49 out of 50 found this review helpful
Jane Grigson was one of the leading cookery writers of her generation with some similarity to the writing talents of the great Elizabeth David, in that her books combine superb writing with impeccable research.
`Jane Grigson's Vegetable Book' is a 618 page alphabetical guide to selecting and cooking vegetables, with everything from artichokes to yams.
Tempting recipes from all over the world bring out the flavour and texture of each vegetable and turn the most modest ingredients into delightful dishes.'
This invaluable reference includes an introduction, and appendices, entitled:-
Cutting Up Vegetables
Steaming and Blanching Vegetables
Stocks
Savoury Butters
Sauces
Stuffings
Batters
and finishes with a concise index, an Introduction to the American edition, a glossary and a table of equivalent weights and measures.
In between are all the vegetables you can think of, and on pages 322/323 is a copy of `John Evelyn's Salad Calendar`.
Bearing in mind that this is a book from the early 90s, glossy colour reproduction was not yet the 'in-thing' in cookery writing.
Strangely, however, the subtle black and white illustrations, by Yvonne Skargon, at the top of each vegetable section are all that is required in this, a timeless kitchen bookshelf classic.
As 'The Scotsman' declare on the rear cover:-
`The best cookbooks stimulate your imagination so that the freshest flavours come across as tempting as if they were on a plate in front of you. This is that kind of book.'
From the vegetable gardener's point of view, this book is an invaluable reference for those days when you just have one or two too many pounds (can you say that these days?!) of eg home-grown tomatoes and the novelty factor has worn off a month ago!
Just refer to the vegetable and find a variety of recipes to inspire a new way of presenting the superfluous veg, e.g. `Tomato and Mussel Soup', `Tomato Tart (1) or (2)', `Tomato Mousse', `Game with Tomato and Chocolate Sauce' , `Shaker Tomato Custard' or `Robin McDouall`s Tomato Ice Cream`!
How about `Lettuce Soup', `a good recipe for outside lettuce leaves' or `Braised Lettuce' if you have `a glut of firm, well-flavoured cabbage or cos lettuces`?
In addition, check out the pumpkin recipes for what to do with the leftovers at Hallowe'en!
From my point of view, it reminded me that there is serious life outside the confines of the supermarket, with their limited selections, totally defined by green basket display width and depth! A `potato' is not just a `potato`!
In the 24 page chapter entitled 'Potatoes', is a section on `Potato Varieties and Their Uses', splitting them into `Main-Crop All-Rounders', Floury, Mashed, Potato Cakes etc, Baked, Boiled, Irish Stew, Salad and Frying.
There at the top is `Golden Wonder' - and, I do wonder what did happen to the crisp of the same name?
nb This text refers to the Michael Joseph produced hardback edition, from 1991.
A Classic Work November 1, 2002
59 out of 64 found this review helpful
Really, you can't call this a cookbook. It's a reference book, a work of scholarship that also contains a collection of wonderful recipes.Jane Grigson was one of the great foodie writers, up there in the pantheon with Elizabeth David and M. F. K. Fisher. Her books combine superb writing with impeccably researched information. If you just want to know the history of the cabbage, she'll tell you. On the other hand, if somebody has just presented you with a couple of kilos of chokos, she'll bale you out. And I am pleased to report that Jane Grigson hated swedes, so there can be no questioning her culinary judgment...
probably my most refered to cook book February 6, 2002
38 out of 48 found this review helpful
Perfect if you're a gardener and have gluts every now and then - look up the veg in question and there you have 10-20 recipes on average. She also gives basic info on choosing, including varieties in some cases, and basic recipes too. Her Fruit book is equally excellent.
A book to read as much to cook from. March 1, 1999
38 out of 47 found this review helpful
Jane Grigson's books are always well written wonderfully erudite and full of great recipes. She is the rare food writer who even if he recipe looks a little strange can be entirely trusted without having to have been tested five thousand times by a gang of television assistants A la Delia.Buy it and all her work. They are as great to have on the bedside table as the cookshelf.
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