The Fruit Forager’s Companion: Ferments, Desserts, Main Dishes, and More from Your Neighborhood and Beyond

This charming and eminently useful guide from Paste magazine food editor and writer Bir deserves a spot on the bookshelf of any foraging foodie. Instead of serving up a simple list of fruits and vegetable with tips on canning, Bir weaves in personal anecdotes and trivia about, among other things, the advent of commercial pectin (patented in 1913) and the curious history of key limes (once pickled and served as snacks for schoolchildren). Bir offers solid takes on such standbys as lemon bars and sour cherry scones, but her ingenuity and the value of foraging comes to life with recipes like mulberry and peach cobbler with an almond topping, habanero crab apple jelly, and a pawpaw gelato. Bir also takes time to make sure foragers are clear on manners and ethics (“Forage legally and mindfully, on both public and private land”), as well as which poisonous plants and fruits to avoid (such as honeysuckle and pokeweed). Even if readers don’t have a lemon or apple tree in the backyard, they’re sure to find some useful advice, as Bir does an outstanding job of illustrating how to get the most out of simple, often neglected or discarded ingredients. (June)