“Paw Paw: In Search of America’s Forgotten Fruit”

 Title: “Paw Paw:  In Search of America’s Forgotten Fruit”

Author:  Andrew Moore

Genre: Nonfiction

Summary: In Pawpaw―a 2016 James Beard Foundation Award nominee in the Writing & Literature category―author Andrew Moore explores the past, present, and future of this unique fruit, traveling from the Ozarks to Monticello; canoeing the lower Mississippi in search of wild fruit; drinking pawpaw beer in Durham, North Carolina; tracking down lost cultivars in Appalachian hollers; and helping out during harvest season in a Maryland orchard. Along the way, he gathers pawpaw lore and knowledge not only from the plant breeders and horticulturists working to bring pawpaws into the mainstream (including Neal Peterson, known in pawpaw circles as the fruit’s own “Johnny Pawpawseed”), but also regular folks who remember eating them in the woods as kids, but haven’t had one in over fifty years. 

Rating:  Very interesting.  I read it from cover to cover.

Why I Like It:  Covers history, cultural practices, recipes, etc.

Reviewer: Nancy Bucher

Garlic and Sapphires

Title: Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise
Author: Ruth Reichl  
Genre: Memoir
Summary: From Amazon: "Ruth Reichl, world-renowned food critic and former editor in chief of Gourmet magazine, knows a thing or two about food. She also knows that as the most important food critic in the country, you need to be anonymous when reviewing some of the most high-profile establishments in the biggest restaurant town in the world—a charge she took very seriously, taking on the guise of a series of eccentric personalities."
Rating: Good
Why I Like It: This book is really interesting to learn how a family food critic would go around New York and wear disguises. She really cared about the common person having a good experience at a restaurant.
Reviewer: Brigette