“For all of us who cherish the apple, its utility, its flavors, and its powers of revelation and connection.” —Adrian Higgins, garden columnist, The Washington Post The apple is one of the most iconic fruits, traditionally picked on cool fall days and used in pies, crisps, ciders, and more. And there is a vast world of varieties that goes well beyond the common grocery store offerings. With names like American Beauty, Carter’s Blue, and Fallawater, and flavors ranging from sweet to tart, this treasure trove of unique apples is ripe for discovery. There is no better guide through this tasty world than Tom Burford, whose family has grown apples in the Blue Ridge Mountains since 1715. His celebratory book Apples of North America is brimming with beautiful portraits of heirloom and modern apples of merit, each accompanied by distinguishing characteristics and common uses. You will also find information on growing apples at home—with specifics on planting, pruning, grafting, and more—and instructions on how to preserve apples through pressing, fermenting, cooking, and drying.

Presents a recipe-complemented celebration of America's apple renaissance that explores 120 of the fruit's considerable varieties, including the Black Oxford, the Knobbed Russet, and the D'Arcy Spice.

Rosie Sanders, often described as the best painter of the world's most famous fruit, has devoted years to researching this book and submitting the apples to hour upon hour of meticulous observation. In 144 beautifully detailed watercolours she depicts the unrivalled range of form, colour and texture which characterize such varieties as Beauty of Bath, Peasgood Nonsuch, Cox's Orange Pippin and Egremont Russet. Painted with their blossom, twig and leaf, Rosie offers detailed descriptions of each apple's aroma, flavour and season as well as something of the history of each variety. The book is enhanced by a practical essay on apple growing by Harry Baker, fruit officer for many years at the Royal Horticultural Society and one of Britain’s foremost authorities on apple growing.

"When you open 'The Apple Lover's Cookbook', you will be surprised to find a guide to 59 popular varieties of apples. Each apple has its own complete biography with entries for origin, best use, availability, season, appearance, taste, and texture, and is accompanied by a color picture. Amy Traverso organizes these 59 apples into four categories -- firm-tart, tender-tart, firm-sweet, and tender-sweet -- and includes a one-page cheat sheet that you can refer to when making any of her recipes. One hundred scrumptious, easy-to-make recipes follow, offering the full range from appetizers, salads, soups, and entrees all the way to desserts. As bonuses, 'The Apple Lover's Cookbook' contains step-by-step color photographs of how to core and peel an apple, detailed notes on how to tell if an apple is fresh, and information about the best times and places to buy apples across the United States. In the introductions to each chapter, Amy takes you around the country to meet farmers, cider makers, and apple enthusiasts. At the end of the book you'll find her extensive list of the best apple products, apple sources, and apple festivals, making it easy to seek out and visit local orchards , whether you live in Vermont or California."--

A book that became an instant classic when it first appeared in 1995, Old Southern Apples is an indispensable reference for fruit lovers everywhere, especially those who live in the southern United States. Out of print for several years, this newly revised and expanded edition now features descriptions of some 1,800 apple varieties that either originated in the South or were widely grown there before 1928. Author Lee Calhoun was one of the foremost figures in apple conservation in America. This masterwork reflects his knowledge and personal experience over more than thirty years, as he sought out and grew hundreds of classic apples, including both legendary varieties (like Nickajack and Magnum Bonum) and little-known ones (like Buff and Cullasaga). Representing our common orchard heritage, many of these apples are today at risk of disappearing from our national table. Illustrated with more than 120 color images of classic apples from the National Agricultural Library’s collection of watercolor paintings, Old Southern Apples is a fascinating and beautiful reference and gift book. In addition to A-to-Z descriptions of apple varieties, both extant and extinct, Calhoun provides a brief history of apple culture in the South, and includes practical information on growing apples and on their traditional uses.

A limited, large-format edition of this gorgeous study of apples, featuring a print from the series This large-format (9 x 11.25 inches) special edition of New York photographer William Mullan's (born 1989) Odd Applesincludes a print of the photograph titled Hidden Rosehoused in a pergamin paper sleeve inserted in the book. Mullan's obsession with apples began when he saw his first Egremont Russet at a Waitrose grocery store outside of London. Fascinated by its gnarled, potato-like appearance and shockingly fresh, nutty flavor, Mullan began searching for, and photographing, rare apple varieties. In Odd Apples, each apple is lovingly rendered and styled according to its individual "personality"--a combination of its looks and its flavors. The apples are set against complementary brightly colored backdrops; they are peeled or unpeeled, cut or whole, skin shriveled or perfectly smooth and shiny. Mullan embraces each apple's idiosyncratic aesthetic qualities completely.

“Pollan shines a light on our own nature as well as on our implication in the natural world.” —The New York Times “A wry, informed pastoral.” —The New Yorker The book that helped make Michael Pollan, the New York Times bestselling author of How to Change Your Mind, Cooked and The Omnivore’s Dilemma, one of the most trusted food experts in America Every schoolchild learns about the mutually beneficial dance of honeybees and flowers: The bee collects nectar and pollen to make honey and, in the process, spreads the flowers’ genes far and wide. In The Botany of Desire, Michael Pollan ingeniously demonstrates how people and domesticated plants have formed a similarly reciprocal relationship. He masterfully links four fundamental human desires—sweetness, beauty, intoxication, and control—with the plants that satisfy them: the apple, the tulip, marijuana, and the potato. In telling the stories of four familiar species, Pollan illustrates how the plants have evolved to satisfy humankind’s most basic yearnings. And just as we’ve benefited from these plants, we have also done well by them. So who is really domesticating whom?

This special re-print edition of the US Dept. of Agriculture's book "Apples: Old and New" is a guide to heirloom apple varieties. Written in 1913, this classic text provides basic insight into over 800 varieties of apples that were grown at the turn of the century.