Berries

Berries are an important food source and have been revered in literature and history, but we take them for granted. Raspberries are red because Zeus' nursemaid Ida, pricked her finger on the thorns, Mark Twain immortalized huckleberries in his novel of 1884 and Robert Frost and Sylvia Plath, amongst many other poets, wrote on the joys of berry picking.

In the kitchen berries are all around performers, enhancing sweet and savory dishes. They can be preserved as jams, jellies, curds, or chutneys and bottled in sugar or alcohol. Cakes, biscuits, and puddings are all better for the addition of a few berries and some dishes, such as Eton Mess, fools, and clafoutis raise the berries to starring roles themselves. This book will help you to grow all kinds of berries. Most importantly, the book contains recipes: over fifty ways to use berries in your kitchen, from Cranberry Roast Ham to Raspberry Brownies and Blueberry Pancakes to Mulberry Gin.

Jane McMorland Hunter studied history at Edinburgh University. She has written nine books including Quinces, Growing and Cooking in the Prospect English Kitchen series. She works as a gardener and at Hatchard's bookshop in London, England.

Sally Hughes studied literature at Canterbury University, New Zealand. She ran her own café before going on to manage Books for Cooks, the well-known cookbook shop in Notting Hill. She now works at the National Archives at Kew. McMorland and Hughes met while working at Books for Cooks, both sharing an enthusiasm for food and books.