Healing Berries

All you need to know about the health giving properties of the not so humble berry.

A very interesting book with information I have not seen compiled anywhere else.  The author has done a very good job with this book.  I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in learning all they can about a particular aspect of the food we eat.

Publisher: Nourish (19th April 2016)

ISBN: 9781848991552

Source: Netgalley

Rating: 5*

Description:

Berries are among the healthiest foods on the planet - and more and more people today are becoming aware of their miraculous health-giving properties. For centuries people all over the world have relied on them both as food and as medicine. Packed with goodness as well as flavour, they exude the freshness and romance of the great outdoors. Most berries are easy to store and use out of season: they can be dried, preserved with alcohol or sugar, or frozen, and most of us can now find a wide selection of berries in supermarkets and specialist healthfood stores. Every month, new research is published describing the health-giving properties of a well-known or recently discovered berry, and there is extensive literature to support the medicinal importance of a wide selection of species. This book is a celebration of the health-giving properties of berries, as well as a treasure-trove of fabulous ways to use them in your cooking. Renowned nutritionist and naturopath Kirsten Hartvig offers more than 100 recipes, from breakfasts and preserves to juices and liqueurs. Also included in the book are 10 detailed and fascinating profiles of the healthiest, most popular species - including açai, cranberry, blueberry and redcurrant - as well as a readable directory section covering a further 40 berries. This is a wonderful addition to the literature of healthy eating.

Review:

When I discovered that the publisher had granted my wish and placed this book on my Netgalley shelf, I was really pleased. I like to use berries, but typically turn to the same handful each time - unsweetened dried cranberries; fresh blueberries, strawberries and blackberries, and goji berries. There is lots of detail here about 50 berries, and I've learned all about their origins, how to use them in healthy recipes, what to look for when buying them, and how to store them.

I've made several of the recipes and they are delicious! I'd really recommend this book to those who are looking to increase the intake of berries in their diet, and are eating them as they are and perhaps not sure how to use them in different recipes.

Special thanks to Nourish and Netgalley for providing me with a copy, in return for my honest review.

I eat a low glycemic diet and attempt to be as self sustained as I can. As such I am interested  in growing and eating low sugar berries. 

This book is the first book I've been able to find that discusses many of the easy to grow berries I've been considering growing (e.g. aronia).

Additionally, this book introduced me to dewberry, red huckleberry and sumac which I hadn't heard of but am considering growing.

This book isn't perfect. My main problem is that the book says you can eat raw elderberries.
From what I've heard raw elderberries have small amounts of toxins. Perhaps some people would still eat them raw, but as a health book I'd at least mention the toxicity.

The expected smoothie, preserve, dessert, parfait, etc. recipes are here. There are also less traditional berry recipes for entrees and the like.

The author has a vegetarian bent. If you are leery of grains and beans (like me) you might not be happy with the recipes. Additionally, about half the recipes have added sugar. I assume this is fine for most people, but as a low glycemic eater I wouldn't touch those recipes.

Lastly, many of the recipes are berry specific. So if you have a ton of aronias to use up you might only have 2-4 recipes to work with. 

All this being said, my guess is that if you are not paleo the recipes will be most enjoyable for you.

After enjoying the author's other book on Healing Spices, I had to try this one. It starts out by defining what a berry is and which are fruits according to science, what we commonly think of as berries which is mostly the criteria for what is included in the book and how that might differ from strict scientific classification.

The berries are described in an encyclopedic section wherein each of the berries included is generally described with its Latin name, natural region, classification, physical description and any other relevant details. We are told under separate subheadings about its habitat, phytonutrients, qualities, availability and storage, culinary uses and different varieties. This section is followed by the largest section, called Cooking With Berries.  Here is where the recipes start, complete with nutrition and health benefit information.

The author is vegan and although she makes some concessions to meat eaters, the recipe collection as a whole is of a nature that would appeal to people with health food lifestyles and what you might expect to find in a health food restaurant. It starts with various combinations of fruit and nut snacks, musli, things combined with yogurt, followed by some recipes for commonly known dishes like Shepherd's Pie but with berry additions. A couple of the berry sauces to add to meat will be added to my own recipes collection.

There are some creative combinations and adaptations as well as a section for desert recipes. A Danish pastry recipe made with raspberries sounds very appealing and noting the author's Scandinavian name, I expect it will be very nice! Mostly there are berry/fruit and yogurt ideas with some pastry baking recipes that involve berries and nuts.

Overall I like the book and found the information about health benefits of berries very interesting, though the recipes generally are mostly not to my personal taste. Still, they provide ideas for variations and many people who have more healthy eating habits will find some nice ideas here.