Preserving Wild Foods: A Modern Forager's Recipes for Curing, Canning, Smoking, and Pickling - Paperback

by Raquel Pelzel (Author), Matthew Weingarten (Author)

Whether you forage in the wild or at the farmers' market, you'll delight in the unique preserves featured in this one-of-a-kind collection. With a reverence for the natural world and all of its edible bounty, Matthew Weingarten and Raquel Pelzel encourage you to explore the ways in which wild ingredients can be transformed into tasty foods through a range of preserving techniques that include canning, smoking, curing, and pickling. Enjoy your own delicious Duck Prosciutto, Dandelion Jelly, Crab Apple Mostrada, and more

Front Jacket

What grows together ... goes together

When you're fortunate enough to come across a bountiful source of chanterelles or black walnuts, or your fishmonger is displaying irresistibly fresh sardines, or you're in possession of several pounds of lean venison, chef Matthew Weingarten is ready to help you preserve what you can't eat now.

Taking advantage of every kind of preserving technique, Weingarten cans Elderberry Compote and Sweet Bergamot Marmalade, salt-cures Arctic Char Gravlax with Wild Fennel Pollen, smokes Nitrate-Free Bacon, ferments cabbage, pickles ramps and garlic scapes, and cures and smokes Garlicky Kielbasa. His methods are clearly explained in step-by-step recipes that give you the confidence to take on every preserving challenge.

Weingarten's reverence for the natural world and wild ingredients comes through in his personal stories of foraging and harvesting, tasting foods for the first time, and discovering old-world recipes wherever his travels take him. Whether you're a hunter, forager, preserving enthusiast, or farmer's market fanatic -- you'll find an abundance of delicious recipes for preserving your edible treasures."

Author Biography

Raquel Pelzel's work has been featured in Saveur, the Wall Street Journal, Every Day with Rachael Ray, Shape, and Epicurious, among many others. Formerly an editor at Cook's Illustrated and the senior food editor and test kitchen director for Tasting Table, Pelzel has written more than 20 cookbooks and has judged Food Network shows including Chopped Junior and Beat Bobby Flay. Pelzel lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her two sons.

Matthew Weingarten is the executive chef at Inside Park at St. Bart's in New York City, where he brings a strong sense of place and seasonality to his professional cooking. He was previously chef de cuisine at Savoy and Quilty's, both in SoHo. At Inside Park, Weingarten fosters strong relationships with the farmers and purveyors who have become part of his food family. Interested in lost culinary techniques, he practices the art of curing meats, pickling vegetables, and preserving fruits. He enjoys giving back to the community that he has helped shape by peer-mentoring in the workplace and introducing others to a world of place and season at the dining table.