In Dates, Nawal Nasrallah draws on her experience of growing up in the lands of ancient Mesopotamia, where the date palm was first cultivated, to explore the history behind the fruit. Dates have an important role in their arid homeland of the Middle East, where they are a dietary staple and can be consumed fresh or dried, as a snack or a dessert, and are even thought to have aphrodisiac qualities.    

In this history, Nasrallah describes the central role the date palm has played in the economy of the Middle East. This informative account of the date palm’s story follows its journey from its land of origin to the far-flung regions where it is cultivated today. Along the way, Nasrallah weaves many fascinating and humorous anecdotes that explore the etymology, history, culture, religion, myths, and legends surrounding dates. For example, she explains how the tree came to be a symbol of the Tree of Life and associated with the fiery phoenix bird, the famous ancient goddess Ishtar, and the moon, and how the medjool date acquired its name.

This delightful and unusual book is generously illustrated with many beautiful images, and supplemented with more than a dozen delicious date recipes for savory dishes, sweets, and wine.

Why does food taste better when you know where it comes from? Because history—ecological, cultural, even personal—flavors every bite we eat. Whether it’s the volatile chemical compounds that a plant absorbs from the soil or the stories and memories of places that are evoked by taste, layers of flavor await those willing to delve into the roots of real food. In this landmark book, Gary Paul Nabhan takes us on a personal trip into the southwestern borderlands to discover the terroir—the “taste of the place”—that makes this desert so delicious.

To savor the terroir of the borderlands, Nabhan presents a cornucopia of local foods—Mexican oregano, mesquite-flour tortillas, grass-fed beef, the popular Mexican dessert capirotada, and corvina (croaker or drum fish) among them—as well as food experiences that range from the foraging of Cabeza de Vaca and his shipwrecked companions to a modern-day camping expedition on the Rio Grande. Nabhan explores everything from the biochemical agents that create taste in these foods to their history and dispersion around the world. Through his field adventures and humorous stories, we learn why Mexican oregano is most potent when gathered at the most arid margins of its range—and why foods found in the remote regions of the borderlands have surprising connections to foods found by his ancestors in the deserts of the Mediterranean and the Middle East. By the end of his movable feast, Nabhan convinces us that the roots of this fascinating terroir must be anchored in our imaginations as well as in our shifting soils.

Salsa and guacamole wouldn’t be the same without cilantro, and you can’t make pizza without oregano or a mojito without mint. You can use peppermint to settle an upset stomach, ease arthritis pain with stinging nettle, and heal burns and wounds with aloe vera. And then there is cannabis—perhaps the most notorious and divisive herb of all. Despite the fact that herbs are often little more than weeds, cultures around the globe have found hundreds of uses for them, employing them in everything from ancient medicines to savory dishes. While much has been written on cooking and healing with herbs, little has been told about the history of the plants themselves and the incredible journeys they have made.

Tender, plump, and tasty, the blue mussel (Mytiius edulis) is treasured in most of the world's cuisines but strangely ignored in North American cooking. This edible mollusk is naturally abundant on both American coasts and easily cultivated. As over-harvesting makes many other seafoods ever more scarce and expensive, the blue mussel offers an inexpensive and attractive alternative to more costly and wasteful sources of protein. To tempt American palates and draw attention to this remarkably versatile and nutritious seafood, Sarah Hurlburt has written The Mussel Cookbook.

In her entertaining introduction, Hurlburt tells about mussels—how they live, how they saved a bridge from collapsing, why barrels of them appeared in American police stations, how they are farmed in Spain, France, and Holland. Then she offers over a hundred recipes. Whether you are a beginning cook or a devotee of haute cuisine, you will find recipes to match your abilities: simple dishes for the out-of-doors, appetizers, soups and stews, salads, casseroles, main dishes from abroad, and elegant party entrees. From Europe Hurlburt brings back paella, cannelloni, and souffle of mussels, among many others. From Asia come curried and stir-fried mussels as well as the delectable midia dolma. There are a dozen quick-and-easy tricks; there are flamed mussels and mussels Rockefeller. She describes how to clean and freeze mussels, and gives tips on how to use them.

Sarah Hurlburt in collaboration with her husband, Graham, has spent many years learning about the blue mussel. Together they have studied European methods of mussel farming and begun their own experimental Cultivation project in Massachusetts. Ms. Hurlburt's recipes have been featured in the New York Times, the Boston Globe, the Boston Herald American, and Harvard Magazine. Stories about the Hurlburts' adventures with mussels have appeared in the Washington Post, the Cornell Quarterly, and the Marine Fisheries Review. A discussion of their work has appeared in the Congressional Record.

This primer offers the recipes and techniques for mastering quick-slurper staples and luxurious from-scratch feasts. Albala made a different noodle soup every day for two years. His obsession yielded all you need to know about making stock bases, using dried or fresh noodles, and choosing from a huge variety of garnishes, flavorings, and accompaniments. He lays out innovative techniques for mixing and matching bases and noodles with grains, vegetables, and other ingredients drawn from an international array of cuisines. In addition to recipes both cutting edge and classic, Albala describes new soup discoveries he created along the way. There's advice on utensils, cooking tools, and the oft-overlooked necessity of matching a soup to the proper bowl. Finally, he sprinkles in charming historical details that cover everything from ancient Chinese millet noodles to that off-brand Malaysian ramen at the back of the ethnic grocery store.

Filled with more than seventy color photos and dozens of recipes, Noodle Soup is an indispensable guide for cooking, eating, and loving a universal favorite.

More than a quarter of the people on earth eat peppers every day of their lives, and true pepper lovers are always looking for better-tasting, hotter peppers. This handy, reliable guide makes finding them easy, as capsicum expert Jean Andrews shows you how to identify and use 42 peppers, both fresh and dried, commonly available in North American markets.

Andrews describes each pepper in detail, starting with its size, color, fruit shape, flesh, and pungency. She gives its common names, sources, and uses, and indicates other peppers that can substitute for it in recipes. Drawing on her vast store of pepper lore, she also includes notes and anecdotes about each pepper. Her color photographs illustrate all of the peppers.

In addition to the species descriptions, Andrews offers practical guidance on selecting and storing, roasting and rehydrating, and growing and harvesting peppers. She explains pepper nomenclature, describes the pungency factor, and notes the significance of color, aroma, flavor, and nutrition.

Many mushroom hunters prefer to do their foraging in the marketplace, where all the mushrooms are clearly labeled and safely edible. With this fact in mind, Arleen and Alan Bessette have written Taming the Wild Mushroom, one of the first cooking guides devoted exclusively to choosing and preparing the mushroom species now available in many grocery stores, supermarkets, and natural and whole foods markets.

A dozen wild and cultivated species are covered in the book, including White Button, King Bolete, Oyster, Chanterelle, Morel, Paddy Straw, Wood Ear, Shiitake, Enokitake, White Matsutake, Black Truffle, and Wine-cap Stropharia. Easy-to-understand descriptions and excellent color photographs of each species help market foragers choose mushrooms in peak condition. Fifty-seven original, species-specific recipes, from appetizers, soups, and salads to meat and vegetarian entrees to sauces and accompaniments, offer dozens of ways to savor the familiar and exotic flavors of these mushrooms. A mouth-watering photograph accompanies each recipe.

The abundance of seafood available from the northwest Gulf of Mexico includes hundreds of delicious species that are often overlooked by consumers. Celebrating this regional bounty, Texas Seafood showcases the expertise of longtime fishmongers and chefs PJ and "Apple Srimart" Stoops. Readers will find familiar fish like Red Snapper along with dozens of little-known finfish and invertebrates, including tunas, mackerels, rays, and skates, as well as bivalves, shrimps, crabs, and other varieties, many of which are considered “bycatch” (seafood that a fisher didn’t intend to catch), but that are no more difficult to prepare and just as delicious as those commonly found at your local supermarket.

The Stoopses provide a complete primer on sourcing these wild-caught delicacies, with fascinating details about habitats and life cycles as well as practical advice on how to discern quality. Texas Seafood concludes with simple, delectable recipes, many infused with the flavors of Apple’s Thai heritage. Dishes such as Steamed Curried Crab, Crispy White Shrimp, Escolar on a Grill with Green Mango Salad, Cast-Iron-Roasted Shortfin Mako Shark with Rio Grande Grapefruit, and Chicken-Fried Ribbonfish are just a few ways to savor the best of the Gulf.