Local Food

This dirt-under-the-fingernails portrait of a small-time farmer follows Zack Killebrew over a single year as he struggles to defend his cotton against weeds, insects, and drought, as well as 21st-century threats such as globalization.

Apples, a common New England crop, have been called the United States' most endangered food. The iconic Texas Longhorn cattle is categorized at critical risk for extinction. Unique date palms, found nowhere else on the planet, grow in California’s Coachella Valley, but the family farms that caretake them are shutting down. Apples, cattle, dates―these are foods that carry significant cultural weight. But they’re disappearing. In Endangered Eating, culinary historian Sarah Lohman travels the country learning about the distinct ingredients at risk of being lost.

Take a culinary journey through the heart of Italy with this book on Umbrian typical recipes. This region is home to some of the most authentic and delicious dishes in the country, and this book showcases the best of the best.

Bottled water is on the verge of becoming the most popular beverage in the country. But what's the cost of all this water for us and for the environment? In this eye-opening book, Elizabeth Royte does for water what Michael Pollan did for food: She examines the people, machines, economies, and cultural trends that surround it on its journey from distant aquifers to our supermarkets and homes.

50 Things to Know About Cooking for One, by Beth Christian, offers an approach to cooking for yourself. Most books on cooking for one will tell you to make large meals on the weekends and freeze them. Although there's nothing wrong with that, most singletons aren’t fond of spending hours in the kitchen and defrosting meals that don’t retain their freshness. Based on knowledge from the world's leading experts, if a meal is not flash-frozen or vacuum-sealed, ice crystals form and damage the flavor. The longer food sits, it blends in different ways, and flavors can change.