Passion for Fruit

Fresh fruit provides us with one of life's great sensual pleasures. It is beautiful to behold on the branch and on the table, fragrant and aromatic to smell, satisfying to touch, delicious and beneficial to eat. In today's world marketplace, there are no seasons and everything is available year-round, including the pleasure of eating a juicy fruit from a faraway place or locally grown.A Passion for Fruit, with its color-drenched images bringing the beauty of sun-ripened fruits to life, celebrates the rewards of lovingly tended gardens and orchards. Inspired by the delicate paintings of Giovanna Garzoni, the 17th-century Florentine artist, Mike Newton has created an exquisite collection of still life photographs of all varieties of fruit. The gentle art of the court miniaturist to the Medici is reflected in these delicious images, from fresh, sun-warmed figs to the season's first sweet strawberries and the velvety seductiveness of the peach.Lorenza de'Medici, a leading authority on the cookery of Italy and direct descendant of Garzoni's Medici patrons, complements these photographs with an elegant narrative and more than 100 Italian-inspired recipes. Using such well-loved fruits as apples and plums, as well as the more unusual gooseberry and quince and exotic fruits like guavas and papayas, she provides recipes that allow readers to enjoy the various colors, textures, and tastes of fruits. This is a book that will inspire cooks, art lovers, and gardeners alike and add to their enjoyment in the kitchen and pleasure at the table.