By Linda Ziedrich
Timber Press, 2025
Sometimes when I am eating a fruit or vegetable, or especially a mushroom, I wonder, “Who ate this first? How did they figure out that it was safe to eat? How did they know that it takes three batches of cooking water to render this edible, that two still makes you ill?” I suspect curiosity, trial and error, and a very deep level of listening to the plants were involved.
“The Curious Kitchen Gardener” by Linda Ziedrich takes the reader on a garden adventure and a culinary exploration that safely ends in the kitchen and at the table. She encourages one to look at gardening, cooking, and preserving food as an integrated way of life, and spices things up with some interesting, possibly more resilient, plants.
Ziedrich profiles 33 often overlooked, little-known, or under-appreciated garden plants and shrubs that may just fill new niches in your garden, yard, and pantry. They are delicious, possibly disease- or drought-resistant, or insect-tolerant, or just may add a touch of eclectic diversity to your everyday fare.
The book is more about the garden than recipes. Each chapter focuses on a unique plant food, many rarely available in a store, and includes snippets of history, personal stories, color photographs, and tips on growing, harvesting, and preparing foods in shared recipes. Plants like sorrel, parsnips, beets, and chard are familiar to seasoned gardeners. Some like oca, quince, honeysuckle berries, chicory, bamboo, and angelica are less common. The recipes offer new approaches for the familiar plants and intriguing flavors for those lesser known.
The chapter on quince talks about varieties; cultivation; how it was once a common source of pectin; its many past and present, sweet and savory culinary uses; and a recipe for roasted quinces and sweet potatoes. It was a cozy wandering conversation with a friend who generously shares her wealth of knowledge. The personal stories and observations bring you towards the possibilities of adding quince into your way of life. Could it be a lemon substitute for Maine?
“The Curious Kitchen Gardener” is an excellent read if you are pondering what is next or are just in need of an escape to other possibilities. Ziedrich sows the seeds of new adventure.
– Roberta Bailey
This review was originally published in the spring 2026 issue of The Maine Organic Farmer & Gardener.