Preserving the harvest doesn't have to stop with jam and pickles. Many fruits, vegetables, and herbs can be made into delicious beverages to enjoy fresh or preserve for later. Drink the Harvest presents simple recipes accompanied by mouthwatering photographs for a variety of teas, syrups, ciders, wines, and kombuchas. DeNeice C. Guest and Nan K. Chase also provide advice for harvesting ingredients for maximum flavor and even creating your own backyard beverage garden. Pour a refreshing glass of Passionflower-Lemon Balm Wine and drink in the possibilities.
Fresh From the Garden
Peach juice and pear cider — Rose hip tea and watermelon mint syrup — Dandelion wine and mixed berry mead
Skip the sugary commercial drinks and make these and many more fresh, delicious beverages in your own kitchen. Whether you're looking for new ways to enjoy your garden's bounty or want to experiment with pure concoctions made from farmers' market finds, these recipes and techniques — including harvesting, canning, fermenting, and pasteurizing — will introduce you to a whole new world of garden goodness.
Part 1 — From Garden to Kitchen
1 Introduction Finding Beverages in Your Garden The Joys of Juice (and Other Drinks) Where's the Juice? You Have the Skills Your Garden's Already Perfect
2 Growing a Beverage Garden Meet Our Favorite Plants Pruning for Production
3 Harvesting & Preparation Reaping What You've Sown Is It Ripe Yet? Equipment: Keeping It Simple Clear the Decks!
Part 2 — Juices & Fermented Beverages
4 Creating Fruit & Vegetable Drinks Juice or Cider How to Make Juice Refrigeration and Freezing How to Can Step-by-Step Canning
Recipes: Berry Juice Strawberry Juice Peach Juice Big Wow Grape Cider Crab Apple Juice Apple Juice Apple Family Cider Peerless Pear Cider Happy Time Pear Juice Prickly Pear Cactus Juice Tomato Juice Sensational-7 Vegetable Drink DeNeice's Super-Heated Bloody Mary Mixer
5 Creating Wines, Meads & Specialty Drinks A Garden Full of Wine The Hardest Part is Patience How Fermentation Works Different Kinds of Fermented Drinks Managing the Must How to Make Wine Racking Time to Bottle
Recipes: Easy Garden Grape Wine All-Around Herb Wine Dandelion Wine Garden Mint Wine Parsley Wine Passionflower-Lemon Balm Wine Heirloom Potato Wine Prickly Pear Cactus Wine Bitchin' Birch Wine Basic Mead Red, White, and Blueberry Mead Mixed Berry Mead Old Crabby Mead Spiced Apple Mead Very Perry Holiday Mead Crab Apple Rice Wine Nan's Crab Apple SuperCider Peerless Perry Luscious Limoncello
Part 3 — Syrups & Teas
6 Creating Garden Syrups The Beauty of Homemade Syrups Just Add Sugar
