Pulp: A Practical Guide to Cooking with Fruit

By Abra Berens

Named a Best Cookbook of Spring 2023 by Eater, Food & Wine, Vice, and more

First vegetables, then grains, and now, fruit. This is the beautiful follow-up to Abra Berens's Ruffage and Grist, with more than 215 recipes and variations for using fruit in sweet and savory recipes to highlight seasonality and flavor.

Pulp is a hardworking book of recipes that focuses on all the ways fruit can enhance simple, delicious mains—for example, by elevating roasted vegetables, garnishing soup, or adding perfume to a roasted pork or brisket. Unlike Ruffage and Grist, Pulp is about regularly incorporating fruit to add variety and seasonality to main dishes.

Home cooks and bakers alike will rejoice in the alternately sweet and savory recipes such as Roast Chicken over Blueberries, Cornbread + Lemon; Melon, Cucumber + Chickpea Salad; and Rum-Plum Clafoutis. The book also features helpful reference material, a Baker's Toolkit, and more than 100 atmospheric photos, delivered with the can-do attitude and accessibility of the Midwestern United States. This next generous offering from beloved, trusted author Abra Berens is a necessary addition to any kitchen shelf alongside its predecessors and other mainstays like Plenty, Six Seasons, and Small Victories.

THIS IS THE A TO Z OF FRUIT: The content is deep and authoritative, but also wide-ranging, with information and recipes for 15 different, widely accessible fruit varieties: Apples, Apricots, Blueberries, Cherries, Drupelet Berries (blackberries, raspberries, mulberries), Grapes, Ground Cherries (a.k.a. cape gooseberries), Melons, Nectarines + Peaches, Pears, Plums, Quince, Rhubarb, Strawberries, and Tart Round Fruits (cranberries, currants, gooseberries, lingonberries + autumn olive). Pulp features only fruits that grow in the Midwestern United States, so no bananas, passion fruit, or citrus here.

CULINARY REFERENCE BOOK: Like Ruffage and Grist before it, Pulp is a truly useful reference cookbook. Organized by type of fruit, each chapter offers authoritative info and tips that the home cook can use to deepen their knowledge of ingredients and broaden their repertoire of techniques—all in the service of improving their meals. The recipes are simple, generally quick to prepare, and use ingredients that are easy to find and often already in your pantry. Plus, the many variations empower home cooks to flex their creativity and trust themselves in the kitchen.

ONGOING SUCCESS: Ruffage was named a Best Cookbook for Spring 2019 by the New York Times and Bon Appétit, was a 2020 Michigan Notable Book winner, and was nominated for a 2019 James Beard Award. Grist was named a Best Cookbook for Fall 2021 by Eater and received a starred review from Publishers Weekly. Here's some strong praise for both books: 

"Things in my kitchen have changed since Ruffage arrived. This organized, easygoing guide to 29 vegetables offers a few cooking methods for each one, supplemented by several variations." —Kim Severson, New York Times

"[Ruffage] is a total classic in the making."—Christina Chaey, associate editor, Bon Appétit

"Crammed with exciting ideas that encourage creativity, this lively book will quickly become an essential item in the home cook's library."—Library Journal (starred review)

"[In Grist,] Berens encourages readers to start with ingredients they're excited about. . . . Interspersed features highlight working farmers and their areas of specialty, serving to illustrate issues that inform Berens's ethics and worldview." —Booklist

"[In Grist,] Berens strolls through each category with

• Language: English
• Publisher: Chronicle Books Digital
• Release date: Apr 4, 2023
• ISBN: 9781797207162

Abra Berens

Abra Berens is a Michigan chef, author, and former farmer. Through every recipe written and meal served, she aims to tighten the connection between eaters and growers. She believes we can invest in a stronger, more equitable food system for everyone, from producers to grocers to consumers. She is the author of Ruffage: A Practical Guide to Vegetables, a 2020 Michigan Notable Book winner and James Beard Award nominee, and Grist: A Practical Guide to Cooking Grains, Beans, Seeds, and Legumes. Her dinners at Granor Farm in Three Oaks, Michigan, made her a James Beard semifinalist for Outstanding Chef: Great Lakes. EE Berger is a Detroit-based photographer focused on food, lifestyle, product, and portrait work. Lucy Engelman is an illustrator who puts pen to paper in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Book preview

PART 1

baker’s toolkit

I am not a natural baker. I don’t tend to delight in the process or the product of a long arduous pastry session. I like simple desserts, especially those in which fruit is the star component. Over the years, several recipes have come in and out of my life, and I’ve collected a body of foundational recipes that showcase fruit well. I’ve retested and organized them in this book to share with you.

This is my quiver of arrows at the ready to support a meal’s fruity finale. I have organized the recipes into groups—cakes, cookies, creamy things, etc.—to highlight their roles on the plate. Feel encouraged to swap them around and find your own preferred combinations. These recipes are a mishmash of ones I’ve tasted at restaurants or seen online, but most often come straight from the many talented bakers with whom I’ve had the privilege of working in close proximity. I have benefited from them sharing their knowledge and craft and have noted them by name in the headnotes, not only as an appreciation, but also because it is their work, not mine, that has given these recipes life. I hope that you utilize them as much as I have over the years.

BREADS

focaccia

I prefer a focaccia made with a pre-ferment or poolish, which adds depth of flavor. If you don’t have the time or interest to prepare this, simply add all of the ingredients together at the start of mixing and carry on. I’m most used to focaccias with ingredients draped over the top just before baking. If adding ingredients to the center of the focaccia, add in before pressing into the pan. This recipe is adapted from Frank Carollo and Amy Emberling from Zingerman’s Bakehouse and their incredible cookbook.

MAKES 1 FOCACCIA

POOLISH

¾ cup [115 g] all-purpose flour

⅛ tsp instant yeast

DOUGH

¼ cup [60 ml] olive oil, plus more for drizzling

½ tsp instant yeast

3 cups [425 g] all-purpose flour

2 tsp salt

Crunchy salt, for sprinkling

To make the poolish: In a medium bowl, mix the flour, ½ cup [120 ml] of water, and the yeast together and ferment, covered with plastic wrap, at room temperature for 8 hours.

To make the dough: In a large bowl, combine 1 cup [240 ml] of water, the poolish, olive oil, and yeast. Stir to form a slurry (see page 31). Add the flour and salt. Knead until smooth, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let proof at room temperature until doubled in size, about 75 minutes. Punch down the dough, add any ingredient mix-ins and press into an oiled baking sheet. Let rest for 10 minutes and then press into the prepared baking sheet a second time, gently stretching the dough to reach into the corners. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and proof (see page 30) until just about doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 450°F [230°C]. Dimple the surface of the focaccia with your fingers to make little valleys, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with crunchy salt. Bake until golden brown and cooked through, about 20 minutes. Cool to room temperature before slicing and serving. Focaccia is best the day it is baked.

milk bread

I first started making milk bread after seeing it on my Instagram feed. I found a handful of recipes online and ended up using the one from Julia Moskin of the New York Times the most. This recipe is twice the volume of hers because I have two loaf pans; it freezes well, so I don’t see the point of not making two loaves when the oven is already on. While this recipe includes making a starter dough, don’t be put off. It isn’t a sourdough and doesn’t take much time, but you can’t skip it, or the bread won’t have the same pillowy texture. It uses a Japanese cooking technique, tangzhong, that is being utilized more and more commonly throughout the world of baking to attain this specific texture in doughs.

MAKES 2 LOAVES

STARTER

⅓ cup [45 g] bread flour

½ cup [120 ml] whole milk

DOUGH

1 cup [240 ml] whole milk, plus more for brushing

5 cups [700 g] bread flour

½ cup [100 g] sugar

4 tsp dry active yeast (2 packets)

2 tsp salt

2 eggs

8 Tbsp (4 oz [120 g]) butter, at room temperature

To make the starter: In a small saucepan, whisk together the flour and milk until smooth. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring until thickened but still pourable, about 12 minutes. It will continue to thicken as it cools. Transfer the starter to a bowl and press a piece of plastic wrap or wax paper onto the surface (as for pudding). Let cool to room temperature.

To make the dough: In a small saucepan, warm the milk until the side of the pot is warm to the touch (or the milk is about 100°F [35°C]). In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. Add the eggs, warm milk, and cooled starter. With a dough hook, knead the mixture on medium-low speed for 5 minutes. With the mixer on low, add the butter a few knobs at a time until incorporated. Increase the speed to medium and knead for 10 minutes more, until the dough is silky and springy. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel and let proof in a warm place—such as your oven with the heat turned off—until doubled in size, 45 to 60 minutes. With wet hands (to keep the dough from sticking), lift the dough and divide into four equal balls. Cover with a damp kitchen towel and let rest for 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F [180°C]. Grease two 9 by 5 in [23 by 12 cm] loaf pans.

Using a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface, roll each ball of dough into a 12 by 6 in [30.5 by 15 cm] oval with the long side running north-south on your table. Fold the top 3 in [7.5 cm] of the oval down and the bottom 3 in [7.5 cm] up, making a rough square. Starting on the left, roll the square to the right to make a fat log. Place the log in the loaf pan, seam-side down and perpendicular to the long side of the pan. Repeat with the other balls, nestling two logs into each pan. Cover the pans with damp kitchen towels and let proof until the dough rises almost to the top edge of the loaf pan, 30 to 60 minutes, depending on the temperature of your kitchen.

Brush the top of the dough with a splash of milk for a glossy crust. Transfer to the oven and bake until golden brown and the internal temperature is 200°F [95°C], 35 to 45 minutes, rotating the pans after 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, let rest for 10 minutes, then unmold from the pans and let cool completely on a wire rack before slicing. After completely cool, store covered for up to 5 days or wrap well and freeze for up to 2