Drink the Harvest

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