Illustrated Catalog of American Fruits & Nuts

US Department of Agriculture Pomological Watercolor Collection, 1886-1942, 378 pp., Atelier Editions 2021, cloth $50.

A grandma once told me, when she was 16 years old, you were expected to know 16 different kinds of apples, by their smell and looks and taste, and that was how you knew when and what to use in an apple pie.

This is a lovely book, a catalog of such knowledge, and such times, a sweet presentation of paying attention and loving attention, a playlist of fruits and nuts.

Includes contributions by authors Jacqueline Landy, John McPhee, Michael Pollan and Marina Vitaglione.