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University of Delaware alum Danny Childs’ book about crafting drinks with locally farmed and foraged ingredients was lauded as the best beverage recipe book of 2024 by the James Beard Foundation.
“Slow Drinks: A Field Guide to Foraging and Fermenting Seasonal Sodas, Botanical Cocktails, Homemade Wines, and More” details how to make alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages with ingredients that could be right under your nose, such as chamomile, chestnuts, dandelions, juniper, and walnuts.

Childs spent six months in Chile and Peru learning about native ethnobotanical traditions as part of a university program that lets students pursue off-campus passion projects. A consultation with a local medicine woman helped spark Childs’ interest in wild ingredients. Upon his return to the Delaware Valley, he researched and began making signature drinks with ingredients sourced from the mid-Atlantic region.
Find it on Amazon or Barnes & Noble.
Related: These Drinks Around Delaware Offer a Wealth of Health Benefits