Reference Books - Page 3

Herbs & Spices: The Cook's Reference

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 21 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

The ultimate spice dictionary and reference 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 6 people found this review helpful.

The book is organized to make using it a dream. It is divided into three sections Herbs, Spices and Recipes.

The first two sections are organized identically; an introduction, categories/groupings of herbs or spices and a section on preparing herbs or spices. Herb groupings are Fresh and mild herbs, Sweet herbs Citrus or tart herbs, Licorice or anise herbs, Minty herbs, Oniony herbs, Bitter or astringent herbs, Pungent and spicy herbs. Spice groupings are Nutty spices, Sweet spices, Acidic and fruity spices, Citrus spices, Licorice or anise spices, Warm and earthy spices, Bitter or astringent spices, pungent spices.

Each individual herb or spice has a page that includes pictures, history, notes on flavor use how it is harvested, culinary uses, other spices/herbs it combines with. The pictures and information combine to make this a top notch reference.

Recipes section is divided into two main sub-sections Blending herbs and spices and Cooking with herbs and spices. There is also a bibliography, sources and an index.

The Recipes for herb blends is shorter than expected but nice and represent other cultures. The spice blends are from around the globe and a longer more comprehensive list there are also recipies for sauces and marinades. Both herb and spice blend Recipes include suggestions and notes on how to use them and the best food pairings.

Cooking with herbs and spices has a good range of Recipes and the author packs a lot into this small section; soups and light dishes, fish, meat (includes three chicken recipes), vegetables, pasta noodles & grains, desserts and drinks ( including ice cream, Pineapple ginger cooler, Mojito).

The bibliography gives a detailed and exhaustive list of sources should you need to do further research. The source section gives contact information on places to purchase herbs and spices it is also a long and detailed contact information many including, addresses, phone numbers, fax numbers and web sites, and e-mail if available.

If you are a beginner and want to learn more about how to use herbs and spices or if you are an experienced cook and want to expand your flavor palate this is a great reference for you.

Editorial Review:

The first illustrated guide to cover the whole spectrum of herbs and spices for culinary use. Herbs & Spices is an indispensable reference that shows how to prepare fresh and dried herbs, how to use herbs and spices in cooking, and details everything that other books on the subject leave out. Containing a unique collection of recipes, from herb and spice mixes to rubs, pastes, salsas, and marinades, these authentic formulas will encourage cooks to think creatively and experiment on their own. Grouped by aroma and taste, with step-by-step preparation techniques and beautiful full-color photography, this book describes 60 herbs and the benefits of using them fresh or dried, and focuses on 60 spices from around the world, with a look at the early spice trade and how cross-cultural fusion has impacted on contemporary cooking.

The Elements of Cooking: Translating the Chef's Craft for Every Kitchen

Michael Ruhlman

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 19 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Buy it, but know its limitations 3 out of 5 stars.
18 of 18 people found this review helpful.

I agree with many of reviewer Rebecca Huston's points. I'm posting my own review here anyhow because I think it might be useful to compare this book to others I've been reading.

Love love love the way Ruhlman writes about food and chefs overall in his other books, so I was excited to get a copy of "The Elements of Cooking." Then I found myself a little disappointed with the eight essays at the start. I looked back at my Alton Brown book "I'm Just Here for the Food" (v2) and decided the sections there on stock, salt, tools, etc. were way more useful in Alton's book. Ruhlman waxes poetic with his opinions... but Alton is vastly more instructive. (Do you want to get truly inspired -- and laugh your butt off -- about stock? Get Bourdain's ""Les Halles Cookbook!")

I did like the A-to-Z part of this for its definitions. However, they weren't very instructive, either. I can't fault Ruhlman for that, because he doesn't claim this is an instructional book. I recently got a copy of James Peterson's new book "Cooking" which doesn't cover all the techniques or terms in Ruhlman's glossary, but it gives step-by-step info and photos on a lot of them.

Bottom line, I suppose, is that there is no perfect book on food, not even McGee's "On Food and Cooking," which I also tunneled through. Which book(s) you like depend on your goal -- be a better cook at home or be more like a restaurant chef? I'm leaning toward Alton for the former and (maybe) Patterson for the latter. Buy Ruhlman's "Elements" for the short and clear opinions and definitions that you can learn in-depth elsewhere, not for overnight-success-at-the-stove details. :)

Editorial Review:

Amazon Best of the Month November 2007: Inspired by the Strunk and White classic, Michael Ruhlman's The Elements of Cooking will quickly prove to be an essential culinary reference for both seasoned cooks and novices who might not know gravlax from gremolata. After a thorough "Notes on Cooking," Ruhlman, a prolific cookbook author and popular blogger, settles in for an opinionated and informative A-Z roundup (from Acid to Zester) of cooking terms, lessons, and techniques reduced to their essential essence. Even with only one recipe (for veal stock), it's a must-have for every kitchen library--a book that will help you re-think your approach to food. --Brad Thomas Parsons

Working the Plate: The Art of Food Presentation

Christopher Styler

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 31 Average rating: 2.5 of 5

ART OF PLATING??? Don't think so... 1 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

I was so disappointed because you'll think this kind of books would teach you new styles and artistic things, but many of the recipes (80%) are the same old things we all can do at home!!. I don't need to buy a book to learn how to place a piece of meat next to the rice, or how to twirl pasta, come on!!!. I was expecting so much more. The pictures don't show you the whole process,it only show some steps of the recipe.. at the end I felt I wasted my money.

Editorial Review:

Feast your eyes.


Long awaited by professional chefs, this groundbreaking guide to food presentation will also delight and inspire culinary students and sophisticated home cooks. Acclaimed food writer and culinary producer Christopher Styler describes seven distinctive plating styles, from Minimalist to Naturalist to Dramatic, with several striking examples of every genre. Each plating suggestion is accompanied by clear instructions along with color photos of step-by-step techniques and finished plates. Complete with essays on plating from ten leading chefs and recipes for the dishes featured, this book is a work of art in itself--a must for the kitchen shelf.

New Food of Life: Ancient Persian and Modern Iranian Cooking and Ceremonies

Najmieh Batmanglij

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 52 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A book for any Persion cook 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

A brilliant start to a cooks journey. The book has covered all areas of Persion cooking. The best I have seen either in English or Persion.

Everything your Persian mom knows 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

But finally written down. This is a great book with very accurate and authentic recipes. It does a great job of breaking down all the steps into a very discrete manner that even a novice can follow. The serving portions are large so you have to cut down the portions somewhat. Pictures and paper quality are top notch.

Best Persian cookbook out there 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I grew up eating Persian food -- as a Persian-American I have pretty high standards for Persian food; the recipes in this book rival those my mom made when I was a kid... and she's a fantastic cook in her own right. I've made several of the khoreshes (hearty stews/soups), rices, and appetizers, and the directions are exactly right and easy to follow. There are very few "specialty" techniques in Persian food; if you can chop, fry, boil, and measure, you'll have no problem making these dishes even if you've never had Persian food before.

An outstanding, and beautifully constructed, book that works as well in the kitchen as it does on the coffee table.

Larousse Gastronomique

Larousse Gastronomique

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 44 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Since its first publication in 1938, Larousse Gastronomique has been an unparalleled resource. In one volume, it presents the history of foods, eating, and restaurants; cooking terms; techniques from elementary to advanced; a review of basic ingredients with advice on recognizing, buying, storing, and using them; biographies of important culinary figures; and recommendations for cooking nearly everything.

The new edition, the first since 1988, expands the book’s scope from classic continental cuisine to include the contemporary global table, appealing to a whole new audience of internationally conscious cooks. Larousse Gastronomique is still the last word on béchamel and béarnaise, Brillat-Savarin and Bordeaux, but now it is also the go-to source on biryani and bok choy, bruschetta and Bhutan rice.

Larousse Gastronomique is rich with classic and classic-to-be recipes, new ingredients, new terms and techniques, as well as explanations of current food legislation, labeling, and technology. User-friendly design elements create a whole new Larousse for a new generation of food lovers.

Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook

Martha Stewart

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 82 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I was looking for a good training tool to futher my baking expertise. I am in love with this book, it's as easy as learning your abc's. I always wanted to be a good bread maker, and I just might get there with the help of this book. Great results everytime. Thanks Martha!!!!!

Another Hit!!! Martha rocks. 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I loved this book. It is going to be a staple in my kitchen for years to come just like my Mother's old "Fanny Farmer." Martha and her staff made this so easy to follow. The hints are what make this book the best ever. Every kitchen should have a copy. It isnt' just a "cookbook" it is an education.

Great cookbook 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Every recipe I have made has been great. And so much cheaper than the cover price. Love this book.

great customer service 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Hi, I purchased this book since it was selling as new, but when I received it, it was a damaged product. Even though I didn't get what I expected, I send the book back and I got my money back. He was very responsive and very communicative and quickly in returning my money. My only disappointment was that I ended up with no book.

Editorial Review:

Authored by Martha herself, this amazing book delves deep into one of her very best subjects - baking. Follow along with Martha as you learn the ins-and-outs of this delicious culinary art.

Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia: Fourth Edition, Revised (Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia)

Tom Stevenson

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 27 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

If you want to learn about wines of the world and advance your comprehension of wine production, grape varieties, appellations, and individual wineries, understand the factors (such as location, soil, climate, and methods of viticulture) that affect the taste and nose, and visit your wine shop with a list of quality wines to explore, Tom Stevenson is the man to read. Author of 12 books (including Champagne and The Millennium Champagne & Sparkling Wine Guide), three-time winner of the Wine Writer of the Year award, and columnist for Wine magazine, Stevenson has the gift of taking vast quantities of knowledge and experience and translating them into lucid, sparkling prose, easily graspable by the novice, yet still interesting and instructive to the connoisseur.

Arranged geographically, with nearly 100 maps, profiles on top producers, and valuable Author's Choice charts for each region, the Wine Encyclopedia covers the wines of Europe (from Great Britain and Switzerland to Southeast Europe, Greece, and the Levant), as well as wines from North and South Africa, North and South America, Australia, New Zealand, and Asia. In addition, there's a guide to wine and food (pairing fois gras with a Champagne or Sauterne, for example, and claret or Cabernet Sauvignon with beef), a guide to wine flavors (making sense of descriptors such as fig, gooseberry, violet, and hay), a list of good vintages, and a glossary of tasting and technical terms, distinguishing "cheesy" and "chewy" from "creamy" and "corked." Enhanced by beautiful pictures of vineyards, wine labels, and Stevenson himself demonstrating the art of wine tasting, from examining and nosing the wine to spitting it out, this a visually beautiful as well as an informative volume. As sumptuous as an elegant Tuscan Barolo, as rewarding as a Sarget de Gruaud-Larose from Bordeaux, as pleasing as a Ferreira port, the Sotheby Wine Encyclopedia is a remarkable tome of oenological erudition. --Stephanie Gold

Jacques Pepin's Complete Techniques

Jacques Pépin

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 38 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Complete Techniques, a complete misnomer 1 out of 5 stars.
1 of 3 people found this review helpful.

I'm a pretty good cook and went to culinary school. I'm also eager to learn everything I can. I'm hardly a snob when it comes to food and preparation. I also read a lot of cooking non-fiction.

I love Jacques Pepin. I think he's the name man and am currently reading his biography. So, it pains me to give this review, but I gotta be honest, this book sucks. The descriptions are way too brief and half the techniques in here are completely useless with today's cooking. Tremendously disappointing.

Want a real complete technique book? Check out La Varenne Pratique by Anne Willan or The Professional Chef from the CIA.

Sorry Jacques.

Editorial Review:

The fully illustrated bible of cooking techniques from the world's best-known French cook is now in paperback and in one volume for the first time ever.

From a master chef and the current co-star (with Julia Child) of the hit television series "Cooking at Home" comes everything the home cook needs to perfect his or her kitchen skills--assisted by instructive, step-by-step photography. Learn to de-bone a chicken, poach an egg, whisk a perfect bearnaise, knead a tangy sourdough, or bake an exquisite meringue with the perfection and efficiency of a professional chef. Pépin's toothsome and time-tested recipes offer budding chefs the opportunity to put lessons into practice with extraordinary results. This comprehensive, authoritative presentation of cooking technique and practice is sure to become an indispensable part of every home cook's library.

What Einstein Told His Cook: Kitchen Science Explained

Robert L. Wolke

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 47 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Why do recipes call for unsalted butter--and salt? What is a microwave, actually? Are smoked foods raw or cooked? Robert L. Wolke's enlightening and entertaining What Einstein Told His Cook offers answers to these and 127 other questions about everyday kitchen phenomena. Using humor (dubious puns included), Wolke, a bona fide chemistry professor and syndicated Washington Post columnist, has found a way to make his explanations clear and accessible to all: in short, fun. For example, to a query about why cookbooks advise against inserting meat thermometers so that they touch a bone, Wolke says, "I hate warnings without explanations, don't you? Whenever I see an 'open other end' warning on a box, I open the wrong end just to see what will happen. I'm still alive." But he always finally gets down to brass tacks: as most heat transfer in meat is due to its water content, areas around bone remain relatively cool and thus unreliable for gauging overall meat temperature.

Organized into basic categories like "Sweet Talk" (questions involving sugar), "Fire and Ice" (we learn why water boils and freezers burn, among other things), and "Tools and Technology" (the best kind of frying pan, for example), the book also provides illustrative recipes like Black Raspberry Coffee Cake (to demonstrate how metrics work in recipes) and Bob's Mahogany Game Hens (showing what brining can do). With technical illustrations, tips, and more, the book offers abundant evidence that learning the whys and hows of cooking can help us enjoy the culinary process almost as much as its results. --Arthur Boehm

The New Whole Foods Encyclopedia: A Comprehensive Resource for Healthy Eating

Rebecca Wood

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 27 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

If you eat natural foods, or want to learn more about them, reading The New Whole Foods Encyclopedia will be a treat. The book is an invitation to learn the lore, health properties, and use of more than a thousand familiar and unusual foods and herbs. Each entry consists of a description, a little history or legend, the health benefits, and how to buy (or find) and use it. Author Rebecca Wood clearly delights in her subject--her writing is warm, like love letters to these intriguing foods. "I don't know what I love most about asafetida--its knock-your-socks-off sulfurous aroma ... or ... its pungent but pleasant and satisfying flavor," she writes of the herb also known as devil's dung. "I also love the way the word rolls off my tongue." Not all the entries are complimentary, though--Wood tried to like banana squash, but ended up feeding it to her chickens. Dotting the food entries are sidebars of recipes, preparation suggestions, and weird information that doesn't fit anywhere else: how horses get sunburned, why young wives fed their elderly husbands celery in the 1600s, tips for not crying over onions, and how to harvest natural chewing gum, for example. You may start by looking up a particular food, but you'll linger, reading just for the pleasure of it. --Joan Price