Herbs & Spices: Over 200 Herbs and Spices, with Recipes for Marinades, Spice Rubs, Oils, and Mor

PROS: The pictures in this book are gorgeous. It helps tremendously to see what the herbs/spices look like. What I like most about this book is that each page is organized the same way. Along the left side of the page there are tasting notes, below that is parts used, next buying and storing info and then info on growing your own. The rest of the page contains culinary uses and what the herb/spice combines well with. At the top is a general discription of the herb/spice and its scientific name. This makes it so easy when I want to quickly look at how each herb/spice tastes. I don't have to search in paragraphs somewhere on the page for the info, its always in the upper left hand corner. CONS: At times I wish the book had been organized alphabetically but instead its organized by dominant aroma and flavor. I have to constantly use the index to look up where the spices/herbs are located in the book. Also, while the photos are lovely they seem to dominate the book at times. Overall its a nice addition to my cooking library. I almost gave the book only 4 stars because of the way its organized; it slows me down when I'm searching for a spice/herb. But then I realized how helpful it can be to have the ingredients organized by dominant aroma and flavor especially if I'm looking for a flavor substitute so I gave it five stars.

Covers a much neglected topic in American cuisine -- that of spices and flavor. This book as an appropriate balance of scientific, historic, and practical information, it covers many cuisines from around the world, has attractive and accurate drawings and pictures, and it is presented in an orderly and logical manner. Easy to read, informative, and filled with suggestions, recipes, etc.

I loved having this in the kitchen, tested my cooks on their knowledge and they could always go back to it to reup their knowledge or learn more about the herbs and spices we used.

There is a lot that I love about this book - it is truly encyclopedic in its coverage of herbs and spices. You'd be hard-pressed to find something that isn't in here. Also the photos are huge and gloriously rendered, making it nearly trivial to correctly identify spices and herbs at the grocery store without looking at any signs or labels. Also a nice touch is that if an herb or spice has many commonly used varieties, the book goes into detail about each variety and any differences in flavor, aroma, or preparation. I also like that it gives some common uses for each and some flavors it combines well with - nowhere near as comprehensive or inventive as the Flavor Bible in this regard, but a nice addition nonetheless. I think other reviewers covered the book's strengths better than I can. Now for my critiques: First, it's important to know that despite being an American edition, this book was clearly originally written by a UK author for a UK audience. For my fellow American readers, some terms and phrasings may confuse you (if you were wondering where the scallions / green onions are, they're listed as "Welsh onions"). This isn't much of a gripe, just kind of a minor annoyance at times. I was a bit surprised that the author recommends that most of the herbs be stored in plastic bags in the refrigerator - I was under the impression (especially from other well regarded authors) that many herbs are better stored in a jar of water like flowers. But not that big a deal. The book is oddly inconsistent at times - some entries mention whether or not there is a dried version of an herb, for instance, while others don't even make such a mention. For those that do mention whether there is a dried version, not all of them mention whether or not the dried version is any good. Of those that do mention whether the dried version is any good, they don't mention it in the same place - some of them include it in the "parts used" section, others in "Buying and storing," and others yet in "Culinary uses" in the long description. Worse yet, some entries have almost comically vague estimated storage times: "Dried thyme will retain its flavor through the winter." (p. 100) What does that even mean? How long is that? 4 months? 3 months? 5 months? Despite my critiques, this really is an incredible book so I'm only going to dock it 1 star.

様々なハーブとスパイスが紹介されています。 写真もとてもきれいです。 レシピも紹介されています。

Ordered this after reading other reviews and I'm glad I did. The layout is really clear and each spice/herb is discussed really well, describing tastes and how it can be used, with what etc. Have always been afraid of trying different spices because I don't like 'hot' foods, but this will definitely help make my food more interesting and encourage me to try different flavours.

BUY IT

Although this book does not have as nice a cover as others similar books, don't be fooled by it's appearance. The book is divided in sections that make sense (herbs vs spices) and they are further divided by taste. The book is printed on full color glossy pages, providing quality pictures of the item discussed. Also, we have the common name in bold letters, but also the Latin name, which can help tremendously when a plant has more than one common name. There are notes on the side of the page regarding the taste, which parts are used, when/how to buy and store it and even advice on growing your own, when possible. There is also good details on it's culinary uses, and pairings with other foods or spices are suggested, The book covers a wide range of herbs / spices, and I can usually find information about rare spices used in medieval cooking, like cubeb, galengal or gains of paradise, that most people are not familiar with. There is also a more extensive section on preparing and preserving herbs at the end of the first section, as well as the equivalent in the spices section. The end of the book covers recipes.... so herbs mixtures, spices mixtures, it shows you how to make condiments or just plain regular cooking with the mixes you just made. I really enjoyed this book, it has great contents and a wide enough range of items so that I can feel like if I'm looking for something, this book would have it.

Bellissimo libro, da leggere e consultare a più riprese sia per i dilettanti che per i professionisti. L'ho regalato a due cuochi di alto livello e ne sono andati pazzi.