Herbs & Spices: The Cook's Reference Hardcover Author: Visit Amazon's Jill Norman Page | Language: English | ISBN:
0789489392 | Format: PDF, EPUB
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More and more herbs and spices appear in American kitchens daily, encouraged by television chefs and promoted through new ethnic cuisines entering the mainstream. Jill Norman's
Herbs & Spices comes at exactly the right moment to guide readers through the tangle of leaves, seeds, and berries. Norman thoughtfully organizes herbs into major classifications by their predominant bouquets. This approach immediately assists the cook looking for substitutions. Norman's tasting notes, borrowing a vocabulary identical to that used for wine, establish a standard language for characterizing each item's salient aromas and flavors. Full-color, close-up pictures aid in identification. Text outlines culinary uses and purchasing and storing data and gives information on growing one's own herbs. A short recipe section offers examples of how specific herbs and spices are used in cooking. A directory of mail-order sources further assists those who lack local access. Norman has made a vital contribution to reference collections for quick identification of species and for the use of herbs and spices in cooking.
Mark KnoblauchCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reservedAbout the Author
Jill Norman is the author of DK's The Complete Book of Spices and has an extensive knowledge of food and cooking styles from around the world.
Direct download links available for Download Herbs & Spices: The Cook's Reference Hardcover
- Hardcover: 336 pages
- Publisher: DK Publishing; 1 edition (November 1, 2002)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0789489392
- ISBN-13: 978-0789489395
- Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7.8 x 1 inches
- Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
`herbs & spices, the cook's reference' is the latest of eight different books on either herbs or spices by noted culinary editor and author, Jill Norman, one of the more influential disciples of the great English culinary writer, Elizabeth David, who contributed two books of her own to this subject.
I chose this book to review since I had a backlog of herb and spice books to review, and I wanted to start with one I could assume to be a standard against which all other books can be measured. The problem with starting with the standard is I'm assuming this role purely on the basis of the author's reputation in the field. I am happy to say that I find virtually nothing in this book to invalidate my holding it up as a standard against which other books on the subject may be judged.
For starters, Ms. Norman convinces us at the outset that the difference between an herb and a spice is vague enough around the world to require that we treat the two together, thereby eliminating any chance of leaving something out because it was not thought to be a spice or an herb. Part of this ambiguity is her statement that in the United States, a dried herb is considered a spice. Since Ms. Norman is an expert on the subject, I must assume that there is a faction in America that believes this. She states this to make it clear that her basis for distinguishing herbs from spices is based on the current British thinking on the subject. But, since she is covering both, the issue is academic in this book.
Much more interesting is Ms. Norman's separation of the various herbs and spices into a large number of categories based on flavor.
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).
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