Customer Reviews

The Encyclopedia of Herbs, Spices, & Flavorings

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Herbs enhance and enliven meals. Herbs are the leaves of fresh or dried plants. Spices are the aromatic parts: buds, fruit, berries, roots or bark. Most spices thrive in tropical regions, while herbs can be grown in your own garden or indoors in a sunny place. Some herbs can also produce spices.

If you think of the Coriander/Cilantro plant, cilantro is the herb and the seeds are known as coriander. This is why this book is so helpful as it explains the plants in detail. I didn't realize the root was also used in Thai curries. A recipe for Guacamole is included on the same two-page spread.

Elizabeth Lambert Ortiz is an authority on herbs and spices and international cuisine. She created this sourcebook in order to guide the reader to information on more than 200 herbs, spices, essences, edible flowers and leaves, aromatics, vinegars, oils, teas, coffees and just about every seasoning a modern cook needs to produce flavorful foods.

With 750 spectacular full-color photographs and 185 recipes you will learn how to create characteristic flavors that define cuisines of the world.

The Contents Include:

Growing and Harvesting Herbs
Drying and Preserving herbs
Edible Gifts

Kitchen Herbs: Chives, Dill, Angelica, Chervil, Tarragon, Borage, Tansy, Coriander/Cilantro, Lemongrass, Fennel, Hyssop, Bay, Lovage, Lemon Balm, Mint, Bee Balm, Sweet Cicely, Basil, Marjoram, Oregano, Parsley, Burnet, Rosemary, Sorrel, Sage, Savory, Thyme and Lemon Verbena.

Kitchen Spices: Galangal, Celery Seed, Annatto, Sassafras, Mustard, Chili, Paprika, Ajowan, Caraway, Spice Mixtures, Cassia, Cinnamon, Saffron, Cumin, Turmeric, Curry Powerders, Cardamom, cloves, Asafoetida, Star Anise, Juniper, Mace & Nutmeg, Nigella, Poppy Seeds, Allspice, Anise, Pepper, Sumac, Sesame Seeds,. Salt, Tamarind, Fenugreek, Vanilla and Ginger.

Flavors of the World: An absolutely amazing section on the traditional ingredients used in cultural cuisine all over the globe.

Vegetable and Fruit Flavorings
Extracts, Essences & Sweeteners
Edible Leaves & Flowers
Oils, Vinegars & Dairy Products
Sauces, Preserves & Condiments
Coffee, Tea & Spiced Drinks

Some of the recipes you might enjoy: Chiles Rellenos, Fruit Salad with Cardamom, Moroccan Preserved Lemons, Gingerbread Cookies, Rose Petal Ice Cream, Beet Salad with Walnut Oil Dressing and Roasted Red Pepper Sauce.

Did I mention how amazing this book is? If you love to cook, this is a must-have resource for your cookbook collection. It is also just pure fun to read!

Gorgeous Photography and oh, so wonderfully organized!

Books I know you will love is you enjoy this one:

The Herbfarm Cookbook by Jerry Traunfeld
How to Cook by Delia Smith
The Herbal Drugstore by Linda B. White, M.D.
Cooking A to Z by Jane Horn
Webster's New World Dictionary of Culinary Arts by Steven Labensky
The Quotable Cook by Kate Rowinski

~The Rebecca Review

An essential reference to anyone who thinks of their kitchen the way Picasso thought about his studio. In a medical sense, we are often tasked with counselling patients to change their diet but lack the expertise to use flavor to enhance healthy. This volume will fill in those gaps. Really this is like the parts list to anything flavorful...at home both on the coffeetable for it's beautifull photographs and in the kitchen for it's reference value. No longer will you stare at those unknown vegetables in the produce market ignorantly.

If you had this book, you'd know that Agar-Agar is a seaweed and Zahtar is a blend of sumac, roasted sesame seeds, and ground thyme. Encylopedia indeed! I purchased this book to learn about herbs and spices so that I could cook flavorful while cutting salt, fat, mayo, and other bad things in my diet. If you only get one one kitchen reference on this subject, make it this one. I started giving this book as a gift to friends and family and now they're giving it as a gift as well. It's divided into the following sections:

-Introduction
-Kitchen Herbs
-Kitchen Spices
-Flavors of the World (Characteristics of the world's cuisines)
-Vegetable and Fruit Flavorings
-Extracts, Essences, and Sweeteners
-Edible Leaves and Flowers
-Oils, Vinegars, and Dairy Products
-Sauces, Preserves, and Condiments
-Coffee, Tea, and Spiced Drinks

'Nough said. Buy this book, you can't beat the price and you'll love the content! Check out the sample pages for a glimpse of what you're in for.

This is the best of the best. It is well organized, beautifully illustrated and very well-thought out and includes so much of the information I am looking for with my extensive herb garden. The information about herb-inflused oils and vinegars was of most interest to me, and I am using it to make many special gifts for my friends and for holiday givings. Thanks so much. This book is a joy and a treasure. I bought it at the Philadelphia Flower Show and have purchased it for special gifts for people who are of the herb culture.

This book has a photo of every herb and spice, east to Identify by, vaulable tips, uses and information. An Unbelievably Complete resource, Every kitchen should have one!

I brought this book home with me after a trip to England 8 years ago. Now that it is available in North America I can recommend it for anyone wanting to figure out what really grows in an herb garden. I was looking for a book to explain all the herbs I previously had only read about on the menus I was eating from. Full pages are devoted to most of the world's common herbs & spices. The digrams are exceptional for Food ID and each item includes an example recipe, handling, prep, and storage techniques. The more I have learned about cooking, the more details I have found hidden in the pictures and text. It even rivals my best coffee table books!

This book is a delight. It provides so much information about spices and other cooking matters. Destined to become a classic.

The photos and discriptions are great. I couldn't buy it and use it if I didn't know what it was or what it looked like and now we know...everything we need to know, a great informative book..worth every penny!

This is a nice book. It has a fair number of spices and herbs listed, I would say the ones most commonly used in the American kitchen. It also includes international recipes and even a chapter on Flavorings as listed in the title. Overall a good source of information and a good read. Beware however this is by no means comprehensive, there are other books out there with much more detailed information on spices and hebs, unfortunately I am still searching to find one that I used to own that desrved the title encyclopedia. When I find it I will re-post.

I've had this book for more than ten years, and refer to it constantly. I find as the years go on and more products become available in other than their originating countries, it has become even more useful. friends steal it - I have to buy them their own copy to get mine back!