The Herbalist in the Kitchen (The Food Series) [Hardcover]

Gary Allen (Author)

Book Description

Series: The Food Series | Publication Date: May 29, 2007

The foodie's ultimate herbal encyclopedia

Created as the ideal reference for anyone with a serious interest in cooking with herbs, spices, or related plant materials, The Herbalist in the Kitchen is truly encyclopedic in scope. It provides complete information about the uses, botany, toxicity, and flavor chemistry of herbs, as well as a listing for nearly every name that an ingredient is known by around the world.

Even including herbs and spices not yet seen in the United States (but likely to be featured in recipes for adventurous cooks soon), The Herbalist in the Kitchen is organized into one hundred and four sections, each consisting of a single botanical family. The book provides all available information about the chemical compounds responsible for a plant's characteristic taste and scent, which allows cooks to consider new subtleties and potential alternatives. For instance, the primary flavoring ingredient of cloves is eugenol; when a cook knows that bay leaves also contain eugenol, a range of exciting substitutions becomes clear. The Herbalist in the Kitchen also provides guidance about measuring herbs, enabling readers to understand the dated measuring standards from antique cookbooks.

A volume in The Food Series, edited by Andrew W. Smith

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Finally, a reference book that won't send you to another reference book to find what you're looking for. The Herbalist in the Kitchen is a one-stop source for herb information. It includes everything from ethnic and scientific names to growing habits and culinary usage--all in a voice that makes you actually want to read it."
--David Leite, publisher of the James Beard Award-winning Web site Leite's Culinaria (www.leitesculinaria.com)

"Gary Allen's delightful book The Herbalist in the Kitchen amuses as it deftly illuminates and educates the reader. Scholars and food professionals as well as home cooks and gardening aficionados will enjoy this splendid volume."
--Francine Segan, food historian and author of The Philosopher's Kitchen

"This work would be extremely useful in any area where cooking, nutrition, and spices are a focus. . . .The book should be in all culinary collections."--American Reference Books Annual

Product Details

• Hardcover: 504 pages
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press (May 29, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0252031628
• ISBN-13: 978-0252031625
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 1.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,116,930 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Gary Allen (who was once an illustrator) now cooks, eats, dreams, talks, and writes about food.

After writing The Resource Guide for Food Writers (1999), he edited Remarkable Service for The Culinary Institute of America (2001). He's contributed articles to Culinary Biographies (2006), and Scribner's Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003). He was Associate Editor of, and contributor to, The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America (2004) and The Concise Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America (2007).

The Herbalist in the Kitchen, a reference work on herbs and spices, was published by the University of Illinois Press (July, 2007). He also co-edited, with historian Ken Albala, The Business of Food: Encyclopedia of the Food and Drink Industries for Greenwood Press (October 2007). He has also written articles for other encyclopedias from Greenwood: Entertaining from Ancient Rome to the Super Bowl: An Encyclopedia (2008), and They Eat That?: A Cultural Encyclopedia of Weird and Exotic Food from around the World, (scheduled for publication October 2011).

His anthology of writings about cannibalism -- humorous, scary, thoughtful, disgusting, and touching -- was published in 2008. Its called Human Cuisine, and it was also co-edited with Ken Albala.

He's even written occasional stories -- of a nostalgic/humorous nature -- that have appeared in others' anthologies such as The Anxious Groom (2004), Prima Materia Volume 4 (2005), Fear and Loathing of Boca Raton (2007), and Let Them Eat Crepes (2010).

He's recently finished another book, Herbs: A Global History, for Reaktion Press (scheduled for publication Spring 2012). He recently completed editing his a non-fiction book on cannibalism, that's out for peer review right now.

Occasionally, 'midst chewing and swallowing, he writes for magazines, e-zines, and symposia, including that of the Association for the Study of Food and Society, for which he's been their web master and newsletter editor. He is food history editor at LeitesCulinaria.com. He has also published, for ten years, a monthly electronic newsletter about online resources for food writers, which is now part of his blog (http://justserved.onthetable.us).

In his spare time, he teaches food writing, plus various courses on food history and culture, at Empire State College (part of the State University of New York).
You'll find a directory of his online writings at "A Quiet Little Table in the Corner" (http://tinyurl.com/2duwe93) or visit his own website: "On the Table" (http://onthetable.us).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A serious disappointment, February 9, 2008

By 

Spice Guy (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Herbalist in the Kitchen (The Food Series) (Hardcover)

This book is authored by an experienced writer, published by a university press, and fairly expensive. As would seem logical, I assumed a high degree of scholarship, and in this I was mistaken.

Entries are organized according to botanical family, by which the author purportedly avoids the need for a main index. Unfortunately, even from the first, entries are categorized into incorrect families, making some impossible to find without paging through the whole book. The author does include a caveat about the not being a scientist, and taxonomy is not as fixed or as clear as is popularly imagined, but neither can excuse the magnitude of these very basic errors nor compensate for the resulting inability to locate information.

More tragic than the errors affecting the book's organization are the factual problems with the entries themselves. The very reason for acquiring this book is its treatment of culinary herbs and spices beyond the usual few dozen for which information is available in any cookbook or suburban grocery store. Reliability of obscure facts is therefore central to the book's value. I would not complain about little things, like typographical errors, archaic naming or arguable conclusions. A half-dozen substantive errors (the kind that indicate a lack of understanding of, and experience with the subject matter) within the first hour of casual reading, however, was enough to unforgiveably deteriorate the credibility of the entire work.

This is a monumental book, on a fascinating subject, produced by an excellent and expert writer. It does contain interesting and useful information. It does not seem to contain the necessary contributions of botanists or other experts that could verify or correct the information presented, allowing it to be accessible and reliable. I will eagerly await the production of a second edition which will hopefully correct this --though, next time, I will read a large portion of it before shelling out another $65.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Neither Herbalist nor in the Kitchen, February 28, 2008

By 

Aceto "All knowledge is sorrow." (Meilhan Sur Garonne) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Herbalist in the Kitchen (The Food Series) (Hardcover)

Let me start by saying that I am disappointed by the University of Illinois Press publications in "The Food Series". In general this is not the kind of research you might want from a university. Ken Albala has a book out on beans that I am about to read, but the other authors have nothing memorable to me.

I do not like the title on two levels. He is no herbalist. Using that nomenclature sets expectations beyond something perhaps antique or quaint. But, to me, it reinforces that scholarly aspect this series pretends. And, although a food writer, he gives you little of the kitchen save the rather short section in each entry: CULINARY USES. They are unhelpful for practical use. Somewhat informative (a pinch of history, a drop of chemistry and a hint of botany), the whole work is best thought of as something to page through. If something strikes your fancy, you can go from there to other sources.

The book is not easy to use or especially pleasant to read. As a popular food writer, Mr. Allen brings not enough of that expertise here. I would say this is a bathroom book, as it is too small and colorless as a coffee table book. Were it not for the unusually fine binding, I would rather have a paperback version due to the price.

Better you flee to "The Herb Society of America's Essential Guide to Growing and Cooking with Herbs", edited by Schlosser.

I do agree with most everything in the fine review by the "Spice Guy". I do not think even Schlosser's better book would quite fill his expectations of botanical rigor, but it is far more useful and easier to use. Heck though, he was one star more generous, perhaps because of how much ground this book covers, however briefly and sloppily it may do so.