Herbs & Spices: The Cook's Reference (Hardcover)

by Jill Norman (Editor)
Key Phrases: tsp ground hot chili, fresh zedoary, good with apples, Southeast Asia, North America, Middle East (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
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 Knoblauch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Description
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.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: DK ADULT; 1 edition (November 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0789489392
• ISBN-13: 978-0789489395
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #9,725 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

76 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Something for everyone, February 24, 2004

By	AdelaMae - See all my reviews

This book has appeal for not only home and professional cooks, but also for gardeners and anyone who just wants to sit back and admire the lovely photographic illustrations. The sidebar for each herb/spice that lists what parts are used, where it can be bought, how to grow it and how it is harvested is invaluable. The book also goes into detail on the flavor profile of the herbs and spices, a little history, common cooking techniques, recipes, herb blends and food pairings, and features recipes at the end for herb/spice blends as well as salads, entrees, etc. (I especially recommend the pork chops with juniper and rosemary.)

Probably my favorite thing about this book is that it divides the herbs and spices up by flavor profile, so that "citrus" herbs are one section, "oniony" or "bitter and astringent" herbs another, and so on. This organization really helps you pay attention to the flavors of the aromatics and how they relate to other herbs and spices and to food.

The one down side of this book is that it mentions a lot of herbs that are very difficult to get ahold of in North America - Vietnamese balm, for example. However, it still addresses pretty much all of the herbs and spices that are commonly available here, so it's not that much of a problem.

61 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a MUST HAVE if you love making your own recipes, July 18, 2005

By	Chris Baker (Overland Park, KS) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am a backyard BBQ fanatic who has started competing at local BBQ competitions. Outside of heat, smoke and meat, the most important part of making good BBQ is in your seasonings. Whether it is making a rub, a baste, or sauce, it is important to balance the flavors and recognize what flavors are needed to take your recipe to the next level. This book has all of the information I need to do exactly that. This book gets a LOT of use and abuse in my house, and I have used it as a reference to help me blend/enhance flavors for SO many recipes. I can not recommend this book highly enough. If you want to know about the flavors, uses and pairings of spices, this book will take care of you. The thing I like most about this book is how for each spice it mentions what other spices are typically used with it. This is very helpful when trying to narrow the search for another flavor to add to your recipes.

89 of 94 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Only book you need on herbs and spices, November 15, 2005

By	B. Marold "Bruce W. Marold" (Bethlehem, PA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

`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. Herbs are divided into `Fresh and mild herbs' featuring parsley, `Sweet Herbs' featuring lavender, `Citrus or tart herbs' featuring lemon balm, `Licorice or anise herbs' featuring dill and fennel, `Minty herbs' featuring mint, `Onion herbs' featuring garlic, `Bitter or astringent herbs' featuring celery, `Pungent and spicy herbs' featuring sage, thyme, and cilantro. This division alone is a great service, as it gives us a sound basis for substituting one herb for the other, as when we may need borage, and see that it's in the same class as parsley.

A deeper look at this lineup of herbs shows that Ms. Norman is covering a far broader range of species and varieties within species than most other books or sections of books on herbs. Most of us know of two or three varieties of basil. Ms. Norman shows us fourteen, divided between three groups, Genoese and purple basil (Ocimum basilicum), `other basils', and Asian basils. The inclusion of the scientific name is essential in a work like this. The most important need is when you wish to buy seeds to grow these plants, the scientific name is the only way you have to guarantee getting the species or variety you want. If you happen to see seeds for `Asian Basil', know that this could be any one of seven different species or varieties! Within sections such as those for the Asian basils, the pictures in this book really shine, as the pictures of these seven varieties are all on the same page, including stems and flowers in many cases, as many of the leaves from two different varieties are almost identical in appearance.

We are especially happy that Ms. Norman has drawn outside the lines in her including several plant species which border on what we think as teas (such as sassafras), salad greens (such as sorrel and celery), or root vegetable (such as horseradish and wasabi). The only lapse I can find in all the material on herbs is that the distinction between the Mediterranean bay is not clearly made from the New World plants often called `bay'.

Spices get an equally thorough treatment, being divided between `Nutty spices' such as sesame, `Sweet spices' such as vanilla, `Acidic and fruity spices' such as tamarind, `Citrus spices' such as lemon grass, `Licorice or anise spices' such as anise, `Warm and earthy spices such as saffron, `Bitter or astringent spices such as capers, `Pungent spices' such as chiles, ginger, mustard, and pepper. One of my fondest discoveries in this book is that not only are ginger and galangal shown to belong to two different biological genus, they are categorized as in two different taste classes. These two are commonly mistakenly lumped together.

The sections on chilis (genus capsicum) are as vividly colorful as all the others, with a surprise in that the heat in a chili species is rated on a scale of 1 to 10 rather than the better known (in the U.S. at least) Scoville scale.

The chapter in this book which makes it the only book you should need on herbs and spices is the one on recipes, featuring combinations for all the world famous herb and spice mixes, and lots you may never have heard of. The very best aspect of this section is that it provides not one recipe for things such as bouquet garni, but seven, for beef, pork, lamb, poultry, game, fish, and vegetables.

The very last chapter on general recipes could have easily been left out, as what comes before is more than enough to justify this as the only book you will need on herb and spice usage. One thing some readers may miss and the one thing that may justify a second book in you library dedicated to herbs and spices is one that deals with the history and geography of herb and spice origins. This book will not satisfy your curiosity over how New World Tomatoes joined up with their soul mates, Mediterranean basil.

An excellent book and a `must have' for a foodie library.