A Busy Cook's Guide to Spices: How to Introduce New Flavors to Everyday Meals (Spiral-bound)

by Linda Murdock (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
A very user-friendly cookbook, Murdock's book combines really helpful information with recipes. -- Marty Meitus, Rocky Mountain News, Feb. 28, 2001

Any cook can learn to introduce new flavors to their cooking with this interesting, yet practical, book on spices. -- Mona Neeley, Colorado Country Life, Nov. 2001

Those who ... consider salt and pepper the ultimate condiments, will ... do yourselves a favor by picking up Murdock's volume. -- Paul Kashmann, Washington Park Profile, March 2001

Product Description
Turn your 10-12 standard meals into 50 new taste sensations by introducing new spices! No one cooks by spice, yet all the spice books are organized that way. This book gives details on 100 spices, but also lists all the main foods we eat. Under each food, such as corn, ham, rice, etc. is a list of spices that go with that food followed by recipes to cook using that main ingredient. All this is on the same page. It is practical, user-friendly and arranged according to how we really cook.

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Product Details

• Spiral-bound: 234 pages
• Publisher: Bellwether Books (February 28, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0970428502
• ISBN-13: 978-0970428509
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 7.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #663,896 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A long-overdue examination of spice and herb flavors, January 26, 2003

By	Catherine S. Vodrey (East Liverpool, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Linda Murdock's superb "A Busy Cook's Guide to Spices: How to Introduce New Flavors to Everyday Meals" is a long-overdue examination of spice and herb flavors. Ms. Murdock approaches the subject from a fresh angle by going through the most common herbs and spices and telling the reader how these can be used or combined in common dishes--or what they most effectively enhance. This is an excellent way to teach readers how to start building a dish from the spice or herb upward, instead of just saying, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, throw some cinnamon into that apple pie." Instead we learn that cinnamon enhances a wide variety of dishes other than the traditional baked goods.

Ms. Murdock combines an encyclopedic knowledge of herbs and spices with recipes, substitutions, and a plain-speaking voice. She even gets into common sauces (Worcestershire sauce, chutneys and the like)--themselves combinations of herbs and spices. She tells us when to use these flavorings (at the beginning of the dish, during, or added at the end just before serving), gives advice on what herbs or spices go with the one she's talking about at the moment, and provides fascinating folklore and history. I haven't seen this useful a cookbook in a long time and highly recommend it.

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Practical, Useful and Interesting!, May 16, 2002

By	Janet Walsh (Denver, Colorado United States) - See all my reviews

This book is wonderful for a person like me who doesn't have a lot of back ground in combining spices/flavorings and foods.

The first part of the book reviews pretty much all the spices I'd ever want to consider using. There's a page for each flavoring. For example, ginger, I now know that I should add ginger in the middle or the end of the cooking process. I didn't know that. Also, Ms. Murdock includes interesting "folklore/history" of each flavoring.

The second part of the book covers many foods and which spices or flavoring go best with each food. So when I bought some lamb recently, all I had to do was check out the page relating to lamb to receive wonderful info on how to cook it, which seasoning go best with lamb and I even found some preparation ideas. This is so great and easy to use too.

She also provides numerous tables and charts. For example, she includes a flavor subsitutions chart. So when I need curry, but don't have any, I can use cumin, mustard, allspice and black pepper to get a similar result. She also provides a table summarizing which wines go best with each seasoning.

Thanks Linda!

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Breath of Fresh Air, January 1, 2003

By A Customer

Not your typical cookbook with pictures and recipes, this is more of a quick reference. You can look up ideas, recipes and seasoning matches organized by what you have on hand in the cupboards. Lots of interesting folklore (for when you have more time to read). Tips for matching wine and beer with food and seasonings. Very unique info that is not easily found.