A taste of the tropics: Traditional & innovative cooking from the Pacific & Caribbean [Library Binding]

Jay Solomon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1991

Traveling with knife, fork, and spoon, Jay Solomon takes readers on an entertaining culinary journey through the Pacific Rim and Caribbean. Part travelogue, part cookbook, with helpful hints and tasty tips for using tropical ingredients, A Taste of the Tropics is the next best thing to being there.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

JAY SOLOMON is the best-selling author of Vegetarian Rice Cuisine and Vegetarian Soup Cuisine. For over a decade, Jay has worked as a chef and restaurateur in Ithaca, New York. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Library Binding: 133 pages
• Publisher: Crossing Press (1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0895945347
• ISBN-13: 978-0895945341
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,514,765 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is filled with wild & delicious recipes., March 28, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Los Altos, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Taste of the Tropics: Traditional and Innovative Cooking from the Pacific and Caribbean (Paperback)

What a great book! I've tried about a dozen recipies so far and they are all superb. The Jerk Chicken Recipe on page 67 is so wonderful we have made it several times. My lips felt like they were blown up to 50 PSI but I couldn't stop eating it. The Island Roasted Chicken with Thyme Mustard Sauce is another unforgettable meal. Ground Nut Stew, Black Bean Soup, and Papaya,Mint,Coconut Soup are also memorable. This is a "Must Have" book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What an amazing cookbook!, July 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: A Taste of the Tropics: Traditional and Innovative Cooking from the Pacific and Caribbean (Paperback)

A friend lent this book to my partner and me. We looked through the recipes and couldn't find one we wouldn't make. As cooking afficianados who buy a number of cookbooks a year, this is by far the best resource we've found!

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A Taste of the Tropics????, March 24, 2009

By 

Ellen Drew "Ellen Drew" (Trinidad, West Indies) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Taste of the Tropics: Traditional and Innovative Cooking from the Pacific and Caribbean (Paperback)

I add the question marks to the end of the title of this book by Jay Solomon because I reckon it's good for a laugh, but not much else, if the recipes that purport to come from Trinidad are any guide to how useful, or otherwise, this cookbook may be to the young, aspiring cook or chef who aims to produce authentic Trinidad dishes

Not trusting my own judgement I double and triple checked the recipes for Callalloo, Roti and Curry with a close friend who likes to cook, and with my housekeeper. Both disapproved,** 'steupsing'** as they read the weird lists of ingredients and even more bizarre directions for cooking them.

However, the complete and entire title of this book is "A Taste of the Tropics, Traditional and Innovative Cooking from the Pacific and Caribbean". Could it be that Chef Solomon has been doing some innovative cooking of his own while preparing Trinidad Callalloo, Roti, and Curry?

Or that the clients of this chef and owner of Emily's Gourmet in Denver Colorado and, previously, Jay's Café in Ithaca, New York either forgot all the tastes they ever knew about home cooking, or aren't Trinidadians?

Indeed, one wonders what reviewers of cook books in Hawaii, Thailand. Polynesia and Viet Nam have to say about his Tropical Eastern dishes?

Should you doubt my opinion of "A Taste of the Tropics" try putting it side-by-side with the Naparima Girls High School classic cookbook (the `bible' of all Trinidad cookbooks -- also available from Amazon.com) to compare the lists of ingredients and directions for cooking the very best of Trinidad fare.