Best herb, spice & condiment cooking books according to redditors
We found 692 Reddit comments discussing the best herb, spice & condiment cooking books. We ranked the 121 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
![The Homemade Vegan Pantry: The Art of Making Your Own Staples [A Cookbook]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51ZPWLGBvFL.jpg)
![The Homemade Vegan Pantry: The Art of Making Your Own Staples [A Cookbook]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51D-V7+dRhL.jpg)
![The Banh Mi Handbook: Recipes for Crazy-Delicious Vietnamese Sandwiches [A Cookbook]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51MnXA++qLL.jpg)
So a few off the top of my head:
Check out The Foodlab from Seriouseats. It wont really teach you the basics, but their recipes explain HOW and WHY certain things work and certain things dont.
Also check out /r/cookingforbeginners
And if you wanna know what flavors go well together, check this out. Great book.
Try The Flavor Bible! It helped me go from using recipes to making dishes on the fly out of what I had on hand and helped me come up with new recipes based on exciting food combinations I read about.
http://www.amazon.com/Flavor-Bible-Essential-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400
Purchased this book a while back and they have a section on types of hot sauces, typed up below:
Louisiana
With a razor-sharp heat, these sauces are simple bends of cayenne or tabasco peppers, vinegar, and salt. The salt and chilli peppers are mashed and aged 1 - 3 years, then blended with vinegar. Occasionally xanthan gum or other thickeners are used. Popular Louisiana-style brands include Crystal, Frank's RedHot, Tabasco and Trappey's. Louisiana hot sauces have a relatively thin consistency, with the good ones being more flavorful than merely a spicy, salty vinegar. They needn't be refrigerated.
Hawaii
"Chilli pepper water" is made with whole chillies, garlic, salt, water and sometimes Hawaiian ingredients such as ginger and lemongrass.
Central America and The Southwest
In Central America as well as the American Southwest, you'll often find sauces that are distinguished by the use of a particular chilli (chipotle, New Mexico red, habanero, or cascabel) and earthy ingredients ranging from tomatoes and pumpkin seeds. In New Mexico, most traditional dishes are served with red or green chilli sauce, which flavours meats, eggs, vegetables, breads and burritos. New Mexican-style chilli sauces also differ from many others in that vinegar is used sparingly or not at all. In southeastern Mexico, habanero sauces are as common as ketchup.
West Indies or Caribbean Style
A culinary melting pot, Caribbean cooking has been influenced by colonists from Europe, African slaves, and natives. One island may feature French cuisine, while the next island a half hour away by sail may be English, with Indian influences. Anything goes, but the flavours are always big and the fire hot from the habaneros or Scotch bonnet peppers. With chillies giving the sauces the top fruity notes, each island - indeed, each kitchen - has its own homemade concoction. Jamaican sauces, for example, often blend Scotch bonnets with jerk seasonings and tropical fruits like tamarind or papaya. Puerto Rican sauces float hot chillies and garlic, and maybe a few garden herbs, in vinegar for a pretty pique. As hot as the equatorial sun, island varieties include Susie's hot sauce from Antigua, Sauce Ti-Malice from Haiti, Baron hot sauce from St. Lucia, Pickapeppa from Jamaica, Bajan Pepper Sauce from Barbados, Bello Hot Pepper Sauce from Dominica, and Matouk's from Trinidad.
Asian
Thick and pasty, Chinese chilli sauces include chillies and often garlic and fermented soybeans, and they are used either as a dipping sauce or in stir-fries. Chilli red oil, a distinctive Sichuan flavouring, is made by pouring hot oil into a bowl of dried chillies. The finer the chilli is ground, the stronger the flavour. Ground chilli is commonly used in western China, while people in northern China cook with whole dried chillies. In Indonesia and Malaysia, thick, pungent sauces (called sambals) often feature ginger and garlic. In Thailand, many dipping sauces contain chilli peppers. Nam phrik is the generic term for a Thai chilli dip or condiment made with fish paste, garlic, chillies, and lime juice. Sriracha sauce is a sauce of chillies, vinegar, garlic, sugar, and salt that is found in Thailand and increasingly in the United States.
I refer to the Flavor Bible frequently. It is a compendium of flavors that pair well together.
There isn't a particular book that I can think of that focuses on cocktail creation, but I enjoy Kevin Liu's discussion of balance in Craft Cocktails at Home and Gary Regan's discussion of drink families in The Joy of Mixology. I would start there and then move onto other books.
In terms of process, it's very situation-based. Modifying current recipes can be fun and a good jumping off point. Start by trying to make your own signature Last Word variation. Classically it would be equal parts gin, Green Chartreuse, maraschino liqueur and lime juice. I do something with equal parts rose green tea-infused gin, Liquore Strega, pear liqueur, lemon juice and chamomile-citrus bitters.
You can also think about what certain drinks have in common and try something in the same style i.e. Sidecars and Margaritas are both spirit, sweet, and sour while Manhattans and Negronis are both spirit, sweet, and bitter. The history of drink making is so long that it is highly unlikely that you'll be making something that doesn't at least slightly resemble an extant drink, whether or not you ever figure it out.
The key to a good cocktail is balance. Sweet, sour, and bitterness all help to mellow each other out. Bitters are great for this because the addition of even a small amount of bitter flavor will dull the perception of sweet and sour so that any extremes are rounded out. Sweet does the same to sour and bitter while sour does the same to the other two, though both to a lesser extent than bitterness.
Again, I highly recommend the Flavor Bible. With it you can take a spirit, see what flavors you can pick out and see what will pair well with them. Then find ingredients that can bring that flavor to the table. You can then check out the pairings for that flavor and see if the two lists have any overlap.
The more classic recipes you become familiar with, the more you'll be able to see patterns in what general drink formulas work.
Be sure to straw taste as you go to correct any issues with balance early on in the process. You should do this anyway with drinks you already know the recipes for, but it's especially important when creating so that you can tell what each ingredient is bringing to the table.
Another approach, once you have an idea of ingredients to mix, taste each on its own to get an idea of how it might play with the others and also the intensity of flavor to give you an idea of what proportions you might aim to balance intensities.
Have at least part of an idea in mind before you start pouring. Cocktails are an ephemeral art, so you won't have to live with your mistakes for long if you make a bad drink, but don't go wasting good liquor chasing after a completely unformed thought (at least not at this point).
That should be enough to get you started. Let me know if you'd like additional reading recommendations.
Source: I run the bar, train the bartenders, and write the drink menu for a successful bar/restaurant with a focus on craft cocktails.
The Flavor Bible gets thrown around a lot, but for good reason. It's a great resource when trying to formulate your own recipe. It focuses on things like which foods have affinities for other foods, seasonality, and sensations different foods have. It's a great thing to page through when you have whatever the equivalent of writer's block is for cooks.
Damn good job there! I highly suggest adding this to a nearby shelf if you don't already have it... Miyoko Schinner's The Homemade Vegan Pantry: The Art of Making Your Own Staples
I had a lot of luck with this book. https://www.amazon.com/660-Curries-Raghavan-Iyer/dp/0761137874
Between that and hours of watching grannies on YouTube, I can now make indian food without recipes that tastes pretty legit.
here's where I break out my copy of The Flavor Bible:
SWEET POTATO Flavor Affinities
yes I know the first 2 don't really fit with what you may traditionally think of when you think of soup. But #3, #4 and #7 sound really good.
Flavor Bible. It has some recipes but the main thing is an index of food ingeredients with flavors that go with them. E.g., look up salmon and it will tell you dill, lemon, and a long list of other stuff compliments it. It's helped me put together combinations and experiments I wouldn't have thought of.
The Flavor Bible, however, is an excellent resource.
The Flavor Bible isn't really what you're asking for, but it might be useful. https://www.amazon.com/Flavor-Bible-Essential-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1520779413&sr=8-2&keywords=the+flavor+bible
Sauces by James Peterson
I own it and it's a highly valuable resource.
The flavor bible is great
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0316118400?pc_redir=1412571018&robot_redir=1
I'm a very visual learner, so I got good by watching Julia Child. She regularly peppers her shows with advice about how to get good at something, and how to customise a recipe when things go wrong, or when you want to switch things up a bit. She's got a decidedly French leaning, but French food is a very good place to start anyway. The full set of DVDs of The French Chef can get had for about $50 from ebay.
There's an episode where she was featuring four recipes for potatoes. She was trying to make a potato cake type of thing. She'd added plenty of butter to the pan, and threw in the boiled lightly crushed potatoes. She didn't let it set for a very long time, but tried to flip the whole thing over in one piece. Half of it ended up on the stove. Without skipping a beat, she scooped it off the stove, threw it back in the pan, and said the iconic line "When you're alone in the kitchen, who's going to see?" She then proceeded to dump it into a dish, throw in a load of cream and a few cubes of cheese, and instructed you to let it hang out under the broiler so that it gets bubbly and crisped up. She mentioned that you shouldn't ever apologise for how something came out, and just carry on as if that new thing is what you'd intended all along.
Whenever she had the ability to do so, she'd show you how to do something from scratch, including how to filet a fish, how to separate out a whole chicken, and how to break down larger steaks into serving sized portions. And, because you're watching her do it all for you, you get an idea of what it is you're looking for, step by step.
Another great resource (although their recipes are white, and tend towards the bland) is America's Test Kitchen's TV Show cookbook. On the show itself, they don't go into technique very much, but they certainly do so in the book. There are large, colourful pictures about how each step of the cooking process should look, and hundreds of recipes to try out. They thoroughly test out each recipe repeatedly, using tools that the average home cook will have access to, and taste test the results. It's an excellent resource to have on hand. You can generally find it used for about $20.
If you're curious to try out baking your own bread, I cannot highly recommend enough Bread by Eric Treuille.
https://www.amazon.com/Bread-Eric-Treuille/dp/1409352722/
It has HUGE full colour photos of the final product, and lots of foundational advice about the art of baking bread. They discuss various flours, how to combine them into an existing recipe, and the effects they have on the final loaf. It's one that I turn to whenever I have a craving for home made bread, and it's never lead me wrong.
If you want SOLID advice about how to quickly build up your cooking repertoire, Mike Ruhlman's Ratio is your best bet.
https://www.amazon.com/Ratio-Simple-Behind-Everyday-Cooking/dp/1416571728/
He realised that most basic recipes can be broken down into ratios, so that if you need to scale up or scale down, you can do so very quickly. His technique to teach you how to get comfortable with ratios is very good.
Another EXCELLENT place to start learning to build your own recipes is Julia's Kitchen Wisdom.
https://www.amazon.com/Julias-Kitchen-Wisdom-Essential-Techniques/dp/0375711856/
She gives some basic techniques on foundational recipes, and then tells you how to tweak the recipes to work with whatever you've got on hand. It's less a by the books recipe compendium, and more of a philosophical understanding of how recipes work, and what flavours should go together.
Speaking of flavour. Get The Flavour Bible by Karen Page.
https://www.amazon.com/Flavor-Bible-Essential-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400/
There are hundreds of ingredients, and the things that go well with them. Instead of giving you a recipe, it gives you ideas of things to combine together, so that they go together in delicious ways.
If you are going to get a ruler, go ahead and get a kitchen ruler:
https://www.amazon.com/Mercer-Culinary-Rules-Mini/dp/B00DT1XYDM/
It's small, but it has a TON of great information on it. Very useful to gauge whether or not you're hitting your marks for whatever size you're aiming for.
For Indian, I love Raghavan Iyer's 660 Curries. (Ugly mobile link: http://www.amazon.com/660-Curries-Raghavan-Iyer/dp/0761137874/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1449666007&sr=8-1&keywords=660+curries+raghavan+iyer ).
It has an almost ludicrous number of recipes from across India, including much more than just curries. He has how-to guides for naan, paneer, ghee, a ton of spice mixes; all the hard to source ingredients that are simple to make. It also has nice explanations of techniques that are not common in European cuisine, an awesome glossary of food, tools, and tech, and a substitutions guide to replace ingredients you might have a tough time finding. I've used it to cook for several Indian friends, who have all been complimentary of the authenticity (and deliciousness) of the recipes.
Flavour profile. Onions/avocado/tomato/cheese/fatty meat in a dish is as Mexican as abject poverty and random decapitations. The moment you switch over from recipe cooking to flavour profile cooking (The Flavour Bible is a great introduction) you'll eat so much better.
Nothing particularly good in this bundle.
If you want take up cooking and treat yourself, I would give my highest personal recommendation to The Food Lab and Bravetart. They are great because they go over technique and fundamentals and provide a good base that you can build from once you get more comfortable in the kitchen. Once you hit that point The Flavor Bible is also a great resource for experimentation.
Test and take notes is the best way, just like the other folks have said. If you want to get in to it a little more and would like a book to work through, The Flavour Bible is a really good one.
The Flavor Bible
This is simply a good book in general.
The term curry describes a vast array of dishes, it would be comparable to say casserole. A curry is basically any dish in a spiced sauce. There are many commonly used spices but you don't have to use a certain one for it to be a curry.
My personnel favorite cook book for this is 660 Curries.
There are many kinds of chicken curry. Some well known ones would be Chicken Vindaloo (spices and vinegar), and the British curry Chicken Tikka Masala.
Link: The Flavor Bible by Page, Dornenburg
We have this too - good book
I don't know the website, but....I know the book:
The Flavor Bible
http://www.amazon.com/Flavor-Bible-Essential-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400?tag=amaz98-20
Read about building flavor profiles.
There are a couple of good books on the market: The Flavor Bible and The Flavor Thesauraus. They both have a lot of information on what ingredients go well with each other.
Also, learn by doing. Try things you think may go together well, even if it's not conventional. Even if the things you try don't come together, you can still learn from it. Try to understand WHY it didn't work (cooking method, flavor profile, preparation all have an affect), think about what you can do to correct the mistake, then implement that the next time you try that dish. I don't own a copy of it myself (yet), but Cook's Illustrated Magazine's The Science of Good Cooking would probably help in that regard.
In general, I consider Alton Brown, Cook's Illustrated/Cook's Country, America's Test Kitchen, and Julia Child to be very reputable in the information they convey.
I read both /r/smoking and r/bbq, and /r/bbq in general has better traffic and is more suited to "can someone tell me about this model smoker"?
Anyhoo, it's a little hard to tell the quality from the picture. Brinkmann is a good name. I liken them to Toyota. Not the best on the market, also not the worst. I have a Brinkmann SnP and while it has drawbacks, it's not something that I'm unhappy with. It's a good name to start with. That said, some things are unclear. I have two major issues. The first is heat movement. If the meat is sitting directly over the coals, you need some sort of a deflector to prevent the meat from grilling (smoking is more like cooking with an oven). I also can't see vents. A fire needs a good supply of oxygen to burn; this requires good vents. If you have shitty vents, you'll get shitty food. With barbecue, there really is a link between how much a smoker costs and how good it is. A smoker that's $100 or less will either make shitty food or fall apart within a year. If not both. This is a mistake everyone of us has learned the hard way.
I wouldn't focus so strongly on a brisket at first. We all have our favorite things to smoke, but I strongly advocate doing your first smoke with a pack of bratwursts as well as a turkey or pork shoulder. Turkey and pork shoulder are delicious smoked, they're cheap, and they're hard to eff up. Brisket is tricky to get right. If you have tons of money and wouldn't be upset to destroy a $30+ cut of beef in maiden smoke, that's one thing. But your maiden smoke is hard. Believe me- my first time, I literally took three hours to get my rig up to temperature. I actually wondered if there was a risk that my pork shoulder spoiled on the way to being cooked (it didn't, but I'm sure I'd get a ticky mark from a health inspector). The bratwursts are there to keep you fed during the 10 hours your pork shoulder (or whatever) takes to cook.
As for chips/charcoal ratio, I would suggest you read up a bit about BBQ before starting. You really want to use hardwood lump charcoal, and you should avoid chips if at all possible. The reason is that when you buy a nice bag of hickory or cherry chips, it's probably 50-80% cut with oak. Think: how often do you drive past a stand of hickory trees? How often do you drive past a stand of oak trees? This tip and lots, lots more will be covered in any good BBQ book. I recommend two:
If you hate books : ( then there's a fantastic online resource called Amazing Ribs (which discusses all types of BBQ, including I'm sure your coveted Texas-style brisket).
As I said before, don't buy wood chips. Buy chunks or logs. You'll find a few types at your local Home Depot or Lowes, and any type of wood you can't find there is available at Barbecue Wood. They're a bit pricey, but they ship anywhere in the lower 48 free. And when I say any kind of wood, I mean any. I've been itching to try some of their pecan wood; just haven't gotten around to it because I'm sitting on a big pile of hickory I don't want to get moldy.
Hope that helps! Feel free to send me a PM if you want (though I'm a bit slow these days as I'm moving), and remember that at /r/BBQ you'll probably get more responses to your equipment inquiries.
As an avid cook and collector of cookbooks, I have three recommendations -
The first two will teach you the essentials of cooking. How salt, fat, acid, and heat work together to make delicious food. J Kenji Lopez Alt has a popular serious eats blog and his book will teach you everything you need to know about cooking perfect meat, eggs, burgers, etc.
Once you learn all of the basics from those books, use the Flavor Bible to be creative.
It's not free, but The Flavor Bible is pretty much what you want.
Truth.
The Flavor Bible
and
Ratio
are great resources if you want to start cooking like this.
Skip the bullshit and get a few good books. Here's one.
The speediest learning always comes from working with a skilled teacher. In absence of that, read what the skilled people write to improve more quickly.
So you've made a bunch of recipes, you should be familiar with basic knife skills, slice, chop, dice, batons. Everything else is a variation on those.
You probably are familiar with some dry heat cooking methods, sautée, pan fry, roasting, broiling.
You should also be familiar with wet cooking methods, simmering, steaming, boiling, braising perhaps. If not look them up.
Use these methods together with a flavor profile you're looking for, think regionally, then about what kind of flavors you really want, like garlic and rosemary, fresh tomato and basil, ginger and scallions.
If you think you've got the basic techniques down, pick up , The Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America's Most Imaginative Chefs https://www.amazon.com/dp/0316118400/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_xyfywbD9B71BM
And go from there. It's a really good book
The Flavour Bible
Just look up a food and see what interesting things go with it.
Get a book on curries.
Divorce yourself from everything you think a curry is because the word "curry" has practically no meaning beyond "sauce". Curry is the European term for every regional dish of a-thing-in-sauce the imperialists managed to encounter. This is why you have to specify "Madras curry" or "Punjabi curry" - they use entirely different regional ingredients. Colors have no relation to spiciness, in the same way you can make a red chili hotter than a white or green chili but the flavor profiles are different.
Websites worth reading: BBQ Brethren Probably the best and and most noob friendly bbq forum on the net.
any off the current offset smokers sold for less than $600 of so are total shit. Yes youcan buy them and mod them to hell to make them work well but that would be expensive. Here is what i suggest get on craigslist and search for smokers buy a used Smokin Pit Pro (SnP) or New Brauffels Black Diamond (NBBD) for $70 and have a pit that is 10 times what you would buy at lowes or home depot. The problem with the current crop of offset smokers is how thin they are. Smoking meat is all about temp control and the mass (and there for ability to hold heat) of of your smoker comes into play quite a bit. My NBBD uses steel that is probably 1/8th inch thick (pro pits are 1/4th inch at the minimum with some using 1/2 inch) and i still need to load up the chamber with bricks to add mass the stuff they are selling now are much closer to 1/16th thick. Sadly the time for pretty good quality back yard smokers for cheap has gone.
If you MUST get something new your best bet is going to be a Weber Smokey MOuntain (WSM) it has a HUGE FOLLOWING and turns out some great product,
Alternatively you could make an Ugly Drum Smoker (UDS) on the cheap provided you can get ex food metal 55gal drums for cheap/free. there is a HUGE thread on BBQ Brethren dedicated to the UDS.
Also i hightly suggest you pick up Smoke and Spice is an EXCELLENT resource full of techniques and recipes for real wood burning bbq.
if you are interested in sausage making Charcuterie by Michael Ruhlman is the book you want it is by far one of the best entry level sausage/curing book out there.
If you have any questions i am currently bored silly here at work so feel free to ask away and i will do my best to answer them
The Flavor Bible helps
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001FA0P86/
for eggs, unless you just would miss the taste, depends what you use them for. baking is easy to replace with flax eggs or egg substitutes which i haven't really tried. for scrambles, that's easy - http://minimalistbaker.com/southwest-tofu-scramble/
lots of people like chao cheese, but it's got that processed taste in my opinion. miyoko's vegan cheese is great - http://shop.miyokoskitchen.com/
miyoko actually has a book with all sorts of stuff you can make yourself, along with cheese - https://www.amazon.com/Homemade-Vegan-Pantry-Making-Staples/dp/1607746778
there's a whole awesome vegan food world out there :)
The Flavor Bible
This book helped me a lot, and I refer to it often when I want to change a recipe or just come up with something with what I have on hand. The first chapter has a very abbreviated discussion on flavors, but the majority book is just a cross-referenced index of ingredients, what their flavor is, and what things complement it well.
If you like this website, you may want to check out The Flavor Bible which is a reference/cookbook that does much the same sort of thing, only it is more in depth (being a book and all).
The Flavor Bible is a must-own. Gives not only descriptors for every ingredient you can imagine--spice, protein, produce--but also lists of commonly used ingredients in particular cuisines and for seasonal cooking as well. I love this book and find it indispensable for creative off recipe kitchen endeavors.
There is a site called Nouveau Raw that used to have a nicely laid out chart of flavor pairings that I found very useful, but, they've pay-walled it this year.
THIS might be helpful for a quick fix, but, I wholeheartedly recommend grabbing a copy of The Flavor Bible, because it's downright inspiring to paw through, and will up your mixing/cooking game considerably.
I'm not saying it's easy to find a .PDF/.EPUB file through nefarious means, but, I'm not not saying it, either.
Something that's really helped me level up my cooking is the vegetarian flavor bible (the omnivore version is just called the flavor bible). It's basically a reference book for complementary ingredients/spices and it's definitely helped me get more comfortable with putting new things together. (mobile link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/031624418X/ref=redir_mdp_mobile/180-0379455-6377468)
I've found the most useful resource on sauces to be James Peterson's Sauces. It covers classical and contemporary sauces, and for classical sauces, contemporary methods of production. It's very useful.
Forgot another resource: If you're going to be in the industrial or modernist world, then Martin Lersch's Textures is a pretty great (and free) resource for working with hydrocolloids. Lersch's blog is also a good resource by itself.
Good luck!
The Complete Book of Herbs: A Practical Guide to Growing and Using Herbs is kinda the Herbalist bible. The hardcover has amazing images.
There is a book on that topic.
There's a great book called The Flavor Bible. It doesn't have any recipes... it's just an index of what flavors complement each other.
Haha, the presentation is nothing. Ive worked in a kitchens for a total of about 3 or 4 years so I guess I kinda just learned. The combination of ingredients is nothing. At one of the places I worked we had a couscous salad which had sultanas, grilled egg-plant and pumpkin, along with some orange juice. I didnt have egg plant so I just left it out and skipped the orange juice. So that part is easy. The salad...having lived in a wine region for 10 years I quickly learned that the locals like marinated olives/mushrooms/sundried tomatos...just put them on some greens and you have a tasty looking salad. Then just do the lamb cutlets and you have an awesome meal :) If you really want to learn about combining some more ingredients and maybe move away from conventional cooking, i highly recommend THIS book. I often try and buy something ive never worked with (like a herb or spice, or some vegetable etc) and then look it up in this book and make a meal from that.
I would recommend the Flavor Bible as well. It isn't focused on techniques so much as it is focused on the flavors of different ingredients. I have found it to be incredibly helpful in teaching me how to combine flavors and ingredients in new ways beyond simply following a recipe. Techniques are important, but getting a baseline for flavors gives you a baseline to build from.
It along with Alton Brown have been incredibly helpful in getting me comfortable in the kitchen and taught me to get away from the recipe.
I've used Bacardi and Captain Morgan, both of which turned out well. According to The Flavour Bible, bananas, almonds, dark and light rums, and cinnamon all make strong pairings. If that's the case, I'd be curious about using 99 Bananas, Disaronno (amaretto), or even Fireball.
Edit: Screw it, why not go all out dark Myers's Rum? ;)
This book is an outstanding place to start if you're interested in deep experimentation in flavor profiles.
Link for the lazy
The The Flavor Bible came recommended to me from a friend. It has an index which helps you determine what other ingredients to best pair with an ingredient.
More info here: https://karenandandrew.com/books/the-flavor-bible/
The Flavor Bible is totally what you are looking for.
I recommend 660 Curries. That should keep you busy for awhile.
Oh totally. There are plenty of tea cookbooks out there
https://www.amazon.com/Culinary-Tea-Recipes-Steeped-Tradition/dp/0762437731/ here is a cheffy one.
Most of it is usually with Lapsang Souchong due to strong flavor. But you can do anything really if you infuse a fat (butter/oil) or liquid with tea and cook with it. Matcha is very easy to cook with too.
My top recommendation:
Hot Sauce!: Techniques for Making Signature Hot Sauces, with 32 Recipes to Get You Started; Includes 60 Recipes for Using Your Hot Sauces https://www.amazon.com/dp/160342816X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_LzsCDbMXBTBA0
Ask for http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Marmite-Cookbook-Storecupboard-Cookbooks/dp/1904573096 for Christmas
This is a great idea for a challenge. I'm not so great at budgeting but I always enjoy reading about other people's money-saving victories.
Budget cooking resources. I only know of two budget cooking cookbooks for vegans, Eat Vegan on $4 a Day by Ellen Jaffe Jones, which I don't have, and Vegan on the Cheap by Robin Robertson, which I do.
https://www.amazon.com/Eat-Vegan-4-00-Day-Conscious-ebook/dp/B006IS83W0/
https://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Cheap-Robin-Robertson-ebook/dp/B00BKROO22/
Vegan on the Cheap is a good money-saving cookbook, especially if you're fast in the kitchen. The thing about trying to budget is that you often have to trade time, creativity and effort for money. Some of the recipes in the cookbook are geared toward making your own staples rather than purchasing them at the store. Others use affordable ingredients like potatoes, cabbage, lentils and winter squash to create tasty main courses. Each meal lists its supposed cost although food has gone up in price since this cookbook was published, so I'm not sure how helpful that is.
While I don't own it, Miyoko Schinner's The Homemade Vegan Pantry is a cookbook of staples. I suspect it's also money-saving for that reason. Maybe those who have this cookbook can weigh in on whether it is?
https://www.amazon.com/Homemade-Vegan-Pantry-Making-Staples-ebook/dp/B00NRQXT70
These are a couple of college cookbooks that say they have affordable vegan recipes, though I have no personal experience with them. Maybe someone can weigh in on them? The are:
PETA's Vegan College Cookbook
https://www.amazon.com/PETAS-Vegan-College-Cookbook-Delicious-ebook/dp/B01CO4HH4Q
Student's Go Vegan Cookbook by Carole Raymond
https://www.amazon.com/Students-Go-Vegan-Cookbook-Recipes-ebook/dp/B003EVJKIU
There is a new money-saving vegan cookbook in the works that won't be out until June, Frugal Vegan by Katie Koteen.
https://www.amazon.com/Frugal-Vegan-Affordable-Delicious-Cooking-ebook/dp/B01MQ3O7DK/
Finally, I'd like to recommend a book on money-saving that is entertaining as well as educational, The Complete Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn.
https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Tightwad-Gazette-Promoting-Alternative/dp/0375752250
Dacyczyn and her husband's dream was to raise a family of six kids, but to do this, the Dacyczyns had to become radical money savers. They tried and tested many money-saving strategies, and eventually began to publish a newsletter. Their newsletter subscribers contributed suggestions of their own. This book is a compilation of all their newsletters. It is somewhat dated, since they were published in the 1990s, but many of the money saving tips in it can still be applied.
Did you know that soy flour sold in bulk makes a good egg substitute in baked goods? I didn't either, until I read this book. Did you know that you can calculate the energy costs you accrue when you turn on the oven for an hour? This book shows how it can be done. The book also has some strategies for how to grocery shop -- the authors take in account not only prices at the supermarkets in their area, but also the cost of gasoline when they make multiple trips.
They're not vegan, and many of their strategies were too radical for me, but I really enjoyed reading about their creativity and ingenuity.
These are all the resources I know of, off the top of my head, but I'm really looking forward to hearing what books and blogs others have tried!
I'm not a chef, but if you're willing to listen to some friendly advice from a non-professional, I have one thing I'd recommend vis-a-vis the spices and herbs question: Smell your spices. Most spices and herbs smell a lot like they taste, so if you can imagine that taste in your dish, go for it! Of course, some spices and herbs are more aromatic than others, so this is only a starting point. For more, I've heard this book is pretty good.
Personally, I have gotten much enjoyment and use from Smoke & Spice, even as a beginner. It also has solid information on smoking techniques for beginners, which I still consider myself.
I originally got this recipe from The Homemade Vegan Pantry Cookbook (which I highly recommend) but it can also be found here (Unribs). A friend of my husband was visiting when I made these and quickly dismissed them but took a few home for his wife to try. He asked for more the next day! For the BBQ sauce, I just used Annie’s Organic BBQ sauce. We did notice that these taste even better the next day.
I bought The Flavor Bible last year for my wife and myself. It's a very thorough guide to pairing flavors. Really well organized. A bit overwhelming at first, but we really enjoy it now.
Edit: Put in name of book...
The Flavor Bible is, I think, exactly what you're looking for.
The ability to improvise comes with time, observation and willingness to experiment. Onions can add different texture and flavor to a dish depending on preparation. From crunchy, sulfurous, raw onions to sweet, soft, caramelized onions the spectrum of possibilities is quite broad. Use them raw, gently sautéed in oil, caramelized, fried, dried, pickled; cut lengthwise, crosswise, diced; etc. and build up a mental library of the results. I love reading about food, food history, preparation and food science but nothing beats actually getting hands-on with food.
That said, there are some books about flavor combinations and it might help if the concern is wasting food due to impractical experimentation. I own and enjoy Niki Segnit's The Flavor Thesaurus. It's not a mathematical table of A+B=C, but it gives classic and inventive combinations of various flavors. I can't vouch for these, but maybe read through the reviews and see if they sound interesting to you: one and two. I follow the blog of the latter two authors and it's quite interesting even if it is sometimes beyond the scope of home cookery.
No one has mentioned the Flavor Bible yet? This is where you go to find out what works with each other. It is a magnificient resource.
While it won't teach you to cook entirely from scratch, you can use it to sort out new combinations. It is invaluable.
check out the Flavor Bible. My chef friend likes to refer to it when coming up with pairings of garnishes on plates.
Damn, was this all copied directly from The Flavor Bible?
Edit: Just checked my copy. It is.
The Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America's Most Imaginative Chefs $23 hardcover on amazon brotha 👌
While I do not own it myself, I have heard lot's and lot's of praise of
The Flavor Bible
With sous vide turkey breast, green rice and refried beans. Recipes from Truly Mexican.
It was really good, but exhausting to make. The mole took around 4 hours.
I can highly recommend Julie Sahni's Classic Indian Cooking. She is very thorough (I think she gives 4 or 5 ways to prepare basic basmati, for example).
I bought the book 660 curries and it's been working out great. There is enough variety that you can start with more familiar things (using fewer hard-to-buy spices) and gradually ramp up to more difficult curries. A spice blender is a plus: you'll be able to make your own garam masala.
660 curries by Raghavan Iyer is great. It has a whole chapter dedicated to spice blends, as well as pastes and other building blocks you can pre make to make cooking take less time. A very useful book, I cook out of it about 5-6 times a month.
dude. one book.
http://www.amazon.com/660-Curries-Raghavan-Iyer/dp/0761137874
that's it. I'm Pakistani. this is what friends in the states use for their cooking, and it is awesome.
EDIT: curry mixes wise, SHAAN is your go to. the ones you get in the states are actually better quality.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Flavor-Bible-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400
I highly recommend this book, I think it's the followon to Culinary Artistry. Not only does it include optimal pairings, it "ranks" them in effectiveness (i.e. more people agree that apples pair well with cinnamon than the people who would pair apples with Bay). It's easily my favorite "cookbook".
Good question. I always have cinnamon on hand because it works great in both savory and sweet dishes. Also a great way to cut back on sugar, which I have been doing recently. Smoked paprika is amazing because you it works great in barbecue, and with tomato or lemon. Whole cumin because they can be used either way, and it is an irreplaceable flavor in many dishes. Basil and rosemary because they seem to work in a lot of things. Garlic powder because you can throw it on just about anything and it will be good. If you tend not to keep dijon mustard on hand, mustard powder is always good. Whole nutmeg because those things last forever. Thyme is really good; try lemon thyme. Ginger is a lot of fun. Allspice is really good too with both meats and pastries. Fresh lemons or limes are really good. Onions and peppercorns are a must in every kitchen. Don't buy ground pepper. Taste is lost completely.
Best thing to do is pick spices and herbs that span a couple of different types of cuisine that way you aren't having to buy a lot of specialty herbs and spices for nights you want something inspired by Spanish cuisine or Middle Eastern. If you have an extra 20 or 30 bucks, I suggest buying The Flavor Bible. You will learn a lot about flavors and which ones play well in a lot of different dishes.
Yes. The Flavor Bible lists some combinations to avoid – some random examples are:
I use The Flavor Bible by Dornenberg and Page.
They also have a vegetarian version, but I haven't looked through it.
Lately, I've very much been enjoying Kenji's The Food Lab. I think it's worth the (ebook) price just for the chapter on fried foods.
I also keep coming back to The Flavor Bible, which has lists of how to combine ingredients for different cuisines.
If you want a valuable collection of recipes and have $50 to spend, get Cook's Illustrated's The New Best Recipe. It's supplanted The Joy of Cooking on my shelf.
This one has helped me a lot. It isn't too expensive at Chapters.
This one seems pretty legitimate as well, but I haven't personally read it
The Flavor Bible is an excellent resource for learning how foods and seasonings combine.
Agreed. When I first started to cook resourcefully by "cleaning out the fridge" I found this book: The Flavor Bible to be very useful.
Well you could add to their cooking knowledge by getting them a book about real mexican cuisine:
Truly Mexican
Tacos, Tortas y Tamales.
The Art of Mexican Cooking
r/indianfood gets some good recipes every once in a while. I just ordered this book
I got a book called 660 curries that has made my indian cooking drastically improve and I now kind of "get" it. I highly recommend it - I use it probably more than any other cookbook I have.
My favourite indian cooking book is "660 Curries" by Raghavan Iyer : http://www.amazon.com/660-Curries-Raghavan-Iyer/dp/0761148558/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
He was a chemist in India, and then learn "Hottellerie" and cattering in the US. He brought with him his chemist mindset to the understanding of taste, and there is a very good introduction about that in his book. Also he travelled troughout India for a long time, inviting himselfs in homes and places where he smelt something unique. He really searched for those unique recipes, and uncommon ones. I have plenty of other indian cooking books, but this is my favourite.
Smoke and Spice by Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison. This is a true BBQ/smoking book that lays it out in clear language. There's great recipes, tips, history, and notes of interest. Most of the recipes are traditional, but there are a few more adventurous combinations.
How in the fuck has nobody said Smoke & Spice yet? It's a really balanced book, simple recipes, and literally nothing I've tried in it has ever let me down. There's a recipe for smoked beans in there that I can't recommend highly enough.
I bought that for my husband for his birthday! We haven't tried any of the recipes yet but they look amazingly yummy! Link
There is a Sriracha cookbook out already...http://www.amazon.com/The-Sriracha-Cookbook-Rooster-Recipes/dp/1607740036
https://smile.amazon.com/Homemade-Vegan-Pantry-Making-Staples/dp/1607746778/ref=sr_1_1
She has fish sauce in here, along with countless other recipes. If you like to cook from scratch, this book is a must.
Summary
I got the dough making technique from a book called The Homemade Vegan Pantry by Miyoko Schinner (https://www.amazon.com/Homemade-Vegan-Pantry-Making-Staples/dp/1607746778)
If you are interested in some hardcore vegan cooking, I STRONGLY recommend that book. It's worth the $15. I also used it to culture my own cheddar, and sweet Jesus... just... just trust me on this one.
You do need a pizza stone and a pizza peel for this recipe to work.
The pizza on the right used a sauce I improvised with two cans of tomatoes, two tablespoons of tomato paste, 7 cloves of garlic, half a white onion, a few splashes of balsamic vinegar, a tsp of salt, and a tbps of raw sugar. I just put them in a food processor.
I got the pesto on the left from this recipe here: http://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-recipe/artichoke-and-spinach-pesto-pizza/
Toppings included sliced white mushrooms, marinated artichoke, vegan sausage, fresh basil, and Daiya mozzarella (not much, just a sprinkle). The pesto is so rich, it doesn't need the cheese IMO.
The trick is not to let the dough rise until it hits the oven. What you need to do is put a pizza stone in, and let it warm up with the oven at 500F. After an hour, you can transfer the pizza onto the stone with a pizza peel and leave it in the oven for just 10 minutes.
I'll throw in another vote for Isa her books are great.
She wrote the Veganomicon. with Terry Hope Romero and it's been one of my favorites since I got it in 2008.
Another favorite of mine is The Homemade Vegan Pantry
Grains, Greens and Grated Coconuts
Dhakshin
Lord Krishna's Cuisine
The classic Cook and See series by Meenakshi Ammal - traditional Tamil recipes (harder to get now) or Best of Samaithu Paar
Got a slew of books, but as has already been mentioned, Amazing Ribs is my primary source for pertinent BBQ data. There is simply no better resource out there, print, binary or otherwise. It's my go-to for technique.
For recipes, I have a decent library. Here's just a few of my books: [Smoke and Spice by Cheryl and Bill Jamison](http://www.amazon.com/Smoke-Spice-Cooking-Real-Barbecue/dp/1558322620/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1343976826&sr=1-1&keywords=smoke+and+spice0, Peace, Love and BBQ by Mike Mills, Big Bob Gibson's BBQ Book by Chris Lilly, Low and Slow by Gary Wiviott, Championship Barbecue by Paul Kirk, Real Grilling by Jamie Purviance, and few specialty books like Asian Grilling by Su-Mei. All excellent resources for recipes.
I'm a bit of a cookbook junkie, so I have a bunch to recommend. I'm interpreting this as "good cookbooks from cuisines in Asia" so there are some that are native and others that are from specific restaurants in the US, but I would consider these legit both in terms of the food and the recipes/techniques. Here are a few of my favorites:
Pan-Asian
Burmese
Cambodian
Chinese
Indian
Indonesia
Japanese
Korean
Malaysian
Middle Eastern
Philippine
Russian
Sri Lankan
Taiwanese
Thailand
Turkish
Vietnamese
(edit: screwed up a couple links)
Your post inspired me to put up this awesome five ingredient tofu recipe over on r/veganrecipes. I'm calling it LPT: Life Pro Tofu as it's the best tofu recipe I've ever seen. The recipe comes from Miyoko Schinner's book and combines tofu with flax seed gel. The results are amazing; for me, truly mind-blowing. Thinking back, it's amazing how far I've come with good tools and recipes. Here's hoping you might gain some inspiration!
A date who can cook a vegan meal? You're going to impress the crap out of her! I'm excited. :-)
/r/veganrecipes
/r/vegangifrecipes
Hot For Food (YouTube)
Isa Chandra (my personal introduction to vegan cooking)
Hell Yeah It's Vegan (the pecan pie is my go-to Thanksgiving recipe)
Vegan Richa
Oh She Glows
The Minimalist Baker
It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken
Thug Kitchen
Vegan8
If you want to really up your vegan cooking game (pro chef level), this book is what you need. Shows you how to make vegan butter, cheeses, meats, etc from scratch. Includes everything from vegan oyster sauce to vegan white chocolate. Total game-changer.
The Flavor Bible
I really enjoy Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything. I also just checked out The Flavor Bible from the Library when I was home. I didn't get to spend as much time with it as I would have liked but it is definitely all about how flavors work and will be on my Christmas list.
My wife just got a new cookbook - The Homemade Vegan Pantry - and it has a recipe for mustard. I thought to myself, "mustard is like two dollars a bottle, why would we ever make our own?" Now I know. Dammit I swear that companies sit around and think "How can I make this normally vegan product not vegan?"
Somewhat related and equally useful is The Flavor Bible
This book is a wizard. http://www.amazon.com/The-Flavor-Bible-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400
In the meantime, check out "The Flavor Bible." It's a few bucks on Amazon but it's well worth the price. It shows you which spices/herbs work great with different types of food.
Flavour Bible
This is a really good book for any level of cook, it's essentially a pairing guide for flavours. It doesn't have long write-ups it's more of an index format. I know some chefs who find it really handy for quickly putting together dishes with leftover or extra ingredients.
Seconding. This book is indispensable when it comes to learning the basics of how taste and flavor go together, and how to work with them. For the record, it is by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg.
Link
Nå folkens, der er snart gået et år siden Skodbil sidst mæskede sig i fødselsdagskage, og det betyder at successen skal gentages. Fødselsdagsgaver er for lang tid siden gået fra at være Lego og våben, til at være sokker og bøger.
Derfor skal der nu nogle gode kogebøger på listen. Jeg er ikke så meget på udkig efter opskriftsbøger, men mere ude i at ville have kogebøger som jeg rent faktisk kan lære noget af. Jeg har allerede følgende på listen, men hvis DU kender en helt vildt god bog jeg bør læse, så sig til.
Sølvskeen
The Food Lab, Kenji Lopez
Chocolate at Home
Paul Bocuse Institut Gastronomique
The Professional Chef
The Flavour Bible
Mastering Cheese
Der er med vilje ingen vinbøger på listen, for det gør jeg mig ikke specielt meget i - endnu.
Never heard of that site, but there's a cooking reference book Flavor Bible that does suggested pairings of various spices & ingredients. It's too bad it's not an app though.
They make a vegetarian one. It's called, surprisingly, the Vegetarian Flavor Bible
::EDIT::
I see you already know this. It's the same authors and it just contains more focus on veggies, nuts, legumes, etc. If you're mainly cooking veggie stuff then I'd go with that.
Have you tried cashew milk? For me that's the most realistic tasting one, especially the chocolate one. I'm not a fan of cheese alternatives either. So I've been making a lot of ethnic food that doesn't require cheese - like Indian, Chinese, Thai w/ coconut milk, Mexican (with guac + chipotle mayo), and Italian with pesto. I find that the biggest thing with vegan cooking is exploring different tastes with spices. It makes you a better cook. Before, when I was omni, I would add cheese to everything because it's the easy way to create taste. But, there are so many other ways to make your dishes feel tasty, rich, and creamy. I just bought the book "The Vegetarian Flavor Bible" and it has so many great tips for making your dishes flavorful without cheese and they have a vegan tip for the cheese ones.
James Peterson: Sauces is the best book I have found. It is more a text book though so it is extensive. French foundation but covers other things. My pan sauces are the beesknees because of it.
YES, I love making Indian food because you can turn relatively basic ingredients into ridiculously delicious meals with the right spices. I really love this book, which I got as a present a few years back. It can be bought used for super cheap http://www.amazon.com/Classic-Indian-Cooking-Julie-Sahni/dp/0688037216
edit: I also really like Aarti Sequeira's youtube channel for her Indian recipes or American recipes with an Indian twist. She also now has a Food Network show. She's fun to watch and makes Indian food a lot more accessible.
My go to place for Indian recipes has become Manjula's Kitchen. That lady is like the Indian grandmother I never had. Here's a few noteworth recipes:
Paneer, this homemade cheese is really, realy easy to make and used for a lot of stuff.
Palak Paneer: Very quick and easy diesh that is very good.
Achari Paneer, I know, more paneer, but it is good stuff.
The spices in most of Manjulla's recipes are pretty basic, too. With the exception of asafetida you can find everything else easily at a local big box store.
If you would prefer a cook book, 660 Curries is also a great way to get started.
This recipe comes from the EXCELLENT (and very large!) cookbook, "660 Curries" by Raghavan Iyer. I got it this past Christmas and have been trying new recipes out almost every week. It's not a vegetarian/vegan cookbook, and has plenty of non-veg recipes... but wow, there are a TON of veggie ones. Like hundreds of pages. It's been a really great resource, and tons of fun/very instructive to work through. This recipe has become a regular in our rotation, because it's such a delicious way to pack in the veggies. We've been using sweet potato/cabbage/carrot (and we use vegetable oil instead of ghee), but I'm looking to switch it up for spring next time we make it.
Edit: Sorry, I don't think I'll be able to put up a recipe format before it's removed. I have tendinitis in both my hands atm and it hurt a ton to type up the above paragraph - I will edit it tomorrow morning after they've had a day to rest.
660 Curries is a great way to learn about the various spices and ingredients used in Indian cuisine, as well as common spice blends (masalas) that are used. Iyer breaks them down in a really great conversational way that makes complex recipes much more approachable.
What kinds of foods are you interested in cooking? There are a ton of great recipes for cooking with tea. It's most commonly used in desserts like ice cream and cookies, but there are lot of savory things you can do with it as well. A couple of good cook books for getting started are Culinary Tea and Cooking with Tea. I also have a few recipes if I know what you want. :-)
This isn't a book, but I'll share with you the best way I've found to learn herbs. Pick a few that seem interesting. Then get the seeds. Grow some from seed. You get to see how they develop, what the seedlings look like, how it grows, when it flowers, what it smells like. You get familiar with it by taking care of it and spending time with it. Then you use it. Try making a salve. Make tea, or candies. Taste it. Then you'll recognize it anywhere. Next season, do the same with new herbs (but keep the old around as well). Do this even if the herb grows wild in your area. Then you'll be able to spot it easier from a distance just by its overall shape.
Now, on the subject of books: The Complete Book of Herbs is quite nice. But I've found the most useful information in snippets here and there. A Druid's Herbal has good preparation tips, and some good info on the medicinal uses, but goes a lot into magic and other nonsense (still a good read). I have a few pages from various Mother Earth News magazines from the 80's that have great preparation tips. Also, the Internet is great if you know what you're looking for.
The Flavor Bible would be a good start.
For reference, go to Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything, or this book. For flavours, I'll usually go with the Flavour Bible or the Flavour Thesaurus.
Advanced? That's easy. Not a cookbook, but something far more useful. A comprehensive overview of how flavors work together.
[The Flavor Bible:] (http://www.amazon.com/The-Flavor-Bible-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1410311129&sr=8-1&keywords=flavor+bible) The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America's Most Imaginative Chefs Hardcover – September 16, 2008, by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg
Some are very obvious. And some are not. I have yet to try the salmon-and-liquorish combination, but one day...
Highly recommended.
Check out The Flavor Bible book- when I am stuck I would do a quick peruse through it and will always find a great, new combo.
https://www.amazon.com/Flavor-Bible-Essential-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400
You can do roasted stuffed bell peppers with mashed sweet potatoes assuming you have other ingredients such as onion, garlic, herbs or meat. You can go for a Caribbean vibe too and do a pepper sauté with onions and jerk seasoning cooking them down longer to make them more jammy, and top your roasted sweet potatoes with that mixture.
The book you want is [On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen] (http://www.amazon.com/On-Food-Cooking-Science-Kitchen/dp/0684800012/ref=pd_sim_b_11) by Harold McGee, which is a classic for a reason! Start with that one, devour it, learn it, live it, love it.
Once you've done that, pick up a copy of The Science of Good Cooking from the hardworking angels at Cook's Illustrated and then a copy of The Flavor Bible as mentioned by /u/pjdias below.
The Flavor Bible.
You won't really be able to learn from a reddit post. If you are serious about wanting to know what pairs well, I'd suggest picking up a copy of The Flavor Bible
There is A Flavor Bible
Not to be nit-picky, but the word seasoning generally refers to only salt and pepper in the culinary world. The word you're looking for is either spice, for whole or ground spices, or aromatics, for fresh herbs and vegetables.
The Flavor Bible is a great resource that covers everything, and the cheat sheets posted by others work well too.
Crock pots work best with cuts of meat that take a long time to cook/tenderize. Some cuts of beef work great, like chuck, shank, brisket, and round. There are a ton of chicken stew and soup recipes, both classic and contemporary. I would avoid seafood in the crock pot, as it cooks so quickly and over cooked seafood is terrible, in my opinion.
I think they probably would recommend The Flavor Bible.
I am by no means an expert, but I recommend baby steps. Instead of trying to make up a whole new recipe from scratch, why not try modifying some recipes you are already comfortable with? You can try substituting ingredients, modifying your seasoning, changing the cooking method for a recipe using the same or similar ingredients, or even combining two different but compatible recipes into something new. I would also maybe try to stick to one culinary tradition at first, like French or Japanese cooking, which use a few key ingredients to create lots of different dishes. I learned a lot from cooking from Harumi Kurihara's cookbooks. Stick with what you know until you become more comfortable imagining flavor profiles and methods of cooking in your head and then you can worry about taking on something completely new.
I've also heard from friends who cook that this book, The Flavor Bible, is good at describing how flavors work. I haven't read it myself (still on my Amazon wishlist until I have more $$), but you may want to check it out. Good luck!
edit: added some stuff
Yup.
http://smile.amazon.com/The-Flavor-Bible-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400
It may or may not also be available by googling it + pdf
Speaking of winging it with spices/etc. If you don't already I HIGHLY recommend you pickup a copy of the Flavor Bible. Has over 400 separate ingredients and their flavor affinities, every wondered what you can combine with cabbage in a soup? How about the sheer volume of combinations carrots are good for.
http://www.amazon.ca/The-Flavor-Bible-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400
Has about thirty different pairings for most ingredients, tells you what each ingredient tastes like on it's own and gives some affinities (pair x, with y and z).
You could try "the Flavor Bible". It lays out a lot about the topic.
​
Great suggestions. To add to these, I also really like The Flavor Bible, though it's for when you already know how to cook, but need a bit of inspiration for what to incorporate.
As a chef, The Flavor Bible is a great reference for and understanding flavor combinations as opposed to just following a recipe.
For technique, Jacques Pepin's Complete Technique is basically what I learned in culinary school with step by step pictures.
Specifically you should learn to make your own stock, the mother sauces, and break down (butcher) poultry, seafood, and meats.
The first thing I learned was knife skills: grab a bag of potatoes and carrots and learn how to make all the cuts. Use them later for stock or stew.
A friend of mine swears by this book, the Flavor Bible. It has a lot of information on how to pair ingredients and build up flavor in a dish. You might want to look into it...
It's not exactly what you're looking for but the flavor bible might be of help: http://www.amazon.com/The-Flavor-Bible-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400
I would rather have 4 or 5 practical cookbooks at a fifth of the price of that set. I'm just not a chef and don't need to need to know half the stuff in those books.
My giftee has THIS arriving tomorrow!
Since we're talking books here anyway, I'm looking to branch out and learn more about general flavor profiles. Does anyone here have any experience with The Flavor Bible? I'd like to be more well rounded as I progress as a bartender, and my boss recommended learning more on the kitchen side as it would give me a better understanding in cocktails on the fly as well.
There's a few others that sound really awesome, too, that I imagine I'll pick up eventually. Amazon is a terrible place to spend your cyber monday night off.
Seconding /u/ManicBrklyDreamGrl on Food52 and Alton Brown's awesomeness. (Good Eats is fantastic. It covers mostly basic stuff and gets super nerdy.) And Ina Garten almost never fails me.
If you're interested in cookbooks as well, My Paris Kitchen is one of my favorites, as is pretty much anything by Yotam Ottolenghi. And if you're building recipes yourself or you like to experiment, I highly recommend both The Flavor Bible and The Vegetarian Flavor Bible.
For cooking purposes, The Flavor Bible is literally that. I recommend this to everyone who likes to go off-recipe!
FLAVOUR BIBLE
it is amazing for giving you a variety of spices and helping you understand how to cook if you don't have a recipe.
Trial and error is a large part of learning this, but this book really helped me: The Flavor Bible
The Flavor Bible
A great resource for budding cooks, or just as reference.
Since your lack of salt usage (oh baby. What is you doing?) has already been covered lemme point you in the right direction for making good flavors. The Flavor Bible is a wonderful resource for figuring out what goes with what. There are some wonderful forwards from well known chefs in the front and a thesaurus like index in back listing what flavor profile work well together.
Also a tip on salting a plate. Go maybe six to eight inches above the pan or meat you are salting. Have the salt between your index, middle finger and thumb. And move your fingers like you are asking for money. But facing down. This helps for an even spread. Also, go light and add more if you think you need it. Salt will ruin a meal if over used. And you will over use. But that's part of the process man!
Happy cooking and just remember to not add too much. A couple spices will enhance, but by no means feel you have to use everything.
James Peterson; Sauces: Classical and Contemporary Sauce Making is in my library.
James
PattersonPeterson literally wrote the book on this topic. go buy it, it's a completely fascinating read in it's own right with the side benefit that you get to understand the different aspects of how sauces work and their history.Investing in culinary texts rather than cookbooks really helped me. These books provide very basic recipes along with relevant techniques/information. Once you get these down, it's a heck of a lot easier to be creative with your dishes (e.g. knowing the 5 mother sauces of French cuisine leads to literally thousands of other recipes).
Suggested reading material:
Sauces: Classical and Contemporary Sauce Making
One of my absolute favorites, I refer to this book pretty much every time I'm in the mood for something new. The author does a great job at keeping things simple while providing great information on traditional applications (along with how to flavor things to your own tastes) for dishes ranging from Mornay sauce to Ganache.
On Cooking: A Textbook of Culinary Fundamentals
This was my required text for intro culinary classes, which makes it expensive. I'm sure finding older/used versions will be much cheaper and just as useful. This is a great resource for techniques such as deboning poultry, ideal use for various potato species, the different cuts of beef and pork, the best cooking methods for said cuts, culinary terms, etc.
The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking
My god do I love Marcella Hazan. She's the Italian Julia Child, and does a fantastic job at making intimidating dishes much more approachable. While this is more of a classic cookbook than the previous two, Hazan provides info on produce selection, basic kitchen techniques, ideal tools to have, and, of course, hundreds of traditional Italian recipes with notes on altering flavor profiles.
YMMV, depending on how deep into the cooking world you'd like to get. Sometimes it's just easier for me to look through google results of a specific dish for inspiration. Good luck!
https://www.amazon.com/Truly-Mexican-Essential-Techniques-Authentic/dp/0470499559
Truly Mexican by Roberto Santibanez is a great book. It's not as encyclopedic as Bayliss or Kennedy but it's a good a taxonomy of salsas,moles, pepians as you could hope for.
When looking for inspiration for Indian food I always reach for Raghavan Iyer's 660 Curries or Monisha Bharadwaj's The Indian Cooking Course.
The latter has become a house favourite. We ended up buying 5 extra copies to gift friends and family.
Yamuna Devi or Ragivan Iyer. The former is a true classic, and I've cooked nearly every recipe over the past 20 years. The later is a more recent book, but the recipes are every bit as classic (and delicious).
that was a person who just weighed in to link one of the definitive texts on the many, many variations of curries.
and i am a truly competent cook, please never speak ill again u lil shit
I'd suggest the book 660 curries - Raghavan Iyer as it covers all of the "spice blends" as well as having many many dishes that do not include mustard seeds in the blends. For those that do simply omitting them should suffice. He also has a section in the back where it explains the purpose of various spices, bitter, sweet, umami, etc. so you might be able to locate substitutes for mustard seeds as they are there to impart bitter.
660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer is comprehensive. You can also try Indian Cooking Unfolded by him but it has only 100 recipes.
If you like Indian cooking, there's a pile of these in 660 Curries.
My favourite is Panch Phoron:
Mix and then use in recipes as needed.
My favourite recipe with it:
Heat 2 tbls oil. Fry 1 tbls Panch Phoron + 4 dried chillies for 30 seconds. add 1lb chopped potatoes. fry on medium high for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp turmeric, mix well. Add 1 can of coconut milk. Stir thoroughly, bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
Stir in 6-8oz of fresh spinach, cover and simmer for 2-3 minutes until spinach wilts.
edit: added chillies.
Lots of great cooking/baking possible with tea too... I know some people who boil/steep eggs in tea and it looks cool (one example https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/51326/chinese-tea-leaf-eggs/ )
I've made great baked goods with some flavoured blacks and you can add it in with icing for cakes. I have a whole book of very high-end tea-food recipes too ( https://www.amazon.com/Culinary-Tea-Recipes-Steeped-Tradition/dp/0762437731) which are complex but quite tasty!
Buy this book: Herbs & Spices, The Cooks Reference.
It has huge pictures of all the herbs and spices you're likely to find in the spice section, a description of their flavors, and foods they can be paired with.
(While you're at it, pick up a used copy of The Professional Chef.
(and a calculator, because all of those recipes will be like "serves 20"))
Read through those, then go to a Penzey's store (if there's one nearby) and snort all their samples. Go hungry. Buy something that your nose says "this would taste good with [whatever]", and then pick up some [whatever] on your way home.
And don't forget that often, salt and/or sugar enhance spice flavors.
The cookbook Smoke and Spice has a great recipe for a knockoff of Big Bob Gibson's sauce.
Alabama Great White Sauce:
1 Cup mayo (real stuff not miracle whip)
2 tablespoons vinegar (preferably cider)
1 tablespoon coarse ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon of salt
pinch or two of onion powder
pinch or two of cayenne
*Whisk all ingredients together and you're all set. Use it as a dipping or basting sauce for pretty much anything.
I liken it a lot to a southern ranch dressing.
http://www.amazon.com/Smoke-Spice-Cooking-Real-Barbecue/dp/1558322620/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1345019615&sr=8-1&keywords=smoke+and+spice
Shit, I put Sriracha on round 'bout everything. Sweet, savory, it's all good. But this exists as well.
Miyoko Schinner's Homemade Vegan Pantry includes recipes for fancy vegan cheese that may be exactly to your liking. My boyfriend has a cashew allergy so I have not tried making them myself, but everything I have tried so far has been great!
Don’t cry, old habits can be challenging to break, but you’re doing a good thing; and these will help:
This blog gives so much to work with...
https://simple-veganista.com/
For books...
http://www.theppk.com/books/veganomicon-the-ultimate-vegan-cookbook/
https://www.amazon.com/Homemade-Vegan-Pantry-Making-Staples/dp/1607746778
Miyoko wrote a book on how to make your own staples. Cheese and butter are both in there: https://www.amazon.com/Homemade-Vegan-Pantry-Making-Staples/dp/1607746778
The Homemade Vegan Pantry by Miyoko Schinner: http://www.amazon.com/The-Homemade-Vegan-Pantry-Staples/dp/1607746778
Vegan, not vegetarian, but there are some amazing recipes for really basic staples in there, like condiments, cheese, milk, stocks and broths, meat substitutes, pasta, breads, crackers, and a few simple desserts. There are also some recipes that build on others, like certain soups and stews, or using leftovers and scraps of one recipe to make something new. It's a beautiful book and everything I've made from it so far has been pretty simple and has tasted wonderful. And it's under $15 on Amazon for the hardcover physical version! I highly recommend it!
I highly recommend the recipe for unpork from Miyoko Schinner's 'The Homemade Vegan Pantry'
By far the best results I've gotten from any recipe I've tried.
If you can get your hands on a copy of the book, it's by far the best IMO, when it comes to vegan staples.
Totally! He got me Street Vegan and The Homemade Vegan Pantry
That’s awesome. Glad you have a good solution, sounds like a rad store! Sort of related- If you haven’t ever made your own yogurt, I strongly recommend it, it blows the store bought stuff away. I usually use Westsoy Original soy milk, normally I like unsweetened but the fermentation cultures like the sugar so I get the original. One of these days very soon, I will try the feta recipe from that book...
You may eventually want to check out Miyoko’s “Homemade Vegan Pantry” cookbook. it came out pretty recently and the recipes seem a little updated, not as many in depth recipes on specific types of cheese but the recipes I’ve used out of there have been stellar and I find that I reach for it more often than the Artisan Cheese book. It really depends on what you’re into making. She includes the recipe for her cultured butter and the ice cream recipe is also perfect.
Use it on home made pizza instead of tomato paste, put it in vegy stews to deepen flavours and add some umami to them, 2 teaspoons and hot water for a lovely warming drink. You can do loads with Marmite. I think there might even be a recipe book
Edit: There is - The Marmite Cookbook (Storecupboard Cookbooks)
http://www.amazon.com/Flavor-Bible-Essential-Creativity-Imaginative-ebook/dp/B001FA0P86/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1417742697&sr=1-1&keywords=the+flavor+bible
The Flavor Bible. Learning why different flavors work or don't work well together is essential. And I have discovered some amazing flavor combinations thanks to this.
In addition to looking at flavor combos in recipes, I use this book to learn more about what flavors go well together. It's fantastic for things like "I have a squash I need to use, what should I do with it?"
Rather than the Flavor Bible, which imo is very like a textbook, I prefer Herbs and Spices as it's more of a visual reference.
Not suggesting that you shouldn't do this. However, for those interested, this book: http://www.amazon.com/Herbs-Spices-Jill-Norman/dp/0789489392/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1382706475&sr=1-1&keywords=spices
Does exactly what you're talking about really, really well.
Get this book. Smoke and Spice
Buy this book:http://www.amazon.com/Smoke-Spice-Cooking-Real-Barbecue/dp/1558322620/ref=pd_sim_b_21
Cook everything in it. Die of a heart attack in sheer bliss.
it sure does
Have you seen the Sriracha cookbook? It'll open your eyes, man
You are probably aware of this...? (Amazon link!)
If you need more ideas or recipes, you might try this book out. I've flipped through it a few times at my local bookstore. It seems like a great buy.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1607740036
I pick wrath. I love that fiery taste.
Got the recipe from The Banh Mi Handbook (which is fantastic, by the way) and it turned out pretty damn delicious. Rolling the dough out was interesting and it took me a minute to get used to. My next attempt, I'm going to try focusing on minimizing that butt at the bottom of the rolls from the seam - any tips on that? That and getting a better slice on the top of the rolls - I used my Wusthof chef when I probably could have used a better implement.
I forgot to take it with me to work, but the recipe from memory has 500mg Vitamin C (so like one pill, crushed), 3T vital wheat gluten, 3 1/2C unbleached AP flour (I only had bleached at the time), AD yeast, salt, and sugar. I'll update with an edit when I get home if people would like it in more detail. One oversight I had was not having a spray bottle to mist the rolls periodically before baking, but it didn't come out poorly as a result.
It takes a bit of skill to get a full "sheet" of it, but this is basically the method I also heard. I've made my own soy milk and failed at grabbing the skin (I think I tried to grab it before it was fully formed). Anyway, I think I tried it from The Homemade Vegan Pantry by Miyoko Schinner. Either there or Asian Tofu by Andrea Nguyen.
I made a vegan gift basket for a friend and her boyfriend this last Christmas and it contained:
Good for you for making that connection! It's not an easy thing to accept, but once you do, you're kinda stuck this way.
I hope this was at least a tiny bit helpful! Good luck! :)
Miyoko has published 2 books with cheese recipes in them. I bought both books and got them signed AND tried many of the cheeses at her book signing party in NYC a couple months ago.
Artisan Vegan Cheese
The Homemade Vegan Pantry
Many/most of the cheese recipes are made from cashews and other nuts, and require some ingredients most of us have never heard of. I went through and found the recipes I want to try (all of them!) and rounded up all the ingredients (amazon for the obscure stuff).
In the cheese book there are 2 different Mozz recipes, one is meant to be for a fresh mozz type cheese (tried this one at the party, was just like the original and so delicious), and the other is more for melting like on pizza.
So far from the pantry book I have made Squeeze Bottle Yellow Mustard (perfect, but strong!) and the Oil Free Eggless Vegan Mayo. 2/2 both are great.
I had to change my plan about trying one of the mozz recipes today; still have some store bought cheezes I'm trying to use up, also have too much other stuff to do.
/u/hedgehiggle recently recommended a book about making vegan staples (tofu, soy milk, cheese etc). Maybe that would be useful?
Check out the lemon curd/bar recipe in The Homemade Vegan Pantry! It's made with a base of cashew cream, which apparently thickens in the same way eggs do into that glossy, thick curd, without the worry of accidentally scrambling them. I wish I could find a blog post of something to link, it's seriously amazing. Minimalist Baker has some good lemon bars, too, that are cool and creamy - a little less true to a traditional lemon bar, but definitely worth an evening to bake!
Thug Kitchen has some great, easy to make recipes that don't require many "exotic" ingredients. I also use The Homemade Vegan Pantry all the time. It's great for stocking your pantry and fridge rather than spending lots of cash on pre-made stuff. Plus, generally healthier. If you like Italian cooking, I enjoy Vedura (not vegan specific but the recipes are all veggie-centric and generally really simple).
Yeah, I'm really quite disheartened. They aren't pretty (I guess just like real ribs) but they are really tasty. They are from Miyoko Schinner's Homemade Vegan Pantry, but if you can't get the cookbook it is pretty much just a complicated seitan recipe. Make seitan, slice it into steak sized pieces and sear them on each side. Bake them like you normally would for seitan covered with watered down BBQ sauce. Cut into rib-sized pieces, sear on each side again, then toss with more BBQ sauce! The cookbook also notes that they get even better if you let them sit in the sauce for a day or two in the fridge, and thats whats happening in the photo.
I should note that this is one of my all time favourite cookbooks and I really recommend it :)
Depending on where you live, your library might have a bunch. You can check them out, try some recipes, and see if it's one you might want to buy.
I like a lot of international and multi-cultural flavors so I like a wide variety of cookbooks including:
Afro Vegan
Vegan Richa's Indian Kitchen
Chloe's Vegan Italian Kitchen
and a general cookbook that helps you make your own dishes using vegan staples:
The Homemade Vegan Pantry
I'm a picky eater too and a new vegan. I feel like 90% of my diet is soy at the moment haha. I find that making alternatives of the foods I liked helps a lot. This book has been amazing the past few weeks. I like it because it shows you how to make staples to use in your diet instead of these crazy recipes that are overwhelming. I made the nuggets in the book the other day and they're super nice and I'm making some of my own mozzarella now!
Also train your taste buds and try new things. We are picky normally because of a mental block that causes us to be repulsed by certain foods and it helps to slowly break it down as much as possible. I personally have made a lot of progress with new foods in the last couple of years.
I hope this helps a little :)
Can't find mine at the moment but what you need is this
Dakshin: Vegetarian Cuisine from South India is an incredible cookbook and will give you all the tools to make top-knotch meals! It also happens to be the most beautiful cookbook in my collection. There have been times where I've just flipped through the thing just to enjoy the food photography.
There are two books I highly recommend you check out. One is called "The Flavor Bible" ( https://www.amazon.com/Flavor-Bible-Essential-Creativity-Imaginative-ebook/dp/B001FA0P86/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=the+flavor+bible&qid=1565833128&s=gateway&sr=8-1 ) and the other is "Herbs and Spices -- The Cook's Reference" ( https://www.amazon.com/Herbs-Spices-Recipes-Marinades-Spice/dp/1465435980/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=herbs+and+spices%2C+the+cook%27s+reference&qid=1565833243&s=gateway&sr=8-3 )
They'll help you learn how all the senses and flavors work together to extract the maximum enjoyment of food.
Also, try recipes from other people! As you become proficient with cooking in general and learn more about flavor combinations, you'll be able to try a recipe and think of ways to improve it and make it your own. Try different and unusual cooking methods. Ignore convention (I made a coconut cream pie on a barbecue smoker recently. It was awesome!) Don't be afraid to mess up, just don't experiment when you're having people over. :)
The main thing is to get in the kitchen and keep the beginning sentence "I wonder how it would taste if I..." in your head.
Have fun!
trying adding more salt. sometimes stuff is just under seasoned. i'm no expert at all, but i do like to cook. here some cool books i have gotten that i have liked. i know they look expensive but they are awesome starter books.
​
this book is used in culinary schools that have base recipes for stuff you can expand on.
https://www.amazon.com/Professional-Chef-Culinary-Institute-America-ebook/dp/B076DMFJR6/ref=pd_sim_351_3?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B076DMFJR6&pd_rd_r=5f939938-cb0a-11e8-9abb-7d2cd28fbd32&pd_rd_w=NqA2i&pd_rd_wg=nSx0t&pf_rd_i=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=18bb0b78-4200-49b9-ac91-f141d61a1780&pf_rd_r=KE3361D1T1JE1EPGF841&pf_rd_s=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=KE3361D1T1JE1EPGF841
​
and here is one to help do the expanding.
https://www.amazon.com/Flavor-Bible-Essential-Creativity-Imaginative-ebook/dp/B001FA0P86/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1539010578&sr=8-9&keywords=cooking+books
The Flavor Bible is a great resource and so is this chart from the [Four Hour Chef] (http://www.amazon.com/The-4-Hour-Chef-Learning-Anything/dp/0547884591)
I haven’t been able to find any that doesn’t come in a non plastic tub unfortunately. But for margarines with the best policies on palm oil I found this link really useful.
https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/palm-oil-free-list
Marks and Spencer’s has the best palm oil policy of the supermarkets.
This book has a recipe for making your own https://www.amazon.co.uk/Homemade-Vegan-Pantry-Making-Staples-ebook/dp/B00NRQXT70/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1543047042&sr=1-1&keywords=Vegan+pantry
As does this book https://www.amazon.co.uk/Homemade-Vegan-Pantry-Making-Staples-ebook/dp/B00NRQXT70/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1543047042&sr=1-1&keywords=Vegan+pantry
I haven’t tried these recipes yet but I’ll say if I do at any point.
My chef gave me this so I'd stop bugging him :)
The flavor bible might be a good resource for you.
It gives nice flavor combinations and what works well together.
Link:
https://www.amazon.com/Flavor-Bible-Essential-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400
RemindMe! 3 days "Food pairings"
Not a sub, but I have a copy of this
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Flavor-Bible-Essential-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400
Very useful book! :)
There are books about this such as https://www.amazon.com/Flavor-Bible-Essential-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400.
For how much of each flavor to use in each circumstance, there isn't much other than experience. Make mistakes. Learn. Always ask "how would this be better?" even when it's good.
For which flavors go well with other flavors, there are some resources. My personal favorite is the flavor bible. It's a reference book, like a dictionary. Look up the ingredient, and see a long list of other ingredients that cook well with it.
I love Budget Bytes for her affordable, family-sized recipes. Most of her dishes are vegetarian because it's just cheaper than buying meat. Also, investing in a book like The Flavor Bible, Herbs and Spices, The Flavor Thesaurus, or Ratio can really help someone learning.
Also, Mole
According to my Flavor bible Chocolate pairs with Boar, Chicken, Game Birds, Poultry and Turkey. Just saying.
Women generally enjoy stuff that falls into any of the following categories:
So, obviously, chocolate dollars are the perfect gift. Wrap in a fancy box.
I've given it as a birthday gift to a friend and it was very well received. Also: the women at the party spent a while pouring the chocolates over one another on her bed. All in all, I would say it was a success.
You should follow the others' advice though -- take a look at our ideas, but do give some thought to what she enjoys and what would really be special.
I felt idiotic one season when it failed to occur to me to make her a bracelet. She wore a bunch from her friends from all over. Stupid, stupid wasted opportunity.
I made a mahogany puzzle box one Winter. It looked a little like this one. I put a hanayama puzzle in it. Does she like puzzles? They're delightful and expertly designed.
I started a bookmarks folder a while ago with ideas for presents so that I wouldn't have to scramble for ideas ever again. (I suggest this, too. What are the chances of stumbling across something unique in the short portion of the year you're on the lookout for presents? Foresight, my friend!)
Here are a bunch, hope something catches your eye!
We usually source all of our hydrocolloids from Chef Rubber since our school gets a discount, since we order in bulk for a lot of the pastry specialty students. Fairly decently priced for first time experimenters. They don't get into very specific hydrocolloids (like the three different types of Carrageenan, or two types of Methylcellulose) but they give you enough to work with.
Willpowder is a good source to find some more specific hydrocolloids, and a few recipes. However, they don't supply some of the tools you'd need, as Chef Rubber does.
L'Epicerie is another source for the VERY specific needs in mind, at the highest quality, and price.
As for literature, Khymos is still our first stop to shop on knowledge. They do a very good job on this blog of finding, and sharing information from professionals using MG methods, as well as point you to printed literature on the subject. If anything, we like to take ideas from the blog, and then tinker with them to make something else using the same process they show.
One thing I can't stress enough in playing with MG, is know and understand flavour. Every single member of our club has a copy of the Flavor Bible and usually the second thing looked at after we get an idea bouncing around.
Two books I recommend:
You really should get The Flavor Bible. It's been a fantastic tool for me. I've owned it for a few years and still refer to it frequently. It would definitely be helpful to you in your search for unique flavor combinations.
If you're looking more for ideas on being creative when cooking, you might be interested in The Flavor Bible - which has been described as a cookbook without recipes. It is more about flavors that work well together, so you can work with what you have. Might be worth checking a local library (in keeping with the cheap part!)
How does it compare to The Flavor Bible?
Buy this book... The Flavor Bible
Trust yourself, your palate and your ideas. Learn techniques. Invest in this book, it's great for guidance: https://www.amazon.ca/Flavor-Bible-Essential-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400
Flavor Bible
Well, I was going to type some stuff about learning to cook and then experimenting after that...but u/kaidomac did a far better job than I could have ever done.
So instead I'll just add the recommendation of my favorite book for flavor experimentation: The Flavor Bible
Happy cooking!
One of the best books on the subject:
http://www.amazon.ca/The-Flavor-Bible-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400
Flavor bible? https://www.amazon.com/dp/0316118400/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_807zCb1X2FBT1
I like The Flavor Bible. It lists pretty much any ingredient you can think of and all the flavors that pair well with them.
I love it because if you know a few basic techniques and recipes, then you can greatly enrich your experience by knowing what flavors pair well. Like if you're making a rub for some ribs or whatever you're throwing on the grill but you want to change it up a little bit, you can get some great ideas that way and just try new and interesting flavor combinations. It will also tell you when there are combinations of like 3 or 4 flavors that work really well together.
And as you're trying new combinations, you start to get more of a taste for things. Like a made this rub for chicken thighs with brown sugar, cardamum, ginger, salt and pepper that was awesome. The chicken came out fantastic until I put the terrible barbecue sauce I made that I should have thought through more (I got cocky).
Anyway, because of The Flavor Bible, I made some basil and strawberry brownies because of this that turned out really well. Some orange, ginger, whiskey brownies that were pretty good. I made cayenne, lime, and paprika brownies that were mind-blowing. I made a blue berry tart with cardamum that was damn good. I like desserts... desserts and barbecue.
https://www.amazon.com/Food-Lab-Cooking-Through-Science/dp/0393081087/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1498103306&sr=8-1&keywords=kenji+lopez
https://www.amazon.com/Flavor-Bible-Essential-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1498103333&sr=8-1&keywords=flavor+bible
And this is a good primer for traditional French techniques, which most kitchens use extensively
https://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Art-French-Cooking-Set/dp/0307593525/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1498103367&sr=8-2&keywords=french+cooking
(but ALWAYS defer to the Food Lab, they use science)
https://www.amazon.com/Im-Just-Here-Food-Version/dp/158479559X/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1498103412&sr=8-4&keywords=alton+brown
If you go through these four books, then you'll be pretty set in basic knowledge.
I would highly suggest this book:
The Flavor Bible
I think the Basmati Rice is a fantastic idea but for future "pairing" questions I have a process I use. You should look into buying The Flavor Bible. It is great for designing dishes around ingredients. In this case you would look up shrimp and it would give you a list of things that pair well with shrimp.
Just start buying spices and building up your store cupboard, then it gives you all the options you need when its time to cook.
Mostly its just through experience that you learn which flavour combinations work. If you consume lots of cookery shows (tv/youtube), you will gradually pick it up without even realising.
Failing that, there is always The Flavour Bible, which is an excellent book
https://smile.amazon.co.uk/Flavor-Bible-Essential-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400
Also watch some Asian cookery youtubes, Indian cuisine in particular has mastered the use of spices.
The Flavor Bible.
https://www.amazon.com/Flavor-Bible-Essential-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400
> How are you supposed to make changes if you dont even know what the end product is going to taste like?
start with these two. there are more books in-depth on these topics, but, if you want to learn how to freestyle in the kitchen these two books are pretty much essential. i keep mine in the cabinet over my range hood and pull them out pretty frequently
Best book ever!
Seriously, this book helped me learn how to level up my dishes. Sounds like your guy will appreciate it.
The Flavor Bible
You sound a whole lot like me. Try: http://www.amazon.com/The-Flavor-Bible-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400 or http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0471287857/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1452484877&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=culinary+artistry&dpPl=1&dpID=51f2cXjryYL&ref=plSrch
They are amazing resources that teach you about flavors and how they complement each other.
The book "the flavor Bible" is what you are looking for
http://www.amazon.com/The-Flavor-Bible-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400
I try to keep a running list of inexpensive-to-moderate-priced things that I will eventually want (i.e. don't need to buy them for myself RIGHT NOW). What's on my list right now:
Get him "The Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America's Most Imaginative Chefs"
http://www.amazon.com/Flavor-Bible-Essential-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400
One of the most amazing books on cooking, ever.
a huge problem i've seen a lot of people have is they never know when to either stop adding shit or stop fucking with a component. it's really easy to absolutely destroy a great idea by doing either of those.
The Flavor Bible is an absolute must have if you're doing menus.
Some solids in my life:
It isn't really a cookbook, but The Flavor Bible is a phenomenal book for anyone trying to understand what flavors work well together. It is just a stellar book and has allowed me (with knowledge of a variety of cooking methods) to create dishes on the fly with what we had around much more easily. I have a leg up in that I was a prep chef at a high-end inn/restaurant for several years, but I think any nerd will appreciate the format and specificity the book offers.
Wine:
Windows on the World - Kevin Zraly
The Wine Bible - Karen MacNeil
The World Atlas of Wine - Hugh Johnson & Jancis Robinson
Cooking:
The Professional Chef - The Culinary Institute of America
The Culinary Institute of America book page on Amazon
The Flavor Bible - Karen Page
I'm thinking a bit of marjoram and/or a bay leaf thrown in there. My flavour affinity book also says oregano, but that's such a strong flavour, just a pinch would do.
I use this book all the time, just look up an ingredient and it'll tell you what goes with it! It's made cooking so easy and I can sound a lot more authoritative than I really am.
It's more of an accessory to leveling a skill faster but I love the book The Flavor Bible. It has almost every cooking-skill recipe component and lists what other components go well with it. I have leveled my cooking skill so quickly because it's helped me discover more flavors, especially those that are in regions other than mine, like India and Mexico.
The Flavor Bible by Page and Dornenburg covers it all.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Flavor-Bible-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400
Hi all,
I've been steadily improving my web app using feedback from reddit. Here's an updated version of my app, which retrieves flavor pairings for you based on data I scraped from a book called The Flavor Bible. I'd appreciate feedback on how this comes across as a resume project for a data analyst/data scientist. Thanks!
The Flavor Bible is a cookbook (not really a cookbook tho) about how to combine flavors. I've found it a useful addition to my kitchen.
This is one of my favorite salads, and something I eat regularly. It's delicious, and we can call it high-class if you want. It's a combination that presents beautifully, and one I frequently serve.
But IMO, I wouldn't qualify it as sophisticated for two reasons
1.) The flavor combination is not particularly complex. By definition, sophisticated is "highly developed; complex." (Or, if you want to go with dictionary.com's definition, "developed to a high degree of complexity.")
To me, complexity in food is a combination of flavors that will interest my mouth in a multitude of novel ways, where there is either a) an unexpected progression of flavor, or b) a certain je ne sais quoi that I JUST CAN'T PUT MY FINGER ON NO MATTER HOW HARD I TRY. This is what can elevate the simplest dish, like mac & cheese, to the highest levels of "sophisitcation" and innovation.
This flavor combination (and the wings recipe above) are both very basic (although delicious) balancing of flavors and textures. So basic, in fact, that I can now go into my local Panera and order that salad ...
2.) Which brings me to point #2. There are movements in food, as in fashion and architecture and every other form of art. And while things may be at the height of innovation one year (I'm talking to you, duck fat and rosemary potatoes. And you, salted caramel. And yes, you, fruit and goat cheese salad.) the cruel machine that is capitalism will eventually get their filthy claws into these delightful things.
And when they do, said flavor combinations cease to be interesting. A well-executed salted caramel brownie can be one of the most amazing things in the world - it has a rich, oaky nuttiness; a slightly burnt warmth. It's layered and complex and slightly bitter, not overly sweetened, covered in icing, and turned ^into^a^cake^pop.
So I see where u/adremeaux is coming from. It's frustrating for those who are looking for new ideas to see the same few over-done and passe flavor combinations mentioned and touted again and again and again as the very height of complexity and sophistication.
That said, I think a lot of redditors that make it to this subreddit aren't chefs. They don't read The Flavor Bible for fun, their idea of a celebrity encounter isn't meeting Grant Achatz, and they're just learning to branch out from spaghetti and sauce out of the jar. They get excited about things that, to some, seem boring or commonplace, and they want to pass that excitement on to others.
You could call this the blind leading the blind, but I'd rather look at it as something beautiful - for every person in this thread getting excited about a little goat cheese salad today, perhaps we'll see another hot potato, cold potato.
Also, for OP:
Honey & Black Pepper Duck Breast
Roasted Chestnuts with Black Pepper Honey
Baked Apples with Blue Cheese, Black Pepper, and Honey
Honey-Black Pepper Mayonnaise - perhaps on Fall 2011's dearly beloved cranberry, brie, and turkey sandwich?
I'm also going to throw out the ideas, sans recipe, of:
Earl grey tea cookies with a honey-pepper glaze
[Insert fruit of choice] shrub soda with honey and black pepper (I think peach would be quite nice!)
Cocktail - I'd suggest rye and a splash of lemon, but I'm no mixologist.
Hope i was helpful! Enjoy your culinary journey :D
I like The Flavor Bible as a resource for this.
If you like to just wing it, I highly recommend The Vegetarian Flavor Bible. I use it all the time when I want to be creative in the kitchen. They recommend flavors which work well together, broad ways to prepare a dish, a few recommendations from the chefs they worked with to put the flavors together and more.
I hate that there isn't a vegan flavor bible, but the vegetarian is already loads better than the original Flavor Bible (I gave that copy to my omni sister). There's still a lot of eggs, cheeses and dairy products, but at least all the meat is out.
But I also highly recommend you look into a few cusine-specific books. Most cusines have vegan books, or at least vegan bloggers who share a lot of recipes in their own flavor worlds. Try looking up: Greek (thegreekvegan), Indian (Harshdeep on YouTube), Persian / Iranian, Ethiopian, Thai, Mexican, etc.
These are some of my favorite cusines to dive into. Once you understand the spices, how the flavors are built up, and then how they prepar various plants, you can leave the recipes behind and make your own foods. I never look up Thai, Mexican or Indian recipes anymore since I am so confident in how the flavors and textures work together. If you want cookbook recommendations for these cusines let me know.
Video series or anything? I really learned a ton reading The Professional Chef, which is a textbook in a lot of culinary schools I hear. I have the eTextbook version that has a lot of video links and interactivity.
If you're into the science behind cooking I'd also really recommend The Food Lab, I have the hard back version and it's also just a beautiful book.
I also have Cooking and Sauces by Peterson, also textbook quality books.
And of course, the ever popular Better Homes & Gardens Ring-Bound Cookbook, How to Cook Everything, and The Joy of Cooking are staples on my bookshelf as well. Great for reference or a quick look to find a particular recipe just to see how others do it.
I also browse a lot of websites and watch a lot on YouTube. I'll save recipes I find online using the Evernote Web Clipper and tag them so I can find them easily in the future. This works great because I can pull them up on my iPad while I'm cooking.
When a recipe calls for a method, tool, or ingredient I'm not very familiar with I'll usually just search it on YouTube and get some ideas about how to use it. That's worked really well for me so far.
http://www.amazon.com/Sauces-Classical-Contemporary-Sauce-Making/dp/0470194960
Accessible and comprehensive
this is a great book...
https://www.amazon.com/Sauces-Classical-Contemporary-Sauce-Making/dp/0470194960
I will get you that recipe. It is out of one of my favorite cookbooks Truly Mexican
this is a great mexican book:
Truly Mexican: Essential Recipes and Techniques for Authentic Mexican Cooking
by Roberto Santibanez
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0470499559/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_QQs3CbG6VXY0B
For Indian cook books I would recommend these two: Book 1 and Book 2. Just use the internet to find reasonable substitutes for the more exotic ingredients, most of the time there is some workaround. For the rest of it I have a few general reference books but mostly I just wing it. What ever you do you probably want to start by cooking the hell of of an onion. A good caramelized onion will go a long way in making things taste more like food than merely sustenance. Also worth noting if a recipe says your beans will take an hour and a half to cook plan on at least two or three. Have fun with it and good luck.
Most phallic looking item:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002NH3BU4/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2TKA3DHDIZYOU&coliid=I1HTVHTJQMR8MX
Most "oh god, I would never be seen with this in public" looking item:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1567187072/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2TKA3DHDIZYOU&coliid=IR47146VJO5LT
Item which would most make you seem like an old posh Englishman:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0688037216/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_S_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2TKA3DHDIZYOU&coliid=I1TV3AAMPQQJZY
Most geeky item:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004X6FM8W/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2TKA3DHDIZYOU&coliid=I3TPK6ULWW4ZZB
Item which would most help you achieve a goal:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0136807453/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2TKA3DHDIZYOU&coliid=I3AM5LIMTP9Q3B
Best item to bring to a deserted island:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0026SUCDE/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2TKA3DHDIZYOU&coliid=I3BV00J05UR92C
I started with 660 Curries. Written from the perspective of an American supermarket with an Indian market occasionally. Lots of simple recipes to get a feel while you build your spice collection.
I love making Indian food! Don't give up! I love this cookbook so so much. My boyfriend and I try a new recipe out of it almost every week, there is an excellent variety of flavors and bases (chicken, beef, veggie, potato, lentil, rice etc). We've had a couple that were meh but for the most part they are very tasty and quite a few have just blown us away. The spices are a bit of an investment but well worth it if you want good results. We have found it much cheaper to buy them whole from penzeys.com than from our local grocery store and a necessity for spices that they don't stock at all (I'm looking at you, fenugreek).
I guess to someone who has eaten Indian food their whole lives the recipes might not be so amazing but I have eaten at quite a few Indian restaurants and a couple of these recipes blew anything else I have tried right out of the water.
660 Curries by Raghaven Iyer is my favorite. Madhur Jaffrey also has some good books too.
Add this to your library
Yotam Ottolenghi came out with a followup on his Plenty cookbook a few months ago, its called Plenty More. Used to see vegetables as only a side dish but he really changed my mind and enabled me to see that they can really be the star of the table. There are many interesting combinations. And as a man who is an omnivore himself, he often makes his dishes hearty enough that many of us wont even miss the meat.
Another book which you should look into is Thug Kitchen. If you haven't seen their blog, you should really check it out.
You should also look into Deborah Madison's books. This one is practically the Bible among vegetarians due to how comprehensive it is. Ironically, she also is an omnivore.
Theres also the Moosewood Cookbook which is great for weeknight meals as many of the recipes are simple and quick.
If you like Indian, I would really recommend 660 Curries which has some of the best Indian food I've ever tasted. I often compare food I get in Indian restaurants to what I've cooked from this book. Yes, its not completely vegetarian but the vast majority of Indian cuisine is vegetarian so it should still be a valuable resource for you.
Speaking of Indian food, Madhur Jaffrey (who is known for her Indian cookbooks) has a great cookbook dedicated to vegetarian cooking.
I have this one and I really like it. The recipes are authentic, but the author is also aware of the realities of North American cooks making curry, so he offers suggestions for alternatives to the harder to find ingredients that are sometimes in the recipes. Plus it's really inexpensive for the number of recipes that it has.
660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer is my favorite curry book.
My favorite Thai curry paste is Mae Ploy. My favorite Japanese curry is House Brand.
I highly recommend the book 660 Curries for beginners.
Where I grew up, there was only one Indian restaurant and a very very small number of people from that part of the world. I loved the food, but had never visited a home that cooked it, so the methods and conventions of Indian cooking were completely invisible to me.
"660 Curries" took me from that state of absolutely zero knowledge to knowing a good thing or two about curry. Since it has 660 recipes, it can seem quite daunting at first, but if you start from the beginning, you'll be eased into it. If you end up getting the book, PM me and I'll point you toward a few of my favorite recipes and elaborate further on how I started out.
Glad I can help! Like I said, if you decide on a specific recipe and want some tips, I can help more - I just don't know your or his food preferences, or if he'll eat garlic - which isn't used in some forms of Brahmin vegetarian cooking - etc. Otherwise I could drop a few more specifics.
From a historical perspective, it's interesting how Indian cooking benefited from/was influenced by the Columbian exchange. Pre-contact dishes were apparently primarily flavored with pepper and tamarind - the tomatoes and chilis came with the exchange.
A few good kitchen staples which will let you cook a large number of dishes from this part of the subcontinent are whole mustard seeds, urad dal (split black lentils - which are actually white), curry leaves, tamarind, garam masala, turmeric powder, coriander powder, chili powder, garlic and ginger (whole or in pastes). Some recipes will also call for cumin powder, cashews, dried red chilis, or ground coconut. 660 Curries is written by a Tamil Brahmin which might be a decent place to start - I personally don't put coconut in all my curries, but that's the style of some communities. Also, he cooks his meat, puts it aside, and then cooks the spices, mixing in the meat at the end - I'd personally cook the spices, and then cook the meat in the spices so it absorbs the flavors.
I've been meaning to buy [this book, "Cooking with Tea" by Lise Stern] (http://www.amazon.com/Culinary-Tea-Recipes-Steeped-Tradition/dp/0762437731) - the recipes look amazing, and I want to start using tea infused flavored foods in my afternoon teas.
But I can tell you that I have ad a lot of luck using teas in cookies, and pastry, such as flavored teas (lemon, bergomot), or strong blacks. I have also used steeped black teas when making fruit cakes, or walnut rum cams. You steep the dried fruits and nuts in a black tea so it acquires the flavor. DELICIOUS! :D
I bought this herb book book years ago. There's lots of good pictures of the plants and their parts and included medical uses.
The Complete Book of Herbs introduced me to the medical herb garden. It's wonderful to see it executed so thoroughly. Great job, New York.
The only comment this thread needs, except for this one with the link.
The only way to find out what the rules are is to test them. So if you're really a rules kind of person, dive in there and figure out what they are. They aren't in a cookbook.
Or find some better books. There are those which exist to teach cooking intuition. Another great resource is The Flavor Bible. It tells you what flavors go with what, it's invaluable if you're just getting started with freewheeling your cooking.
Google is your friend
Thanks for the book tip, I'll check it out. I started with Alton Brown's recipe (since, well, he's Alton Brown), and most of my messing around from there has been in trying different flavors. I started with different liqueurs in place of the brandy, but I found that juice reductions gave me more flavor. Sometimes you want the subtlety a liqueur provides, and sometimes you want to highlight the flavor a little more against the chocolate - or you want to use a flavor that isn't available in a liqueur, like the red wine or a beer.
For a beer truffle, in addition to using a beer reduction I would also try adding a few other flavors to try to punch it up. For instance - and this is just an example, because I don't know how well chocolate would work with a beer this light - for Blue Moon I would definitely steep orange zest in the cream. Figure out what beer you want to use, taste it and describe it the way you might a wine, and try to highlight and exaggerate the big tastes.
I poked around Google a bit and there are a few candied ginger chocolate bars, so there's clearly a flavor synergy there. I also just checked the Flavor Bible and they indicate it's a solid match, so I think it's worth trying.
If you don't own this you need too. Its my favorite cooking book, though not a cookbook. My very best meals owe a lot to this tome. Plus, its just fun to read.
the flavor bible is more along the lines of cooking theory but between that and whats a cook to do, those are basically the only books i use.
flavor bible: http://www.amazon.com/The-Flavor-Bible-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400
whats a cook to do: http://www.amazon.com/Whats-Cook-Illustrated-Essential-Techniques-ebook/dp/B00FKHZWGA/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1394654988&sr=1-1&keywords=whats+a+cook+to+do
The Flavor Bible
The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook (by America's Test Kitchen)
How to Cook Everything Vegetarian
This looks interesting: The Flavor Bible.
Any opinion on this book? lot more reviews on amazon.
You've probably seen or heard of all of these before, but these are my latest purchases, ready to be right at home in the new home bar I'm building...
Death & Co. - modern classic cocktails
The Dead Rabbit drinks manual
The Craft of the cocktail
The flavour bible
Imbibe!
+1 for proper use of "complement". I see that one fucked up alllll the time :P
Also, I'm going to have to try oregano with my fried fish.
Edit: If you liked this, check out The Flavour Bible, which is this in book size and for everything.
Sometimes I check out Supercook and throw a few ingredients at it to see what comes up, then maybe consult my Flavor Bible and kind of cobble something together. It usually turns out pretty good, or least something I'm interested in improving on, and it's always fun. Sadly, my culinary partner is on the other side of the continent. We share a lot of trial and errors over the phone and by email but it's not the same as cooking and eating together like you and your bff. That's an awesome thing to have with a friend.
All sorts of herbal stuff will work. Various mints, catnip, lemon balm, lavander, chamomile, rose, hibiscus are all great. You can also use (or make your own) syrup for added flavoring. A light maple syrup is my favorite.
I found The Flavour Bible to be a good resource for mixing blends of teas. I can pick an herb that interests me and look up other complimentary flavours to blend with it.
very good point here's a link to the book
As far as food pairings look into a copy of the Flavor Bible. There’s also a similar book by them called What To Drink With What You Eat if you want to get into pairing basics as well.
As for plating, just look at nice cookbooks from restaurants and chefs, like The French Laundry,
Sean Brock,
Bluestem,
or basically any other example of food you want to produce. Follow the restaurants, go eat there if you can.
Also examine your platings from the perspective of the diner. Where is your eye drawn first? Is it the focal point or is your plating distracting from that?
If you are willing to make a bit of an investment, you can't beat The Flavor Bible.
My other favorite book for cooking is How to Cook Everything.
Between those two books I can pretty much figure out how to make any meal I want in any style that sounds good to me.
First off, if you haven't heard of the flavor bible yet it sounds like something you would get a lot of value out of. Very useful when coming with a new meal/recipe as well as seeing what interesting combos out of whatever is left in the pantry and the book as a guide.
https://www.amazon.com/Flavor-Bible-Essential-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400
Second, I don't think what you have experienced is a problem at all. You've simply developed higher standards than our current society. This is not a bad thing. Societal standards in all areas need to be brought back up, IMO.
Oddly, enough it's my birthday today and instead of having my parents pay the bill at an expensive restaurant I decided I would rather stay in and cook a meal I really want to enjoy with my family.
One of the best cooking/reference books I've ever encountered is The Flavor Bible. It lists out ingredients that go well with each other. Enjoy, and be inspired!
Flavors are rather more complicated than that, but the Flavor Bible will lay the combinations out for you.
I could go for days on what coffee goes well with, but I will instead link this book that spells it out better than I can. Here you go, and it can be used outside of baking.
Stopped by to say exactly this. Honestly, I just enjoy browsing the thing for things I hadn't thought about.
Here's a link to Amazon.
Maybe you're looking for something like this?
https://www.amazon.ca/Flavor-Bible-Essential-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400
Check out this great book called The Flavor Bible. It's a reference book where you can look up an ingredient and it will tell you everything that matches well with it. It helped me a LOT when I was learning to cook.
I also recommend An Everlasting Meal: Cooking With Economy and Grace. This book taught me SO MANY techniques on cooking meat and vegetables, ways to stretch and re-use ingredients, and recipes. It's an incredible meditation on cooking, written by a famous chef named Tamar Adler (of Prune in NYC). My cooking-fu went up by 15%-20% just after reading that book.
> based on what do you even start to mix stuff up
Well, a lot of times I'll make a recipe once, and then if I like it, I'll think about what I can do to alter it. This stuffing has dried cranberries in it... can I use dried cherries? This glaze calls for a 1/2 ounce of whisky... what would it be like if I used brandy? And if I added some ground cinnamon, how would that taste? That sort of thing.
Sometimes I'll do smaller test batches of things. Like if I want to try a new BBQ rub, I'll cut a rack of ribs in two and see which I like better. Or I'll make two smaller pots of the same stew, one altered and one from the recipe.
> how do you personally expand your ingredients that you cook with ?
Here's a very good place to start: http://www.amazon.com/The-Flavor-Bible-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400
> Say you want to try out something new that adds alot of acidity into your food, how do you go on about this ?
Well, you try what seems like it makes sense. Say you want to add acid to a beef stew. Do you just put vinegar in there, or use red wine instead? How about red wine along with some diced tomato?
I'd suggest buying them exotic dried peppers to experiment with. Get dried reapers from Puckerbutt, get 7-pots & ghost peppers & Trinidad Scorpions & scotch bonnets.
Having a variety of interesting peppers is the lifeblood of a sauce maker.
If you're feeling particularly generous you could get them a nice chef's knife.
Another suggestion is the flavor bible.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0316118400/?tag=hydsma-20&hvadid=47800326651&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=4334288007499392699&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=m&ref=pd_sl_6p6vy6pk8e_b
Sunny SoCal... For flavor profiles there's a great book called The Flavor Bible. Lots of great info...
http://www.amazon.ca/The-Flavor-Bible-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400
I have a number of cookbooks (99% of which were hand-me-downs from random family members) that I don't really use because I prefer the internet, but the two physical books I've gotten the most use out of are these:
How to Cook Everything
-Especially if you're just starting out this book is excellent. It doesn't list tons of complicated recipes sprinkled with cooking jargon. It holds your hand through the simplest versions of many, many recipes and then tells you why you're doing what youer' doing.
The Flavor Bible
-Because while it's better to have experience to be able to just know which flavors work well together, this is just easier. The book has some explanatory stuff in the front, but most of the book is basically a huge index of different ingredients and all of the other things that go well with them. Especially if you're a broke student, spices are going to be the big thing that keeps you from eating bland-ass ramen all of the time (though this book doesn't just cover spices).
These would be perfect for what you're seeking:
http://www.amazon.com/Ratio-Simple-Behind-Everyday-Cooking/dp/1416571728
and
http://www.amazon.com/Flavor-Bible-Essential-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400/
I have found this culinary book incredibly helpful in figuring out what spices go well with what. I use it all the time.
Not a direct answer to your question, but check out the Flavor Bible. It tells you what goes well with what. It is essentially a giant index. You look up an ingredient and it tells you what goes well with it.
Check out The Flavor Bible](http://www.amazon.com/Flavor-Bible-Essential-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400). Full of survey-based flavor combinations, as well as recipe ideas, season & volume info, flavor profiles. Top notch reference.
Was browsing for books on spices on Amazon. These two made my short list:
Herbs & Spices: The Cook's Reference
The Flavor Bible
Great suggestion--don't forget to brine the bird! The Flavor Bible suggests cloves, black pepper, ginger, garlic, onions, cherries, and sage as accompanying flavors.
That's actually kind of useful, with it listing the ingredients under each link as "+cumin", "+cilantro", etc.
Another helpful resource for your bookshelf: The Flavor Bible, which is a directory of ingredients, each listed with recommended complimentary flavors.
Since Ratio has already been mentioned, I will recommend The Flavor Bible by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg. Basically, they went around to a bunch of chefs and asked them what flavors work well together, write down a list of those flavors that chefs said went together, bolded flavor mixtures that many chefs told them, and give specific examples of flavors that chefs tell them about. It's great for experimenting with things as it can give you pretty good guidance, but does not have any recipes.
Just get The Flavor Bible.
If it's not in there, I just cant see the pairing work.
I'd highly recommend buying him The Flavor Bible -I had it on my wishlist for a long time and finally bought it a few months ago. It's probably my favorite/most useful cooking book I've bought to date.
No recipes. The entire book is a compendium of different ingredients and their flavor compliments (sweet and savory!) Not sure what your dish is missing? Want to try a new flavor combo but not sure what to pair it with? Boom, Flavor Bible.
I've used it so many times. It's taken a lot of the stress out of experimenting in the kitchen and made it much more fun for me.
The Flavor Bible is an excellent resource for this. You look up an ingredient and it shows a general "scale" for commonly paired ingredients. There are no recipes, but if something piques your interest there's the whole Internet for that :)
Get yourself this book https://www.amazon.com/Flavor-Bible-Essential-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400
It's all about flavor profiles that work together. If you can learn which flavors work together, you can look in your fridge and immediately know what tastes you can create with whatever protein or vegetables you've got hanging around in your fridge
Some home chefs like the Flavor Bible
Here is what I do/did for simple quick semi healthy meals : First buy a nonstick wok, for like $25 at target. Buy a cheap beef or pork roast the morning of your day off and cut it up into thin slices like you get at a chinese restaurant (chicken breasts a good too). Portion it out into about 1lb per ziplok bag and freeze. Buy some frozen stirfry veggies. Buy some teriyaki or other asian bottled sauce ( I am partial to House of Tsang).
When you get home heat the wok with just a little vegetable or sesame oil (careful with sesame because it has a low smoking point) pour in some of the frozen veg and cook til warm (about 4 minutes) drain excess water. add the meat that you thawed out in the fridge from the night before and just enough sauce to coat the ingredients. Turn the heat to high and cook til the meat is just cooked through (5 minutes or less. Eat what you want and take the leftovers to work for lunch tommorow.
you can do this with fresh veg but them you have to cut it all up yourself. Also there are lots of different veggie combos and sauce options.
A quick few essentials to always have on hand: Potatoes, fresh garlic, salt, pepper. a bag of yellow onions, soy sauce, sriracha if you like heat, 2 different small blocks of cheese, 2 boxes of pasta in what ever shape you like, just not the store brand which is almost always subpar, 2 jars of pasta sauce (you get what you pay for so no Prego or Ragu they are filled with sugar) and lastly, atleast for me, a couple of frozen pizzas.
these days I cook from scratch much of the time and the 2 cookbooks I would recommend are How to Cook Everything and The Flavor Bible. With these two books you can make a great meal with just about anything.
tl;dr: just read it I actually put some effort into helping.
Buy The Flavor Bible and start making up some new recipes with ingredients you've never worked with before
The Flavor Bible
If you're going to sing, might as well know the notes :)
Highly recommend it.
What's more nomalicious than Chocolate??? This is seriously the best dutch process cocoa powder known to mankind. No really! That much might last you until your next bulkish order...maybe. Being a carnivore, I use this to make an awesome rub for pork and poultry along with ancho chile, a bit of chipoltle chile for heat, and a dash of Mexican oregano. It is available in smaller amounts but costs more per pound then. And on to that most excellent of spices Cinnamon! Once again, this is the most nomalicious Cinnamon known to mankind. I make an unbelievable rhubarb coffee cake and amazing monkey bread with this stuff. It seriously takes any recipe with cinnamon to the next level. It can also be used to add heat to savory recipes. And for my last suggestion I give you Powdered White Cheddar!?!? Nomalicious on popcorn, for making sauces, adding to bread, and sprinkling on vegetables. It does look like recent reviews aren't as stellar as they could be but my experience with this stuff has been all good. Were I to win I'd appreciate The Flavor Bible from my wish list which I'd point you to in a PM ;)
Enjoy! =D
Start here:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0470421355/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1518328836&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=cia+cookbook&dpPl=1&dpID=41rNtxGGDYL&ref=plSrch
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0316118400/ref=sxbs_sxwds-stvp_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1518328931&sr=1&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=2972396462&pd_rd_wg=nq5yM&pf_rd_r=YWY3G2TH6PPKJDW69WQG&pf_rd_s=mobile-sx-bottom-slot&pf_rd_t=9701&pd_rd_i=0316118400&pd_rd_w=Ra06B&pf_rd_i=culinary+school+book&pd_rd_r=6d45f769-fe0f-4f25-870c-9833a3a902fb&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1579129110/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1518329071&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=jacques+pepin&dpPl=1&dpID=51Ob6blpRqL&ref=plSrch
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0778802566/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1518329157&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=knife+skills+illustrated&dpPl=1&dpID=513Oqyg2uPL&ref=plSrch
Assuming you already have the basics down, you might want to pick up something like The Flavor Bible. It’s not a cookbook, it’s a reference of “what goes with what.” I don’t cook with recipes most of the time, and I’ve found it helpful in expanding my stock of flavors and textures.
Being vegan doesn't have to mean cooking. There are plenty of ready made meals out there for your convenience. Vegan Burritos; Vegan pasta; vegan sandwiches; vegan soups. However, it is healthier to cook for yourself vegan and omni alike. Cooking for many people is very intimidating... It's a lot of fear of the unknown and fear of messing up.
For you boiling a hot dog, throwing on some mustard and ketchup...maybe some relish and onion. Is easy. A no brainer, even. And that's because you know how. You know those things taste good together and it takes 15 minutes or less to get it together.
But the truth is... so many other things take as much or less time as boiling and chopping.
Vegetables steamed or sauteed or boiled are as easy as making that hot dog. But you say, what sauce? What flavor? What vegetables go with which? And then you get overwhelmed. But that is simply an ability to understand flavor profiles. What goes well together and what makes something taste chinese or thai or italian.
Vegan recipes of your favorite omni dishes are a great addition to your meal plan. But you have a great advantage that you can steam some broccoli, chop up a salad or grill some eggplant...without having to get ornate about it.
BUT if you want to get ornate you can. Here is a book, that not only takes the guess work out of combinations but also helps you to look into the produce isle and see food. To open your fridge and see options.
You don't have to worry about recipes unless you want to. Although if you miss mac and cheese, then challenge yourself to expand your creativity... or just eat this
https://www.amazon.com/Gluten-Free-Vegetarian-Soy-Free-Meatless-ebook/dp/B00JDVII60. https://cookieandkate.com/soy-free-vegetarian-recipes/
https://www.amazon.com/Vegetarian-Flavor-Bible-Creativity-Vegetables/dp/031624418X.
Hello! SO I personally am a vegetarian, but my significant other is a vegan and I eat and cook only vegan at the house, alongside that I work at a 4.8 star restaurant in my town and am inches away from getting soux after climbing up the ranks. The official fine dining training helped me exponentially in refining and learning basic and advanced culinary skills that I can implement at home with a plant based diet. As far as references I would consult a large number of gourmet vegan cookbooks and learn the skills at home yourself, after purchasing books like 'Artisinal vegan cheese'
https://www.amazon.com/Artisan-Vegan-Cheese-Miyoko-Schinner/dp/1570672830
and my all time favorite cook book, the vegetarian flavor bible
https://www.amazon.com/Vegetarian-Flavor-Bible-Creativity-Vegetables/dp/031624418X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1505111621&sr=1-1&keywords=vegetarian+flavor+bible
and learn enough skills in cooking things like seitans and fake cheeses, you can start looking at more contemporary cookbooks about vegetarian cuisine and just sub out the non vegan items with a vegan substitute
I absolutely agree that seeking out a vegan chef and working in their kitchen is the best way to learn good cooking, but in the town I live in, the only vegan restaurant is ran by an asshole so I had to aloft to a omnivorous restaurant, and yes I do have to taste dishes made with meat, but I aspire to veg/vegan place further down the line that could trick any omnivore!
As /u/DroogyParade said, get a copy of On Cooking. Hell, I have one one and I'm just an enthusiastic home cook. Also, if you want a good book on sauces, and guy named Peterson wrote what is considered to be the current tome on sauces. It is very well done and very organized for having to cover such a vast subject.
James Peterson - Sauces?
Sauces: Classical and Contemporary Sauce Making
https://www.amazon.com/Classic-Indian-Cooking-Julie-Sahni/dp/0688037216/
This is the only book you'll ever need on Indian cooking. Every single dish I made from this book was just perfect. It has no pictures, only a few drawings but if you stick to the recipe you'll be rewarded with the most delicious Indian food.
http://www.juliesahni.com/
This is one of the classic indian books. It branches into different types of indian cuisine from basics and how to make a full meal. This is the book I turn to for indian food.
Get yourself Julia Sahni's Classic Indian Cooking book. It's a great place to start. If you're primarily into veg, another place to go would be Devi's Lord Krishna's Cuisine which is a positively massive cookbook that is great and vedic (no onions, etc. only hing).
Also, Manjula's Kitchen has some good videos.
This looks fantastic, especially the rice. I know from experience it's not always easy to make the grains long and lovely like that. I recommend getting this cookbook. It's easy to follow and the finished product is always delicious. My boyfriend's parents used to have an Indian food catering business and they gifted us this cookbook! I think the trick to good Indian food is having the right spices and being REALLY patient when you're browning the onions.
660 curries is fantastic. The author is a James Beard winner as well.
After reading the reviews for that book, I think you should get this one.
Madhur Jaffrey is really the source for Indian cookbooks. But I'd actually like to mention two others as well:
660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer is a big one, with recipes covering all levels of complexity. Some are great, some aren't, but there's just so much content in this book that it's hard to beat for the price.
[The New Indian Slow Cooker by Neela Paniz] (http://www.amazon.com/The-New-Indian-Slow-Cooker/dp/1607746190/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1411415629&sr=8-1&keywords=neela+paniz) is a brand new book, but I've had access to a couple of the recipes for a few months now and here's the deal: Neela's recipes are occasionally complex. I've taken a few cooking classes from her and her "normal" vindaloo, for example, is really too long for anyone to do unless you have the whole afternoon to devote to it. But this book, due to its "slow cooker" focus, dumbs down a lot of steps without sacrificing much of the flavor, so it's a good compromise. What's more, even though it's focused for a slow cooker, you can easily convert it to a stovetop with very little effort.
Are you referring to this book? How do you like it?
This is the best book.
I've been using Iyer's 660 Curries. Loads of information and a really cheap book
There isn't one Indian cuisine. There's a few dozen, at least.
For a somewhat US focused book:
http://www.amazon.com/660-Curries-Raghavan-Iyer/dp/0761137874
For a somewhat worse printing, with better recipes: http://www.amazon.com/India-Cookbook-Pushpesh-Pant/dp/0714859028
Reading the reviews will probably help.
I like the "Essential Cookbook" series from Penguin. These are definitely closer to what I would eat at home than the recipes in the more popular cookbooks.
http://www.amazon.com/Essential-Kerala-Cookbook-Vijayan-Kannampilly/dp/0143029509
http://www.amazon.com/Essential-Marathi-Cookbook-Kaumudi-Marathe/dp/0143068024
http://www.amazon.com/Essential-Andhra-Cookbook-Hyderabadi-Bilkees/dp/0140271848
http://www.amazon.com/The-Pondicherry-Kitchen-Lourdes-Tirouvanziam-Louis/dp/9381626995
http://www.amazon.com/Essential-Sindhi-Cookbook-Aroona-Reejhsinghani/dp/0143032011
http://www.amazon.com/Essential-Cookbook-Maria-Teresa-Menezes/dp/0141000872
http://www.amazon.com/The-Essential-North-East-Cookbook/dp/0143030272
http://www.amazon.com/Saraswat-Mahila-Rasachandrika-Second-Paperback/dp/B00RWSJ7M0
SAMAITHU PAR (vol 1-4) is a book aimed at Tamil Iyer vegetarian cooking.
If you want authors more aimed at an occidental cook, I would suggest Madhur Jaffrey, Sanjeev Kapoor, Tarla Dalal, Vikas Khanna and Julie Sawhney
You should check out this cookbook! It's one of my favorites. I really enjoy cooking Indian food.
Probably my favorite:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0761137874/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1511546773&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=660+curries+by+raghavan+iyer
Easy, delicious recipes and after cooking a number of them, you won't even need a cookbook anymore!!
and if you're interested in indian curries in particular, i've heard excellent things about 660 Curries
http://www.amazon.com/660-Curries-Raghavan-Iyer/dp/0761148558/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
that is the best book by far on Pakistani and Indian cooking. I live in Pakistan and I wish I had it.
If you want real Indian food, go buy 660 Curries. It's a huge book, but it's amazing, and I've had it for a year now. Every recipe I try is absolutely fantastic, and he gives great tips on techniques. There's everything from how to make your own paneer to biriyanis. The focus is definitely more on curries, but also includes some flatbread recipes and other side dishes.
This is literally my curry bible.
Edit: Also included in this book are various recipes for how to make different spice blends like garam masala or punjabi masala using the whole spices. Invaluable just for that.
I have a lot of books with a few tea recipes, and a couple with a lot. The best of the bunch is "Culinary Tea" by Cynthia Gold and Lise Stern. I know you meant more recipes of tea blends rather than cooking recipes with tea, but Culinary Tea has a bunch of tea beverage recipes too.
Smoke and Spice:
http://www.amazon.com/Smoke-Spice-Cooking-Real-Barbecue/dp/1558322620/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1370901393&sr=1-1&keywords=smoke+and+spice
One of the first I bought. Besides great recipes (mains, sides, desserts, and drinks), it also has stories from the BBQ trail .
This recipe is from Smoke and Spice by Bill and Cheryl Jamison. This is a tried and true cookbook for me, I have tried many recipes and all of them have been smash hits. This recipe is no different. It is a mix of 1 lb ground pork, 1 lb ground beef, 1/2 c chopped peppers, 1/2 c chopped onions, 1.5 c bread crumb, 1 egg yolk, cumin, salt, pepper and hot sauce to taste. I combined all of the ingredients and put it in a loaf pan. Once in the loaf pan I added cajun seasoning to the top. Once the smoker was ready I smoked it on 250 for 45 minutes. At the end of the 45 minutes I took the loaf out of the pan and set it directly on the rack for 1.5 hours. In the second picture you can see I did have to cook it to finish it in the oven before dinner time for 15 minutes to get it up to temp. I was happy with the final product and even got a nice smoke ring! We are glad we will be having this for dinner a couple of times this week.
Smoke & Spice: Cooking with Smoke, the Real Way to Barbecue
https://www.amazon.com/Smoke-Spice-Cooking-Real-Barbecue/dp/1558322620
I've gifted more of these books than I care to remember. Any time a friend or family asks "How did you get so good at making BBQ?" I buy them this book and say start here.
Mine is slow smoked brisket.
Early in my marriage, I bought a small smoker and cooked some ribs. The recipe called for them to be smoked at 225 for 4 hours. While I was out on the small balcony of our Chicago apartment, my wife completely left me alone. I had 4 glorious hours of solitude while I tended the ribs in the smoker. And they came out tender and juicy and delicious. My wife was very proud of my new found skill.
20 years later, we live out in the country and I have a full sized smoker on my deck, and my wife still gives me the temporary solitude that I enjoy.
Now, on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, I wake up at 4AM and get the smoker going. I will smoke the biggest brisket I can find, usually north of 15 pounds. I will smoke it at 190-200 ALL DAY LONG. From 5AM til 11PM, usually. If it is still not cooked to perfection, I will finish it in the oven overnight.
I use mesquite usually, but sometimes oak or a mix of oak and mesquite. I am a huge fan of this cookbook, and use their recipe for the brisket. If you like smoked meat, I highly recommend it (the hot smoked salmon and martini leg of lamb recipes are also amazing, but all of the recipes in are good. There is even one for 'smoked butter', and that is something you need to try.)
Smoke and Spice, the best BBQ related cookbook I've ever seen.
This looks awesome! I actually ended up doing this without the marinade and I made my own BBQ sauce. Turned out great. I've been thinking of getting the book Smoke and Spice but I might have to get both.
This is a good book if you ask me.
stupidly hot sauce
and recipes
?
Activity: Refreshing RAoA's newest posts.
Movie: The Truman Show, American Beauty, State & Main
Book: I like non-fiction. I'm sure I'm in the minority.
You say potato, I say po-tah-to.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/160342816X/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1462602617&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=hot+sauce+book&dpPl=1&dpID=517h319riDL&ref=plSrch is a great book for hot sauce recipes and techniques for all different kinds of peppers.
I got my husband this cookbook: http://www.amazon.com/The-Sriracha-Cookbook-Rooster-Recipes/dp/1607740036
If you want a recipe from it, I'm willing to share. :)
This cookbook might be a good investment.
The Sriracha Cookbook
You're welcome, r/trees.
Sriracha Cookbook in case its not already in your library
http://www.amazon.com/The-Sriracha-Cookbook-Rooster-Recipes/dp/1607740036 :)
My roomy got this for me for my bday because I love anything spicy. I've made 2-3 of the recipes so far (Sriracha Ranch Dressing, Sriracha Crab Rangoon, etc) and they've all been amazing.
Looks like this book
SUATMM!
My friend's book - http://www.amazon.com/Sriracha-Cookbook-Rooster-Sauce-Recipes/dp/1607740036
Unfortunately it comes out in January buut it looks like you'll probably still have a ton of sriracha left over then.
The Sriracha Cookbook http://www.amazon.com/The-Sriracha-Cookbook-Rooster-Recipes/dp/1607740036/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1333388751&sr=8-1
Riddle the First
a toast!
There's this emergency candle. It has three wicks! How else would you make toast, if not over an open flame? And everyone knows how much more pleasant it is to study by candlelight. Found here
Riddle the Second
a broom?
On the arts-and-crafts list there lies a "bookbinding brush," to use when making notebooks! Not only does it look like a miniature broom, but every student needs a notebook to take notes in! Found here
Riddle the Third
a hat!
On "Chris's List," There is a lovely bundt cake pan. This lovely bundt cake pan could serve as a beautiful hat! As long as you don't mind looking like you've been caught in a whirlwind! And, it always serves to have something sweet to bribe your teachers with. ;) Found here
Riddle the Fourth
a book!
I have a whole wishlist full of books. The one I'd like most right now is The Hot Sauce Cookbook. It's about how to make hot sauce! Keeping a student entertained during holidays is the best way to avoid chaos at school! Found here
Riddle the Fifth
a trunk!
In the arts-and-crafts list, there is a beautiful wooden box. It's just the right size for a few novels. And just the right size to hide under those school books so no one finds those ahem special books. Found here
For Bonus Points
a cape!
On my "Arts and Crafts" list, I have an unfinished lighthouse. Just like the ones on CAPE Cod! A cape is necessary for those brief naps in the library. Better than a sleep mask! Found here
Mischief Managed!
There's a good base recipe in Robb Walsh's The Hot Sauce Cookbook. Search your local library online; you might luck out.
Buy this book.
Of course! I use the recipe in The Banh Mi Handbook. I got it for Christmas a few years ago and every recipe I’ve tried has been fantastic! I highly recommend.
Read The Cheese Trap for inspiration and get this book for its amazing cheese recipes. https://www.amazon.com/Homemade-Vegan-Pantry-Making-Staples/dp/1607746778
> Do you guys have any sources of really high quality vegan meals by like high level chefs and shit.
Take your pick! What cuisines does she like to make? What do you like to eat? Choose something that fits both.
Gourmet Stuff (youtube channels, blogs, and/or cookbooks. Some are all three):
For direct recreations of dairy, meat, and condiments/sauces.
For recreations of eggs:
For a general cookbook: Veganomicon
---------
My list of substitutions, taken from another comment:
"
Another thing you can do is learn or find vegan substitutes to things, then you can look up recipes that are as complex or authentic as you want, and simply use the substitutions. For gourmet vegan cooking, some are:
"
I am getting the vegan cheese cookbook, I miss cheese too!
https://www.amazon.com/Homemade-Vegan-Pantry-Making-Staples/dp/1607746778/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1522110071&sr=8-1&keywords=vegan+pantry+cookbook It's on sale right now for 1.99 on kindle, just bought it. Super excited!!
I got this book for my vegan SIL a couple years ago and recently bought it for myself. It's been great for easing me into veganism
https://www.amazon.com/Homemade-Vegan-Pantry-Making-Staples/dp/1607746778
I got this for Christmas a few years ago. Lots of good recipes.
This is vegetarian and does the no-onion and no-garlic thing, but it's quite big and covers a lot of material - a good starting point. It really teaches a lot about the what and the whys of Indian food. It was written by the (American) personal cook of the Hare Krishna founder, she followed him around all over India when he travelled there, learning recipes from his hosts.
Some easy to get into books
This is a classic Indian cookery books that grannies used to have
Tarla Daral was a popular food writer in India
Something from Punjab
This is not a beginners book, but very interesting
These Kerala restaurants do lovely modern cookbooks
More from South India
SOURCE: have been collecting books and shared cooking tips with Indian friends for a while
I know this isn't a yogurt flavor, but The Flavor Bible is pretty amazing. You might find some cool combinations for preexisting flavors, & I think they have a section on yogurt.
Sustainable Table.
Also really like Culinary Artistry, and The Flavor Bible.
Keep up what you're doing - the more you cook the more you learn.
Have you ever looked into a resource like the Flavor Bible book? It might help you to build a better understanding of flavor profiles.
It sounds like it was a webpage version of The Flavor Bible.
I do have a copy of The Flavor Bible. It's quite nice to not have to get up and hunt for it though by having a similar list on the computer.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001FA0P86?keywords=the%20flavor%20bible&qid=1449672514&ref_=sr_1_1&s=books&sr=1-1
The dextrose is just what I use as a primer for the yeast and the 1/4tsp is per the label instructions. I'm not sure how much if any flavor is imparted from it but this has been my method for every batch I've made so far and I haven't had a bad batch yet out of the five batches I've done.
Edit: As for the vanilla extract: it had a more prominent flavor at first but then I decided to go in a completely different direction with this one so I didn't add any more. I guess it's not necessary to add any then haha.
Edit 2: I love experimenting with flavor combinations! A good book for anyone into flavor profiles is The Flavor Bible. I actually had a watermelon basil salad at a potluck and it was really good. The idea to add chili powder came from the Flavor Bible.
Edit 3: lawlz hyperlinks
My bookshelf for cooking includes:
I am well beyond your average home cook but I hate dealing with the cleaning up, I'm not cooking for anyone but myself and dealing with getting groceries is just a pain & a combination of laziness on my part.
>It seems like I’ll never learn how to make complex flavor profiles from eating everyday basics. Do you know any good books?
Try The Flavor Bible by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg
This is the Bible for making Sauces.