The Deluxe Food Lover's Companion

October 19, 2009
The latest addition to the Companion culinary series is dubbed the “deluxe” volume because of its expanded and restructured content updated by Ron Herbst in memory of his wife, Sharon Tyler Herbst, the original author. The book maintains its reputation as an encyclopedia of literally every dish, ingredient and spice imaginable, each featuring cross-references and a pronunciation guide—especially helpful for those with a fancy palate. This time around, Herbst organizes some of the more popular entries such as apples, beer, cookies and olives into their own glossaries appearing alphabetically throughout the book. Fans of the series will find this an obvious and welcome revision, this one with gold-gilded page edges. Quotes from famous chefs, diagrams of meat cuts and sketches on every page make this a solid companion for home cooks.

April 15, 2015

What's the difference between regular, red, and white ginseng? What's in carrageenan, a substance often seen on ingredients lists? And what are some dos and don'ts when using chopsticks? More than 7,200 entries in this attractive dictionary-style work answer these questions and many more in straightforward language that will help even the most novice cooks. The material has a long genealogy: it's based on the fifth edition of The Food Lover's Companion, the first incarnation of which Sharon Herbst began more than 26 years ago. Entries define an item and discuss its history and related foodstuffs. Sprinkled throughout but concentrated at the end of the book are glossaries (new to the deluxe edition) that present facts on types of food and drink such as cocktails, sauces, and spices. An appendix offers such charts and other material as "Substituting Ingredients," "High-Altitude Baking Adjustments," "A Guide to Food Labels," and "Blood Alcohol Concentration Charts." The presentation also boasts an extensive glossary. Missing are photographs--the work instead offers drawings, also new to this work--but the information is solid nonetheless. VERDICT Useful for recipe collections, home cooks, and children doing reports on foods and food-related culture.--Henrietta Verma, Library Journal

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