Perfect for : Personal Use, Gift for someone who loves to cook

In a nutshell: This is an awesome book! It is full of such a wealth of information to aid in the kitchen. I can't tell you the number of times that I wanted to take plain chicken and use the herbs and spices that I had at my fingertips to create a mouth-watering meal. . . but no matter what I did, it didn't turn out as planned. With this book, I can do that. It doesn't tell me to put precise ingredients together to create the perfect dish, but rather tells me what I can put together, and what I can pair it with, leaving the creativity to me.

Extended Review:
Content: The authors take the time to share the different ways we experience flavor in the introduction. They also share some real strategies for balancing the flavors of the meal. The remainder of the rest of the book is comprised of a guide that cross-references different foods and flavors, providing the following for each item: matching flavors (key flavors, those recommended by experts, highly recommended, and those that are MOST highly recommended by the experts), season, taste, function, weight, volume, techniques, tips, flavor affinities and things to avoid.

Format: Very easy to use, simply look up an item and find out everything you can (and shouldn't) put with it!

Readability: I don't think it could be any easier to read the matching charts and the accompanying information. Just remember that there is an explanation of how the matching chart works on page 37.

Overall: A great tool for anyone who wants to cook from scratch on occasion, without relying on traditional cookbooks. Challenge yourself to have some fun cooking using your imagination and this wonderfully helpful book. ( )

This has become my absolute favorite book to cook with. I have a plethora of cookbooks with recipes for almost anything but sometimes have trouble finding the exact recipe I want to use. Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg have talked to well-known and well-respected chefs across the country and developed this massive chart (fully 90% of the book) of "flavor matches". With it, I can start with any one ingredient (hmm...I think I'm in the mood to make something with ginger) go to the appropriate page and find a list of other things that go with it. I have sometimes started with one ingredient, found my second off that list, then turned to the list for the second and found my third, and so on. (Did you know that ginger and tomatoes can be turned into a great sauce for chicken?) If you are the type to slavishly follow recipes, this book may be a bit overwhelming. But if, like me, you find yourself starting with a recipe and making changes as you go along, or even combining two completely different recipes to make a third, this book NEEDS to join your collection. ( )

When I first heard of this book I thought it would be filled with recipes but this is all about flavor and how to enhance it. Until recently, dishes were based on geography and what was available near you. Now that ingredients are available all over the world they are based on flavor. This book was eight years in the making and is meant to inspire greater, more innovative creations. This guide to hundreds of different ingredients along with different seasonings, herbs and spices will allow you to derive the most flavor from the various combinations.

The book is divided into three chapters. The first is a short chapter on how to recognize the language of food. This explains taste and touch (perceived by the mouth), aroma (perceived by the nose) and the "x factor" (perceived by the heart, mind and spirit). The second chapter is also short and is about how to make food taste great by understanding the moment and the ingredients. The moment is comprised of such things as the weather, budget, time, occasion and other resources. The ingredients are based on regionality, season, weight, function and flavor. Chapter 3 makes up the rest of the book and has detailed charts on flavor matchmaking. They are listed in alphabetical order with easy to follow symbols and instructions. Mixed throughout are sample dishes and tips from leading experts from top restaurants.

I am amazed by the details in this book. There are flavor combinations and enhancements I never would have dreamed of. My husband is the cook in the family and loves to collect spices, sauces and seasonings. I'm pretty sure he will also be amazed by the contents of this guide. ( )

AWESOME!! Make sure you read chapters 1 and 2 before you delve in to the flavor charts! ( )

This heavy, almost 400-page tome is a great idea for someone who is already a good cook, but who would like to become a gourmet. It's divided into three sections: Learning the Language of Food, Communicating Via the Language of Food, and The Charts, which focuses on the matchmaking of flavors. It's quite detailed. Why there's ten pages on cheese! It's a culinary reference book for the chef at heart. ( )