The Flavor Thesaurus: Pairings, Recipes and Ideas for the Creative Cook - Tapa dura

"The cure for dinner ennui...a cheekily erudite, endlessly fascinating master list of flavor pairings both familiar and surprising...the entries get you dreaming of both exotic feasts and after-work comfort foods." --Whole Living

"An imaginative but practical matchmaker, [Segnit] has a gift for pairing sometimes lackluster ingredients in a way that brings out the best in them and makes them more appealing as a couple than they ever were as loners... She shares an eloquent vocabulary with us in this delicious book." --Wall Street Journal

"It has intrigued, inspired, amused and occasionally infuriated me all year, and will for years to come." - Observer, Best Books of the Year

"For new cooks and old hands in the kitchen, this book is a must-have and a must-read. Not only are the flavor combinations and recipes offered useful, but Niki Segnit's descriptions of each and every one are delightful to read. It's a combination between a bedtime read and a kitchen companion." --GOOP

"With utmost respect for classic pairings, Segnit boldly considers the chemistry and harmony of flavor and, ventures into unusual combinations for a perfect reference for the aspiring foodie." --Chicago Tribune

"The smartest, most original compendium I've come across in donkey's years. It's not a formulaic collection of recipes with variations but a rich and witty and erudite collection of suggestions for arranged marriages of the very best kind: food on food...it's the kitchen equivalent of Match.com." --Epicurious

A complete guide to the 160 most essential flavors, and their numerous combinations, offering new inspiration for the cook who has everything.

In this lively and exceptionally enjoyable book, career flavor scientist Niki Segnit uncovers the essential flavors of food, and organizes them into 160 basic ingredients. In this concise way, she articulates every flavor imaginable, whether it's a "grassy" food like dill, cucumber, or peas, or a "floral fruity" one like figs, roses, or blueberries. And then she considers every conceivable combination of these ingredients.

Segnit has scoured thousands of recipes in countless recipe books, talked to dozens of food technologists and chefs, and visited hundreds of restaurants-all in her quest to uncover the planet's essential flavor pairings. The result is a reminder that there are almost infinite possibilities in an everyday kitchen, whether it means spinning celery and dill into a savory broth, orange and carrots into a crisp salad, or cabbage and sage into an elegant cream sauce. This book is also full of quirky observations, practical information (hundreds of recipes are embedded in the narrative) and more than a few good jokes.

Beautifully packaged, The Flavor Thesaurus is not only a highly useful, and covetable, reference book that will immeasurably improve your cooking-it's the sort of book that might keep you up at night reading.