The Flavor Bible, originally published by Little, Brown and Company in 2008, is a necessary tool for anyone who is serious about, dare I say it, flavor.
Those of you that know me, know that I had gastric bypass surgery in February of 2013 (losing a whopping 147 lbs to date!) and that I can only eat very small portions of food at any one sitting -- less than a cup (in total) of consumption at any meal. Yes, you read that correctly. A cup! This makes being a foodie very difficult. And, yes, I still consider myself a foodie. Although I cannot inhale the voluminous amounts of food I was accustomed to eating, I enjoy the food I eat and make every bite count.
For me, the key to making every bite count is ensuring that the flavors pop guaranteeing the perpetual party in my mouth. Well, this is not easy. Although I am a solid cook -- some would say awesome (I pay them) -- it is difficult to come up with flavor combinations that aren't boring, expensive, and/or repetitive. Enter The Flavor Bible.
The Flavor Bible answers the age old question: What goes with what? Don't know what to add to pumpkin to make it pop? Check The Flavor Bible (Answer: bay leaf). Want to know what flavor affinities are present in Georgian (Russian) cuisine? Check The Flavor Bible. (Answer: coriander + dill + fenugreek (blue) + garlic + red peppers + walnuts). Did you know chicken goes well with cinnamon? That you should use marjoram in egg dishes? That navy beans go well with YELLOW onions? OK, I think I've made my point.
From the mundane to the exotic, look up an ingredient in the matching tables and you will get the wisdom of some of the worlds most celebrated chefs to guide you, whether you want to enhance a recipe or are creating something from scratch. From personal experience I can tell you that pumpkin/bay leaf trick really works. I made some pumpkin cookies the other day that I had made a zillion times before. But, this time I added a bay leaf to the pumpkin mixture and sauteed for a while before adding to the batter. The pumpkin flavor was enhanced tremendously and the cookies were better than ever before! Yes, you need to remove the bay leaf. ;)
I turn to this book again and again. Instead of keeping it in the library, I keep it in my kitchen. My one regret is that it took me 5 years to find it. You can check it out here: The Flavor Bible
Enjoy!
Alex
Well, here is yet another book to add to my library. I did know about the cinnamon chicken though -- yay, 1 point for me!
ReplyDeleteI look forward to reading your blog Alex. Let me know when you want to try out some recipes!
It is one of the best investments I've made for my kitchen. I use it regularly!
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