The Spice & Herb Bible Third Edition by Ian Hemphill with recipes by Kate Hemphill

Stars: *****

Robert Rose (2014)
Food/Cookbook
800 pages

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in exchange for a review. This post contains affiliate links.

Summary: A new edition of the IACP award-winning book on spices and herbs. Cooks use spices and herbs not only to enhance food’s flavor, but also to create new taste combinations and sensations. From bay leaves to lemongrass to vanilla beans, it is virtually impossible to imagine a well- stocked kitchen without herbs and spices. This completely revised and expanded edition is a fascinating and authoritative guide. Ian Hemphill describes a wide range of global herbs and spices used in today’s kitchen, either alone or in wonderful blends. He demystifies the art of combining herbs and spices, and cooks are introduced to a world of flavors previously found only at internationally inspired restaurants.  He really gives you, the reader, “the inside story,” based on his learning and experiences in this ancient and stimulating industry.

The Spice & Herb Bible

This giant book is your go-to guide for herbs and spices. Got a spice you don’t know what to do with? Look it up. Using a spice but don’t know what other spices go with it? Look it up. You can find out so much more as well.

Book Highlights:

• Full colour book
• 177 recipes inspired by the herbs and spices
• Travels in the Spice Trade sections (Ian’s personal travel stories)
• The spice name in other languages
• Background on each spice
• Traditional Uses, Combines With and Spice Blends for each one
• Information on the plant, processing, buying, storage and use
• general help on using spices and herbs
• spice blends and how to use them

You won’t just find common spices such as basil, oregano and paprika in here. The books contains almost 100 different herbs and spices including: Anise Seed, Borage, Coriander, Elder, Horseradish, Kokam, Lemon Verbena, Mastic, Pandan Leaf, Pepper – Sichuan, Saffron or Wattleseed.

Don’t let those weird ones scare you off, it has the common ones too including vanilla, mustard, chile powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, cumin and chives.

The included recipes all sound delicious and I can’t wait to try them. I just got some spices from a neighbour and now I can look them up and find a recipe to try them with.

Just don’t drop the book on your foot, it’s HEAVY!

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