Hot Sour Salty Sweet by Naomi Duguid and Jeffrey Alford. Like all of their books, researched within an inch of its life, and breathes every breath of life that is in it.
Spices - it is called sniff and taste! BUT the American Bible is named 'THE SPICE COOKBOOK" by Avenelle Day (C 1964) - that is, 'everything you never knew you wanted to learn about spices'. Honestly it is as good as it was then, with about 1400 recipes and lots more historical and gourmet spice/herb info!
I agree with Monita, Lior is a genius! And he also has a wonderful spice shop in New York City called La Boite Biscuits and Spices, if you are ever in the area.
Do you own this book? I'm curious to know whether it is true, as I have read in some reviews, that the book is a guide to using the blends Mr. Sercarz sells but does not tell you how to make the blends yourself.
According to the description of the The Art of Blending, found on Amazon, cookbookchick is right:
"The Art of Blending looks into the mind and work of spice master Lior Lev Sercarz, who has created custom blends for some of the world’s top culinary minds.
Since launching La Boîte á Epice in 2006, he has released 41 of his blends to the public, which he sells in gourmet shops and in his Manhattan shop and art gallery-La Boîte.
Sercarz’s ?rst cookbook tells the stories behind these blends and offers recipes for each contributed by his clients, which include chefs Daniel Boulud,
Eric Ripert, Michelle Bernstein and Paul Kahan; Parisian baker Apollonia Poilâne and Top Chef’s Gail Simmons. All of these recipes make use of the spice blends produced by La Boite; as such it is an invaluable companion piece for the proper experience of the unique blends by La Boite."
In other words, this is not for cooks who want to grind and mix their own blends. ;o)
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"The Art of Blending looks into the mind and work of spice master Lior Lev Sercarz, who has created custom blends for some of the world’s top culinary minds.
Since launching La Boîte á Epice in 2006, he has released 41 of his blends to the public, which he sells in gourmet shops and in his Manhattan shop and art gallery-La Boîte.
Sercarz’s ?rst cookbook tells the stories behind these blends and offers recipes for each contributed by his clients, which include chefs Daniel Boulud,
Eric Ripert, Michelle Bernstein and Paul Kahan; Parisian baker Apollonia Poilâne and Top Chef’s Gail Simmons. All of these recipes make use of the spice blends produced by La Boite; as such it is an invaluable companion piece for the proper experience of the unique blends by La Boite."
In other words, this is not for cooks who want to grind and mix their own blends. ;o)