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A BUSY COOK’S
GUIDE TO SPICES:
How to Introduce New
Flavors to Everyday Meals

By Linda Murdock

This book will be a valuable addition to every cookbook collection, for it offers guided help in making recipes more flavorful, allowing cooks to cut back on excessive fats and too much salt. The structure of the book is excellent. Its “Special Charts and Lists” alone, is reason to own it. Some of the Charts are:  

Matching Foods and Flavorings with Beer
Sugar Varieties, Equivalencies/Substitutes
Seasonings in Dishes calling for White Wine
Seasonings in Dishes calling for Red Wine
Pairing Cheeses with Beverages (wines) and Fruit
Seafood Substitutions
Flavor Substitutions

“Flavorings and How they are Used,” Allspice to Worcestershire Sauce. In this section, the entry for the spice, Angelica, contains what Angelica tastes like, when to use it in a recipe, how it affects measures of other ingredients and foods to use this spice in. What is its color and form? What is its historical remedy reputation taken internally, used externally. What is the origin to the spice, part of the world it came from. Lastly, a short rundown on the spice’s history and any folkslore.

Another fascinating section is “Food and Flavorings that go with Them”  from Apples to Zucchini.” In this section, find 18 seasonings which complement Asparagus, directions for buying and cooking it, preparation ideas for a breakfast dish, two pasta dish choices, salad suggestions, a recipe for asparagus sauce, stir-fry guidance and side dish variations.  

Few North Americans concentrate on the Asian-important focus on foods which are sweet, salty, sour and bitter. How are these substances amplified, blended, modified or tamed down? For instance, the Salty Flavorings segment states “Salty flavoring tastes stronger in cold dishes than hot ones.” This is where Murdock’s section, “The Four Tastes and How to use Them” comes to the rescue. 

Few can own up to knowing all there is to know about seasonings. With this book, however, you will be in a position to be far better informed.  

Review by Marty Martindale, Largo, FL