The Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America's Most Imaginative Chefs by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page (2008, Hardcover)

An essential for those of us who aspire to cooking artistry by "winging-it" and getting away from the recipe book, or don't have a recipe at hand. The first part of The Flavor Bible is about the things that make up "Flavor" and how they contribute to the overall experience of what we think of as "Good" tasting food. Savoriness, texture, and sweetness combine with many other qualities to create the experience of "Taste"- So, you get a breakdown of how these things work and work in combination in the first two chapters. But the bulk of the book, and maybe the best part, is devoted to charts that allow easy access to flavor combination's, and selection of seasonings to compliment all kinds of food. You can look-up "Greek" for instance and see the herbs and seasonings that create the characteristic flavors in Greek cooking, and the meats, vegetables and condiments that are part of the traditional flavors. You can look-up "Eggplant" and get an alphabetical list of seasonings, complimentary flavors to work with it, and cross-references to Italian or Korean cuisine where eggplant is used. Near the end of the listing is a list of "flavor affinities" like: eggplant + basil + ricotta salata cheese + tomatoes, to help understand combination's that work well to give the flavors associated with the food or cuisine. For eggplant there is a list of eight. You will also find suggested dishes and comments on flavor combination's from some of Americas most imaginative chefs. Illustrated with interesting and attractive photos throughout, food lovers and adventurous cooks will find this a welcome addition to their kitchen or library, and perhaps the door to a whole new world of flavor.

This book is a reference to cooks for all types of cooking. It helps you blend flavors to a recipe or to add a little zing to an otherwise ordinary dish. One complimentary food affinity can really make a real difference. I have already used it twice on recipes & have schimmed it by jumping around looking at different food that I wondered about what foods to blend with what.

This book will also be great when I have too much vegetable or fruit from the garden & I want to change the flavor so I am not feeling like I am eating the same boring thing after I have eaten it two times. I can add new spices and flavors of foods in the same recipe and just change some of the vegetables or other ingredients around and create something new from the same recipe or in essence; create my own new recipe. It gives a novice or an experienced cook alot of information to create an endless amount of great food for yourself, friends, and family.

This is truly the "Bible" of flavor parings! Highly recommended to both professional and home cooks.

Decided to purchase book because of the outstanding reviews by other ebay members. It is just as good as reviewed. I really believe that this book will help my cooking because of the great descriptions of the herbs/spices and what foods they match up with. I have always envied people who can just "tell" what to put with what food because of flavor - I cannot do that. I am a "recipe cook" who just can't put a dish together without using a recipe. Now I feel like I can at least try to match up some foods with herbs/spices and have a successful meal.

A great reference & interesting read. As a foodie, I enjoyed the comments & flavor suggestions of top chefs and as a cook, I liked the how the practical science of food flavors applied to my kitchen.