The Flavour Thesaurus

Product Information

What let's it down is something seemingly mundane and pragmatic - it typeset in font 8 or 9, which makes it very hard read. But somehow that didn’t happen, and instead we get this: A book which isn’t what it says it is, and isn’t nearly good enough to make up for it. Fudgy, saccharine milk chocolate meets sinus-widening menthol: I’ve had more appetizing things collect in my dishwasher filter. The book includes an extensive bibliography, recipe index, ingredient index, and a regular index, so you can find anything easily. I’ve told a dozen people who I know love to cook about this book now, and all of them have given me some version of the same stare, a You-Want-Me-to-Read-a-Book-About-Flavor Combinations?

In one sense Segnit is telling us nothing new, since flavour combinations are something we all know about: why else would we chose to eat cheese and onion crisps, or mustard with ham? Niki’s columns and reviews have appeared in the Times, the Guardian and the TLS, and she broadcasts regularly for BBC Radio 4. It's fanciful, lush and ritzy, out of reach and rich in detail, a place where, when my own room and my own bed fail me, I can finally forget to fall—and so then fall—asleep. Food lovers will enjoy Segnit's meander through food memories, recipes, and advice, along with all the practical uses for this flavor reference guide.This well-written and clearly organized compendium of flavour combinations is treasure trove of inspiration and full of food pairings I had never even dreamed of. Strawberry’s heart-like shape and color have seen it unimaginatively match-made with that default love token, chocolate. The Flavour Thesaurus was the first book to examine what goes with what, pair by pair and is divided into flavour themes including Meaty, Cheesy, Woodland and Floral Fruity.

When the attempt at writing such a thing as a flavor thesaurus failed, a reworking of the concept might have saved it. With her celebrated blend of science, history, expertise, anecdotes, and signature sense of humor, Niki Segnit's More Flavors is a modern classic of food writing, and a brilliantly useful, engaging reference book for every cook's kitchen. Flavor combinations are then listed in short paragraph form which could either contain a simple recipe (more guidance, than literal – see below), a witty anecdote, or an amusing aside. Beautifully packaged, The Flavour Thesaurus is not only a highly useful, and covetable, reference book for cooking - it might keep you up at night reading.No doubt there are more rigorous ways to explain the compatibility of these ingredients, but I doubt they'd be half as satisfying. In the same way that reading the study guide for Anna Karenina, rather than the actual novel, will give you an idea of the book. The kind whose flecks of mouthwash-flavored grit the manufacturers hope we’ll be too drunk, after dinner, to spit back into the foil. To be honest, if I'm hearing as many second hand memories and grudges about cigarettes and whores, I'd rather be reading a food reference book by Tony Soprano.

Now featuring a new foreword by Bee Wilson and a fold-out poster of the flavour wheel, The Flavour Thesaurus is a highly useful, and covetable, reference book for cooking - it will keep you up at night reading. The Flavour Thesaurus has also been reviewed by The Sunday Times, [3] Foodtripper, [4] Good, [5] Library Journal, [6] Booklist, [7] Michigan Quarterly Review, [8] and The Globe and Mail.There is a touch of the Casaubon about Segnit, a maniacal desire to totalise, reflected in the very fact that this is a "thesaurus". I am generally of the opinion that if I don’t have nice things to say about other people’s hard work I might as well not. But “The Flavor Thesaurus” is much more than just a reference book, seasoning the mix of culinary science, culture and expert knowledge with the author’s own insights and opinions, all presented in her witty, engaging and highly readable style. i love that it’s not just description of flavours, it’s examples, it’s recipes, it’s ideas, it’s tips, tricks, books and restaurants to hit up if you travel.