Many people who listen to my podcast lately have heard me raving about The Flavor Bible. This book is probably one of the most valuable additions that I’ve made to my culinary library in years. Sure the Alinea Cook Book reigns supreme when it comes to food porn; just the layout sends shivers down my spine.
But when it comes to true functionality, a book that I can use over and over again on a daily basis when creating new menus and dishes, The Flavor Bible stands alone.
The first two chapters of the book are a little more esoteric in the sense that they focus on many different elements that form flavor structure; what the authors of this book call the “Language of Food.”
Although these two chapters are extremely enlightening and a joy to read, the real value of the book is in its third chapter; more appropriately described as a section, because it takes up the bulk of this almost 400 page book.
In this chapter you’ll find the “flavor matching guide”. Just simply look up the primary ingredient that you want to design a dish for, and it will list other ingredients that classically and scientifically pair well with your primary ingredient.
I used this book recently to develop a new dish using black cod. I knew that I wanted to use black cod as my primary ingredient, but I was having a bit of a flavor block when trying to conceptualize the rest of the plate. So I simply looked up black cod in The Flavor Bible and it listed among other ingredients: ginger, leeks, and soy sauce.
This led me to create a the following dish: “Potato Wrapped Black Cod, Shitake-Leek Cannelloni, Ginger Beurre Blanc.”
The black cod is wrapped in potato sheets and cooked in clarified butter until golden brown. The shitake mushrooms are sauteed down with ginger, shallots, soy, a little sesame oil and some sherry, and then they are rolled in the white portion of a blanched leek sheet, just like how you would stuff a cannelloni. The sauce is a ginger beurre blanc, and the whole dish is garnished with fleur de sel and little pinch of Mixed Asian Mirco Greens.
This dish has turned into an extremely popular item at the restaurant where I work, and people are always raving about the flavor combination.
If you only buy one culinary book this year, BUY THIS BOOK!
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
I took your advice and have to agree – this book is a must have. I even like it much more than their earlier book – Culinary Artistry.
Thanks for the tip, Jacob. I have already put this book to use!
Oh my, my mouth is watering to read about that cod recipe; thanks for the recommendation! I’ll definitely put this on my amazon wish list!
@ SB,
Yes, I do like this book better than Culinary Artistry…although in my opinion, that is another must have book in your library. The bottom line is that these authors are brilliant, and I’ll pretty much buy any book they publish sight un-seen.
Completely off topic – a question: My girlfriend will kill me if I buy another pot. Can I use a Le Creuset oval to roast veal knuckle bones for stock, or should I get a heavy roasting pan and figure out a hiding place? Thanks.
@ Steve,
LOL, that’s a great question. Really, any heavy bottom vessel will work well for roasting bones. The only reason why you need a heavy bottom roasting pan is because it will roast your bones much more evenly, and then when you go back to deglaze, you’ll have a much easier time deglazing all those little nummies off the bottom of the pan. So yes, your Le Creuset will work fine for roasting your bones, and keep you out of the dog house.
Thanks for the answer – now I have to go tomorrow and see if Fairway, Citarella, or Lobel’s will get me those veal bones. I will report as necessary.
@ Steve,
Let me know how it turns out.