Created as the ideal reference for anyone with a serious interest in cooking with herbs, spices, or related plant materials, The Herbalist in the Kitchen is truly encyclopedic in scope. It provides detailed information about the uses, botany, toxicity, and flavor chemistry of herbs, as well as a listing for nearly every name that an ingredient is known by around the world. Richly illustrated with fifty-six images from the Missouri Botanical Garden rare book collection, The Herbalist in the Kitchen promises to enlighten cooks of all levels, from beginning culinary artists to seasoned professional chefs . Even including herbs and spices not yet seen in the United States (but likely to be featured in recipes for adventurous cooks soon), The Herbalist in the Kitchen is organized into one hundred five sections, each consisting of a single botanical family. The book provides all available information about the chemical compounds responsible for a plant's characteristic taste and scent, which allows cooks to consider new subtleties and potential alternatives. For instance, the primary flavoring ingredient of cloves is eugenol; when a cook knows that bay leaves also contain eugenol, a range of exciting substitutions becomes clear. The foodie's ultimate herbal reference book, The Herbalist in the Kitchen also provides guidance about measuring herbs, enabling readers to understand the dated measuring standards from old-fashioned cookbooks.
