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Review
A comprehensive and joyful look at a world of flavour. It's beautifully photographed and divided into the broad characteristics of different spices --Healthy Food Guide, November 2011
Sophie Grigson takes you on a world tour of spices. This is a handy guide to an essential group of cook's ingredients --Food (Tesco), September, 1 2011
90 recipes for spiced dishes from all over the world --Health & Fitness, November 2011
Sophie Grigson takes you on a world tour of spices. This is a handy guide to an essential group of cook's ingredients --Food (Tesco), September, 1 2011
90 recipes for spiced dishes from all over the world --Health & Fitness, November 2011
Product Description
Spices are so familiar that much of the time we ignore their provenance, but they carry within them an unparalleled magic - one that inspires greed, lust, romance, nostalgia and perhaps most importantly of all, the power to enthral cooks and consumers alike. This fascinating book opens the cupboard to reveal not just their culinary prowess, in the form of over 90 delicious recipes for spiced dishes from all over the world, but also their stories - for every spice has its own unique story, just as it has its own particular scent and magic. In this intriguing and practical guide, each spice has a dedicated entry, exploring its origins and voyages, its various culinary forms, and offering a selection of tempting recipes that exploit its unique aroma and flavour. In addition, there is a compendium of spice blends, ranging from the familiar to more exotic spice mixes. Beautiful and informative photographs by award-winning photographer David Loftus enhance the appeal of this exceptional book.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
On the face of it, it's an odd concept for a cookery book - recipes sorted according to the spices that go into them. After all, few of us think "I really fancy something with cardamom tonight" when searching for inspiration in the kitchen. Neither is this book really the solution for using up all those dusty bottles left over from two Christmases ago - Sophie Grigson is a connoisseur of flavourings, and she demands your ingredients are fresh - or at least freshly ground.
But once you start reading, the adventurousness of the concept really takes hold. These recipes are immensely varied - from dinner-party showoff dishes like "Venison in the style of the Mughal Court" to simple delights like cinnamon toast or masala chai (spiced tea). There are staple dishes your grandmother might have made, like bread sauce, custard tart, seed cake, gingerbread or apple pie, which remind us that British cuisine was traditionally built around a range of staple spices. Then there are some decidedly modern twists on old ideas (who would have thought of flavouring chocolate mousse with juniper berries?) and unusual exotics like banana ketchup from the Philippines or rum punch from Grenada. There are some great introductions to spices which perhaps you may not have tried, like sumac or kalonji - and a full and useful guide to choosing and keeping spices so as to get the most out of their flavour.
What I liked most about these recipes were the unexpected sweet/savoury combinations. Those of us who connect vanilla only with desserts may be surprised to find a recipe for red onion and vanilla soup; if you think of chillies as a savoury ingredient, prepare to be amazed by "sweet heat pineapple jelly."
An unusual but educational cookbook which will broaden your culinary horizons and spice up your store cupboard.
But once you start reading, the adventurousness of the concept really takes hold. These recipes are immensely varied - from dinner-party showoff dishes like "Venison in the style of the Mughal Court" to simple delights like cinnamon toast or masala chai (spiced tea). There are staple dishes your grandmother might have made, like bread sauce, custard tart, seed cake, gingerbread or apple pie, which remind us that British cuisine was traditionally built around a range of staple spices. Then there are some decidedly modern twists on old ideas (who would have thought of flavouring chocolate mousse with juniper berries?) and unusual exotics like banana ketchup from the Philippines or rum punch from Grenada. There are some great introductions to spices which perhaps you may not have tried, like sumac or kalonji - and a full and useful guide to choosing and keeping spices so as to get the most out of their flavour.
What I liked most about these recipes were the unexpected sweet/savoury combinations. Those of us who connect vanilla only with desserts may be surprised to find a recipe for red onion and vanilla soup; if you think of chillies as a savoury ingredient, prepare to be amazed by "sweet heat pineapple jelly."
An unusual but educational cookbook which will broaden your culinary horizons and spice up your store cupboard.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
I was a little disappointed with this book. I was anticipating a book about *spices* with some recipes, but this is just a cookery book that happens to include spices with each recipe (and what cookery book doesn't?). It's a very attractive volume, well illustrated, nicely presented in general with some delicious-sounding food - though not for a vegetarian, about 70% of the recipes are meat and fish. The spices themselves are divided into sections: 'nutty', 'aromatic', 'sweet', and there's about a page and a half of description and history at the start of each spices' section. I really wanted far more more about the spices themselves, their provenance, history and their *general* use (rather than specific use in specific dishes). I was also hoping for more unusual spices; these were all rather mundane (chilli, poppy, pepper, Cumin,etc).
In short, this would make a very nice gift for a carnivorous cook looking to expand a basic-British repertoire - but not an adventurous one.
In short, this would make a very nice gift for a carnivorous cook looking to expand a basic-British repertoire - but not an adventurous one.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
It's very easy to take spices for granted most of the time as they are so readily available on supermarket shelves, neatly packaged. In this book, Sophie Grigson gives something of the story of her favourite types of spices, their history, their effect and how they do what they do. She then goes on to give a few recipes for some of the spices in a particular group. The instructions are clear and the pictures are beautiful.
The balance of detail about the spices themselves and how to use them was just right for me as the words bring the spices off the page and make me want to use them more. If you are after an encyclopaedia on spices, this probably isn't it but I liked it very much the way it was and it has certainly made me more aware of spices, how to make best use them and inspired me to use them even more than I did before.
The main part of the book is divided into the following sections:
Hot, bitter and sour, aromatic, anise, warm sweet and scented, and blends.
Each section covers some specific spices so "hot spices" includes sections about mustard seed, chillies, paprika and pepper while "aromatic spices" has sections about coriander, cumin, juniper, ginger and saffron.
The writing brings the magic of the spices off the page without high-flown prose and I loved it.
The balance of detail about the spices themselves and how to use them was just right for me as the words bring the spices off the page and make me want to use them more. If you are after an encyclopaedia on spices, this probably isn't it but I liked it very much the way it was and it has certainly made me more aware of spices, how to make best use them and inspired me to use them even more than I did before.
The main part of the book is divided into the following sections:
Hot, bitter and sour, aromatic, anise, warm sweet and scented, and blends.
Each section covers some specific spices so "hot spices" includes sections about mustard seed, chillies, paprika and pepper while "aromatic spices" has sections about coriander, cumin, juniper, ginger and saffron.
The writing brings the magic of the spices off the page without high-flown prose and I loved it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Refreshingly different.
Spices is written from the fairly unusual starting point of the spices themselves. Sophie Grigson, already famous for her 21 cookery books, brings this welcome addition. Read more
Published 25 days ago by Lily
Great half-way house between spices and recipe book
This is a really interesting book. The explanations of what spices are makes for an interesting read, and the combintion with lots of recipes is good. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Richard Stowey
Currying Favour
Excellent book on Spices, informative and interesting, many of us who cook using different spices just follow the recipe - very few of us have an understanding of where and why... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mrs. T. Mannell
More of a lesson in spices than a cook book...
To qualify my title, yes of course the book contains recipes, maybe 100 or so (within 230 pages), but I feel the recipes are there to backup the writing about the spices, and... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mike J
Starty Spice
'Spices', written in Sophie Grigson's unpretentious and accessible style, combines short histories of spices in their various classifications along with a few simple recipes... Read more
Published 3 months ago by A. Miles
Informative articles and interesting menus
Not a large number of recipes, but each one is explained thoroughly and clearly. The spices used have interesting and informative articles, not really required information but I... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Mr BD
Not too spicy but just right
`Spices' is a beautifully illustrated book which would look good on any cook's bookshelf. As the eponymous title suggests, Sophie Grigson's focus is on those magic ingredients... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Moonless
The Ultimate Spice Book
This is a lovely book by one of my favourite cookery experts. Not only does Sophie Grigson give the historical background of spices but she also shows a variety of interesting... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mrs. D. A. Bremner
Foody Spice!!
Sophie Grigson knows her stuff. Over the years she has produced several excellent cookbooks and this classy looking contemporary take on flavour is a great addition. Read more
Published 4 months ago by pete
A cookbook to use...
Beautifully illustrated and written in Sophie Grigson's very recognisable "voice", this book is an excellent introduction to the use of spices in cooking. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Welsh Annie
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