Food Reference Books

[Hopleaf]

I've come to rely on quite a growing number of food reference volumes and was wondering if anyone had any favorites they'd like to share. Some of mine include:

Laurousse Gastronomique

Barron's Food Lovers Companion

Webster's New World Dictionary of Culinary Arts

Recipe's into Type

There are several beyond these that I'd like to get my hands on, but would like to hear some others from eGulleters first.

[Brad S]

Hi Hopleaf...

You have a good foundation to start with.

A couple more that I feel are indispensible are

A culinary history (English edition by Albert sonnenfield,Edited by jean-Louis Flandrin and massimo Montanau)

The oxford Companion to food

The cambrigde companion to food

Food in History by Tannahill

[Shiva]

On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen by Harold McGee.

[Hopleaf]

A caped Chef, Shiva, Thanks. I'm gonna try to review these at the library before picking them up.

How do the Oxford and Cambridge companions stack up against one another? Similar enough that one might do? (I'm a yank talking so go easy on me)

[Suzanne F]

Hopleaf, most of your list are general-interest. Do you have a particular goal, or just want to be able to look up terms and history? For example, I have many illustrated books on ingredients used in various cuisines; does that interest you? And how scientific do you care to get? The Harold McGee suggestion is excellent, and there's also Shirley Corriher's Cookwise.

I would bet that all of us can give you zillions of titles. It all depends on what you want.

[Hopleaf]

Editing cookbooks, I never know what I'm gonna run into and have to look up. So, I suppose general interest ones are best. If I happen to be working on a book that focuses on a specific type of cuisine, for example we're doing an Italian cookbook with historical text on food and culture, I might venture out into something more specific. But for the most part general reference book seem to help me the most.

I think I remember someone saying that the Larousse is woefully translated, which I couldn't agree with more. It's terrible. But the info in it is fantastic.

[John Whiting]

For specific information on Western -- mostly European -- cuisine, including abbreviated recipes, nothing can match Theodora Fitzgibbon's _The Food of the Western World_. It's out of print but abebooks.com has lots of used copies.

[Lesley C]

I use the Food Lover's Companion by Sharon Tyler Hearst every day. Funny, I have most of the books mentioned, but this is the one I use most. The Larousse would come second. I hardly ever refer to the Oxford Companion to Food. Besides fish and seafood, I find the information is quite limited.

[John Whiting]

Much depends on exactly what you use a reference book for. The basic difference is between a dictionary and an encyclopedia. The former will give you definitions of unfamiliar or vaguely familiar words; e.g. what the hell is a muffuletta. The latter will take a subject, whether broad or narrow, and take you through it in sufficient detail to put it into some sort of perspective; e.g. Italian-American cuisine.

Somewhere beyond this merely functional process is a type of reference work which Oxford University Press brilliantly conceived, namely the Companion. Originally it was what scholars call a vademecum or "come-with-me", a personal guide through an area of knowledge usually written by one person. One of the last of these monolothic solo efforts was James Hart's _Oxford Companion to American Literature_, of which he quite literally wrote every word.

Alan Davidson, whose name is on _The Oxford Companion to Food_, comes as close to this superhuman achievement as anyone alive today. After giving us his monumental guides to North Atlantic and Mediterranean Seafood (and along the way serving as a diplomat all the way up to ambassador level), he settled down to a twenty-year labor of love which culminated in this final work. He had some very distinguished assistants and contributors -- their work is identified by their initials -- but the greater part is his alone. The best use one can make of such a work is to curl up in a chair, a good bottle of wine within easy reach, and read it. Allow Davidson to be your companion for an hour or so. Do this regularly and you will end up with an education far more liberal than a computer-driven mish-mash such as the _Cambridge World History of Food_ will give you, even though the latter is something like twice the length.

[Jinmyo]

As always, well put, John.

[Suzanne F]

JW: I will dare to ask: would you consider Alan Davidson to be a culinary anthropologist?

[Holly Moore]

For American cuisine, I've found John Mariani's Dictionary of American Food and Drink quite useful, especially back when I was writing my column and had to appear universally astute.

Elsewhere in the world, I agree on The Foods of the Western World. A similar reference that I've also used has been Dictionary of Gastronomy by Adre L. Simon and Robin Howe.

[John Whiting]

Would I consider Alan Davidson a culinary anthropologist? Yes in the sense that he is very aware of the interaction between cuisine and culture. But he doesn't have a graduate degree in anthropology; for some, that would be the determining factor.

Mariani, yes indeed. He even passed the skully-joe test. I looked it up and he had it right. (It's "fisherman's candy" -- rock-hard dried cod as made and gnawed on by Provincetown fisherman.) But he will be superceded in a couple of years by Andrew F. ("Andy") Smith, who's doing a guide to American food and drink for Oxford. Warch for it -- it will be worth whatever it costs.

[foodie52]

I love "Cookwise " by Shirley Corriher ( another food scientist ).

[Huevos del Toro]

I have several hundred cookbooks but have come to rely heavily on "The Best Recipe" series from Cooks Illustrated.

I also refer to Harold McGees "On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen".

[Bubbalicious]

Forgive me for going a bit off topic, but I googled the Oxford and this was the closest matching thread for my query.

I just bought The Oxford Companion to Food which I had wanted for five years.

(Book budget has been spent on wine books and magazines for the last half decade.) I found it online at Chapters.ca for $15. It's at Amazon.ca for about the same price. It was $80 when it was released.

Does anyone know why this book is being offered at such a reduced price?

If you had thought of acquiring a copy, now is the time.

BTW, I also like reading The Science and Lore of the Kitchen by Harold McGee, Margaret Visser's historical books on Manners and Eating and also Cooking School Secrets for Real World Chefs.

Cheeses of the World (ISBN # 1-84430-115-X) is a also fantastic book. Remarkable for it's section where 1200 cheeses from around the world are categorized by 'family' of cheese, then for each of the 1200 other names are given, country and area of origin and which animal's milk it's made from. Not something to keep in your back pocket but it's interesting to read about the cheese you just bought.

[Pweaver1984]

I reguarly use this a quick reference book :A Cooks Dictionary by Charles Sinclair

Very useful, as is Mr McGees amd Larousse et al

[Steven Blaski]

For the unusual food or food product, these two are great:

Asian Ingredients : A Guide to the Foodstuffs of China, Japan, Korea, Thailand and Vietnam - by Bruce Cost

Uncommon Fruits & Vegetables : A Commonsense Guide - by Elizabeth Schneider

[bloviatrix]

I acquired the Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America several months ago. It's a lot of fun to pull out a read. I've learned all sorts of arcana.

[Christopher Haatuft]

Mayby not the most informative, but highly entertaining;

Alexandre Dumas - Dictionary of Cuisine