Field Guide to Herbs & Spices

by: Aliza Green

Philadelphia PA: Quirk Books 2006, $14.95, Paperback
ISBN: 1-59474-082-8

Reviewed by: Jacqueline M. Newman
Spring Volume: 2007 Issue: 14(1) page(s): 20

Another in the 'Field Guide to...' series, this one's author also wrote the Field Guide to Produce and the Field Guide to Meat. As chef-teacher, she answers questions you always wanted to ask. The three hundred plus small-size pages educate about more than two hundred herbs, spices, and mixtures. The color photographs of many of them are bound together in the center of the volume. A large number of those that are food items have recipes for them.

Each entry has its names in several languages, a general description, seasonality, what to look for and what to avoid when purchasing, some storage tips, and other informational notes. The recipes come with serving suggestions and food affinities. Those we made were good.

The herbs and the spices are in alphabetical order; many are Chinese/Asian including several in the cilantro family. All give botanical names and descriptions. One example is the Chinese wolfberry, now more commonly known as goji berries; it is used in a delicious Chinese Chicken Soup.

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