Quick From Scratch Herbs & Spices By Food & Wine Books.

Contents:

- Before you begin

- Chapter One Herbs- Basil, Bay Leaves, Chives, Cilantro, Dill, Lemongrass, Marjoram, Mint, Oregano, Parsley, Rosemary, Sage, Savory, Tarragon, Thyme

- Chapeter Two Spices- Allspice, Caraway Seeds, Cardamom, Celety Seeds, Cinnamon, Cloves, Coriander, Cumin, Dill Seeds, Fennel Seeds, Ginger, Juniper Berries, Mustard Seeds, Nutmeg, Paprika, Pepper, Red Pepper, Saffron, Star Anise, Turmeric

- More about herbs and Spices

- Index

The Taste of Herbs And Spices

We've all been known to use herbs and spices without a clue as to their real flavor or effect. We fling a bay leaf into the stew or a few jumiper berries into the sauerkraut as a matter of habit, not realizing that the clean, acerbic, somewhat bitter bay contributes to the depth and complexity of the stew's flavor or that the sweet, resinous juniper helps both to mellow the sourness of kraut and to add a subtle intricacy to the taste.

To make the most of herbs and spices, you must get to know them fairly intimately. And giving you an opportunity to do just that is the main point of this book. Susan Rich, Laura Russell, and I have and in addition emphasize the nature of a spotlighted herb or spice.

We hope you'll find that using this volume not only helps you to make good food fast but also to learn exactly what individual herbs or spices tast like. Analyzing the flavors of each herb and spice in teh course of developing the book gave us a lot of surprises. Marjoram and oregano are close relatives (pregano's the wild version) and taste essentially the same, but marjoram is best fresh, losing much of its flavor when dried, while oregano is actually better dried. Celery seeds are exceptionally bitter, and we learned to add them with discretion: whereas juniper berries are so sweet that I can nibble them like candy... Well, almost. And dill seeds don't taste like dill at all, more like caraway.

In order to give you the full effect of fresh leafy herbs, we've often used rather a large quantity. So these deishes can also give you ideas for what to do with a windfall of fresh basil or how to use up some of that ever spreading mint in your garden.

Try tasting a bit of the herb or a pinch of the spice before you cook with it, and let us know about your own discoveries. - Judith Hill- Editor in Chief- Food & Wine Books

This book is USED. So there may be some imperfections.