Culinary Herbs & Spices of the World

"If you're ready to...delve deeply into the herbs and spices that characterize the world's cuisines, then this scholarly reference is for you." ―New York Times

For centuries herbs and spices have been an integral part of many of the world's great cuisines. But spices have a history of doing much more than adding life to bland foods. They have been the inspiration for, among other things, trade, exploration, and poetry. Priests employed them in worship and shamans used them as charms to ward off evil spirits. Nations fought over access to and monopoly of certain spices. Not only were many men's fortunes made in the pursuit of spices, spices at many periods throughout history literally served as currency. 

In Culinary Herbs and Spices of the World, Ben-Erik van Wyk offers the first fully illustrated, scientific guide to nearly all commercial herbs and spices in existence. Van Wyk covers more than 150 species—from black pepper and blackcurrant to white mustard and white ginger—detailing the propagation, cultivation, and culinary uses of each. Introductory chapters capture the essence of culinary traditions, traditional herb and spice mixtures, preservation, presentation, and the chemistry of flavors, and individual entries include the chemical compounds and structures responsible for each spice or herb's characteristic flavor.

Van Wyk also offers a global view of the most famous use or signature dish for each herb or spice, satisfying the foodie's curiosity about new dishes from little-known culinary traditions. 

"This beautiful, thorough, well-written and -researched text will be of interest in any public or academic library reference collections as well as to chefs, gardeners, lovers of food, culinary adventurers, and anyone who enjoys a good encyclopedia." -- Library Journal, starred review