Cover Image: The Flavor Thesaurus: More Flavors

The Flavor Thesaurus: More Flavors

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Member Reviews

This book is pretty "uneven".

There are some super insightful moments, and at other times, when insight would be greatly appreciated, we are giving an anecdote, that while cute, is entirely useless.

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The Flavor Thesaurus: More Flavors is a trusted resource just like the original Flavor Thesaurus. I turn to it constantly and this plant based / vegetarian version will be no exception. I love the unique ingredients referenced in this new guide. Can't recommend more highly!

Thank you to Netgalley and Bloomsbury USA, Bloomsbury Publishing for the ARC - The Flavor Thesaurus: More Flavors is out now!

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I really enjoyed the first Flavor Thesaurus and this one is pretty much the same, just with more flavors. I love the notes on pairings and suggestions. I do wish that these were published in an easier format to read. There isn’t much white space on the page and I feel some pictures would help brighten the overall experience. This is definitely food science, not a cookbook. Overall, I liked the content, just wish there were some aesthetic changes to enhance the readability.

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Similar to the first one, this is excellent as an in-hand reference and to do a stellar deep dive into obscure ingredient pairings.

I love how this is formatted as a very simple dictionary of flavor and incorporates so much global cuisine and interesting history, I am in awe of what it must have taken to research and write this.

I will be immediately purchasing a physical copy for my own kitchen.

Thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

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What a cool book! I wasn’t sure what to expect but I was so glad I checked this one out.

There were some pairings I wouldn’t have thought of. And there were some I’m not adventurous enough to try ever.

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A book that lists foods and what flavorings would go with that food and why it pairs well with it. Example: I looked up cherries and found many foods and spices that would pair well with cherries. Almonds, bananas, chocolate, cinnamon, etc. Under each food is an explanation why it pairs well with cherries and recipe ideas. Every kitchen should have this book. It would be a great wedding or birthday gift.

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Delighted to highlight this new release in “Food for Thought,” a round-up of new and notable epicurean cultural history and food-related titles in the Books section of Zoomer magazine for April. (see column and mini-review at link)

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This is a wonderful addition to any cooks shelf. This is not your typical cookbook. There are plenty of recipes, but the beauty of this book is the educational information about spices, herbs and flavor combinations. We learn how to how to better understand flavors, mix and match them, change up your favorite existing recipes and expand your overall flavor palate with some small changes. It is wonderful for all cooks from beginners to those who are seasoned cooks.

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I own the first book, but have never read it cover to cover like I did this one. Overall it’s pretty good. Definitely appealing for food nerds. I think if every chapter was as good as the honey chapter this would be a 5 star. But this book is very UNEVEN. Some descriptions are incredibly helpful and insightful and some are rambling stories or insane descriptions. The description of cauliflower made me think I had never had cauliflower before. When I read it to my family they didn’t understand the description at all.
I’m made some notes along reading it about some things I found odd about the book that I’ll just include a few here. These might be an American vs British take on things. But just some random oddities that I don’t know if they were filler for the ARC or if this really is how the book is going out.
* Insane pointless story for Black beans and Cumin and doesn’t tell me about black beans and cumin
* Description of kale in white beans and kale is insane.
* Oats and maple syrup went off on a tangent about golden syrup supremacy instead of talking about maple syrup. I’m an American reading this and golden syrup really isn’t a thing here, I have to make my own for some Scandinavian baking recipes. As an upper Midwesterner maple syrup and oats is a BELOVED combo. I don’t think of oats without maple syrup. I think either don’t include maple syrup and instead just have golden syrup or actually talk about maple syrup.
* Oats and maple syrup went off on a tangent about golden syrup supremacy instead of talking about maple syrup. I’m an American reading this and golden syrup really isn’t a thing here, I have to make my own for some Scandinavian baking recipes. As an upper Midwesterner maple syrup and oats is a BELOVED combo. I don’t think of oats without maple syrup. I think either don’t include maple syrup and instead just have golden syrup or actually talk about maple syrup.
* Saying people don’t really like green beans… is that a British thing? I asked around here and green beans seem pretty well regarded in the upper Midwest.
Some things I liked:
* Honey Chapter
* I like buckwheat and apple description
* the suggestion of which pomegranate varieties to look out for.
Those are the kinds of things people are looking for from this book and again this is super uneven. Very inconsistent.

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I was obsessed with the first Flavor Thesaurus and this one is just as good. I love that it give so many unique and fun flavor combos that I would have never thought of. Truly an incredible resource.

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What an amazing book! Flavor guides are not uncommon but a thesaurus is a brilliant and unique idea that everyone interested in cooking should embrace. The concept is that Niki Segnit ( author of Lateral Cooking and The Flavor Thesaurus) creates pairings and mixtures between flavors. Rice for instance, paired when many different flavors and items. Or Chocolate.

This is an extraordinary compendium that speaks to all chefs (but especially to us vegetarians and vegans). This book is recommended to anyone who wants to try to go off recipe, experiment in the kitchen, or just learn more about flavors and cooking in general!

Niki Segnit won the André Simon Award for best food book, the Guild of Food Writers Award for best first book, and was shortlisted for the Galaxy National Book Awards.
#Bloombsury #TheFlavorThesaurus

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I was so excited to receive an ARC of “The Flavor Thesaurus: More Flavors” because the original “The Flavor Thesaurus” has a permanent home on my kitchen counter, and I reference it daily.

This second book does not disappoint. It allows me to be so much more adventurous when cooking and helps me discover new flavor pairings I never would have thought of. Without a doubt, I will be buying the print copy of this book to live next to the original. This is an essential for all home cooks.

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I am a big fan of the original "Flavour Thesaurus" so was very glad to have the opportunity to see an early copy of the forthcoming newest plant-based version of this incredible reference guide, "Flavour Thesaurus: More Flavours." As with the original thesaurus, usage is simple and straightforward: look up an ingredient and see the various flavors that it goes well with. So, for example, in the miso section, nobody will be surprised to see the old standby pairings, such as ginger, garlic, and seaweed, but I had never thought of combining miso with banana (Segnit references the delicious-sounding banana cake with miso butterscotch served in the London restaurant Jikoni) or yogurt (Segnit quotes fermentation guru Sandor Katz who confirms that the fattiness of the yogurt goes well with miso).

The whole book is well-written and considered and takes a broad, international perspective. The author is rigorous about citing sources and provides fascinating examples of pairings. The book provides a wonderful spark for brainstorming new recipes. Personally, I find it an incredibly exciting and creative way to expand my horizons as a home cook.

Segnit covers the more familiar combinations, but also pushes the reader to consider other less common pairings, which I would probably not have thought of on my own. Here are only a few out of many fantastic ideas that I hope to experiment with:

• Coffee & fennel: Segnit notes that the sweet hint of anise syrup or Greek ouzo is a great addition to coffee.

• Chocolate & aubergine (eggplant): Segnit refers us to the Southern Italian dish of melanzane al cioccolato, in which, in one version, steamed slices of aubergine are rolled in ricotta and then dipped in a warm chocolate sauce.

• Plum & kidney bean: Segnit references the Georgian dish lobio tkemali made of kidney beans, nuts and spices with a sour plum sauce, and notes that if we can’t find sour plums we can use tamarind as a substitute.

• Lemon & dried peas: Segnit reminds us of the Cypriot lemony yellow split pea soup called louvana, adding that it is reminiscent of avgolemono.

I could go on and on, but this gives you an idea of what a gem the book is. You can bet that I will be purchasing a hard copy when it comes out to put on my kitchen shelf right next to the original "Flavour Thesaurus." My thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read the ARC.

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Rounded up to 3 stars. This is another book that enraptured me with the premise but didn’t do a lot for me. Each food has a half dozen suggested pairings with a lot of rambling anecdotes about them. Most of the pairings struck me as either predictable or odd, and not in a fun way. It’s very long and is another that feels like an encyclopedia. There are no photos or recipes, other than occasional general suggestions. It’s an interesting read but perhaps better as a library read.

I read a digital copy of this book via NetGalley.

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Please note that there are two links to this review as there are two entries for this book due to US and British/Canadian spellings of both flavor and flavour!

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I own Miss Segit's original flavour thesaurus and was happy to see that this one was based on vegetarian cooking. However, the book is very inconsistent in its content as some of the combinations had added history, jokes, personal reflections, etc. and although some of it was enjoyable at first, it really got annoying as some pairings had a lot of information and some had none.

It is an okay book...just play. Maybe if you just see the pairings and ignore all the extras the author added in, you might enjoy it more. I just wanted her to GET TO THE POINT and leave it there.

2.5 rounded up to 3

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I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was around 3.5 stars for me.

This is a helpful book for someone who wants to improve their understanding of flavors and learn about which foods go well together. I like that it's plant-based and has a variety of foods. The book is broken down by ingredient and lists what combinations go well with it including anecdotes, comments, and ideas about the pairings. Some are detailed and include helpful times and others are informational or short so there's not a lot of consistency. There aren't pictures in this book of any of the pairings and not a lot of recipes.

It's a helpful book to get an idea of what to try with some foods and expand your tastes.

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As someone who already owns and regularly uses Niki Segnit's original FlavorThesaurus, I have been eagerly awaiting her newest book and it does not disappoint. With this addition, Signet delves into more vegetarian territory, offering lots of delicious and interesting pairings for complimentary and in some cases, contrasting flavours. This book is a wonderful stand-alone volume that will give lots of ideas to the vegetarian or veggie-curious reader but is also an incredible accompaniment to the original volume that rounds out the collection. A fantastic read!

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I’ve encountered other various flavor-pairing guides before, but never one with a plant-based focus, so as a vegetarian I loved this premise. I also enjoyed the way that the author organized this guide, making it quite easy to jump to and explore new flavor pairing ideas that might potentially change things up in my kitchen.

What I didn’t enjoy as much was Niki Segnit’s additions to each listed pairing. I recognize that the combination of food history blurbs, cooking suggestions, short recipes, light-hearted commentary and anecdotes were meant to add variety. However, for me the experience ended up translating into frustrating inconsistency more than anything. However, that could be chalked up unfortunate coincidence - it seemed like many of the pairings I personally was interested in ended up being paired with author recollections and jokey remarks instead of tips or information that I would have found practical.

Besides that though, for what it is it seems like this can be quite the helpful guide, especially for those who want to expand the limits of their cooking while keeping their homes meat-free to any sizable degree.

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