The Flavor Thesaurus: More Flavors

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!

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

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.

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.