The Cook's Essential Kitchen Dictionary: A Complete Culinary Resource

by Jacques Rolland

A blend of history, etymology, anecdotes, origins and culture of food. How often have you found yourself in the kitchen in the middle of preparing a recipe when you come across an unfamiliar term? Not recognizing a word and its meaning can diminish or slow down the pleasure of preparing a dish. Or perhaps you have a love of words and are intrigued by their historical background and linguistic origins. Cooking is a wonderful adventure especially when the terms, definitions and historical origins of words in recipes are familiar. The Cook's Essential Kitchen Dictionary defines 4,500 key food words and provides a wealth of historical background for many of them. For anyone who cooks or who simply loves food, this book is a vital reference source and an outstanding cookbook supplement. The book The rich and rare culinary information describes subjects as varied as Humble Pie and Hanger Steak to Squawroot and Stracchino. The Cook's Essential Kitchen Dictionary is an excellent resource to have on hand in the kitchen and makes for delightful armchair reading as well.

413 pages, Paperback

First published September 4, 2004

Reviews

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a complimentary copy of The Cook's Essential Kitchen Dictionary, Second Edition: A Complete Culinary Resource by Jacques L. Rolland through Robert Rose, Inc.

French born, acclaimed chef and author, Jacques L. Rolland has went out of his way to offer an entertaining and educational dictionary that is sure to offer hours of pleasure to cooks and foodies all over the world. What's your culinary question? Do you want to learn more about the different varieties of basil, chocolate, coffee or oil? Let the author guide you on a culinary journey by expanding your knowledge of food and your appreciation with this must-have culinary resource.

The second edition has been completely revised with more than 5,000 alphabetized definitions from everyday to exotic words, including words like: gnocchi, kohlrabi, sake, udon, xanthan gum, zabaglione, and many more. It includes many American, British, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish cooking terms plus many words have historical background, cross-referencing, multiple meanings and spellings, subtopics and varieties featured throughout the dictionary.

Cook's Essential Kitchen Dictionary, Second Edition: A Complete Culinary Resource by Jacques L. Rolland would make an awesome gift idea for that new college student, a newly wed couple, a housewarming showering, and just-because gift. I would have loved for someone to have gifted me a copy over three decades ago. I highly recommend this book. And, why not get yourself a copy? You could pick up one for a special friend, too!

[Sandra Noel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have you ever been reading a recipe and wondered, "What is that ingredient?" or are you a novice cook that isn't quite sure what some cooking terms are? Have you ever wondered what flageolet, harusame, macerate, nam pla, udon or orgeat was? If so, this is the book for you! From ajowan to tzatziki and clary to vindaloo, cooking ingredients and terms are defined for you in this handy resource. There are nice, boxed sections throughout the book that contain things like varieties of apples, grades of butter, clam varieties, flour types and more. Set up alphabetically, it is easy to find what you're looking for quickly. As someone who loves to try different cuisines, I sometimes come across terms or ingredients I haven't heard of. If you'd have asked me yesterday what Appenzeller was, I wouldn't have been able to tell you. Now I know it is a Swiss cheese that is more "more moist and creamier than Emmental and much more robust than Gruyere"--and now I'd love to try it! I definitely recommend you add this to your bookshelf.

I received a copy of this book from Robert Rose Inc. for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.