The Science of Spice: Understand Flavor Connections and Revolutionize Your Cooking

by Stuart Farrimond

Explore the world's best spices, be inspired to make your own new spice blends, and take your cooking to new heights.

Break new ground with this spice book like no other, from food scientist and bestselling author Dr. Stuart Farrimond. Taking the periodic table of spices as a starting point, explore the science behind the art of making incredible spice blends and how the flavor compounds within spices work together to create exciting layers of flavor and new sensations. Spice is the perfect cookbook for curious cooks and adventurous foodies.

Spice profiles - organized by their dominant flavor compound - showcase the world's top spices, with recipe ideas, information on how to buy, use, and store, and more in-depth science to help you release the flavors and make your own spice connections. There is also a selection of recipes using innovative spice blends, based on the new spice science, designed to brighten your palate and inspire your own culinary adventures.

If you've ever wondered what to do with that unloved jar of sumac, why some spices taste stronger than others, or how to make your own personal garam masala, this inspirational guide has all the answers. You'll turn to this beautiful and unique book time and again - to explore and to innovate.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Nonfiction, Science, Reference, Culinary

224 pages, Hardcover

Published November 6, 2018

About the author

Stuart Farrimond was a British science communicator, food scientist for BBC's Inside the Factory, best-selling Sunday Times science author, and a brain tumor researcher.

Reviews

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has been my companion for the last seven weeks and I feel slightly sorry for all the people who have had to put up with me obsessing over it! Today I have finished my ‘cover to cover’ read, but I will be working with the recipes for some while yet, and expect to use the book as a regular reference guide. How fascinating it has been to explore this subject, and to contemplate each spice through the lens of its chemical composition, taste and compatibilities, history and usage, etc. I confess to allowing myself a small budget to acquire some of the spices I have not encountered before, so I can smell and feel, and try the recipes and experiment for myself. A really fun project through these COVID-19 weeks, and so much learned and enjoyed by the whole household! 😊

[Wedya Finiesha · Rating 1 out of 5]

While the first 10 pages or so offers an interesting introduction to the world of spices, the content quickly becomes overly simplistic and disrespectful, particularly when discussing Asian cuisines. The author's lumping together of Thai and Cambodian cuisines, as well as the disproportionate focus on the Philippines over Indonesia (which he acknowledged as the home of many spices), shows a lack of depth and cultural sensitivity.
Indonesia, in particular, deserves a more nuanced exploration of its rich culinary heritage. The author's oversimplification of Indonesian spice mixes as merely "bumbu" shows his ignorance and lack of in depth research into our culture, ignoring the distinct flavors and regional variations of "bumbu putih," "bumbu kuning," and more.
Finally, the most offensive to me is the author's erasure of Palestine from the map, replacing it with Israel which also stole its dishes from neighbouring countries. This not only undermines the historical and cultural significance of Palestinian cuisine but also perpetuates a harmful narrative. The inclusion of Palestinian dishes like kunafe and maqluba in the book would have added a much-needed layer of diversity and respect.
P.s. Throughout the book, I felt like I was being mainsplained and lectured by a mediocre white middle-aged colonizer about my own foods and spices. Then I googled the author and I was right. Damn, bro, your people colonized us for hundreds of years and this is all that you got?

[Katrina B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent information about spices! But will I be brave enough to use it?

[Shelby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting book on the history and features of spices, but I feel it could be clearer on the combinations and suggested uses of them. I liked the recipes and blends given though!

[Manan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting and insightful book on spices with a brief history and pinch of science. A good read

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nice reference book if you want to learn more about how to use spices- though it's a bit technical. There is no information on herbs (yes, there's a difference), so I may need to hunt down a similar book on herbs, which I tend to use more often. I am excited to start incorporating more spices from around the world into my cooking and expand my palate a bit.

[Jaye · Rating 5 out of 5]

A comprehensive reference.
Excellent for someone dedicated to expanding their cooking experience.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Every cook needs to master the use of a few spices and herbs (fresh and dried). As one continues to cook, both the palate for and the skill in using herbs and spices grows. After oregano, there is marjoram. After tarragon, there is star anise. After store-bought garam masala, there are about twenty East Indian spices waiting to play their respective parts in curries.
Ever cooked with spicebush berries, or Szechuan peppercorns, or hibiscus blossoms, or borage, or gochugaru, or sumac, or asafetida, or grains of paradise, or ancho (dried poblano) chile, amchoor powder, charnushka, or fennel pollen? Well, you should.
There are a great many introductory texts about herbs and spices. There are a great many more intermediate texts on the same subject. The book "The Science of Spice" is neither of those sorts. This is, to borrow an academic hierarchy, graduate-level stuff.
Each author contributes a bit to a two-page spread about each herb or spice. Dr. Stuart Farrimond wrote most of the scientific bits and the parts about blending. Laura Nickoll wrote much of the non-scientific text. Jan Fullwood wrote the recipes. Roopa Gulati wrote the explanation of Southern Asian seasoning, Thomas Howells wrote the section on Europe, Anna Kibbey wrote about the Middle East, Sorrel Mosely-Williams about the Americas, Freda Mayambo about Africa, Annica Wainwright on Southeast Asia, and Yolanda Zappaterra on East Asia.
The simplest way to demonstrate the contents is to select a single entry and explain it fully. Take, for instance, coriander. Dr. Farrimond reviews the 8000+ year history of this spice. A map and blub identifies where it is cultivated. There is some discussion of both the culinary and non-culinary (perfumes, cosmetics) uses. The botany of the coriander plant (a hardy annual) produces seeds (actually dried fruits) and roots, both of which find their way into the kitchen. A careful distinction between Coriandrum sativum v. vulgare (the East Indian sort) and C. sativum v. microcarpum (the European relative) is drawn. Coriander contains several flavourants: primarily linalool but also the terpines pinene, cymene, and limonene. These tastes direct the most successful spice blends including those with cardamom, nutmeg, mace, black pepper, anise, allspice, cumin, ginger, lemongrass, and caraway. Well-known blends include zhug, dukkah, Durban curry masala, Malaysian fish curry paste, and chimichurri. Typical uses for coriander are in celery, fennel, and cabbage; in citrus, apples, and pears; in pork, game, and chicken; in tuna and shellfish; in preserves; and in sponge cake. The flavor of coriander changes dramatically depending upon whether or not the berries are toasted before grinding.
There are 52 recipes included; the first one to attempt is the black sesame, licorice, and cardamom ice cream.

[Fuckboy Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for anyone who loves cooking and would like to get more in depth with spices. What more can i say

[Markus · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great work to get inspired, look up how to treat spices and make blends

[Martin Smrek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice summary of most common spices and their chemical flavour composition. However, the chemical part seems rather messy and unfinished and the same goes for the inconsistent information about best usage practises and regional spice mixtures. But other than that, it's a great book which I will be using a lot in my future kitchen endeavors!

[Nareen · Rating 5 out of 5]

only marking this as read because i actually sat down and read every word of it, took notes, and am now going to buy a copy of my own. very scientific way of looking at spice and i loved it. lots of cool culinary history of spice paired with scientific reasonings as to why certain flavors go together. got alot of inspo for future flavor combos. i can see this being a cookbook staple!!

[Douglas Shore · Rating 4 out of 5]

The wannabe food scientist in me loves this book. From the vivid and beautiful descriptions of each spice to the layout and style on each page shows a great deal of thought that has gone into this book.

This book addresses the majority of spices (not all) but rates and charts each one from warm to hot, earthy to sweet, and fragrance to sourness. If you're unsure about what to use for a dish, this is the perfect reference point.

I love learning about the history of food and what you can do with food - considering it is a realm of near endless possibility this book has only gone on to further my knowledge and inspire in the kitchen.

This a big recommendation for anyone looking to broaden their skills.

[Yaaresse]

This book looks right up my alley and just completely fascinating. The problem is that the many graphs, charts, and text boxes don't lend themselves that well to the Kindle format. So, it's not content I'm saying "no" to at all, but the layout/format. I have a feeling the print version would be equally (or more) inaccessible for me. Too bad. From what little I could tell from the Kindle sample, it looked like a great blend of foodie meets geek.

[Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

10/10 Loved! Wasn’t sure going in since I already had general spice trade knowledge being a history buff and all. Was pleasantly surprised to find out soooo much more than about spices! Excellent source on what makes a spice a spice, where each spices originates from, the history of each spice and how to use each spice! Usage of spices mentioned isn’t solely cooking and baking related either which I personally knew of but was glad to see while reading.

[Carol Bonigo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cannot recommend this book enough. It has made me a better cook. Understanding how different spices interact with each other also frees me up to improvise more in my cooking. The book provides helpful flavor profiles of different regions, spice blends, history of spices and anatomy on top of all the chemistry. Very user friendly for the general public

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is awesome! I love the organization, data presentation, tips and tidbits. The matrix at the end showing which flavor compounds are present in each spice was especially gleeful. My only wish was that they did more showing of the chemical structure of these compounds, but I did appreciate the few times the structures were illustrated.

[Yara · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very disappointing to see this book promoting the stealing of Palestinians food heritage!
He relates all Palestinians traditional spices to the colonisation of Israel. Definitely wouldn’t recommend this book and will demand others to boycott it as it’s not acceptable to erase the heritage of the native people of Palestine.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so fascinating and insightful why spices taste the way they do and how you can pair them with others to make a tasty complex combination. I look forward to trying some of these techniques in my own cooking.

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Science of Spice: Understand Flavor Connections and Revolutionize Your Cooking by Stuart Farrimond is a handy book to add to your recipe book collection. Farrimond uses a chemical flavor compound similarity approach to grouping spices and suggesting combinations of spices that should work well together. He also gives a little history behind each spice, what kind of plants and which of their parts the spices are derived from, and what parts of the world are the leading suppliers of each spice.

I haven't applied any of the suggested combinations of spices to any recipes yet, so I can't verify the usefulness of the book in that regard, but I have benefitted from knowing where the spices come from and from some of the suggestions regarding how to purchase and use them. For example, some spices are mostly soluble in oils or fats, while others are soluble in water, and this book discloses the solubility of each spice. And some spices are best used fresh, while others are fairly useful in powder form, so the preferred form is often given for the spices covered in this book.

The inclusion of herbs would have been useful because a lot of cooking involves the use of herbs like oregano, basil, rosemary, etc., but I guess that would be a different book. Also a lot of the food partner suggestions and recipes tend to be a little esoteric, but I guess that is a matter of taste, so I may be nit picking a little here.

Overall, The Science of Spice: Understand Flavor Connections and Revolutionize Your Cooking is an interesting book for elevating your cooking knowledge regarding spices, and a possible handy reference source for adding spices to food when you want to create your own recipes.

[Nguyễn Thùy Dương · Rating 5 out of 5]

Một chút hương hoa 👃

Thêm chút mắm, chút muối, chút hạt nêm, chút giấm, chút tương, chút đường, chút tiêu, chút xả, chút chanh, chút quế, chút mayo, ...
Thành nồi cháo heo 🐷

7749 gia vị các thể loại trong cuốn sách khoa học này, mong quý bằng hữu đường xa ghé coi đôi chục lần và ghi nhớ để nấu ăn trong chánh niệm nhằm giúp cho đồng đội kề bên có những bữa ăn gọn gàng, nhẹ nhàng, đơn giản, dễ... nuốt 🙂
Những ai hay đi du lịch mà muốn tìm hiểu gia vị nước bạn thì có thể tìm lựa cuốn này nhé.
(Lỡ nước bạn đồ cho nhiều muối quá thì thủ sẵn bình nước ấm kèm hũ đường đổ vô chữa cháy.)

Ngoài ra sách cũng là từ điển các loại gia vị (giới thiệu vùng miền, đi kèm món gì ra làm sao), cực kì thích hợp cho những bạn nấu ăn theo style cẩn thận, hoặc chưa biết nấu, hoặc là những bạn là đầu bếp muốn thử sức với những gia vị mới nhưng vẫn chưa biết nguồn để tham khảo. Với những ai là chuyên gia dinh dưỡng, sách cũng rất phù hợp để giải đáp những thắc mắc về gia vị, ví dụ như:
- Đập tỏi khi nấu có nên hay không?
- Gia vị khô và tươi khác nhau chỗ nào?
- Nước tương mỗi loại khác nhau, thế khác làm sao?
- Vì sao phải xào hành tỏi?
- Gia vị nào nên thêm lúc nấu, lúc nấu xong?
- Loại nào nên xay mịn, loại nào nên giã vừa?

Cuốn sách này không so sánh các loại muối đâu ạ (hiển nhiên từ tiêu đề), mặc dù các loại muối khác nhau mang hương vị khác nhau. Sách này là về GIA VỊ nha mợi người ơi.
Sách không phân theo kiểu ăn uống Âm - Dương, nhưng ai hiểu nguyên tắc ăn uống theo phương Đông có thể tự hiểu từ trong sách nhe.

[Nora · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I do think the book delivers what it promised, overall, if you extract the part about “revolutionizing your cooking,” since the only way to revolutionize one’s cooking is to cook… The book is well designed and (oh boy) has fewer typographical errors than the author’s other book The Science of Cooking. I really can’t give it more than 4 stars when it claims to talk about science but there’s no list of references, but I did delightfully learn much new knowledge about spice, for instance, the heat of chili comes from its inner white pith, not from the white seeds. The book also introduces common spice combinations in different parts of the world, which I’m more than eager to try out as an economical means to travel (or really, taste) around the world. I recommend this book as a beginner-intro for readers who have absolutely no knowledge about spice. But if you already know much, I suppose this book covers what you know already.

[Pille Pruulmann-Vengerfeld · Rating 5 out of 5]

Minu masti raamat - inspireeriv, segab kokku ajalugu ja kaarte ja keemiat ja kokandust. Pisut riivab ikka silma see, et kõiksugu vürtside ja maitseainete globaalsete rännete aluseks on ikka ja kogu aeg eurooplased, kuigi väiksematest nuppudest on näha ka seda, et neid rändas enne, kui võimuvõitlused kolooniate pärast kogu maailma ümber kirjutama ja joonsitama asus. Lugege, saab kindlasti huvitavaid asju teada. Asi, millele oleks võinud ju mõelda, kuid mis siiski üllatas - tšillipipar on pärit Kesk- ja Lõuna-Ameerikast, selleks, et ta jõuaks Aasiasse, kus ta on praegu väga paljude köökide põhiliseks komponendiks, et selleks pidi ta sinna ju koos koloniaalvõimudega liikuma. Ja see ei olnudki nii ammu. Et kui kiiresti ikkagi köögid ja maitsed ja kultuurid arenevad. Igatahes, süvenemist väärt lugemine.

[MK · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was amazed at how many different kinds of spices there are in the world.

Spices are plant parts that are more densely loaded with flavor than most other ingredients used in cooking.
Whereas herbs always come from leafy parts, spices tend to derive from seeds, fruits, roots, stems, flowers, or bark, and are usually dried.
Some strongly flavored leaves, such as bay and curry leaf, can be considered spices because they are used more as a potent background flavoring than as a fresh addition.

When I went to visit a market called Spice Bazaar in Istanbul, Turkey, I saw hundreds of spices collected from all over the world and displayed in a colorful and beautiful way.

I thought that spices are not used much in Japanese cuisine, but in the cuisine of many countries, including the Middle East, they are a very important element because the taste depends on the choice of spices.

[Silvano Paternoster · Rating 3 out of 5]

great to have in the kitchen for anyone that wants to understand and experiment with spices

just 3 stars though

it's a nice book that reads like a dictionary

and not even a much detailed dictionary
there pretty pictures everywhere but if you have se spices and don't know how to use or combine you won't necessarily learn much

or maybe this is just me, it definitely will help people that have never used any spice in their life beyond salt pepper and sugar

not recommended to any intermediate or advanced home cook

still interesting and visually appealing reference for historical and geographical reference

[Balmung · Rating 5 out of 5]

A booked written to be used when one needs.
There is a table for each single spice where its characteristics are described. Moreover, the layout, the colours and, the writings are pleasing to the eyes.
At the beginning we have a small "tutorial" on how to use this book. Then we find the spices around the world: each major states from each continent is analysed. After this introduction every spice is described, its major flavours and how to use it. There are some recipes as well, though they are not the main focus but just a plus on how one can use the spices.

A must I would say

[Linda · Rating 1 out of 5]

I purchased this book because I have a cupboard full of spices that I want to use more effectively. But this book cannot be read on e book. When the page fits the screen the writing is too small to make it out. When I tried to make it large it exceeded the space. What I could make out was interesting. The only page I could read and not comfortably was the table for spices. So much of it left blank spaces. A printed book would have been better but I don't have space for them as we are downsizing.

[Axton Saldana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great companion for someone looking to discover new spices and get ideas for spices you already use. It really dives into where the prices come from, flavor profiles, what other foods/spices pair well, and methods to extract the best flavor profile. There are some dishes and spice mixes included in the book but with the knowledge you learn, you can start toying with your own spice blend. I'm excited to start trying out some of the new spices I learned about and create my own blends

[Kambi Briggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

It could just be the cooking nerd in me, but I will read this and study it as if it were a Bible. It's incredibly in-depth regarding how spicing interact with each other, giving you recipes and practically holding your hand through making your own spice concoctions. The maps of where spices originated/trading routes through history was a wonderful touch that truly makes you appreciate the cultures in which some spices come from!

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not so much a cookbook- but there are a few recipes sprinkled throughout. It’s more focused on teaching you about species, what they are, where they come from and how to use them (from bringing out best flavor to what to pair them with). An interesting and useful book if you’re looking to up your cooking game