The Food Encyclopedia

Geek

When I was in the fifth grade I read the World Book Enclyclopedia — yes, the whole thing from A to Z — in Mrs. Foster’s science class because I wasn’t learning anything in the class. I love knowing things and already knew most of what Mrs. Foster was covering.

Because of this love, I tend to collect reference works and, in fact, almost half my library consists of books like the Windows 2000 Graphics API, Designing Compilers in C, and Strength of Materials. As you might expect I also have a collection of cooking references (in addition to cookbooks). There’s On Food and Cooking, Larousse Grastonomique, and the Encyclopedia of Food Values. So when I got an e-mail asking if I wanted to review The Food Encyclopedia I was happy to do so.

This is a huge book. Written by Jacques L. Rolland and Carol Sherman and published by Robert Rose, it contains over 8,000 entries on topics ranging from “abalone” to “zymurgy.” The contents include entries on people — Andy Balducci of Balducci’s in New York is mentioned as is Jane Grigson; ingredients, for instance dandelions garner almost half a column. (Did you know that in France it’s also called pissenlit, “wet the bed,” because it’s supposed to be a diuretic?); dishes such as “mushy peas” are included; and preparations like braising are explained.

I chose some terms at random and looked them up: oleic acid, no entry; jugged hare, found; waterzooi, found; cracklings, found; koumiss, found; ergot, not found. All in all, not bad. Oleic acid, a component of olive oil, should have had an entry, but ergot (a hallucinogenic mold found on rye) was a bit of a ringer.

If you’re a serious cook, you need at least one good cooking encyclopedia and, having now spent a week leafing through this one, it appears to fill the bill. And if you’re like me, you need at least three or four such encyclopedias so you can cross-check the information.

Technorati: Food | review | food encyclopedia