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Reddit mentions of The Flavor Thesaurus: A Compendium of Pairings, Recipes and Ideas for the Creative Cook

Sentiment score: 12
Reddit mentions: 22

We found 22 Reddit mentions of The Flavor Thesaurus: A Compendium of Pairings, Recipes and Ideas for the Creative Cook. Here are the top ones.

The Flavor Thesaurus: A Compendium of Pairings, Recipes and Ideas for the Creative Cook
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  • Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Specs:
Height8.35 Inches
Length5.6901461 Inches
Number of items1
Release dateApril 2012
Weight1.15 Pounds
Width1.24 Inches

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Found 22 comments on The Flavor Thesaurus: A Compendium of Pairings, Recipes and Ideas for the Creative Cook:

u/TiSpork · 11 pointsr/AskCulinary

Read about building flavor profiles.

There are a couple of good books on the market: The Flavor Bible and The Flavor Thesauraus. They both have a lot of information on what ingredients go well with each other.

Also, learn by doing. Try things you think may go together well, even if it's not conventional. Even if the things you try don't come together, you can still learn from it. Try to understand WHY it didn't work (cooking method, flavor profile, preparation all have an affect), think about what you can do to correct the mistake, then implement that the next time you try that dish. I don't own a copy of it myself (yet), but Cook's Illustrated Magazine's The Science of Good Cooking would probably help in that regard.

In general, I consider Alton Brown, Cook's Illustrated/Cook's Country, America's Test Kitchen, and Julia Child to be very reputable in the information they convey.

u/jecahn · 9 pointsr/AskCulinary

This is going to be the opposite of what you want to hear. But, you asked for it and I respect that. I think that there's no substitute for going about this old school and traditionally. The good news is that you can mostly do this for yourself, by yourself.

If you're disinclined (due to time or for another reason) to enroll in a culinary program get yourself either The Professional Chef or Martha Stewart's Cooking School

I know what you're thinking, "Martha Stewart? What am I? A housewife from Iowa?" Fuck that. I've been fortunate to have met and worked with Martha Stewart she's smart enough to know what she doesn't know and that particular book was actually written by a CIA alum and very closely follows the first year or so that you'd get in a program like that. It starts with knife work and then moves on to stocks and sauces. This particular book has actually been criticized as being too advance for people who have no idea what they're doing so, despite appearances, it may be perfect for you. If you want to feel more pro and go a little deeper, get the CIA text but know that it's more or less the same info and frankly, the pictures in the MSO book are really great. Plus, it looks like Amazon has them used for $6 bucks.

These resources will show you HOW to do what you want and they follow a specific, traditional track for a reason. Each thing that you learn builds on the next. You learn how to use your knife. Then, you practice your knife work while you make stocks. Then, you start to learn sauces in which to use your stocks. Etc. Etc. Etc. Almost like building flavors... It's all part of the discipline and you'll take that attention to detail into the kitchen with you and THAT'S what makes great food.

Then, get either Culinary Artistry or The Flavor Bible (Both by Page and Dornenburg. Also consider Ruhlman's Ratio (a colleague of mine won "Chopped" because she memorized all the dessert ratios in that book) and Segnit's Flavor Thesaurus. These will give you the "where" on building flavors and help you to start to express yourself creatively as you start to get your mechanics and fundamentals down.

Now, I know you want the fancy science stuff so that you can throw around smarty pants things about pH and phase transitions and heat transfer. So...go get Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking THAT is the bible. When the people who run the Ferran Adria class at Harvard have a question, it's not Myhrvold that they call up, it's Harold McGee. While Modernist Cuisine always has a long, exciting complicated solution to a problem I didn't even know I had, when I really want to know what the fuck is going on, I consult McGee and you will too, once you dig in.

Another one to consider which does a great job is the America's Test Kitchen Science of Good Cooking this will give you the fundamental "why's" or what's happening in practical situations and provides useful examples to see it for yourself.

Honestly, if someone came to me and asked if they should get MC or McGee and The Science of Good Cooking and could only pick one and never have the other, I'd recommend the McGee / ATK combo everyday of the week and twice on Tuesdays.

Good luck, dude. Go tear it up!

u/bamboozelle · 8 pointsr/Cooking

I couldn't wait to get my hands on The Flavor Bible. When I actually read it, I don't think I've ever been so disappointed in a food book (as you said, it sure ain't a cookbook). Sure, it has lists of ingredients that are "compatible" with other ingredients. Some of their combinations sound just terrible. Others you already know because who hasn't heard of "peanut butter and chocolate" or "sour cream and onion." I love reading food books and cook books, and this was by far the worst IMO.

On the other hand, I have heard great things about The Flavor Thesaurus and I can't wait to read it.

u/TheBraveTart · 6 pointsr/AskCulinary

Ahhhh, my condolences, how tragic!

I'm something of a cookbook minimalist, and keep my personal collection pretty concise; I'm quick to give away books if they've been on my shelf too long without much use. I used to be a cookbook hoarder, but I don't have the space for it anymore, lol.

The cookbooks I have on the shelf rn are Season, The Palestinian Table, Arabesque, Afro-Vegan, Donabe, and several Japanese-language cookbooks.

For dessert-related things, I have Baking and Pastry: Mastering the Art and Craft, Chocolates and Confections: Formula, Theory, and Technique, SUQAR, and the Flavor Thesaurus.

u/giblfiz · 4 pointsr/Cooking

This book:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Flavor-Thesaurus-Compendium-Pairings/dp/160819874X
Is pretty much a 250 page list of good ingredient mixes, with about paragraph describing each. It's a book I use heavily.

u/ZiggityStarlust · 3 pointsr/Cooking

The Flavor Thesaurus is a really interesting book, and may give you some ideas.

I can't figure out how to link in mobile :/


http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/160819874X?pc_redir=1410775647&robot_redir=1

u/TealInsulated12ozCup · 3 pointsr/AskCulinary

This book explains it much more succinctly than I ever could. But yes, co-mingle, although vague is exactly what is happening. The flavors play off of and compliment each other the longer they co-mingle.

The Flavor Thesaurus: A Compendium of Pairings, Recipes and Ideas for the Creative Cook https://www.amazon.com/dp/160819874X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_qEaMDbBKB1QE1

u/shnooqichoons · 3 pointsr/IWantToLearn

There's a great book called Flavour Thesaurus which has lots of interesting and creative pairings.

u/passi0nfr00t · 3 pointsr/coolguides

Ohh sure thing! I've got a small collection but the one I always rec and lend out isn't a cookbook, but actually this really useful guide called: The Flavor Thesaurus: A Compendium of Pairings, Recipes and Ideas for the Creative Cook. For baking, I really like watching Great British Bake off for recipes and have Mary Berry's Baking Bible, it's been a good guide. I also like Ricardo, and made his apple+pecan and raisin cake over the holidays and it was really good. But my true love is actually cheese making (despite my lactose intolerance lol) and so Nick Haddow's Milk Made is my baby, there's a recipe for saffron+honey cheesecake I'm planning on making for my brother when he finishes his midterms. Martha's good, you can actually find her recipes online but nothing off the top of my head I can recommend rn.

u/Spazsquatch · 3 pointsr/cocktails

I picked up a copy of The Flavor Thesaurus which doesn't cover alcohol at all, but let's you match flavours with other complementary flavours. The 44 flavours that compliment anise which could provide hours of exploration/experimentation alone.

u/cdnbd · 3 pointsr/Cooking

For reference, go to Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything, or this book. For flavours, I'll usually go with the Flavour Bible or the Flavour Thesaurus.

u/ihaveplansthatday · 2 pointsr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon
u/CabbageAndCoffee · 2 pointsr/ADHD

I've been feeling this about my specific problems. I'm a teacher, and the #1 thing I'm told by admin is that I "lack situational awareness". WELL DUH! But I have to make do with 1. Advice for Adults with ADHD in other contexts, and try to translate it to my situation or 2. Advice for neurotypicals in my situation, like "Scan the room every 5 mintues", that is impossible for me to implement without major adjustment.

It makes self-improvement and problem solving massively more effortful.

Re: Food - For the most part I bring leftovers since I like to cook, but I keep frozen dinners from Costco for "backup". I've never been able to "meal prep" and I am more of a chaotic cook who can't actually follow a recipe or plan. (I recommend The Flavor Thesaurus for any other chaotic cooks, since it's just a list of flavors that go well together, not a recipe book.)

u/poewwoemiwwi · 2 pointsr/loseit

32/F, SW/CW/GW: 270/257/150 - here's my profile

I used to be terrible with spices, but then I got this book -> The Flavor Thesaurus: A Compendium of Pairings, Recipes and Ideas for the Creative Cook

It's made me try combinations I would have never tried otherwise. And food tastes awesome now!

u/lemon_melon · 2 pointsr/TumblrInAction

I love Budget Bytes for her affordable, family-sized recipes. Most of her dishes are vegetarian because it's just cheaper than buying meat. Also, investing in a book like The Flavor Bible, Herbs and Spices, The Flavor Thesaurus, or Ratio can really help someone learning.

u/Wormella · 1 pointr/Cooking

If you're looking for something to do with flavours and the taste of food then I can recommend The Flavor Thesaurus

u/Sophistikitty · 1 pointr/Cooking

The book I personally use most for reference

u/hermitsociety · 1 pointr/IWantToLearn

https://www.amazon.com/Flavor-Thesaurus-Compendium-Pairings-Creative/dp/160819874X

I picked this up cheap somewhere and it's a fun book when you DO feel like straying from the recipe a bit. It lists which flavors go with other flavors. So if you have some great vanilla beans, you can look up vanilla and get some ideas for what direction to take. It can be a lot of fun and often surprising.

u/cratersarecool · 1 pointr/recipes

Okay so not really a cookbook but a great thing to keep around when you’re not sure what to pair with what you have on hand. The Flavor Thesaurus: A Compendium of Pairings, Recipes and Ideas for the Creative Cook it’s kinda fun to flip through and see all the different flavor pairings. They categorize by flavors. So if one day you’re feeling something earthy, they have a section for it.