Overview
From the Emmy-nominated host of the award-winning Top Chef, an A-to-Z compendium of spices, herbs, salts, peppers, and blends, with beautiful photography and a wealth of explanation, history, and cooking advice.
“A beautiful book by Padma Lakshmi featuring an extensive catalogue and helpful recommendations on how best to use these ingredients to create full-flavored dishes. A great resource for any chef or home cook.” -- Eric Ripert
Award-winning cookbook author and television host Padma Lakshmi, inspired by her life of traveling across the globe, brings together the world’s spices and herbs in a vibrant, comprehensive alphabetical guide. This definitive culinary reference book is illustrated with rich color photographs that capture the essence of a diverse range of spices and their authentic flavors. The Encyclopedia of Spices and Herbs includes complete descriptions, histories, and cooking suggestions for ingredients from basic herbs to the most exotic seeds and chilies, as well as information on toasting spices, making teas, and infusing various oils and vinegars. And no other market epitomizes Padma’s love for spices and global cuisine than where she spent her childhood—lingering in the aisles of the iconic gourmet food store Kalustyan’s, in New York City.
Perfect for the holiday season and essential to any well-stocked kitchen or cooking enthusiast, The Encyclopedia of Spices and Herbs is an invaluable resource as well as a stunning and adventurous tour of some of the most wondrous and majestic flavors on earth.
Details
About the Author
Lakshmi established herself as a food expert early in her career, having hosted two successful cooking shows and writing the bestselling Easy Exotic, which won the "Best First Book" award at the 1999 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. Lakshmi followed this success with the publication of her second cookbook, Tangy Tart Hot & Sweet. In 2016, she released her food memoir, the New York Times bestselling Love, Loss, and What We Ate, which won "Best Lifestyle, Body & Soul" at the 2017 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards, followed by The Encyclopedia of Spices & Herbs. She is set to publish her first children"s book, Tomatoes for Neela, in Fall 2021.
In addition to being named a visiting scholar at MIT, she serves as an artist ambassador for the ACLU, focusing on immigrants" rights and women"s rights, and was recently appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Development Program. She is the co-founder of the Endometriosis Foundation of America. She lives in New York City with her daughter.
