The Spice and Herb Bible Paperback – Illustrated, 11 Sept. 2014

I bought this book a couple of weeks ago. I've been interested in using herbs and spices for years without really having any background knowledge as to their usage, I always took a fairly intuitive approach which was either a hit or miss. However, I got to a stage where I wanted a better grounding to help me to explore the various flavours that one could add to the dish. This book as been wonderful to help me educate myself and to understand better where flavours come from and how an adjustment to the spices used one can travel across whole continents. Spices are somewhat exotic and there are paragraphs that tell little stories of their origins and their journey's across the globe. This book really is a 'bible' for anyone who wants a description of each herb or spice, their usage, a recipe perhaps and a little bit of background knowledge. It covers everything and its such a joy to read.

This book is huge, look at the pictures. It is a comprehensive guide to herbs and spices. It tells you about each spice and herb, the common name, botanical name, the different varieties, how to use it, what it compliments, recipes they are used in and finally it tells you how to mix different herbs and spices and the amount of t/spoons or cups to put in and how much it makesI thought I was buying a small 100 page book of the most common recipes to mix the most common spices and herb mixes, no no no, this thing is an encyclopaedia!!!! Eve Royo I need to know and more, you can’t go wrong with this book.

I am starting use my own herb and spice mixes in cooking, but know nothing of which goes with what.This book is like a bible, give the following details:- where they come from- what they go with- how they can be used in cooking- what they're called in other parts of the world- and recipes that use them- well place colourful images that aid recognitionThe contents page makes it very easy to find particular herbs or spices. They also tell you what spice mixes contain so you can make them yourself, and how they're used.For the price you pay you get a sizeable book (it is quite heavy) that both you or someone you know who enjoys cooking will love.

This isn't really a recipe book its a book to give you an understanding of the way herbs and spices are blended together and used in cooking.Each herb and spice has its history and usage very well discribed and other herbs/spices that can be combined are listed, the recommended amount that should be used with each ingredient and any differences with fresh or dried herbs, whole or ground spices and much more.Even though I said it is not a recipe book there are still a large amount in there giving recipes for different herbs and spices and how to create the different spice blends.Overall this is a fantastic reference book on how to use an blend different herbs and spices, highly recommended.

Well written and very concise but missing a few things I've found since owning this, alkannet / Alkanna tinctoria is not in here. I've found a few other items that I would like to have discovered too, I assume this is more of a general use encyclopaedia rather than here's all of them. For my tastes though I'd go as far as saying cut out the recipes and list them all!

I've bought this for my brother who has just moved into a flat with his girlfriend and taken over the kitchen with his spice collection! He loves cooking and herbs, so this was perfect for him:D I am very happy with the book, it is huge and beautifully laid out. There are 2 or 3 recipes for each spice and a lovely clear summary of each one. Perfect! And worth the £15 (I had been doubtful).

I liked it all a very good book and the information that is included is great.

This was one of the first cool books I brought. I wanted to make my own spice mixes for briskets, tacos etc.This was brilliant it has lots of recipes to make blends for some really tasty food.It is a good building block book.It also has lots of information around most spices and really helps you learn more about spices and herbs.A must buy.