This is the first book of Padma Lakshmi's I have purchased. My wife is a great explorer in the kitchen, preparing a great variety of foods, and spices are an important element in her recipes. This book has very broad coverage of spices both well known and obscure, and to give an idea of the variety of spices and herbs covered, by my count it contains:
- 175 total entries, including:
--- 61 cross-references to cover spices with more than one common name
--- 13 sub entries of pepper (I've only counted this as 1 in the total entries count above)
--- 25 sea salts and 13 salts described in detail (counted as 1 in total above)
--- 34 sub entries of chile (counted as 1 in total above)
--- 5 sub entries of curry powder (counted as 1 in total above)
Aside from a short introductory essay, this book is entirely comprised of the entries on specific spices and herbs, alphabetically arranged. There are photos on perhaps a quarter or more of the pages, sufficient to illustrate the majority if not all of the spices and herbs covered.
Each of the articles discusses the origin of the specific spice or herb, giving examples of usage and a good explanation for each.
There are a large variety of similar books available, and I can't say that this is the best - however I did do some spot checking against other popular spice books available here on Amazon. Looking at
The Spice Companion: A Guide to the World of Spices
, for example, I found that there is a broader coverage of spices and herbs in this book by Lakshmi. The Spice Companion book does include considerably more discussion on subjects such as 'sourcing spices' and 'how to blend spices', and in the individual entries the descriptions are presented with illustrations of each spice and recipe ideas and recommended pairings. For someone shopping for a book on spices I would recommend browsing through the books available here using Amazons 'look inside' feature to select the book that best suites your interests.
This book is sturdily printed with a glossy hard binding that will wipe clean, and is a smaller size that will fit on the counter for comfortable reference and without taking up too much space (6 ½ x 7.8 inches). I'm pleased with it and I think that we will be using it as a helpful reference for years to come.
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Reviews with images
Very informative + the photos are fantastic!
When I picked up Padma Lakshmi’s The Encyclopedia of Spices and Herbs last weekend, I knew what I was getting into. This book was not going to be exciting. It was not going to have a lot of recipes and it certainly was going to be very different than her memoir, an audiobook that I had finished not too long ago. I read this book cover to cover in a little over 4 hours, with some inevitable help from Google to look at photos of things described. This was also one of those pieces of media that remind me that yes, English is my second language.The book lives up to what you would expect from something that has the word Encyclopedia in the title. It is well organized, with an alphabetized list of spices and herbs from around the world and their botanical names. The book refers to itself on a lot of pages, and you do not have to read it all alphabetically. I read the section on Chillies first, and then Salt, and then went to page 52 to see how Padma describes Chaat Masala. Spices, their taste, origins, preparation methods and food pairings are explained well.The most interesting thing I learned was how many types of Thyme are there, and the many ways they can be used. I also finally have a handle on how Mustard and Fenugreek are different from each other. The photos are beautiful, too- which makes it a decent coffee table prop for those of us who sometimes obsess over aesthetics.Overall, 4 out of 5 stars. 5/5 if I compare it to how I felt about Padma’s memoir.
Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2017
Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2016
Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2017
The book lives up to what you would expect from something that has the word Encyclopedia in the title. It is well organized, with an alphabetized list of spices and herbs from around the world and their botanical names. The book refers to itself on a lot of pages, and you do not have to read it all alphabetically. I read the section on Chillies first, and then Salt, and then went to page 52 to see how Padma describes Chaat Masala. Spices, their taste, origins, preparation methods and food pairings are explained well.
The most interesting thing I learned was how many types of Thyme are there, and the many ways they can be used. I also finally have a handle on how Mustard and Fenugreek are different from each other. The photos are beautiful, too- which makes it a decent coffee table prop for those of us who sometimes obsess over aesthetics.
Overall, 4 out of 5 stars. 5/5 if I compare it to how I felt about Padma’s memoir.
Very informative + the photos are fantastic!
Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2017
When I picked up Padma Lakshmi’s The Encyclopedia of Spices and Herbs last weekend, I knew what I was getting into. This book was not going to be exciting. It was not going to have a lot of recipes and it certainly was going to be very different than her memoir, an audiobook that I had finished not too long ago. I read this book cover to cover in a little over 4 hours, with some inevitable help from Google to look at photos of things described. This was also one of those pieces of media that remind me that yes, English is my second language.Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2017
The book lives up to what you would expect from something that has the word Encyclopedia in the title. It is well organized, with an alphabetized list of spices and herbs from around the world and their botanical names. The book refers to itself on a lot of pages, and you do not have to read it all alphabetically. I read the section on Chillies first, and then Salt, and then went to page 52 to see how Padma describes Chaat Masala. Spices, their taste, origins, preparation methods and food pairings are explained well.
The most interesting thing I learned was how many types of Thyme are there, and the many ways they can be used. I also finally have a handle on how Mustard and Fenugreek are different from each other. The photos are beautiful, too- which makes it a decent coffee table prop for those of us who sometimes obsess over aesthetics.
Overall, 4 out of 5 stars. 5/5 if I compare it to how I felt about Padma’s memoir.
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Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2021
