The Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America's Most Imaginative Chefs

Flavor Bible delivers creative inspiration to spark up old combinations. This book is well layed out with easy access to information to enable the cook to utilize what is in your kitchen and to inspire creativity. Allows you to create new flavor combinations with reasonable expectations that the dish won't completely flop or ingredients be wasted.
Excellent resource.

I absolutely love this book! I first discovered it when it was cited as a reference for a cookbook and am glad I did. While I am not a trained chef, I am an avid home cook that enjoys writing my own recipes, experimenting with foods, and as of late, entering recipe contests. This book helps me be more daring in my flavor combinations and has inspired new recipes.

The first section of the book is a great introduction to flavor. It talks about what is perceived by the mouth, what is perceived by the nose, and my personal favorite, what is perceived by the heart, mind, and spirit. It has great passages from chefs from all over the country talking about things like balancing flavor.

The second section expands on this further by talking about things like seasonality, taste, weight, volume, function, region, and flavor affinities. This helps set up the flavor matching chart since many of these dimensions are used to describe key aspects of each ingredient.

The final section, and bulk of the book, is comprised of matchmaking charts. Simply look up a listing alphabetically and you will be presented with a list of ingredients that pair well with it as well as 'flavor affinities' that include the featured ingredient with more than two additional ingredients. This book gives you the ability to look up cheeses, chile peppers, cuisines, fishes, flavorings, fruits, herbs, ingredients, meats, oils, peppers, salts, spices, tastes, vegetables, vinegars and more! Overall these charts are very extensive and include a variety of ingredients from around the world. If you are interested in an ingredient there is a good chance you will find it in here. Also in this section you will find different tips and comments from Chefs that relate to the ingredients as well as examples of dishes (without recipes) that incorporate the ingredient. These can be great in bringing the combinations to life and jump starting ideas.

It is also worth noting that this is really a reference book. There are no recipes in this book. However, this does not bother me at all as I have tons of cookbooks and come to this book when I want to create something on my own.

This is quite a fantastic reference book that I cannot say enough about! I believe it is something that an avid cook who likes to experiment and create their own recipes would find not only helpful, but enjoyable to have in the kitchen.

Wow! Here we have a book that doesn't hand you a rigid collection of recipes or the author's philosophy on how your food should be prepared and served.
It is however, a simple and fun to use reference guide for any person that wants to get more in tune with how to season their dishes. I've only had it a week and I've turned to it 5 times already...Unlike the 8" thick Thai cookbook that is sitting on my shelf. That one makes me tremble when I dare to open it, because I know the recipes will have so many ingredients I don't have or can't get easily.
In "The Flavor Bible" you will find a list every seasoning that will compliment whatever you are preparing. So for a guy like me, it's a great help to go down their list and add new flavors to what I'm already preparing. That way, I am incorporating some newness into my recipes.

Two thumbs up to Karen and Andrew for creating another great book and helper in kitchen!

I have been searching for a book like this since the time I became interested in cooking.
I can now easily find the ingredients for fish, meat, veggies or anything...It's as if I have an "encycleopedia" of what flavors go together, at my disposal in the kitchen...It's AMAZING!

I like a cookbook with guides one to flavor combinations, rather than provides strict recipes. This one meets that criteria. It is not for a beginning cook, though, as I think it takes some experience to know what will work for you.