Review: The Food Substitutions Bible

I have recently acquired a copy of David Joachim's wonderful book, The Food Substitutions Bible and I cannot praise this book enough! Just like The Flavor Bible, this book is an invaluable tool in helping you break the grip of recipe dependency and get on with the business of being creative in the kitchen.

The copy I purchased (pictured to the right) is the second edition of Joachim's book, and contains over 1500 additional substitutions not included in the first edition (with the blue cover). It is also about 25% larger than the first and is expanded throughout.

As the title says, this book is filled with substitution suggestions for just about any ingredient you can name. Anyone who has spent any time in the kitchen has had a time when a recipe called for an item they didn't have. My early days of cooking were filled with these experiences, usually ending up with a phone call to my  mother asking what I should do if I don't have buttermilk or baking powder for the recipe I had already started. Now I don't have to do that anymore. I can pull out the book instead, which is much quicker, and call my mom later to tell her how wonderful the recipe turned out!

There are so many food substitutions in this book, it boggles the mind. Everything from Spam to popcorn, duck eggs to korerima, and a thousand other ingredients that I've never heard of! (FYI, if you do find yourself in need of korerima, you can use an equal amount of ground cardamom in its stead.)

The thing about this book is that it's title is deceptive. It is much more than a food substitution guide. There are also substitution ideas for equipment and even cooking techniques. Say for example you would like to try an Asian recipe that calls for cooking in a clay pot but you don't have one. What to do? Should you run out and buy special cookware? I suppose you could. You could also, according to The Food Substitutions Bible, try using either a deep casserole dish or a dutch oven while reducing the temperature by about 100°F and the cooking time by about a half an hour.

One of the most wonderful things about this book are the Ingredient Guides at the back. Lists of apple varieties (including the flavor and texture of each and the best way to use them), dried beans, chili peppers, grains, honey, mushrooms, pasta, rices, vinegars, etc, etc. What the flavor differences are, what each can be substituted for; these lists are invaluable! In addition, there are measurement equivalents that I've never seen in any other book. If a recipe calls for a cup of evaporated milk, how many cans should you buy? According to the Can and Package Size Equivalents chart in the back of the book, a 6 oz. can of evaporated milk is 2/3 cup, while the 14-1/2 oz can is 1-2/3 cups. A #2 can is 20 oz. or 2-1/2 cups and a great big #10 can is 13 cups. Another interesting table is for Temperature Equivalents. Exactly what temperature is "a moderate oven?" According to this list it is 350°F, 180°C, or gas mark 4. Lukewarm water is 95°F or 35°C.

If you are at all serious about cooking, especially if you are among those who create your own recipes, this book is a must have! This is a book I wished I owned years ago and it is a most welcome addition to my book collection now!

Happy cooking (and don't forget to call your mothers)!

The Flavor Bible: A Review

One of the most exciting cooking books to come out in a very long time is Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg's joint effort The Flavor Bible (Hachett Books, 2008). This book is an absolute must have for the creative cook's kitchen!

The Flavor Bible is essentially an encyclopedia of ingredients and flavors; herbs, spices, meats, vegetables, grains, etc. Everything you can think of is listed alphabetically in these pages. With each entry is a list of other flavors and ingredients that pair well with that item. For example, let's say that I have almonds in my pantry and am trying to figure out what to do with them. I look up "Almonds" in The Flavor Bible and I find a lengthy list of things that work well with almonds. Some are obvious, of course, like chocolate, vanilla, and honey. Then come seasonings and flavors I hadn't thought of, like rosemary, plums, Italian sauces, and such. I also find recommended flavor combinations, like "almonds + chocolate + coconut" or "almonds + green anise + figs".

It's amazing how quickly this book became an indispensable part of my kitchen library! It's now the first book I pick up when I start planning a new recipe, or am trying to figure out something new and inventive to do with leftovers. The book has gotten me to consider flavor combinations that I might have overlooked if I were sticking to recipes tried and true.

The Flavor Bible took authors Page and Dornenburg eight years to put together. They drew upon the wisdom and experience of some of the country's most renowned palates, dozens of chefs whose knowledge gave this book the depth required to make it a truly effective tool for the modern cook. In addition to being an outstanding guide for ingredients, it contains helpful tips, dish ideas, recipes, antidotes and more. It is well worth the price and a fantastic gift for anyone you know who loves to cook!

Kahlua Flua

It's a busy weekend on the food front, having just gotten in another big produce order. This time around we went heavy on the pickling items - cauliflower, purple peppers, banana peppers, beans, rainbow carrots, etc. Not to mention that I plan on making both vegetable broth and chicken stock! I figured I would start with the vegetable broth, if for no other reason that to get some of this stuff out of my way!

I went heavy on the carrots and threw in a bunch of broccoli stalks and a yam I had. After I drained the broth, I added white wine and sweet vermouth and then reduced it to 2 quarts. Jarred and away and one chore down!

My next task was a much needed trip to the store for supplies, namely more jars, before continuing. Next on my list were the lovely golden beets we had. I planned on using a recipe I swiped from Alton Brown that calls for roasting the beets first, then canning them. I cleaned the beets and got them into the oven and decided to take advantage of the "down time" to make homemade kahlua.

About a week ago, I got a hold of a supply of vanilla beans and have been experimenting with them. I'm in no hurry to use them, they last quite a while if stored in a cool dark place. I found a few different kahlua recipes looking around online and put one together to try. We'll see how it turns out. Here's what I did:

In a stock pot, I put

8 c very strong black coffee

8 c sugar

I brought them to a simmer until the sugar was dissolved. I then added

4 vanilla beans, split lengthwise

a 1.75 liter bottle of vodka

I brought this to a simmer and continued to cook it over low-medium heat for an hour or two. About 15 minutes before finishing, I fished out the vanilla beans and scraped them out, adding the seed paste to the kahlua and discarding the empty pods. I cooked the mixture a little longer, stirring frequently to mix in the vanilla real well and then bottled the kahlua. I put it all in a gallon sized jar but you'll probably want to bottle it in several small bottles.

The beets are done. More to write later. Cheers!