The deluxe food lover's companion

What's the difference between regular, red, and white ginseng? What's in carrageenan, a substance often seen on ingredients lists? And what are some dos and don'ts when using chopsticks? More than 7,200 entries in this attractive dictionary-style work answer these questions and many more in straightforward language that will help even the most novice cooks. The material has a long genealogy: it's based on the fifth edition of The Food Lover's Companion, the first incarnation of which Sharon Herbst began more than 26 years ago. Entries define an item and discuss its history and related foodstuffs. Sprinkled throughout but concentrated at the end of the book are glossaries (new to the deluxe edition) that present facts on types of food and drink such as cocktails, sauces, and spices. An appendix offers such charts and other material as "Substituting Ingredients," "High-Altitude Baking Adjustments," "A Guide to Food Labels," and "Blood Alcohol Concentration Charts." The presentation also boasts an extensive glossary. Missing are photographs-the work instead offers drawings, also new to this work-but the information is solid nonetheless. VERDICT Useful for recipe collections, home cooks, and children doing reports on foods and food-related culture.-Henrietta Verma, -Library Journal © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.