Spice is a vibrant exploration of flavour, fragrance and heat that majors on the kitchen, with a celebration of over 50 spices that will fill your kitchen with a wealth of heady aromas and tastes. With thanks to Liz for her review.
They (who are they?) say we eat with our eyes. This book doesn’t have as many photos as I usually like to see but I didn’t miss them because the words were plenty. The book takes us back to basics, reminding us that only a few spices were available not so long ago, just two in Mark’s house, but not the two I would have suggested that was probably just salt and pepper in our kitchen. Fast forward and the spices out there now are incredible. I love the descriptions he gives, suggesting spice blends and what to do with them and then the affinities, so a list of spices blended and what they will stay happily married with when you add the main ingredients to present the finished dish.
This book is a wonderful masterclass of How to and Why you would and What works. I look forward to having shelves stocked with glass jars full of colour so I can pluck what is needed whenever I want. To have to hand exciting Marinades, Rubs and Infusions when I want to try something new. This is motivation at its best. If its prepared and ready to use and stored correctly, you only need to introduce the main event and you have a match made in heaven on a plate. There are even drinks to try and I can only imagine what some of those spiced concoctions taste like.
I fancy trying the Blackcurrant Eccles Cakes and the Ajowan Samosas, maybe the seven-spice roast sprouts at Christmas but what stands out for me in its illustrated beauty is the Cardamom, Pear and Long Pepper Trifle. I have to give it a try!
About the Book
Packed with ideas for enjoying and using spices, Spice is much more than your average recipe book. Mark Diacono shares the techniques at the heart of sourcing, blending and using spices well, enabling you to make delicious food that is as rewarding in the process as it is in the end result. Focusing on the familiars including cumin, turmeric, vanilla, pepper and cinnamon, Spice will also open the door to some lesser-known spices such as grains of paradise, asafoetida, tonka beans and passion berries.
The recipes build on bringing your spices alive – whether that’s creating blends to easily enhance your food when short of time on a weekday evening, or in infusing and blooming spices to bring out the very best of these treasured ingredients. The reader will become familiar with the differences in flavour intensity and provenance and discover how, through the use of spice, we can applaud and appreciate cuisines from around the globe.
Beginning with a guide to 50 of Mark’s much-loved spices and blends, the book then offers over 100 innovative recipes that make the most of your new spice knowledge. With additions throughout from chefs and food writers of whom spices are an integral part of their cooking identity, including José Pizarro, Honey and Co, Maunika Gowardhan and Yuki Gomi, Spice is sure to inspire and uplift.
About The Author
Mark Diacono is lucky enough to spend most of his time eating, growing, writing and talking about food. His A Year at Otter Farm and A Taste of the Unexpected both won Food Book of the Year, for André Simon and the Guild of Food Writers, respectively. His book Sour was Food Book of the Year 2019 in The Sunday Times and Daily Mail, and nominated for a James Beard Award in the US. Known for growing everything from Szechuan pepper to pecans to Asian pears, Mark’s refreshing approach to growing and eating has done much to inspire a new generation to grow some of what they eat.
Purchase the Book
This book can be purchased in our store either on its own or in a cosy Book Box.
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