the flavor bible

L

LT72884

Babbling Farker
Joined
May 7, 2009
Messages
3,070
Reaction score
342
Points
0
Location
Draper Utah
SO i just got the flavor bible for my birthday. It is a very interesting book. I noticed as a thumbed through it that there seems to be no recipes. There happens to be a few excerpts on names of dishes and where they are served at on a few of the pages. IE pg 131.

Since i am new to this whole idea of mixing foods and being creative idea, any help and understanding of how to use this book would be awesome..

thanks
 
The book starts with a great discussion about what comprises taste. I enjoyed the beginning chapters immensely. Then what it gets into is pairings of flavors. What works and what doesn't as measured by some well known chefs.

I use it when I am trying something new. Like, would a balsamic vinegar plum reduction sauce go well with lamb?

I think it is a great book for reference and learning. Definitely not a recipe book.
 
I got this book on the recommendation of fellow Brethren Patio Daddio and I'm so glad I did.

It isn't a cook book or recipe book, you're right. It is more about matching flavors. Here are three ways I use it:

First - menu development: If I'm making a main dish with honey in it, I would look at the matching flavors for honey and use a side dish or sauce with some of those flavors.

Second - how to use an ingredient: If I am trying to figure out what to do with an ingredient I've never used, I look it up in the flavor bible and get some ideas just based on the flavor matches.

Third - recipe development: I have a main dish ingredient and have no idea what I want to make - I'll scan the list of flavor pairings for that ingredient, compare it against what I have in the pantry/fridge and just throw some things together.

So I guess for me it's more a source of inspiration and a guide to help keep me from getting too far off the beaten path when creating from scratch.
 
Swib. ok let me ask you this. You say in your example that if your dish had honey in it you would match off of that? Is that a main dish or just any dish? the reason i ask is because what if i choose eggplant as my main dish? how would you base sides off of that?

Sorry if my question is vague but im trying to follow you the best i can.

Marty, thanx for the reply. Does the balsamic plum reduction sauce go with lamb? or was that just an idea you wanted to try out?
 
LT72884 said:
Swib. ok let me ask you this. You say in your example that if your dish had honey in it you would match off of that? Is that a main dish or just any dish? the reason i ask is because what if i choose eggplant as my main dish? how would you base sides off of that?

Sorry if my question is vague but im trying to follow you the best i can.

Marty, thanx for the reply. Does the balsamic plum reduction sauce go with lamb? or was that just an idea you wanted to try out?
Click to expand...

The bible recommended against it. I didn't have the Bible yet! I tried it and it was.....OK. Not something I would repeat. I really think the book can help you from making mistakes. Lots of people have done this stuff before. Why reinvent the wheel??
 
When setting up a menu with multiple elements, it is often desirable to have elements of various dishes echo throughout the meal. A simple, but, poorly conceived idea would be to use ham in everything. The Flavor Bible is a great shortcut to learning how differennt flavors could be combined in various way to create a sense of continuity throughout a series of dishes. For instance, supposed you were serving a dish which featured chicken, mushrooms, tarragon and grapes. You would want to serve a side that matches these flavors without necessarily repeating them. The Flavor Bible would allow you to quickly pair those foods with complememntary flavors.
 
landarc said:
When setting up a menu with multiple elements, it is often desirable to have elements of various dishes echo throughout the meal. A simple, but, poorly conceived idea would be to use ham in everything. The Flavor Bible is a great shortcut to learning how differennt flavors could be combined in various way to create a sense of continuity throughout a series of dishes. For instance, supposed you were serving a dish which featured chicken, mushrooms, tarragon and grapes. You would want to serve a side that matches these flavors without necessarily repeating them. The Flavor Bible would allow you to quickly pair those foods with complememntary flavors.
Click to expand...

ok, lets see if i did this right. I took your example of said grapes, taragon, chicken and mushrooms and looked through the book to make a side dish. I first looked up grapes and noticed that cheese fits well with grapes, especially blu and goats cheese. I then looked up taragon to see if i could find a side or deseret with it. Taragon goes great with grapefruit and lemon juice. I also noticed it goes great with lobster so i thought about a taragon creamy sauce to go over some pieces of lobster as a side dish.

So for desert it could be grapes with cheese and blueberry honey, a side dish of lobster covered with a targon bearnise sauce and a main dish of chicken with mushrooms.

Is that how this book should be used?

thanks
Matt
 
LT72884 said:
ok, lets see if i did this right. I took your example of said grapes, taragon, chicken and mushrooms and looked through the book to make a side dish. I first looked up grapes and noticed that cheese fits well with grapes, especially blu and goats cheese. I then looked up taragon to see if i could find a side or deseret with it. Taragon goes great with grapefruit and lemon juice. I also noticed it goes great with lobster so i thought about a taragon creamy sauce to go over some pieces of lobster as a side dish.

So for desert it could be grapes with cheese and blueberry honey, a side dish of lobster covered with a targon bearnise sauce and a main dish of chicken with mushrooms.

Is that how this book should be used?

thanks
Matt
Click to expand...



Yes. But I think I'll skip the dinner invite this time.
 
Matt -

If you haven't done so already, I strongly recommend reading the first chapter of the book. It explains not only how to use the book, but also why the authors chose the approach to the book that they did. It's all about teaching and inspring you to create (paint a materpiece) instead of giving you a recipe (paint-by-numbers).
 
It kinda sounds like the Iron Chef show and how they use a common item in different recipes and how to make them compliment each other.
 
Yes,that's the book..I just received it in the mail yesterday,still looking threw it though,so I have no opinion as of yet.
 
Well, sort of LT. I am not sure I would go with lobster as a side dish. I would look at it more like this.

Main: Chicken with grapes and tarragon sauce
Side 1: Green beans with fresh basil and herbes de Provence (tarragon and lavender work well together, green beans and tarragon work well together, chicken and green beans work well together)
Salad: Fresh baby lettuce salad with tomatoes and goat cheese (grapes and lettuce go together, tomatoes and tarragon, tomatoes and herbes de Provence go together etc...)
Side 2: Potatoes with herbs butter (herbs go well with chicken, green beans etc...)

You see how different elements cooperate with each other through the whole meal. It is sort of like putting a party together, you want everyone to play nice. The Flavor Bible makes those comnbination easier. The best chefs have an incredible library of flavors that they can pull from. This book makes it a little easier.
 
Thanx guys. Yeah the lobster may not work as a side dish to well. My idea on it was small pieces of it covered with the sauce. sorta a smaple of lobster. haha

I just barely got the book and i will be reading chapter one very soon. I have just been thumbing threw it. The reason i bought this book was due to patio daddio's review of it a while back when he first published it. I want to be a better cook in all forms, not just Q. haha.

thanks guys.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Headgear
Pellet Grill Smoke Flavor
2
Replies
31
Views
3K
Headgear
Headgear
snadamo
Too late for the throwdown - Kielbasa smoked on the LSG!
Replies
19
Views
454
snadamo
snadamo
cayenne
Do you ever SPLIT your Butts (Pork) for smoking?
2
Replies
26
Views
1K
Itsdone
I
L
French Toast on the Blackstone
2
Replies
22
Views
2K
bowhnter
bowhnter
ssv3
A Week Of Birphday Eats
2 3
Replies
50
Views
3K
sudsandswine
sudsandswine
Back
Top