Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I feel emotions about this book that I did not think that a cookbook could elicit from me.
For starters, the recipes themselves are fantastic. Over the years (I originally bought the hardback) I believe that I have tried at least 75% of them, among my favorites being the guacamole made from peas and the glazed brussel sprouts, of all things. The only recipe that didn't work out for me was the homemade sauerkraut, and the book has a whole chapter on sausages that just didn't appeal to me as a matter of personal taste.
But the recipes are only the beginning.
As educational as the surprising combinations are, the most valuable aspect of the book is content unusual in a cookbook: Michael Roberts includes a succinct prelimary discussion on flavors and how to marry, oppose, and juxtapose them, each of these verbs representing a different type of combination. For example, lemon and garlic is a flavor *marriage*; sweet and salty, like peanuts on an ice cream sundae, is a flavor *opposition*; and clove and red wine is a flavor *juxtaposition* (tasted at different times or on different parts of the tongue).
These three types of combination underlie all the recipes in the book. Roberts takes pains throughout to explain why his combinations work and to offer variations on the recipes. Together with his introductory chapter, this book offers the cook beyond the beginner stage a tutorial in culinary creativity.
The adventurous cook will not regret this purchase.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Secret Ingredients: The Magical Process of Combining Flavors
There are no such things as secrets in the kitchen—but there are secret ingredients, those ingredients that are not tasted but would be missed if they were omitted. The key to using these wonderful flavor-highlighting techniques is found in nearly 200 extraordinary recipes such as Lamb with Blue Cheese, Jalape?os and Port; and Warm Scallop and Watercress Salad with Bacon Vinaigrette.
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