Table Of ContentDiscover how to make the most of more
CoNtrIButorS
than 2,500 different ingredients including
vegetables, fruits, herbs, spices, meats, fish,
shellfish, cheeses, oils, grains, and flavorings.
C.J. JACKSON—FISH AND SEAFOOD
C.J. is Director of London’s famous
Billingsgate Seafood Training School, Buy
where she teaches and demonstrates.
T
NICHOLA FLETCHER—MEAT H the perfect peach
E
Nichola is regarded as one of the world’s
leading authorities on meat. She currently i
l
writes for The Financial Times. l
u
s
JEFF COx—VEGETABLES T
Jeff is an expert on vegetables r
and the author of 17 books on a
food and gardening, including T
The Organic Cook’s Bible and DK’s E Store
d
The Cook’s Herb Garden.
cilantro to avoid wilting
JILL NORMAN—HERBS AND SPICES c
learn to buy, store, prepare, cook, preserve, and eat more than
o THE illusTraTEd cook’s book of
An award-winning author and
o
long-time editor of Elizabeth David’s 2,500 ingredients from around the world.
k
classic cookbooks, Jill Norman is also
the author of DK’s Herbs and Spices: • ’s
The Cook’s Reference. b
use this definitive visual reference to choose the best in-season produce,
o
learn good preparation techniques, or discover new flavor pairings. o
JENNY LINFORD—DAIRY, NUTS, and SEEDS k
Jenny is a prolific food writer, and author • PrePare
of fifteen cookbooks and ingredient guides. o
This is the must-have kitchen companion for anyone who appreciates good food. f 2,500 of the world’s best with classic recipes
bell peppers quickly and efficiently
JULIET HARBUTT—CHEESE
Juliet is the world’s most highly respected
cheese expert, cheesemaker, and cheese
consultant for the Central Market
supermarket chain in Texas.
CLARISSA HYMAN—FRUIT
Clarissa is a freelance food and travel
writer, winner of the 2007 Glenfiddich Food
Writer of the Year award, and author of
The Spanish Kitchen, The Jewish Kitchen,
and Cucina Siciliana.
CooK
JENNI MUIR—GRAINS, RICE,
PASTA, and NOODLES a jack mackerel to enhance its flavor
Jenni is a food writer, and the author
of A Cook’s Guide to Grains, which has
been nominated for the Glenfiddich and
André Simon awards.
JUDY RIDGWAY—OILS, VINEGARS,
and FLAVORINGS
Olive oil expert, consultant, author, and
broadcaster, Judy specializes in all aspects
of taste and flavor. The author of four books This definitive cook’s bible answers
on olive oil, including Best Olive Oil
Buys Around the World, she has written every question you could ever have
Discover more at
more than 60 books on food and wine. www.dk.com on choosing and using ingredients.
Printed in China
$35.00 USA
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T H E C O O K ’ S B O O K O F
I NG R E D I ENTS
T H E C O O K ’ S B O O K O F
I NG R E D I ENT S
DK PUBLISHING
LONDON, NEW YORK, MELBOURNE,
MUNICH, AND DELHI
Photographers Gary Ombler, Roger Dixon,
Jon Whitaker, Lorenzo Vecchia, Gary Seagraves,
Petrina Tinslay, Nicki Downey, Will Heap,
Chris Villano, Deepak Aggarwal
Project Editor Norma MacMillan
Editors Helena Caldon, Fiona Corbridge,
Mary Scott, Belinda Wilkinson
Designer Miranda Harvey
Picture Researcher Jenny Faithful
CONTENTS
FOR DORLING KINDERSLEY
Senior Editors Laura Nickoll, Scarlett O’Hara
Design Consultant Heather McCarry
Art Editors Kathryn Wilding, Elly King, Caroline de Souza
Editorial Assistant Kajal Mistry
Design Assistants Elma Aquino, Danaya Bunnag
Editorial Assistance
Sarah Ruddick, Alastair Laing, Andrew Roff INTRODUCTION 6
Senior Jackets Creative Nicola Powling
Managing Editors Dawn Henderson, Angela Wilkes
Managing Art Editors FISH & SEAFOOD 12
Marianne Markham, Christine Keilty
US Editors
Nichole Morford, Margaret Parrish, Delilah Smittle
MEAT 100
US Recipe Adaptation
Peggy Fallon
Production Editor
Maria Elia VEGETABLES 180
Senior Production Controller
Alice Sykes
Creative Technical Support HERBS 280
Sonia Charbonnier
First American edition, 2010
NUTS & SEEDS 314
Published in the United States by
DK Publishing
375 Hudson Street
New York, NY 10014
SPICES 326
10 11 12 13 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
178693—October 2010
Copyright © 2010 Dorling Kindersley Limited
All rights reserved.
Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved
above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored
in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in
any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the
copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
A catalog record for this book is available
from the Library of Congress
ISBN 978-0-7566-6730-6
DK books are available at special discounts when purchased in bulk
for sales promotions, premiums, fund-raising, or educational use. For
details, contact: DK Publishing Special Markets, 375 Hudson Street,
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Color reproduction by Colourscan, Singapore
Printed and bound by Toppan, China
Discover more at
www.dk.com
DAIRY & EGGS 362
FRUITS 410
GRAINS, RICE, PASTA & NOODLES 478
OILS, VINEGARS & FLAVORINGS 508
INDEX 526
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 544
INTRODUCTION
In the past twenty years, food lovers and cooks the world over have witnessed the
phenomenal growth of a vast global market. It is as if a seemingly constant and burgeoning
stream of produce is there for the asking—exotic fruit and heirloom vegetables, rare-
breed meat and poultry, remarkable fish and seafood, artisan cheeses and cured meats, rare
spices and herbs, authentic sauces and flavorings. The list goes on and more keeps coming,
sometimes making us feel like excited children in a candy store.
Since good cooking is about good ingredients, we need the knowledge necessary for
making informed choices. We need to be able to recognize quality—ingredients that are
the best of their kind, produced with care and pride. We need to know when food is in
prime condition, how to store it, ripen it, prepare it, cook it, or preserve it in the most
appropriate way. Regardless of where we live, if we are to make the most of this rich
global market, we need to be aware that everyday ingredients in one part of the world
may seem unusual or exotic in another. If we don’t recognize ingredients or know what to
do with them, we are likely to pass over items that could enrich our culinary repertoire.
The Cook’s Book of Ingredients provides the in-depth information you need to do all this
and more. It will fascinate and inform beginners and experienced cooks, professional
chefs, passionate foodies, and even the mildly curious whose interest has been kindled by
the sheer wealth of produce available.
Every page of this book reveals an ingredient that simply must be tried, or a new piece of
information about a familiar ingredient. Space is devoted to lesser-known regional items, with
foods such as beremeal and biltong given the same attention as chicken and cheese. For every
ingredient, there is a short introduction describing provenance and seasonality, together with
insider information on how to assess quality and freshness, and clear explanations of how best
to prepare and cook the ingredient. Following this are recommendations for flavor pairings
with compatible ingredients that will open the mind of even the most accomplished cook.
The book includes more than 200 classic recipes, distinctly regional but well known the
world over, chosen to showcase a particular ingredient and to help you explore its flavors
further. These are classic recipes from around the world in which the ingredient is star.
This colossal culinary encyclopedia has been produced by a team of expert food writers,
chefs, and connoisseurs, backed by worldwide regional consultants. Photographers have traveled
the globe to far-flung food markets, from Barcelona’s Boqueria to San Francisco’s Ferry Plaza to
Tokyo’s Tsukiji in search of the very best ingredients to illustrate the book. Their work is shown
in 2,500-plus photographs of a complete spectrum of foods: fish and shellfish; meat, poultry,
and game; vegetables; herbs; spices; dairy and eggs; fruits; nuts and seeds; grains; rice; pasta; and
noodles, oils, vinegars, and flavorings.
Had this book been produced twenty years ago, it would have been a slim volume with
fewer photographs. Missing would be some of the exotica that long-haul travel has
made commonplace, along with the melting pot of foods emerging from our increasingly
multicultural society. Fewer pages would be devoted to the wealth of fresh produce that
modern harvesting and refrigerated transportation systems have made possible. The
book would also be lacking some of the in-depth knowledge and culinary expertise that
the internet makes so speedily accessible.
In the 80s and 90s, supermarkets ruled the roost; decades later they remain the essential
one-stop shop for many of us in the West. That said, our growing passion for food has been
matched by a significant rise in delicatessens, butchers, fishmongers, greengrocers, farm
shops, and farmers’ markets. Their shelves are packed with produce, much of it in season
and locally grown, opening up yet more choices. Mail-order food companies are increasing,
too. We can order every imaginable ingredient, from exotic spices and heirloom beans to
foie gras and oven-ready squirrel, by e-mail or phone—though this rather misses the sensory
pleasure of looking, touching, and smelling to evaluate what is on offer.
The time has never been better for the curious cook. Every day the pantry grows, with foods
that were previously geographically or culturally isolated now being shared at tables around
the world. With this unprecedented abundance, we can return from our travels, inspired by
the food we have eaten, and create the same dishes at home—from an aromatic Thai curry or
spicy Mexican mole to Spanish paella or Hungarian goulash. Whether we live in Dallas or Dijon,
