''Food Lover’s Companion'' is a book containing culinary terminology and conversion tables for cooking. Five editions have been published as of 2019.
The main section of the work is an A-to-Z list of defined culinary terminology, followed by a series of appendices.
The Second Edition is a searchable source text at
Epicurious
''Epicurious'' is an American digital brand that focuses on food and cooking-related topics. Created by Condé Nast in 1995, it is headquartered at the One World Trade Center in Manhattan, New York City, where it is part of the publisher's F ...
, and the Third Edition is a searchable source text at
Answers.com.
Sharon Tyler Herbst—the primary author—wrote 16 food and beverage related books before her death on 26 January 2007. Her husband Ron—who writes about wine and cheese—finished editing the Fourth Edition after her death and is credited as the coauthor.
Reception
''
Bon Appetit
''Bon'', also spelled Bön () and also known as Yungdrung Bon (, "eternal Bon"), is a Tibetan religious tradition with many similarities to Tibetan Buddhism and also many unique features.Samuel 2012, pp. 220-221. Bon initially developed in t ...
'' hailed the book as "one of the best reference books we’ve seen, a must for every cook’s library", and ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' described it "As thick and as satisfying as a well-stuffed sandwich".
Famous chef
Emeril Lagasse
Emeril John Lagassé III ( ; born October 15, 1959) is an American celebrity chef, restaurateur, television personality, cookbook author, and National Best Recipe award winner for his "Turkey and Hot Sausage Chili" recipe in 2003. He is a regio ...
called it his favorite book,
[ ] and it is required reading at the
New England Culinary Institute
The New England Culinary Institute (NECI) was a private for-profit culinary school in Montpelier, Vermont. It was founded on June 15, 1980, by Fran Voigt and John Dranow. The first NECI class, conducted by Chef Michel LeBorgne, had seven s ...
.
Deluxe edition
After the 2007 edition was published, Ron Herbst and the staff of
Barron's Educational Series
Kaplan, Inc. is an American for-profit corporation that provides educational and training services to colleges, universities, businesses and individuals around the world. Founded in 1938 by Stanley Kaplan, the company offers a variety of test prepa ...
drastically reorganized the book, breaking out much of the material into specialized glossaries on subjects like chocolate, liqueurs, charcuterie, and spices. This edition was published in hardcover as ''The Deluxe Food Lover's Companion'' and included a marker ribbon bound into the spine. The 2013 fifth edition received a similar treatment in April 2015.
Fourth edition appendices
In the deluxe editions, some of these have been folded into the glossary sections.
* Ingredient Equivalents ''– Weight to volume conversions''
* Substituting Ingredients
* Pan Substitution Chart
* High-Altitude Baking Adjustments
* Boiling Point of Water at Various Altitudes
* General Temperature Equivalents
* Hand Test for Grilling Temperatures
* Oven Temperatures
* Fahrenheit/Celsius Conversion Formulas
* Microwave Oven Conversion Chart
* Recommended Safe Cooking Temperatures
* Candymaking Cold-Water Tests
* Frying Temperatures
* Smoke Points of Popular Oils
* Fatty Acid Profiles of Popular Oils
* U.S. Measurement Equivalents
* Wine and Spirit Bottle Sizes
* Approximate Metric Equivalents
* Metric Conversion Formulas
* Food Guide Pyramid
* What's a Serving?
* Food Label Terms
* A Guide to Food Labels
* Pasta Glossary
* British and American Food and Cooking Terms
* Seasoning Suggestions
* Meat Charts
* Food Additives Directory
See also
*
Larousse Gastronomique
' () is an encyclopedia of gastronomy. The majority of the book is about French cuisine, and contains recipes for French dishes and cooking techniques. The first edition included few non-French dishes and ingredients; later editions include many ...
*
Le Répertoire de la Cuisine
''Le Répertoire de la Cuisine'' is a professional reference cookbook written by Théodore Gringoire and Louis Saulnier and published originally in 1914, and translated into multiple languages. It is intended to serve as a quick reference to ''Le ...
Notes
{{reflist
External links
''Food Lover’s Companion'', 3rd Ed.at
Answers.com.
1990 non-fiction books
1995 non-fiction books
2001 non-fiction books
2007 non-fiction books
Cookbooks
Dictionaries by subject