Two hundred herbs and spices, each one photographed against white, with the flavor notes and pairings that tell you what to do with it. Jill Norman created the Penguin Cookery Library and has spent a career on this single subject, and it shows in what the entries choose to tell you: what to look for when buying, how to store it so it does not go flat, and which other flavors it belongs beside.

Then more than 180 recipes, which is what separates this from a spice glossary. Marinades, spice rubs, oils, pickles, pastas, sauces and main dishes, plus the blends themselves, written so you can adjust the proportions to your own palate rather than following someone else's ratio forever. This edition was redesigned and updated with all new recipes and the newer flavorings that have since reached western kitchens.

A 336 page DK hardcover, the size of a proper reference, and one of the few kitchen books that earns its shelf space twice: once when you are cooking and once when you are standing in a spice aisle wondering what sumac actually tastes like.