The Science of Spice: Understand Flavour Connections and Revolutionize your Cooking

The Science of Spice: Understand Flavour Connections and Revolutionize your Cooking is a practical guide to using spices with more confidence in everyday cooking. Built around a “periodic table of spices”, it explains how flavour connections can be made and how spice blends are created, helping you develop more punchy, flavoursome dishes at home.

Written by TV personality, food scientist and bestselling author Dr Stuart Farrimond, the book organises spice profiles by dominant flavour compound. Alongside recipe ideas, it covers how to buy, use and store spices, and includes more detailed science on how flavour compounds work together. Colour-coded charts and photographic references support blend design, with dozens of spice blends and 52 recipes from around the world included to showcase the combinations.

Key details

• By Dr Stuart Farrimond
• Structured around a “periodic table of spices”
• Spice profiles grouped by dominant flavour compound
• Guidance on buying, using and storing spices
• Dozens of spice blends and 52 recipes from around the world
• Colour-coded charts and photographic references for designing blends

Synopsis

This spice guide explains what spices are, how they are produced, and which countries favour particular spices, with historical context. It also offers a reference-style approach for looking up individual spices and understanding how to use them.

Practical instruction is paired with spice science, including colour-coded charts on flavour compounds and guidance for creating your own blends using photographic references. Dozens of blend ideas and 52 recipes are included to demonstrate the results.