Friday, April 9, 2010

"The Visual Food Lover's Guide" by QA International


What a completely awesome and cool little book! The subtitle states that this small work includes "essential information on how to buy, prepare and store over 1000 types of food". A truer statement would be hard to find!

The book is small-ish, which I found refreshing. Most works like this are large and bulky; this is not much larger than a regular hardbound book, and I could totally see myself using it in the kitchen with no problem. The sections are nicely laid out and follow a logical pattern, dividing such basic categories like fruits and vegetables into smaller, more specific categories, such as tropical fruits and root vegetables. There are color pictures of each and every item, as well as the basic facts about each entry: what it is, what to look for when purchasing it, how to store it (and how long it will keep), and different suggestions for cooking/preparing it. There's even a small insert of nutrition facts on most items, too.

If you cook often, this may not be an essential item to have (but it would probably be nice - after all, sometimes you run into a recipe with an "odd" ingredient or two). If you're new to cooking or want to learn more and expand your repertoire, this would be a perfect reference guide for you. Even better? It retails for a mere $16.95, and when I looked around, it appeared that most etailers had a discount on it. Or..... you could always check your local library!

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