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Rating: 
Summary: Good general food reference book
Review: A very good general food reference book. My only complaint is that it is unclear how this book is organised. There is an index which makes finding things easy. But the body of the content isn't alphabetically arranged!
Rating:
Summary: A great reference
Review: As a food writer, I have found this book extremely useful. The visuals are well done and there's a wealth of information about everything from that weird banana-like thing I picked up in an Asian food mart to the nutritional qualities of nuts. In many cases, the authors have also presented a standard recipe for prepration as well, which is also helpful because if you didn't know what it was, you probably didn't know how to cook it, either.
Rating: 
Summary: Expensive, but beautfully illustrated and handy.
Review: I was fortunate enough to buy this one on sale for ridiculously cheap, but I would still say the full price is worth it.It tells you what something is by common names and scientific, what the varieties are and their differences, how to select the best, how to store and handle it, how to cook it, and rudimentary nutritional info. Wonderful resource!
Rating:
Summary: Missing the ingrediants you really want to know about
Review: If you are a cook and sometimes come across ingrediants you have never seen (or can't pronounce) this is *not* the book for you. It is missing most of that stuff. Example recipes would be helpful, too. However, as a general western reference with good illustrations, it fits the bill nicely. I open mine about once a month to look up something. Great as a gift and even better to receive as a present!
Rating:
Summary: Missing the ingrediants you really want to know about
Review: If you are a cook and sometimes come across ingrediants you have never seen (or can't pronounce) this is *not* the book for you. It is missing most of that stuff. Example recipes would be helpful, too. However, as a general western reference with good illustrations, it fits the bill nicely. I open mine about once a month to look up something. Great as a gift and even better to receive as a present!
Rating:
Summary: Gorgeously illustrated, filled with vital info
Review: Serge D'Amicos' "The Visual Food Encyclopedia" is a sumptuous book, almost worthy more of the living room coffee table than the coffee-stained kitchen table. As a French import translated into other languages, it lists only a dozen varieties of apple (what, no Jonathan?), for example, but gives snails their own chapter. For a volume that provides a close look at such relatively exotic fare as jicama and carambola, a pronunciation guide would have been a nice addition. The book is arranged into sections (vegetables, legumes, cereals and grains, and so on-seaweed even has its own chapter), and every food is shown both whole and in cross-section. Like "Larousse Gastronomique," this is an eminently useful volume written with a definite French slant.
Rating:
Summary: Gorgeously illustrated, filled with vital info
Review: Serge D'Amicos' "The Visual Food Encyclopedia" is a sumptuous book, almost worthy more of the living room coffee table than the coffee-stained kitchen table. As a French import translated into other languages, it lists only a dozen varieties of apple (what, no Jonathan?), for example, but gives snails their own chapter. For a volume that provides a close look at such relatively exotic fare as jicama and carambola, a pronunciation guide would have been a nice addition. The book is arranged into sections (vegetables, legumes, cereals and grains, and so on-seaweed even has its own chapter), and every food is shown both whole and in cross-section. Like "Larousse Gastronomique," this is an eminently useful volume written with a definite French slant.
Rating:
Summary: Gorgeously illustrated, filled with vital info
Review: Serge D'Amicos' "The Visual Food Encyclopedia" is a sumptuous book, almost worthy more of the living room coffee table than the coffee-stained kitchen table. As a French import translated into other languages, it lists only a dozen varieties of apple (what, no Jonathan?), for example, but gives snails their own chapter. For a volume that provides a close look at such relatively exotic fare as jicama and carambola, a pronunciation guide would have been a nice addition. The book is arranged into sections (vegetables, legumes, cereals and grains, and so on-seaweed even has its own chapter), and every food is shown both whole and in cross-section. Like "Larousse Gastronomique," this is an eminently useful volume written with a definite French slant.
Rating:
Summary: Good but not all-inclusive.
Review: This was a great start for our culinary reference library. For each entry, you get information about selecting the item, how to use it, and sometimes some interesting history. I wish it had photos instead of drawings, and I wish it had a more complete selection. But all things considered, you couldn't ask for a much better basic food reference.
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