The Flavour Thesaurus

'The books I value most are those I return to again and again. Such has been the case with The Flavour Thesaurus' – Nigel Slater

'Every time I return to it, which is often, it makes me tingle with happy greed' – Bee Wilson

'A bible for anyone who cooks by grabbing ingredients from the fridge' – Independent

Ever wondered why one flavour works with another? Or lacked inspiration for what to do with a bundle of beetroot?

The Flavour Thesaurus was the first book to examine what goes with what, pair by pair and is divided into flavour themes including Meaty, Cheesy, Woodland and Floral Fruity. Within these sections it follows the form of Roget's Thesaurus, listing 99 popular ingredients alphabetically, and for each one suggests unique flavour pairings that range from the classic to the bizarre.

You will find traditional pairings: pork & apple, lamb & apricot, cucumber & dill; contemporary favourites like chocolate & chilli and goat's cheese & beetroot, and interesting but unlikely-sounding pairings like black pudding & chocolate, lemon & beef, blueberry & mushroom, and watermelon & oyster. There are nearly a thousand entries in all, with 200 recipes and suggestions embedded throughout the text.

The Flavour Thesaurus is a highly useful, and covetable, reference book for cooking - it will keep you up at night reading.