The New Food Lover's Companion: Comprehensive Definitions of Nearly 6000 Food, Drink, and Culinary Terms by Sharon Tyler Herbst

Ever wonder what  a Salmagundi is? Or a Salamander? Need to know what cheese is used in Saganaki?

You can learn about these and literally thousands of other food terms in The New Food Lover's Companion.  And companion it is.  You will want this invaluable book by your side to help decode cooking terms (brûlé vs. brunoise), or sometimes just to learn how to pronounce them (broo-LAY and broon-WAHZ).  Or to find out how to store and handle ingredients like okra and avocados.

Not only does The New Food Lover's Companion have thousands of definitions, it also contains conversion charts and formulas for changing between British, Metric and U.S. measurements.  There are charts for the various cuts of meat, ingredient equivalents (weight vs. volume) and emergency substitutions for common ingredients, as well as sections on reading food labels and on the USDA Food Guide Pyramid.

Herbst has written the reference book that belong on the cookbook shelf of every home gourmet.