The best of the latest cookbooks

Summers Under the Tamarind Tree, by Sumayya Usmani

Summers Under the Tamarind Tree, by Sumayya Usmani

There’s a quote on the front cover of Sumayya Usmani’s book, Summers Under the Tamarind Tree: Recipes and memories from Pakistan, from Madhur Jaffrey that states simply that “this book is a treasure”. It’s placed front and centre, right at the top, a badge of some considerable honour. It’s difficult to comprehend the thrill Usmani [...]

Books

Ferment Your Vegetables, by Amanda Feifer

Ferment Your Vegetables, by Amanda Feifer

I’m a big fan of rotting vegetables. Perhaps i should rephrase that. I’m a big fan of vegetables that have been allowed to decompose in a controlled and safe way, that is, to ferment. Fermentation is a wonderful thing, a chemical reaction that changes matter from one state into another. It’s at the heart of [...]

Books

The Beer & Food Companion, by Stephen Beaumont

The Beer & Food Companion, by Stephen Beaumont

When a group of diners sit down at the table after having enjoyed a range of pre-dinner drinks – a martini here and a glass of chablis or a pilsner there – the answer to the question about what to drink with the meal is, usually, wine. …and there’s nothing wrong with that, but there [...]

Books

Taste: The Infographic Book of Food, by Laura Rowe

Taste: The Infographic Book of Food, by Laura Rowe

I remember a time at work when we had a problem. It was a big problem, involving a huge amount of data. I sat down with the resident data guru, and she tried to explain what the matter was by dancing around between two spreadsheets that spanned a couple of very large monitors, flitting from [...]

Books