The Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America's Most Imaginative Chefs

Also there is one last book you may want to check out: The Flavor Bible.

This is a tool that will help you think in terms of flavors rather than recipes, and it could be the last step going from cook to Chef!

https://www.amazon.com/Flavor-Bible-Essential-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400/

or at a library or on the high seas.

I adore salads and making recipes, so I've had a bit of practice. You wanna aim for a balance of flavors and textures. Examples:

Crunchy: croutons, romaine, raw onion, roasted chickpeas, fried tortilla strips, shredded cabbage

Soft: fresh fruit, baby greens, beans, hard boiled eggs, tomatoes, cheese, roasted/grilled veggies, couscous, quinoa

Creamy: feta/goat cheese, ranch/yogurt dressing, avocado

Salty: olives, feta, nuts, seeds, cured meats

Sweet: bell peppers, carrot, roasted parsnip, fresh fruit, dried berries, glazed meat/fish, corn, peas

Bitter: arugula, radicchio, broccoli, shredded brussels sprouts, walnuts

Sour: vinegar/citrus dressing, pickled veggies, green apple

Umami: tomato, mushroom, aged cheese, cured meats, soy/miso/Worcestershire in dressing

Fresh/bright: cucumber, celery, green onions, minced leafy herbs (parsley, basil, cilantro)

You certainly don't need to hit every category every time but it's something to aim for when trying to make a seriously satisfying salad. For a meal salad, definitely add some protein and fat like salami and Parmesan; chickpeas and feta; or sesame glazed chicken and peanuts; or spicy black beans, avocado and shredded quesadilla cheese. Take inspiration from how other cultures combine certain foods. Lastly, you can pick up a copy of The Flavor Bible to really guide you on pairings. This has become one of my most used reference books.

It’s not a fav of everyone, but even most critical of it (it has an American bias,) it still has a good amount of info. Check it out if library, or buy it used.

https://www.amazon.com/Flavor-Bible-Essential-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400

I recommend The Flavor Bible. It’s organized by ingredient and lists dozens of compatible ingredients and common combinations. It’s amazing and will provide much of what you’re looking for.

The Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America's Most Imaginative Chefs https://www.amazon.com/dp/0316118400/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glc_fabc_BhR2Fb7RM2Y0G

The coolest book I ever got was called The Flavor Bible. It’s used like a reference book, where you look up an ingredient and it gives you lots of other flavors that pair well with it, or combinations of flavors. Really neat book for coming up with new ideas, menus items, or just having some fun.

The Flavor Bible! It is my favorite cookbook EVER. It doesn't just have suggestions for meals, it teaches you how to pair different complementary flavors together and has an extensive reference section that teaches you what goes well with what.

Not for recipes but The Flavor Bible is great for cooks wanting to branch out and try cooking on their own.

It explains the basics of what makes a dish taste good and then the bulk of the book is an index. Look up an ingredient like pork and it lists all the spices and ingredients that go well with pork. Maybe you have leftover basil to use up? Look up basil and see what it pairs with the best.

https://www.amazon.com/Flavor-Bible-Essential-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400

https://www.amazon.com/Flavor-Bible-Essential-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?adgrpid=57151500878&gclid=Cj0KCQiA04XxBRD5ARIsAGFygj936cFqLmouXw56DrnbOGrxRCmmxoIlO0j6xgHtLbW-ET45uMlHeRUaAoXNEALw_wcB&hvadid=274677479904&hvdev=m&hvlocphy=9030895&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t1&hvqmt=e&hvrand=13404881446745755710&hvtargid=kwd-329856999244&hydadcr=21562_10176564&keywords=flavor+bible&qid=1579325513&sr=8-1

Definitely an interesting data project. I’m not sure how I trust recipe reviews (these days I go more from my own experience) but I understand why you’d use that as a metric. I own a great bookThe Flavor Bible that is the same concept but draws from chefs’ opinions. Would be curious to see how many of your connections line up with theirs. Though I enjoy that book more for suggestions on unusual ingredients or less common parings.

The cold process can be sped up dramatically by using a vacuum sealer. Rather than letting sugar and fruit sit for a week macerating, you can vacuum seal the sugar and produce and allow it to sit overnight.

The cold process tastes much more of fresh fruit. The hot process tastes more of cooked fruit (a little jammy). Sous vide is in between. Since vacuum sealing, I don't sous vide anymore unless I'm looking for the particular effect.

Suggestions...

• Blackberry, thyme, white sugar, red wine vinegar via hot method previously posted. Equal parts blackberry, sugar and vinegar. Thyme to taste. I think we do 4 sprigs for 8 oz of berries.
• Strawberry balsamic... Fresh or frozen (thawed) strawberries, chopped; equal part vinegar, broken down approximately as 25% balsamic, 37.5% red wine, 37.5% apple cider; a big crank of coarse black pepper per 8oz of berries; equal part white sugar. Works well with basil too.
• Pineapple, lime, ginger, habanero and demerara sugar with champagne vinegar via hot method. Equal parts pineapple, sugar and vinegar. 1 TBSP of microplaned lime zest, 1 TBSP of microplaned fresh ginger and 1/3rd of a seeded habanero (chopped) per cup of pineapple. Lime, ginger and habanero are to taste. Add lime juice to cocktail to boost lime flavor.
• A good one from the NYT, if I remember correctly... Cherry and mint shrub: Mix 2 cups crushed sweet cherries, 1/4 cup mint leaves and 1/2 cup sugar. (A vacuum sealer helps this process a lot.) Refrigerate overnight, stirring once or twice. Strain and mix with 1/4 cup red wine vinegar and 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar. Excellent with tonic.

Other thoughts... Things like ginger, citrus zest, pepper corns (or fresh coarsely ground), cinnamon (stick, broken in halves or quarters), nutmeg (whole, crushed with the side of a chef's knife), etc can add slight complexities to a shrub or be a secondary flavor in the profile. For more ideas, talk with your chef or pick up a copy of Karen Page's The Flavor Bible.

Now you know my secrets, such as they are. ;-)

\~Have fun!

One book I can never do without is The Flavour Bible.

The Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America's Most Imaginative Chefs https://www.amazon.com/dp/0316118400/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apa_i_U6ssEbY1PFKK9

It is like a glossary of what goes with what. Look up any ingredient and it lists out the best ingredients to pair... Amazing.

The Flavor Bible.

It gets into how any why certain ingredients and flavors go together. It also has a pretty extensive index of ingredients so you can look things up (like “lamb” or “cumin” or “asparagus”) and find other ingredients that complement it, why, comments from chefs, etc.

Was gonna suggest it too!

https://www.amazon.com/Flavor-Bible-Essential-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400/ref=nodl_#

Niet direct een kookboek, maar als je graag in de keuken staat en zelf een beetje wilt experimenteren of sleutelen aan recepten die je kent kan ik je heel erg the flavour Bible aanraden: https://www.amazon.com/Flavor-Bible-Essential-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400?ref_=d6k_applink_bb_marketplace

Het boek heeft enorm veel informatie over welke ingrediënten en smaken goed met elkaar samen gaan en waarom. Overigens ook gewoon bij bol.com te vinden en vermoedelijk ook wel bij andere Nederlandse winkels :)

Buy him The Flavor Bible so he knows how to mix ingredients! An awesome resource.

Hi. Try the flavor bible. It has pairing for any ingredient! The amazon link is here

There is a book called The Flavor Bible that is one of the most essential cookbooks ever written. It's designed to help with the exact dilemma you're facing here. This book is a must have if you care about cooking good food. https://www.amazon.com/dp/0316118400/ref=cm_sw_r_apa_i_dJsJEb4VANJP4

Here is the turmeric page from “The Flavor Bible”. I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves to cook. It’s also available in a Kindle version for $14.

Technique, the how of the kitchen, and flavour affinities, the why.

Technique is knife skills, knowing the appropriate way to cook different proteins, stock and sauce making, how a roux works, how to emulsify, how to debone a chicken, properly dice an onion, all the ways to cook an egg, basic doughs. Jacques Pepin's La Technique is a great introduction to these skills.

Flavour affinities is knowing what goes with what. What ingredients compliment each other. How to properly balance a dish with fat, acid, texture. The Flavour Bible is a great resource for learning this. Its like a thesaurus of food, whats in season, how best to prepare an ingredient. When culinary students ask how to develop their palates the answer is simple: eat. Explore different cuisines.

These are the two things that lead to intuitive cooking rather than relying on recipes.

I used to do a chicken, sundried tomato, and basil that was pretty rockin’. Always wanted to make but never got around to developing a buttermilk and old bay chicken sausage.

Edit- once you feel confident what volume of spices and additions work well I highly recommend this book, The Flavor Bible or their earlier book, Culinary Artistry for solid ingredient pairing suggestions.

If you really want to understand the answer to this question, check out The Flavor Bible and Herbs & Spices. There’s no one answer to this question if you’re talking about a more general type of spice. There are tons of different spices with different qualities that are good for different things. Black pepper is very different from cumin, which is very different from fennel seed, which is very different from cinnamon or nutmeg, etc. All of the above spices go well with chicken depending on other aspects of the specific dish you’re preparing.

There’s no harm in experimenting, either. Add something here or there. Want to get a good idea of how a specific spice tastes? Cook up a small batch of white rice and add some of that spice to the rice. Taste with and without a bit of salt to see what salt will do to that spice. This is especially important with bitter spices, since salt reduces bitterness.

If you just want more heat, add hot sauce or diced chili peppers.

This is a very complex question that can't be covered in it's entirety on /r/cookingforbeginners. Spices are the litteral difference between having Indian Curry Chicken, and Jamaican Jerk Chicken. That being said, I recommend you read The Flavor Bible or The Spice Companion.

A short summary is that there are complex flavors in many plants. These flavors can change based on age of the plant, which part of the plant is used, and the method of treating the plant as well as how long it's been treated.

The most important thing to know is that fresh herbs are alway more flavorful than the prepackaged dried herbs you get at a supermarket. If you have a local spice shop, go there to get your spices.

In The Spice Companion the author goes over how to make specific blends, and what methods to use for exploring your own taste. Different spice combinations give out specific flavor profiles. Some go better with different meats, different cooking methods, and different palets.

What one person enjoys may not be what you enjoy! Everyone has different palets!

I’m just here for the food taught me about technique and why things happened.

flavor bible helps me come up with tasty dinners when I have limited options to work with

Three that I find useful are:

Ratio https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1416571728/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The Flavor Bible https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316118400/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The Flavor Thesaurus https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/160819874X/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

• The Flavor Bible
• Flour Water Salt Yeast: The Fundamentals of Artisan Bread and Pizza
• JWU Recipe Collection (Over 1,000 free recipes)
• CIA Recipe Collection (Some are free)
• Mastering the Art of French Cooking
• The Flavor Thesaurus

If you can get your hands on them look for culinary textbooks/resources from Johnson and Wales or the Culinary Institute of America

Lots of great recommendations, here!

Three of my favorite cookbooks in my collection aren’t so much recipe or instructional books as they are flavor pairing methods and references. Someone else suggested a similar-but-different book called “Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat” which I would also recommend.

As you develop your cooking skills, these books will help you understand how and why flavors go well together. With practice, you’ll be able to take the techniques that you’ve learned from traditional books and create your own delightful, weird and unique flavor experiences.

The Flavor Bible

The Flavor Matrix

The Flavor Thesaurus

Well, saying your food just tastes "bad" is hard to troubleshoot. But it sounds like you should start with getting familiar with flavor profiles. If you aren't going by a specific recipe, you really need to know what flavors complement each other.
Plus, there is more to good tasting food than just spices. It's a balance of salt, sweet, sour, bitter, savory, heat, fat, texture and temperature. Your food might just be too one-dimensional.
This and This are a few good articles to start with.
Here is also a very basic cheat sheet of regional flavor profiles.
Another overview of basic flavor profiles
There are also a few great books about flavor:
The Flavor Bible
Flavor Matrix
Re: salt. Different salts are good for different things, and have different levels of saltiness. Not only that, but pepper too. Get a salt & pepper mill set if you don't have one already!
More about salt and pepper
Lastly, if all else fails, add more butter and salt. It's why restaurant food tastes good.