The Spice And Herb Bible - Everything You Need To Know About Spices

"In THE SPICE AND HERB BIBLE, I have set out to give the reader the inside story,' based on the learning and experiences
I have assimilated in this ancient and stimulating industry."
- Ian Hemphill

Like Julia Child, who shared with Americans her fascination and love of French food, and Marcella Hazan, who taught us how to cook Italian, Ian Hemphill is working to demystify the world of spices and herbs. His passion has taken him to near and distant corners of the world and blossomed into a successful retail business in a suburb of Sydney, Australia. It is also the motivation behind his latest book, THE SPICE AND HERB BIBLE: Second Edition (Robert Rose; September 2006; $24.95/trade paperback; ISBN: 07788-0146-2), a compilation of more than 40 years of thought, research, and love.

"Having worked in the spice industry my entire life, I felt there were no books on the market that gave consumers a thorough lesson in spices," said Hemphill, who is commonly known by the nickname Herbie. "Most spice books are written by cookbook authors, chefs, or in some instances, ingredient experts. So, my aim has been to give the reader 'the inside story.'"

Filled with beautiful full-color photographs, THE SPICE AND HERB BIBLE: Second Edition is designed for serious and "armchair" cooks alike. The 608-page tome contains dozens of innovative recipes - all of which were created by Hemphill's daughter Kate - and provides background on more than 100 herbs and spices from around the world, along with:

 Instructions for growing, drying, and storing
 Information about processing, essential oils, extracts, and oleoresins
 Techniques and recipes for spice blending
 Easy-to-interpret Spice and Herb Combination Pyramid
 Suggestions for matching wines with spices

Spices and Herbs 101

"Many home cooks think special skills are required to use spices effectively and fear a small mistake will ruin their meal," said Hemphill. "That couldn't be farther from the truth. With a little basic knowledge, spices are quite easy to use. And my book gives all the pertinent facts, while consciously avoiding technical or botanical terms, so it is easy for anyone to use."

The book is broken into the following three sections:

 The World of Spices section discusses the importance of spices in our lives and explains the basic differences between spices and herbs. It also offers a wealth of valuable information about growing, drying, and storing, and identifies spices and herbs found in popular cuisines.

 Spice Notes provides a listing of more than 100 spices. The alphabetical reference - which begins with Ajowan and ends with Zedoary - provides historical, processing, storage, and usage information for each spice or herb, along with a color photograph and recipe.

 The Art of Combining Spices offers 57 pages about making and using spice blends. It contains recipes for more than 35 common and exotic spice blends - many of which Hemphill created.

A Family Passion

Hemphill gained an early appreciation for spices and herbs from his parents, John and Rosemary, who ran Somerset Cottage at Dural in the 1950s. There, he learned first-hand how to grow, select and dry herbs and spices. And there - only a boy - he determined his career path.

The book is dedicated to Hemphill's wife, Elizabeth, who helps manage Herbie's Spices, their retail shop in a suburb of Sydney. In his acknowledgements, Hemphill thanks Elizabeth for her support, saying she "has always supported my passion for spices and has been prepared to endure 'holidays' in obscure hot, tropical and often far from comfortable destinations in the pursuit of another rare spice."

Not surprisingly, Hemphill's love for spices and he