The Cook's Book Author:Howard Hillman, Shannon OCork, Dana Shilling, Anistatia Gallegos (Illustrator) A juicy, king-sized portion of information on foods: background, availability, and best uses. Hillman lists foods alphabetically (Iguana follows Ice cream) and adds to the basic format as necessary: some entries (Bitters, Fermented black beans, Yams) occupy a few lines, others are much longer (Chicken gets 30 columns). In the Oil entry, he inclu... more »des heat, flavor, and nutrition data, and tells why oil makes a poor substitute for butter in most baking. The Lemon entry includes kitchen tips -- a cold lemon gives less juice -- and equivalents: an average lemon gives 3-4 Tb. of juice, (apple) tsp. of grated peel. Hillman covers nearly everything you can think of--standard foods, not-so-standard foods (Horsemeat, Fiddlehead ferns), foreign and domestic exotica -- and his taste is sure: he favors fresh Parmesan over the powdery approximation on store shelves and he invariably rejects processed substitutes (dried onions, bacon bits) over the real thing.« less