“Peppers of the Americas” is an invaluable and exhaustive resource for anyone who loves to cook, garden, or study the history of plants. The photography and drawings are vivid and stunning, and each of the almost 200 peppers discussed in the book are photographed for reference.
An in depth history of peppers is given including their origins a regional break down of where they are found in the world. The anatomy of the pepper, what makes them hot, nutrition are also included.
The encyclopedia style alphabetical list of fresh and dried peppers is included with excellent color photographs to help the reader know what each pepper looks like. There is also a description of each pepper, flavor profiles and preparation suggestions.
Finally, a diverse recipe section is included for dried seasonings, condiments, vinegars, and hot sauces, pickles, and entrees made with vegetables, meat, poultry and seafood. If you love to explore ethnic cuisine, you will love this book. I am particularly interested in the author’s use of unique ingredients such as using the leaves of plants such as pepper and avocado leaves. The “Miracha” pg. 260 (author’s version of Sriracha), “Pepper Steaks with Pepper Leaf Chimichuri” pg. 280, “Refried black beans with Chile de Arbol” pg. 284 are just a few of the recipes which have me intrigued. I recently transitioned to a plant based diet and I was happy to find plenty of recipes which I am able to try out.
Often times I am interested in purchasing peppers but have no idea what to pair them with, or how to cook with them. Thanks to this resource, I will be able to expand my horizons and open my culinary world to new global flavors. I own many cookbooks and this is among my favorites. I know I will get a lot of use out of this book.
I received this book from “Blogging for Books” for my honest review.
Author Bio: http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/105585/maricel-e-presilla/
More info: http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/545207/peppers-of-the-americas-by-maricel-e-presilla/
Dawnielovestocook 