Science of Wine or Cooking of Southwest France

Science of Wine: From Vine to Glass

Author: Jamie Good

This essential and groundbreaking reference gives a comprehensive overview of one of the most fascinating, important, and controversial trends in the world of wine: the scientific and technological innovations that are now influencing how grapes are grown and how wine is made. Jamie Goode, a widely respected authority on wine science, details the key scientific developments relating to viticulture and enology, explains the practical application of science to techniques that are used around the world, and explores how these issues are affecting the quality, flavor, and perception of wine. The only complete resource available on the subject, The Science of Wine: From Vine to Glass engagingly discusses a wide range of topics including terroir, biodynamics, the production of "natural" or manipulation-free wines, the potential effect of climate change on grape growing, the health benefits of wine, and much more.

* Covers some of the most hotly debated issues including genetically modified grape vines, sulphur dioxide, the future of cork, and wine flavor chemistry
* More than 100 illustrations and photographs make even the most complex topics clear, straightforward, and easy to understand
* Engagingly written for a wide audience of students, winemakers, wine professionals, and general readers interested in the science of wine

Interesting textbook: New Vegan Cookbook or Produce Bible

Cooking of Southwest France: Recipes from France's Magnificent Rustic Cuisine

Author: Paula Wolfert

"An indispensable cookbook."
- Jeffrey Steingarten, Vogue

When Paula Wolfert's The Cooking of Southwest France was first published in 1983, it became an instant classic. This award-winning book was praised by critics, chefs, and home cooks alike as the ultimate source of recipes and information about a legendary style of cooking. Wolfert's recipes for cassoulet and confit literally changed the American culinary scene. Confit, now ubiquitous on restaurant menus, was rarely served in the United States before Wolfert presented it.

Now, twenty-plus years later, Wolfert has completely revised her groundbreaking book. In this new edition, you'll find sixty additional recipes - thirty totally new recipes, along with thirty updated recipes from Wolfert's other books. Recipes from the original edition have been revised to account for current tastes and newly available ingredients; some have been dropped.

You will find superb classic recipes for cassoulet, sauce perigueux, salmon rillettes, and beef daube; new and revised recipes for ragouts, soups, desserts, and more; and, of course, numerous recipes for the most exemplary of all southwest French ingredients - duck - including the traditional method for duck confit plus two new, easier variations.

Other recipes include such gems as Chestnut and Cepe Soup With Walnuts, magnificent lusty Oxtail Daube, mouthwatering Steamed Mussels With Ham, Shallots, and Garlic, as well as Poached Chicken Breast, Auvergne-Style, and the simple yet sublime Potatoes Baked in Sea Salt. You'll also find delicious desserts such as Batter Cake With Fresh Pears From the Correze, and Prune and Armagnac IceCream.

Each recipe incorporates what the French call a truc, a unique touch that makes the finished dish truly extraordinary. Evocative new food photographs, including sixteen pages in full color, now accompany the text.

Connecting the 200 great recipes is Wolfert's unique vision of Southwest France. In sharply etched scenes peopled by local characters ranging from canny peasant women to world-famous master chefs, she captures the region's living traditions and passion for good food.

Gascony, the Perigord, Bordeaux, and the Basque country all come alive in these pages. This revised edition of The Cooking of Southwest France is truly another Wolfert classic in its own right.

Library Journal

When Wolfert's The Cooking of Southwest France, long considered a classic, was originally published in 1983, the American palate was far less sophisticated. Few people knew what confit (now practically "ubiquitous on restaurant menus," as she notes) was, and ingredients such as fresh foie gras and piment d'Espelette (a paprika from the Basque region) were unheard of. For this new edition, Wolfert has revised and updated both text and recipes, dropped a few dishes, and added 60 new ones. Some of the new recipes come from well-known French chefs in the United States and in France, as well as from the late culinary star Jean-Louis Palladin. Among their contributions are contemporary dishes such as Coquilles St. Jacques and Sauce Mandarin (Scallops in Tangerine Sauce). But the foundations of Southwest French cooking remain the focus, with separate chapters on foie gras and rillettes, for example, and on cassoulet and other hearty bean dishes. The introduction, "The Tastes of the French Southwest," covers essential ingredients such as the local Armagnac, garlic, and truffles, and an appendix lists mail-order sources for special ingredients. An essential purchase. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Table of Contents:

A Note on Attribution.

Introduction to the New and 1983 Editions.

Map of the Greater French Southwest.

The Tastes of the French Southwest.

Garbure, Pot-au-Feu, and Other Soups.

Appetizers and Small Plates.

Fish and Shellfish.

Chicken.

Duck, Goose, and Rabbit.

Foie Gras, Terrines, and Rillettes.

Beef, Veal, Pork, and Lamb.

Cassoulet.

Vegetables.

Desserts.

Stocks and Sauce Bases.

Mail Order Sources.

Index to Recipes by Region and Course.

Notes on Equipment.

Bibliography.

Acknowledgments for the New and 1983 Editions.

Index.