Book Review - Tea Cookbook

Today I'm going to be posting a book review of Tonia George's Tea Cookbook, released in March 2008. Thank you to Ryland, Peters, & Small for supplying this review copy.

But first, I wanted to alert you to a special offer. Yogic Chai has relaunched their website and is offering 25% off all orders until tomorrow (June 2nd) at midnight. Click www.yogicchai.com and use coupon code 947d86. Orders placed using this link will help support the Tea Pages. (Please note that at the end of 2008, a percentage of revenue - as small as it is! - will be donated to non-profit charities.)

Now, back to the business at hand.

When I see a small book on a big topic I sometimes worry that I'm in for disappointment. Will it be incomplete? Too basic? More of a novelty gift than a useful book? But sometimes, just sometimes, short and sweet does the trick. The Tea Cookbook by Tonia George falls into the latter category. Short, but wonderful.

Tonia George is the food editor of Waitrose Food Illustrated, a major British food magazine. She is also a chef, food stylist (someone who arranges food to make it attractive for photo/video), and recipe developer.

The introduction to the Tea Cookbook is concise, but interesting. I did take issue with the use of the term "fermented" rather than "oxidized" in describing the production of teas. (Remember, only pu-erh is actually fermented. The others undergo varying levels of oxidation.) Otherwise, I thought the introduction was well done for the space allocated and the glossary was appropriate for the context of the book.

But, as it should be, the real stars of the book were the recipes. What impressed me most was that George really reached beyond the usual pairings. I have seen other black teas with chicken before, but never a Chai-Poached Chicken Salad. Chocolate and earl grey is common, but how about a Chocolate Oolong Tea Loaf? Beef Braised in Rooibos? Shrimp Linguine with Fennel Tea and Citrus Butter? Even at 10:00 in the morning, my mouth is watering. The book includes 9 savory dishes, including meat entrees, seafood, and a couple of vegetarian offerings. There are 15 desserts, baked goods, and jams and 7 cocktails and other beverages. (Chai vanilla milk shakes, hot tea toddies, green tea martinis, mmm....)

I should note that many of the recipes include ingredients that might not be regulars in your pantry. However, most grocery stores have ethnic food sections these days that will carry these items. There were only a couple of things I didn't recognize (halloumi cheese and argan oil), but for each of those she also included substitutions that were more common or they were only for garnish (Japanese basil, mustard cress, and a particular Japanese chili pepper).

This book made me anxious to dive into cooking with tea. It makes me see my tea cabinet in a whole new light.

Taken from http://teapages.blogspot.com/