Critique du Library Journal

This edition of the wide-ranging reference ( LJ 10/15/83) contains 400 new entries as well as many revisions. A comparison of the two volumes reveals just how much American cookery has changed over the last ten years, with many more ingredients available (achiote, Chinese cabbage, and carambola are among the new entries, and the description of chile peppers, for example, is greatly expanded) and a much greater emphasis on ethnic and authentic native cuisines (as evidenced by such entries as adobe bread, Amish preaching soup, calzone, and even sausage, which was overlooked in the first edition). There are still a few inaccuracies (a spring roll is hardly just a ``Chinese-American appetizer''; spring rolls are found in many Asian/Southeast Asian cuisines, from Vietnamese to Indonesian), but this remains a valuable and unique reference. And, with entries on such diverse topics as airline food, lunch counters, and candy bars, it's fun to read, too. An essential purchase.-- Judith Sutton, Sutton's Place Cuisine, New York (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.