Once upon a time in America herbs and spices were critical to any dish prepared by a home cook. In the earliest settlements, herb gardens were planted to meet culinary and medicinal needs ; later, immigrants from all over the world cultivated the herbs that would bring back the taste of home. Only in our recent history has American food earned a reputation for being plain -- even, some might say, bland. In the new American cuisine, that has changed. The contemporary style has been shaped by forces that combine a rediscovery of our own culinary past, heady creativity, an interest in new and excellent products, the influence of foreign cuisines, and an urge for dishes that are at once healthful and flavorful. That style rests solidly on the imaginative use of herbs and spices. The result has been a demand for fresh herbs that is being met in supermarkets and greengroceries all across the country, and by home cooks who grow their own. 'Season to Taste' by Jeannette Ferrary and Louise Fiszer is the first and only cookbook specifically written to use herbs and spices to their best advantage, and to reflect the current American cooking style. In 'Season to Taste' the home cook will find uncomplicated recipes for dishes that are distinctively flavored through the knowing use of herbs and spices. Besides their wonderful recipes, Ferrary and Fiszer have written a delightful compendium on the subject of herbs and spices in American cooking, including the 'Lore and Lineage' of each, a 'Vintage Recipe' that fixes each in culinary history, and a 'Signature Dish' -- the one that is most associated with each. Perhaps as important as the recipes themselves is the 'Consumer Guide', an easy reference that gives the reader the Latin name as well as the foreign name each herb or spice goes by ; how to select and store ; whether whole or ground, fresh or dried, is preferred ; and which ones are compatible. 'Season to Taste' includes drawings for the herbs and spices that are not only lovely to look at but perform the equally important function of showing them as they are likely to be found in the market."--