Renaissance Books. 272p. illus. index. c2001. 1-58063-212-2. $16.95. JSA

Latin and Caribbean cuisines are a melding of tropical tastes with multicultural influences. This excellent resource is intended to be used in various ethnic grocery stores, but will serve to demystify markets and menus encountered while traveling. The book is divided into two parts--the first provides basic information about the essential ingredients needed to cook Latin cuisine. In the second part various cuisines are further examined by country and then defined by the various vegetables, starches, pickled items, sauces and condiments, nuts, meats and sea foods, herbs, greens, dry goods, sweets and drink mixes unique to that country. Four different appendices provide excellent additional information about basic cooking equipment, cooking techniques, recipes, and mail-order sources. The recipes in the third appendix are personal favorites of the author: Havana Codfish Fritters, Cuban Black Bean Soup, Mexican Lime and Tortilla Soup, Coconut Rice, Arroz Con Pollo, Bananas Stuffed with Curried Beef, Ginger Tamarind Chicken, Starfruit Sorbet and others. This fabulous resource is extremely well indexed, allowing for ingredients to be quickly located. Shirley Reis, IMC Dir., Lake Shore M.S., Mequon, WI

COPYRIGHT 2002 Kliatt
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group