The Flavour Thesaurus by Niki Segnit
The Flavour Thesaurus is a cooking reference by Niki Segnit for exploring how ingredients can pair. The listing describes 99 ingredients, nearly a thousand flavour combinations and around 200 recipes and ideas, making it useful for cooks seeking inspiration rather than a step-by-step cooking manual.
At a glance
- Organises flavour pairings around 99 popular ingredients and themes such as Meaty, Cheesy, Woodland and Floral Fruity.
- Includes nearly a thousand combinations, from familiar pairings to unusual ideas.
- The listing also describes around 200 recipes and ideas, a foreword by Bee Wilson and a fold-out flavour-wheel poster.
Reference price: €17.70
Price checked: 12 Nov 2026
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Pros and cons
Pros
- Offers both familiar pairings, such as pork and apple, and less expected combinations for recipe inspiration.
- The ingredient-and-theme structure makes it suited to browsing when deciding what to cook with a particular ingredient.
Technical specifications
9 specifications| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
|---|---|
| Publication date | 21 June 2010 |
| Edition | limited_edition |
| Language | English |
| Print length | 400 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 0747599777 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0747599777 |
| Weight listed | 1.05 kg |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 5.51 x 1.42 x 8.66 inches |
Who is it for?
A good fit for
- Cooks looking for ingredient-pairing inspiration and ideas for using ingredients they already have.
- Readers who prefer a browsable culinary reference with recipes alongside flavour combinations.
Less suited to
- Anyone primarily seeking a conventional step-by-step cookbook or a reference in a language other than English.
Customer reviews on Amazon
- 5 stars
78% 78% - 4 stars
14% 14% - 3 stars
5% 5% - 2 stars
2% 2% - 1 star
1% 1%
Aggregate ratings are strongly weighted towards five-star scores, with a smaller spread across lower ratings. This suggests generally favourable reader reception, but ratings alone do not reveal which aspects readers liked or disliked, so they cannot establish how useful the pairing ideas or recipes will be for an individual cook.
Frequently asked questions
What does The Flavour Thesaurus cover?
The listing describes pairings for 99 ingredients, nearly a thousand combinations and around 200 recipes and ideas.
Is this a conventional recipe book?
It includes recipes and ideas, but its central approach is pairing ingredients by flavour. It is better suited to browsing for inspiration than relying on a standard sequence of step-by-step recipes.
What language is the book in?
The listed language is English.
