is, quite simply, a brilliant book. The author Niki Segnit has taken 99 flavours, grouped them together under 16 different headings (for example: roasted, creamy, fruity, meaty) and then cross referenced them with each other, to produce some 4,851 possible pairings. This is something of a feat in itself, but it's the way that Segnit writes which transforms this book from informative tome to something of a delight. Each entry is accompanied by several lines of text, offering anything from a detailed scientific explanation of why the two flavours work so well together ("Globe artichokes contain cynarin, a chemical that gives them a strange and insincere sweetness. Shellfish is a good pairing because it has a natural, more pleasing sweetness); to historical anecdotes or tales of her first counter with the ingredients. She not only provides recipes, witticisms and information galore, but also fuels imaginations and encourages readers to experiment with different flavour pairings: olive and white chocolate anyone? One of the reasons this book is such an absorbing read is Segnit's inspired use of figurative language: coriander and tomato are "dancing partners in salsa"; garlic and ginger "good cop/ bad cop. Ginger's the good cop: fresh, with a light touch...garlic, on the other hand, is rude, coarse, and leaves a firm, sulphurous impression"; truffles and mushrooms, meanwhile, are "kissing cousins". I first wrote about The Flavour Thesaurus in a roundup of the best cookbooks of the year in December - article . Ten months on, I like it even more; my cookbook collection is vast, but this is one of the most frequently returned to. I bought my copy from Kinokuniya in Dubai Mall for Dh124, it can also be purchased online- link to Amazon