This is a hefty book, and you might think its not necessary now that there is Google everywhere, but I love the knowledge this book possesses. There are plenty of things that have only superficial or partial information on, but this dictionary primarily has you covered.

My edition is a used copy, some 30 years out of date. I’d love an updated version, but also there’s plenty to love in the older version. Newer terms will end up more easily discoverable online, but this older edition has traditionally important information.

I don’t think of this as useful for practical preparations. There’s not a lot of visual information. But for definitions and vocabulary, it’s hard to compete.

There is something romantic about the idea of flipping through the pages of a dictionary to learn something new, but I suppose those days are probably gone. Still, I like this hefty book. I should probably start here more often than I do.

Larousse Gastronomique

Bookshop.org