Chemistry of spices /

This multiauthored monograph is a good resource on the subject. The introduction covers the history and politics of spices as well as production and consumption through detailed tables. Another table lists the two dozen spices covered with a brief description and the primary chemical constituents of each. Twenty-three chapters follow with detailed descriptions of the spices. Although coverage varies due to the contents having multiple authors, each chapter includes an introduction, botany and usage, general composition, chemistry (including lists of constituents), medicinal and pharmaceutical properties (including toxicity if any), and specifications and quality. References accompany each chapter. Possibly due to the work's multiauthorship, the index is incomplete and often inadequate, both for many of the chemicals and several of the concepts. Summing Up: Recommended. With reservations. Upper-division undergraduate through professional chemistry, food science, and related collections. R. E. Buntrock formerly, University of Maine