In all fairness, Zingerman's Guide to Good Eating is not really a cookbook, though there are a few recipes scattered throughout its pages. It is a book for cooks. Its subtitle promises that it will tell you "How to Choose the Best Bread, Cheeses, Olive Oil, Pasta, Chocolate, and Much More" and it is one of the best, easiest to read guides you can find, and will be useful, or at least enjoyable, to anyone interested in learning more about the specifics of some important food groups. The groups are not those found on the periodic table, but are certainly obvious in the kitchens of those who love to cook.
It starts out with oilve oils, nut oils and vinegars, moving into grains, cheeses, meats and seasonings. It finishes with a section on honey, vanilla, chocolate and tea, as well as providing a handy guide to mail-order sources for the products they mention. The book's structure is such that it provides far more than brand names and selection tips. It has the history and production of a food, and tries to at least quickly visit each of its potential uses. The casual style that it is written in makes it a very pleasurable read, and a good gift for any would-be foodies in your life, yourself included.
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