Updated 'Food Lover's Companion' a must-have

It's the bible of food writers, and it belongs in the home kitchen, too.

Sharon Tyler Herbst and Rob Herbst's "Food Lover's Companion" (Barron's, $16.99) has served as an indispensable reference to the food world since the first edition was published more than a decade ago.

An updated fourth edition with more than 6,700 entries was released in late 2007, continuing this tome's tradition of helping home and professional cooks make sense of myriad techniques and ingredients.

As valuable as the dictionary-style entries that form the core of the book are the appendices, which include a pasta glossary, a guide for reading food labels, illustrated charts depicting cuts of meat, and substitution and measurement charts.