The Noma Guide to Building Flavour

Readers of The Noma Guide to Fermentation will know what to expect from this companion volume, and what not to. This is not a book for the casually curious. The pine cone olives that appear early on require a kilogram of neutral oil infused with black currant wood, produced in a vacuum seal bag steamed in a combi oven. Not every recipe demands that level of commitment, but many do, and the book is best understood as a complete system rather than a collection of individual recipes to dip into.

What the system delivers is 150 flavor-building components from the Noma pantry: the seasonings, condiments, sauces, and preparations developed over two decades in Copenhagen.  Brined unripe grapes, ant salt, sunflower seed and beef garum oil, cold-infused dashi, scallop fudge, and beeswax syrup all give you an idea of the book's range.

The techniques are documented with step-by-step photo sequences, and the underlying ideas are explained with enough depth that a committed cook can understand and adapt them rather than simply follow instructions.

The book's attribution reads "René Redzepi and the Noma Test Kitchen," which reflects a reality the text acknowledges: this body of work belongs to many people. Recent and well-documented reporting on working conditions at Noma has complicated Redzepi's reputation in ways that readers will want to weigh for themselves. The ideas in this book, and the staff whose work shaped them, deserve to be considered on their own terms.

For the most technically ambitious and intellectually curious cooks, this will be as rewarding as its predecessor. For anyone else, it will be overwhelming, and honestly, that's fine.

Hardcover. Color photographs throughout.