Food Lover’s Companion is a book containing culinary terminology and conversion tables for cooking. Five editions have been published as of 2019. The main section of the work is an A-to-Z list of defined culinary terminology, followed by a series of appendices. The Second Edition is a searchable source text at Epicurious, and the Third Edition is a searchable source text at Answers.com. Sharon Tyler Herbst—the primary author—wrote 16 food and beverage related books before her death on 26 January 2007. Her husband Ron—who writes about wine and cheese—finished editing the Fourth Edition after her death and is credited as the coauthor.

Reception

Bon Appetit hailed the book as "one of the best reference books we’ve seen, a must for every cook’s library", and The New York Times described it "As thick and as satisfying as a well-stuffed sandwich". Famous chef Emeril Lagasse called it his favorite book, and it is required reading at the New England Culinary Institute.

Deluxe edition

After the 2007 edition was published, Ron Herbst and the staff of Barron's Educational Series drastically reorganized the book, breaking out much of the material into specialized glossaries on subjects like chocolate, liqueurs, charcuterie, and spices. This edition was published in hardcover as The Deluxe Food Lover's Companion and included a marker ribbon bound into the spine. The 2013 fifth edition received a similar treatment in April 2015.

Fourth edition appendices

In the deluxe editions, some of these have been folded into the glossary sections.