What's the Difference?

Brette Warshaw, who writes the What's the Difference? newsletter, has turned that project into an illustrated reference book. It sorts out the mix-ups that trip up cooks and diners, from the pairs of ingredients people use interchangeably to the methods and dishes that look alike on a menu. Her examples include the gap between sweet potatoes and yams, the distinction between bourbon and rye, and how crumbles, cobblers and crisps differ. Many people, home cooks among them, have never sorted these out.

The book covers dozens of topics across the kitchen, the dinner table and the bar. Its tone is playful, but the explanations are practical and aimed at anyone who wants to order, shop or cook with more confidence, whether or not they already consider themselves a food expert.