BOOK REVIEW: For baristas and would-be baristas

Jessica Godfrey's straightforward How to make really good coffee (Random House and Caffe L'Affare, spiral bound, $27.99) briefly covers general information about coffee, roasting, blending and storing but goes into detail about espresso and recipes for various types of coffee - ristretto, long black, latte, cappuccino, flat white and others.

She touches on how to make it in a plunger, stove-top espresso and by filter, but little information about grinding coffee for these methods, except to say that if you don't have a good burr grinder, buy it ready ground once a week - but any self-respecting coffee lover knows it will have lost its flavour after being ground a few hours.

A book for baristas and would-be baristas with espresso machines.

• People on gluten-free or wheat-free diets will be interested in Sally Wise's From my kitchen to yours (ABC, pbk, $30).

The Tasmanian writes from practical experience as her daughter has coeliac disease.

Besides recipes for soups, vegetable and vegetarian dishes, mains, preserves (her forte) and lots of desserts and baking (some with dairy-free options as well), she gives useful tips such as on how to make your own gluten-free flour and baking powder and what commercial products are likely to contain gluten and need careful checking.

• Penguin's cooking "bibles" are handy little books with a good variety of recipes, but no background or other information which makes recipes so interesting.

However, if all you are looking for is recipes then they are worth checking out.

The most recent are Moroccan Bible, The Indian Bible and Fast Food Bible, (pbk, $25 each).