Before assessing whether they have, in fact, created the ultimate vegan cookbook, it's pertinent to ponder on what the ultimate cookbook would be. That's an easy question to answer, because it does exist: Stephanie Alexander's The Cook's Companion. An essential reference for many cooks, this classic Australian cookbook has been in print for thirteen years. But what makes it so successful?

With 1126 pages, it contains around 1000 recipes along with information about ingredients, techniques and kitchen equipment. The recipes and advice are structured around listings for more than 100 common ingredients, including information on varieties, season, selection, storage, preparation and cooking techniques. The quality of the recipes is unsurpassed, and accessible to new and more experienced chefs alike; recipes included are from quick-cooking techniques to more involved creations. It is very well indexed (and cross-indexed), making recipes and information easy to find.

With this in mind, what would the ultimate vegan cookbook look like? It would have a broad scope of recipes, information and inspiration; recipes of high quality that are accessible to new and more experienced cooks; and be easy to use.

Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook…

Hype surrounding the release of Veganomicon was high. Isa is America's most famous vegan chef, and with Terry, had previously released the famous and much-loved Vegan With A Vengeance and Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World mega-sellers. But there were other reasons to be excited, too. In a world where vegan cookbooks are often on niche topics, lack good design or are targeted to animal rights or new-age demographics, there was hope that Veganomicon would fill the gaping void.

And it does. Veganomicon is big, glossy and has plenty of mainstream appeal. Slick, and with beautiful colour plates in the centre pages, it is definitely a stylish production. The character and humour of the authors is evident on every page, and although it is off-putting to some — one Amazon reviewer described it as 'campy' — the copy is charming and adds interest to the recipes.

At 300 pages and including 250 recipes, Veganomicon is certainly big. But is it ultimate vegan cookbook?

A broad scope of recipes, information and inspiration…

At first glance, the scope of the Veganomicon looks broad-ranging. Chapters are divided into various sections, including snacks; brunch; salads; sandwiches; mix and match (vegetables, grains, beans, and tofu, tempeh and seitan); soups; casseroles; one-pot meals; pasta, noodles and rice; sauces and fillings; breads, muffins and scones; cookies; and desserts. There is information about ideas for dinner parties using the recipes in the book (Mexican, French, Indian, picnic etc). There are chapters at the front that cover topics such as stocking the pantry, kitchen equipment, cooking and prepping terminology.

The advice given on pantry, equipment, cooking and prepping is, if not exhaustive, then solid. For example, under 'equipment' Veganomicon not only talks about what is essential in the kitchen, but gives good advice, such as how knives and utensils feel is an element that should be considered alongside quality and price.

The 'how to cook a vegetable, a grain, and a bean' section is intended as a reference for beginners. This is a good idea, but falls short. Only about twenty vegetables are listed, though instruction on grilling, roasting and steaming is good (albeit strangely organised; see below). The grains section is an invaluable addition, noting different kinds of grains which are essential to maintain a balanced vegan diet (millet, oats, quinoa etc). However, many of the cooking times were out and resulted in overdone grains.

The recipes in the book lean towards the starchy, with big servings and lots of carbs. Supposedly influenced from world cuisine, the focus is mostly on modern American dishes with South American and Eastern European influences; there is a smattering of other European (French, Italian) and Asian recipes as well. It is also heartening to see they've included a broad range of natural ingredients for vegans, rather than relying on mock meat and egg replacements.

Many of the recipes are quite involved and require a lot of prep time, such as preparing a sauce before being able to make a particular dish, which requires two or more recipes to be made. This wouldn't be a problem if more quick and easy options were included. Although many recipes are marked with the quick cooking icon (denoting dishes under 45 minutes), easy meal options are in short supply. Many of these options tend to be in the 'mix and match' section, meaning they feature only veggies, or only tofu. To make a mix and match meal would require making a few different recipes; simple, fast meal recipes are lacking.

Recipes of high quality that are accessible to new and more experienced cooks

Many of the recipes in Veganomicon contain errors. Some recipes list ingredients that then don't get mentioned in the recipe, and vice versa. For example, in the fudgy wudgy blueberry brownies, there is no mention of applesauce until it is required at the fourth step.

Another problem is that cooking times are often over- or under-stated, and the cooking time listed at the start of the recipe indicated in-oven time only rather than including preparation, which is misleading. Recipes often produce far more food than indicated in the serving size, however this could be different for American audiences.

Many of the recipes tend towards blandness, despite long or complex preparation and cooking times. For example, a recipe for pumpkin baked ziti with caramelised onion and sage crumb topping sounded promising: first, a cashew nut ricotta was prepared, then mixed with penne, pumpkin puree and caramelised, and finally a buttery sage and walnut breadcrumb mix was sprinkled over the top and the dish was baked. The ziti's texture was perfect — creamy with a nice crumby crunch — but, oddly, it was incredibly bland.

In a way, these problems are easy to get around once you start using the book more, by halving recipes, adjusting cooking times and adding or subbing ingredients. However, they would cause problems for a beginner cook and the instructions on technique in the recipes often require previous knowledge.

There are also some nifty elements to the recipes in Veganomicon. For example, many have cooking or presentation tips in breakout boxes, or variations are included, guiding users to sub different ingredients.

Despite its problems, there are many great recipes in the book. The chickpea cutlets, made with gluten flour and beans, creates an amazingly meaty cutlet, and most of the sauces and dressings are outstanding. The sweets included hit the mark the most often. The Not-tella is an amazing spread that will satisfy any choc-hazelnut craving, and the lower-fat banana bread is soft, moist and super-simple to prepare.  

Ease of use…

The problems listed above are small in comparison to the way the book falls down on ease of use. For starters, recipes often run over multiple pages and, although the design looks slick, the column format is not always easy to follow.

As a resource for finding things to do with certain ingredients, it does not work. For example, the 'how to cook a vegetable' section is strangely organised, listing vegetables under cooking techniques. So under grilling, for example, there is corn, eggplant and leeks, while under roasting there is eggplant, peppers and potatoes (to list only a few); this section would have been more easy to use if it were listed by vegetable.

Despite having recipes and ingredients indexed at various places in the book (recipe list at front of book, index, recipes by icon and dinner party suggestions), the indexing is terrible and cross-referencing confusing and hard to use. This becomes obvious when trying to use the dinner party guide (which lists recipes from the book but not their page numbers) or trying to look up ways to use single ingredients.

The issues with finding things in Veganomicon — including incorrect page references where recipes are listed — makes it frustrating and difficult to use in any way other than simply flicking through.

The ultimate vegan cookbook?

Veganomicon is a fantastic cookbook and would make a worthy addition to a vegan kitchen. But rather than being an ultimate guide, it is just another collection of recipes, albeit a well-produced and interesting one.

So a gap remains for an ultimate vegan reference guide. If only Stephanie Alexander would fill it.

Lisa Dempster is a writer based in Melbourne, Australia. She is the editor of The Melbourne Veg Food Guide and the publisher at Vignette Press.