Culinary historian Gil Marks's magnum opus—published last year after 25 years in the making—encompasses two and a half millennia and the entire geography of the world. His 656-page Encyclopedia of Jewish Food (Wiley) is an indispensible resource, paying as much attention to turshi (Middle Eastern pickles), as it does to New York City egg creams. Whatever topic we're researching, whether it relates to Jewish food or not, we always find what we're looking for inside.