The Higher Taste: A Guide to Gourmet Vegetarian Cooking and a Karma-Free Diet

by A.C. Bhaktivedanta

The Higher Taste is a great introduction to the philosophy and practice of vegetarianism, Hare Krishna style. It lets the reader discover the health and economic advantages, as well as the important ethical and spiritual considerations, of a Krishna conscious approach to diet and nutrition.
Includes 70 scrumptious recipes.

Genres: Cookbooks, Nonfiction, Food, Cooking, Vegetarian, Religion, Health

156 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

His Divine Grace Abhay Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (अभय चरणारविन्द भक्तिवेदान्त स्वामी प्रभुपाद)was born as Abhay Charan De on 1 September 1896 in Calcutta, India.

He first met his spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami, in Calcutta in 1922. Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, a prominent devotional scholar and the founder of sixty-four branches of Gaudiya Mathas (Vedic institutes), liked this educated young man and convinced him to dedicate his life to teaching Vedic knowledge in the Western world. Srila Prabhupada became his student, and eleven years later (1933) at Allahabad, he became his formally initiated disciple.

At their first meeting, in 1922, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura requested Srila Prabhupada to broadcast Vedic knowledge through the English language. In the years that followed, Srila Prabhupada wrote a commentary on the Bhagavad-gita and in 1944, without assistance, started an English fortnightly magazine.

In the last ten years of his life, in spite of his advanced age, Srila Prabhupada circled the globe twelve times on lecture tours that have took him to six continents. In spite of such a vigorous schedule, Srila Prabhupada continued to write prolifically. His writings constitute a veritable library of Vedic philosophy, religion, literature and culture.

Reviews

[Gorab · Rating 3 out of 5]

In a nutshell, it advocates vegetarian diet, supplemented with ample interesting recipes from around the globe.

Loved:
1. The precise anatomical and physiological differences between a carnivore, a herbivore and humans.
2. Environmental effects and the true cost of what we eat.
3. The recipes! While picking this book, I was skeptical about having recipes in a book when it is readily available from multiple sources. Somehow enjoyed exploring these.

Hated:
1. Dogmatic tone!
2. The logic given for the argument on killing plants vs killing animals! "Since the killed plants and flowers are offered to Krishna, and we only eat the remnants in the form of prasadam, we don't incur the sins of killing those plants and flowers." - Why not offer killed animals in the same manner? "Because Krishna has clearly mentioned to offer only fruits and flowers!"

Overall:
Some of the non-intuitive marvelous vegetarian recipes was my biggest takeaway from this.
Off course because I was already in sync with the ideologies of being a vegetarian before reading this.

[Damien · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the book that convinced me to stop eating meat. While I don't believe in the religion of the modern Krishna movement, the chapters on health and environment had the biggest impact on me. The recipes are really good, and most that have dairy can be easily veganized.

[Michael Everson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The recipes I've tried are good, easy and tasty, but this is not why that polite, hobo-looking Hare Krishna gave me this book. I'm not a vegetarian and this tome was obviously written to correct this. It focused my attention on the fact that we must take life and cause suffering, plant and animal, so that we can live. Whether this is bad karma, original sin or just inhumane depends on your religion but it is not 'good' in any way. Not practising a religion, I have no Jesus who'll forgive me and no Krishna to void my bad karma. I'm not yet sure what is the right path for me but I'm glad I found this book as it broadened my thinking.

This book contains an introduction to Hare Krishna beliefs and practices such as karma and food offering. It contains tracts about the ethical, spiritual, physical and physiological arguments against meat eating. It has some recipes. There are many interesting things in here, but there is a lot of buncombe. This buncombe is still very interesting and entertaining though. Worth a look.

[Rose · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this because as someone who is vegetarian it sounded interesting to learn some of the culture and history behind vegetarianism. Although this is an interesting book, it became way too spiritual and religious for me after a few chapters and it reads like an introduction to a cult.

A vegetarian diet is proven to have many health benefits and there are studies that have shown this, yet this book fails to cite a single source for any of the claims it makes. The only reason I know some of those claims are true is because I’ve read other books that actually cite those studies correctly. They also conveniently forget some critical information that could make their claims less impactful. For example p.8 they mention the fact that the animals we eat are fed antibiotics which obviously has disastrous health consequences on humans since our bodies become resistant to antibiotics. However they fail to mention that this is the case in the USA but has been forbidden in the EU for over 15 years.

From p.50 I stopped taking the book seriously. It’s fine to believe in karma if that’s a part of your culture, but it’s not fine to say that millions of people were killed in prison camps in WW2 due to karma, as a retribution for killing so many animals for food, nor is it okay to put women who have had an abortion in the same category as terrorists.

I’d recommend reading chapters 1 to 4 to gain some understanding of the benefits of a vegetarian diet, as well as some of the religious history behind it. From chapter 5-ish there are only spiritual claims without proof, some of which go way too far and are clearly inappropriate (did I mention how Hitler killed Jews because of karma?).

[Britta Stumpp · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book years ago in 1997 when I was living the Krishna Conscious lifestyle. I loaned it to someone in 2000 and I never got it back. I picked it back up again at the Sri Sri Radha Krsna Lotus Temple in Spanish Fork, Utah last Saturday for the Holi Festival of colors: http://utahkrishnas.org/

Great recipes and highly informative.
Definitely a good read for any vegetarian and/or those interested in Eastern spirituality.

[Binni Peace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recipes.. that's all I looked for in this book. People asked me for this book.

[Connor Magary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel higher already

[Kirsten D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whew! If I wasn’t a vegetarian already, I definitely would be after reading this book… 😬 very damning tone throughout this book LOL but with good reason. Loved learning the author’s explanation of karma as related to food consumption. This will help me to become a more mindful, and joyful, eater.

[Ramya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yummy, sattvic, and easy to make food. Thank you Swami Prabhupada!

[Vicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

This small cookbook is a nice little treatise on vegetarianism from a Hare Krishna perspective. The menus are decent, and draw from several different world cuisines. A bit above my culinary talents (I rarely cook, and don't like dealing with long lists of ingredients). I like Indian food, but haven't tried to cook it myself, but this book has step by step instructions even for making your own ghee, so maybe I will give it a try sometime. (4 stars b/c I've decided I'm only giving 5 stars to books that literally and materially change my life in some way, and since I still don't cook, this gets 4 stars...)

[Jordana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the first couple of chapters of the book. They were really interesting and held a lot of facts and statistics about vegetarianism and its benefits.

However, after the first 4 or so chapters it starts to be less about proven research and more about religion; how eating any form of food (be it plant or animal) was a sin - unless you offered it to God first. I'm atheist so it bored me to death and just sounded ridiculous.

I haven't tried any of the recipes but they sound delicious. It would have been nice to have photos accompanying the recipes.

[Shelle Espiritu · Rating 4 out of 5]

I reread passages of this book to get a better understanding of spiritual concepts specifying demarcated moral injunctions. I looked through the recipe chapter cursorily from pages 66 to 151.

This book includes a glossary and a section for Krishna Consciousness centers internationally.

I haven't tried the recipes, but according to readers, the recipes are great.

Information in this book helped reinforce my understanding of vegetarianism and thus not only referred inhumane slaughter of animals, but also health and spiritual benefits.

[Ramya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cogent arguments to become vegetarian although the “goodness” of milk and dairy products that is emphasized is dubious. The best heart healthy diet is vegan as stated by US surgeon general years ago - unpopular to hear but based on scientific evidence.

I didn’t realize the polenta cakes w/ tomatoe concasse I got from another recipe set is actually from this book. Cannot wait to try out more of the more than 50+ recipes in this book.

I have eaten prasadam at Hare Krishna temples as part of Sunday worship and it is truly divine! Even got to help out in kitchen once ... another treat.

[Geldar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a fan of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. I kinda want to join their religion, but I am kinda stuck with this Judaism biz... in this life! Maybe next time, guys. Who am I kidding? MOS DEF next time, guys.

[Dhirad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great simple Indian recipes!

[Guatón · Rating 2 out of 5]

+4 stars for the fine assortment of vegetarian recipes -2 stars for the religious mumbo jumbo = 2 stars.

[Martin Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

if you are interested in healthy eating habits read this book

[Sherrill Watson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suddenly(!) found a copy of this book in Lake Arrowhead, California at the little Rotary Club library by the Post Office when a friend of mine was told (because of a heart attack at age 73) that he had to become a vegetarian. I remembered that I had a copy from when I was in California years ago, and Voila, found my old copy from 1984, when I went to the retreat in Santa Monica. (Is it still there?
Does anyone know?)

A little book packed full of a good intro to vegetarianism, without as much 'preaching' as the original. Meaningful quotes from da Vinci, Franklin, Tolstoy & Shaw, instead of just photos. Nice, clear color photos, instead of those that were falling out of my book! This new edition has also cleaned up many of the pages I had to wade thru during my first reading, updated some of the recipes, and added title(?) pages to differentiate the different meals, etc. However instead of two Italian meals, or two Chinese meals, for instance, there is only one; the paragraph on celebrities who endorse vegetarianism was eliminated, many of the hand-drawn how-to sketches are eliminated, and various other changes. 😒 Also, no index in either book!

Try the mung beans, rice & vegetables, the spinach risotto and the lasagna.

This book is well worth finding on the Internet, any edition, when you can get thru the first six chapters.

Stuffed Eggplant

2 eggplants (cut in half, lengthwise)
1 small can of tomato puree (8 oz)
1 cup bread crumbs
2 zucchini
1 pound mozzarella cheese (grated)
1 1/2 cups of oil or ghee
1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon Hing
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon basil leaves
garnish of oregano flakes, parsley flakes

Heat 1 cup oil, or ghee. Place eggplant into skillet and cook on low heat, turning, for 10-15 minutes. Set aside. In one-quart saucepan using 1/2 oil or ghee, heat black pepper, Hing, lemon juice. Add tomato puree, 1/2 cup water, 1 teaspoon salt and basil. Cook for 1/2 hour. Fry cubed zucchini, turning, and add bread crumbs. Return eggplant to skillet, stuff with ingredients and grated cheese. Heat slowly, partially covered, until cheese is melted. Garnish with oregano & parsley.
Good with re-heated wheat rice.

[Elena Prieto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este fue un libro que influyó muchísimo en mi decisión de hacerme vegetariana. Yo sabía que algún día cambiaría mi forma de alimentarme, y este libro llegó en el momento oportuno y supuso el empujoncito final que me faltaba.

El libro aporta su punto de vista acerca de la ética de la alimentación. También aparecen recetas vegetarianas interesantes.

No comparto 100% lo expuesto en cuanto al estilo de alimentación, puesto que se trata de dieta vegetariana, no vegana (la cual yo considero más éticamente correcta). Además, no deja de ser un libro que pertenece a la doctrina Krishnaísta y aporta sus creencias, que pueden ser compartidas por el resto de personas o no: ahí ya entran en juego los juicios e ideas de cada uno.

De todas maneras, es un libro al que merece la pena echar un vistazo al menos.

[Bob Norton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Important book in my life, as it instantly made me vegetarian in 1987. Very short, but it's a great introduction to the 'why' for not eating meat. The fact that it was written in 1983 is amazing, since it's data has held up very nice over time - if not strengthened by the current science. It's from the Hare Krishna folks - but I don't recall it trying to convert. Although the recipes look good enough - if you're shopping for a religion, they're probably better than most. At least you'll eat well, and good food is good for the soul - or something like that.

[catutim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Espero que mas personas puedan leer esta clase de libros para informarse al respecto de las dietas vegetarianas y como esta ligada a una vida coherente de espiritualidad, en el mejor de los casos que mas personas opten por realizar un cambio en sus vidas tomando una simple decision mas conciente que contribuiria a la paz mundial.
Además me sorprendi al enterarme que varios personajes importantes como Tolstoi, Da vinci, Rousseau, Ghandi, Pitagoras y otros siguieron esta dieta a lo largo de su vida💞

[Angela Natividad · Rating 3 out of 5]

You don't have to subscribe to the dogma to profit from the delicious recipes in this tiny tome, not to mention the economic, philosophical and nutritional information that supports vegetarianism. (By and large, however, Hare Krishnas are rather a nice collective with a sense of environmental, cultural and spiritual responsibility that is sadly lacking in our system. If you're sold by the dogma, too, there are worse fates. Like becoming a stockbroker.)

[Kapil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being a Hindu, I always have a delima of converting to a vegetarian diet. Even though I appreciate the health aspect of a vegetarian diet, I stil feel Keto diet has better health benefits. For me the consideration to turn vegetarian can only be ethical. I do believe in Karma, and totally agree killing animal is sinful. May be one day, I will turn 💯 % vegetarian, and this book will play a role in it. To my next, spiritual journey!

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Higher Taste provides instructions on how to make the internationally legendary Krishna-Prashadam by offering food to Lord Krishna.

The Higher Taste also gives a good ideas in the recipes sections of the wide variety of nutritious and delicious meals available without meat fish or eggs (or garlic, onions, chocolate or mushrooms.. )

[Konrad Plechowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very decent introduction of why it's good to be vegetarian, fromall possible perspectives... after that some good various recipes. But what's missing is actually some whole diet guidance. But in the end, you should know what to expect, regarding both volume and authors.

[Yess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me pareció demasiado chantajista, empezó bien con datos concisos y de pronto se convirtió en chantaje para que uno deje de comer carne

[Martina · Rating 1 out of 5]

I like how it gives a lot of reasons why we all should be vegetarians. I'm glad that this book made many people stop eating meat, however, all the explanation about religion was unbearable for me.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book. About half of it is about the meat industry, what vegetarian diets have to do with spirituality, and how to offer food to Krishna. The actual recipes are good and easy to follow.

[Cherie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Philosophy on why to be a vegetarian, recipes, more from a Hare Krishna perspective.

[CONNIE BALTHROP · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am eating less meat. It's a bit preachy. But the recipes and pictures look like their going to be really good.