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Dictionary of milk and dairying
Int. DairyJournal 2 (1992) 325-326
Book Review
Dictionary of Milk and Dairying. Edited by E d m u n d Renner. Volkswirtschaftlicher Verlag, M~inchen, Germany, 1991. 384 pp. Price: The best of the encyclopedias dealing with all aspects of dairy science and milk products technology was undoubtedly M. E. Schulz's fourth edition of Das Grosse Molkerei-Lexikon. First published in 1935, the c o m p e n d i u m had grown to two volumes 30 years later and then a m o u n t e d to 1361 pages. Faced with the prospect of another update, and there being no true successor molded to the likes of Professor Schulz, E. Renner of the Justus Liebig University Giessen, G e r m a n y in 1988 did the next best thing. With the help of 12 G e r m a n colleagues he saw to the publication of a Lexikon derMilch. This book has 418 pages and features 3530 definitions and 40 tables. Although a noteworthy achievement, it does not live up to the breadth and depth of the Schulz Lexikon. For example, under the letter A, Schulz had dealt with 334 entries on 63 pages, with some concepts receiving detailed textbook treatment. The Renner Lexikon defines 209 terms under the letter A and does so in 13 pages. Both 'amines' and 'aseptic packaging' merit close to one page each as the two largest entries. The two largest A entries with Schulz are 'Abwasser' (waste water) and 'Aluminiumfolien ', requiring four pages each. Both books have the same format. There is no such comprehensive dairy science encyclopedia in the English language. The one that comes close is J. H. Frandsen's 843-page Dairy Handbook and Dictionary published in 1958. It is now out of print 325 Int. DairyJournal (2) (1992)--© 1992Elsevier Science Publishers Ltd, England. Printed in Ireland
326
Book Review
and hopelessly outdated. That's why it gives reason to cheer to see a translation of the Renner Lexikon under the title Dictionary of Milk and Dairying. Six of the original contributors served as translators, but a large part of the text was done by Paul Jelen, University of Alberta. The book did shrink in the process by about 30 pages and 210 entries. For example, English readers are not told the difficulties ppb (parts per billion) could present to a G e r m a n for w h o m there exists a 'milliard' between million and billion. Overall, this dictionary is of great value to food scientists, especially those in the dairy field. It is a must for those still studying and, therefore, technical libraries should not be without it. The book reflects the specialties of its compilers; and that is the reason why nutrition, cheese, microbiology, and analytical chemistry stand out as the four major subjects a m o n g the keywords. The definitions are terse and accurate. The English is meticulous and correct. There are numerous cross-reference arrows. The 'state of the art' is presented, as evidenced by such entries as BST, H P L C and PCB. However, the next edition better include such new keywords as frozen yoghurt.
Manfred Kroger
Book Review
Dictionary of Milk and Dairying. Edited by E d m u n d Renner. Volkswirtschaftlicher Verlag, M~inchen, Germany, 1991. 384 pp. Price: The best of the encyclopedias dealing with all aspects of dairy science and milk products technology was undoubtedly M. E. Schulz's fourth edition of Das Grosse Molkerei-Lexikon. First published in 1935, the c o m p e n d i u m had grown to two volumes 30 years later and then a m o u n t e d to 1361 pages. Faced with the prospect of another update, and there being no true successor molded to the likes of Professor Schulz, E. Renner of the Justus Liebig University Giessen, G e r m a n y in 1988 did the next best thing. With the help of 12 G e r m a n colleagues he saw to the publication of a Lexikon derMilch. This book has 418 pages and features 3530 definitions and 40 tables. Although a noteworthy achievement, it does not live up to the breadth and depth of the Schulz Lexikon. For example, under the letter A, Schulz had dealt with 334 entries on 63 pages, with some concepts receiving detailed textbook treatment. The Renner Lexikon defines 209 terms under the letter A and does so in 13 pages. Both 'amines' and 'aseptic packaging' merit close to one page each as the two largest entries. The two largest A entries with Schulz are 'Abwasser' (waste water) and 'Aluminiumfolien ', requiring four pages each. Both books have the same format. There is no such comprehensive dairy science encyclopedia in the English language. The one that comes close is J. H. Frandsen's 843-page Dairy Handbook and Dictionary published in 1958. It is now out of print 325 Int. DairyJournal (2) (1992)--© 1992Elsevier Science Publishers Ltd, England. Printed in Ireland
326
Book Review
and hopelessly outdated. That's why it gives reason to cheer to see a translation of the Renner Lexikon under the title Dictionary of Milk and Dairying. Six of the original contributors served as translators, but a large part of the text was done by Paul Jelen, University of Alberta. The book did shrink in the process by about 30 pages and 210 entries. For example, English readers are not told the difficulties ppb (parts per billion) could present to a G e r m a n for w h o m there exists a 'milliard' between million and billion. Overall, this dictionary is of great value to food scientists, especially those in the dairy field. It is a must for those still studying and, therefore, technical libraries should not be without it. The book reflects the specialties of its compilers; and that is the reason why nutrition, cheese, microbiology, and analytical chemistry stand out as the four major subjects a m o n g the keywords. The definitions are terse and accurate. The English is meticulous and correct. There are numerous cross-reference arrows. The 'state of the art' is presented, as evidenced by such entries as BST, H P L C and PCB. However, the next edition better include such new keywords as frozen yoghurt.
Manfred Kroger