My Standard Cookbook Rant
Why bother with buying cookbooks when the internet has 1,000s of free ones?
A recipe from a chef that you have followed in the past and liked is more likely to come out tasty than the recipe from I.M. Freaky internet. For example, in the case of Molly Katzen I know to cut the salt by at least one half and double down on the spicy bits. Then they all work for me, you get what you pay for.
How do you know if a cookbook is any good?
Get thee to a library, even the crappiest library will have a decent selection of cookbooks to check out and try.
What cookbooks should I avoid?
- All celebrity cookbooks, unless they are a chef first and incidentally a celebrity.
- All diet cookbooks, they are either written by quacks or dieticians who don't know squat about tasty food. There are a few exceptions, but not many.
- The old school 10,000 recipes books, they aren't really tested and you can find that for free. So why pay for them?
What cookbooks do you like?
I prefer single theme cookbooks, either a specific ethnicity or style such as vegetarian. Since I usually only cook for myself, I also look for books that have recipes that can be reduced or make good leftovers. I also don't eat much if any meat at home so I skip the meat and potatoes and barbeque books.
What makes a good cook book?
- Tasty, interesting and consistent recipes, if fun stories are thrown in, that's a bonus.
- Pretty and useful photos and illustrations.
- Decent nutritional information, though in some case you're happier not knowing.
- Approximate preparation and cooking times are nice to know.
- Use modern measurements like weight, etc. Digital scales are dirt cheap! Dump those stupid cups and spoons, especially for baking.
- Good coverage of procedures and techniques.
- If there is a special cooking technique, don't assume we know it! As in dumb comments like any (Indian) child can make that, I don't want to get involved with human trafficking to learn how to cook.
What are some good basic books?
James's bookshelf: cooking
Includes vinegar, flavored oils and Asian sauces. Also the recipes are much smaller than more traditional canning books. Rating goes to 5 if I break down and buy it.
Vegan for regular folk with lots of repetitive swearing and a great book for beginners, barring language. The recipes look good and are straightforward and interesting enough that I bought a copy. Most recipes make use of a limited numbe...
I was given this book for shopmas, I asked for it. Best organized cook book I've seen in a long time. Covers basic cooking skills, including some I'm rusty at and covers sauces, veggies and meat in a very methodical way. All done in a li...
Just like it says, traditional and fusion Mexican food that's easy to prepare with excellent advice on basic ingredients. Only one ironic bit, he talks about health and calorie counting in the introduction but gives no nutrition info in ...
I'm disappointed that this book does not have nutritional information and that only old school measurements are used, but there's enough good bachelor recipes here that I will probably buy a copy.
These are good recipes and the author includes feedback based on testing alternative ingredients for those without access to Mexican markets. Not as hard core as his Authentic Mexican 20th Anniversary Ed: Regional Cooking from the Heart ...
Overall a very good cookbook, the recipes look like home-cooking and not like over the top 50 ingredient that you find in some 'genuine' cookbooks. Has an assortment of nice vegetarian dishes. I suspect you can make a fairly good Chilean...
This is the simpler Chinese cooking that you would eat at home or in a cafeteria setting and not as elaborate as earlier cookbooks tended to be. Very good basic instructions and ingredients list. Includes some modern fusion recipes. I ne...
My mom had a copy and Julia Child was her cooking idol. I was partially taught to cook from this. A great book but can you add some more butter to that ;) Not for the metabolically impaired eater.
While this book doesn't have nutrition information, the recipes are simple enough that it doesn't take much calculation. It shows you how to make many killer sounding, simple pasta recipes along with, if you want to, making your own past...
This is an encyclopedia of Latin American cooking, 150 pages of ingredients alone. I have two minor quibbles, one is the lack of nutritional information and the other is that a fair amount of the recipes are restaurant or holiday recipes...
This is a cool, bilingual cookbook I picked up at a library book sale. It's covers the basics of generic Japanese cuisine including western dishes adapted to Japanese tastes. (thankfully not included, Japanese spaghetti, soba noodles, ke...
I'm a bit tossed up whether this book should be a purchase. When compared to her book from 35 years ago, Madhur Jaffrey's World-of-the-East Vegetarian Cooking, it now has pretty pictures and more on exotic ingredients that you can now ge...
Owned it for decades, has many tasty vegetarian recipes that I still use and nutritional information in the back.
I've made several of these, none are really complicated, I think caramelizing an onion is the toughest operation. Most recipes are sized to about a cup's worth so good for home use.
Owned it for decades, has many tasty vegetarian recipes that I still use.
Owned it for decades, has many tasty vegetarian recipes that I still use.
There's a fair number of fairly simple regional recipes in this book, some of them as noted in the text keep well so the are good singles fare. It lacks nutritional information and measures are imprecise but that's in keeping with the sp...
This is a bizarre foodie book that is even crazier than usual. A fun and quick read, I burned through it in one sitting. Part of the reason for this is the recipe portion of this book is pretty much worthless for my cooking purposes. If ...
May buy a copy, good recipes with nutritional data.
A good beginner's cookbook with enough interesting recipes for continued use: 1) The uncluttered kitchen, have plenty of open counter space and keep the kitchen utensils basic. The only stuff I have that's not on his list is my coffee ge...
The Greek Vegetarian: More Than 100 Recipes Inspired by the Traditional Dishes and Flavors of Greece
Pretty good, covers the basics of Greek vegetarian food, the recipes are home-cooking style, not too complicated and she indicates some that can be made for several meals at a time. They look tasty as well. No nutritional information and...
May buy a copy. Not as many recipes as some of the other Moosewood cookbooks, but a bit healthier. Calories and other info are include for each dish and while it uses old school measurements, weights are noted for things hard to measure ...
The Whole Earth Catalog rides again! Vastly updated with website. Makes me feel younger all of a sudden...
Covers all of the bean cooking methods, including some to reduce the 'magical' substance of beans. I've made some of the recipes from other sources, these versions look good and there are many interesting recipes. Reading the recipe note...
Some interesting recipes from the Afro-Diaspora. No nutrition information and old school measurements are used. Some recipes look heavy on salt and oil, but nowhere near as crazy as Anglo-southern cooking. This is a fusion cookbook, so d...
While not as useful to beginners as their first book, and not as useful a bachelor cooks, there's still enough interesting stuff here to warrant a look see. And I do go to parties once in a while. Also the kids wading pool filed with Sa...
Exactly as advertised and more, includes reviews of basic canning gear including some that rust! Wish I had read this before buying my jar lifter and I will look for Sure Jell low sugar pectin. Starts with basic surefire recipes and goes...
This book is too advanced for me, but it was still interesting to read.
Thanks to a library book sale I own a copy. Uses old school measurements and has nutritional data. Also contains fish recipes, most Moosewood books contain only vegetarian recipes, surprise! Has an OK chapter on nutrition.
This book covers a wider range of preserves than the average book and some of the recipes are new to me and look quite tasty. Possibly because this is a British book, pressure canning is not mentioned, though PH meters and refractometers...
While the title is wrong, the insides look nice. Lucky I don't own an ice cream maker. Note that these recipes still have lots of calories for the most part. They are not diet food.
A fun read, I have used some of the recipes from this book, they are delicious. While not an expert on Moroccan cuisine, it looks authentic based on my other reading and the author does teach the basics as well as more advanced recipes. ...
Good thing I don't have an ice cream maker!
Lighter Southern cooking, many nice recipes. Includes nutritional information and sensible eating tips. It's a bit frenchified, the author trained as a French chef.
Still a good book, but showing its age. More useful for those with root cellars, large gardens and the like.
I've read enough to know I'd like a copy, cooking times are listed as well as if the recipe is good for leftovers or freezer friendly! A fair assortment of good busy people or bachelor recipes, less basic cooking info compared to their f...
Food porn at its finest, the recipes are above my level of ambition, but I still found a fair amount of useful information in here along with some fun reading. Required for people wanting to bake artisan breads, especially in locations n...
Now I know why this book is so popular, it's the best on the subject. Only minor flaw is recipes are given in volume, not weights, but a conversion factor is given. I will probably buy a copy when I order my machine.
Another library sale acquisition. Her newer books have many of these recipes and reduce the salt as well. Well the money goes to a good cause. My Standard Cookbook Rant
Another type of book severely damaged by the web. Good in its day.
I have read this book before, this has the scary, no-knead bread recipe that involves plopping the dough into a hot dutch oven. I don't own a dutch oven and I wouldn't want to do this on a regular basis. His pizza recipes are far less ex...
While these are good recipes and techniques, the cuisine is pretty stock American which I either know how to cook already or will never make. The science approach is nice but he's not the only one doing that. An interesting skim.
Interesting but unfocused, I've seen similar recipes elsewhere in better collated collections. It does have prep times prominently listed, nice! No nutritional data.
While Julia Child would approve, if you eat like this on a regular basis, you will need larger sizes in your wardrobe. Nice photos and introduction.
That Peternell waited until his kid went to college before teaching him to cook seems a bit wackadoo to me, but maybe he didn't cook at home. The recipes look pretty good for the most part, but other books have similar recipes. I would a...
High end home cooking, seems far less fusion than his Slanted Door book. Subjects are sorted by cooking method and while there's some recommendations for sauces and spices, it needs a larger ingredients section. No nutritional data inclu...
It's a well written book with good advice on purchasing and preparing kale which includes varieties you will probably never see outside of a comprehensive farmers market or your own backyard. It does not have nutritional information for ...
The recipes are fairly straightforward using old school measurements. No nutritional or calorie information is given, but for most of these recipes you're better off not knowing. Not for those concerned with weight loss.
OK back when there were fewer easily accessible recipes.
A good book 40 years ago, but what was radical food then is now everyday fare so off to the library book sale it goes! My cookbooks are overflowing. Fairly heavy on the meat and dairy for those interested, might be worth a peek for olde...
Some interesting recipes, but measurements are given by volume with no weight or nutrition information. Does cover longer rise time options and out of machine finishing. The list of bread machines is sadly obsolete, but you can make a us...
I read Brown for techniques and widgets, while there are some good recipes in here, they will mostly appeal to those who like Southern fusion cooking. Just tried the pressure cooker tomato soup, better than my current recipe! I would ne...
This is a Korean-American fusion cookbook, recipes for tacos and hamburgers included! Some recipes look fairly simple and tasty, others are more of the complex holiday types. Old school measurements are used and there's no nutritional da...
A nice array of recipes along with pantry suggestions, most of which are bit complicated or I have similar recipes for. The back story was fun to read, I still find gourmet roach coaches a mind boggling idea and I'm pissed at New York Ci...
Too American for me for the most part, but a good read if you like it.
While I enjoyed this book, it's nothing I don't have in other books.
Some OK looking recipes, no nutritional data, and possibly Americanized. None are super fancy though, so they are very usable.
Not bad, lots of recipe ideas attractively presented and well organized. I suspect googling around would work almost as well though. Not much technique in this one.
About half of this is autobiography while the rest is how to make one kind of ramen. If your overly obsessed with ramen (my younger brother is), it's a fun read once sort of thing. Also required if you want to open a ramen shop, it's one...
Sometimes I think I don't live under a rock, that me and my buddy T. Rex live in the rock. While I have heard about people driving miles to eat at a special roach coach, I always thought it was a bit crazy, can the food be that good? On ...
This is an encyclopedia of Mexican recipes organized by broad type and the region of origin is listed. If you ate something in Mexico City or other province and were looking for a basic recipe, I suspect you have a good chance finding it...
A gift book that would be much more useful if any of my condo had direct sunlight.
Some good recipes, possibly too many locales included, but great when it was first published. No nutritional data, normal for cookbooks of this vintage.
If you're a vegan who craves tacos and doesn't already have a Mexican cookbook, this would fill the bill quite nicely, I won't be frying up any jackfruit anytime soon though. If you've already figured out tortillas = bread and that anyth...
This is the second recent canning book I've read that skips over canning with a pressure cooker. It must be a lost process or no longer the fashion. The book does include a fair amount of Asian and Latin America recipes, a refreshing cha...
Traditional Japanese pickles including 'lazy housewife' pickles, my family likes these. Includes ingredients hard to find in the US plus many recipes require a fermentation location that won't stink up your house!
Not bad for it's time but I don't eat that much meat anymore. Old school measurements, no pictures and no total prep time listed. My Standard Cookbook Rant
An old school cookbook with old school measurements, few photos, etc. When it came out, it was one of the few Indian cookbooks available and was supposed to be healthy. However with the amount of dairy and oil in most of the included rec...
This book has excellent photos and prep work and cooking seemed well covered. Also includes making some Indian breads without a tandoori or an Indian 6 year old. It does have nutritional information. My biggest gripe is that the recipes ...
Pretty good but not a knockout, very thin in the bread section, only two recipes are listed.
A pretty good cookbook but a bit repetitive, there are a fair number of dishes with only small variations in ingredients. It is organized by main ingredient which is nice, if you have a bumper crop of veggies there are several recipes yo...
I suspect I need to look at his previous book, these look OK, but not quite everyday in some cases. Also no nutritional information given, which given the sugar and fat in some of these recipes, not diet friendly. My Standard Cookbook Rant
There are now much better bread books out there. It was great for its time.
An amusing little book, I'm wouldn't buy it for it's recipes, and I guess my stomach's too adventurous, I've eaten a fair number of these. There are some surprises here though, so it was still a fun read once.
Nothing much special about this, I picked it up based solely on the title. I would describe most of the recipes as Mediterranean, heavy on the meat and dairy, not a good book for your vegan or dieting friends. There's also not too much s...
I was attracted by the title but read it for the contents. This is a vegan cookbook that has a fair amount of novel recipes, at least I haven't seen them before. Most use fairly common ingredients but you may have to mail order some spic...
A good book for its time, but not many photos and only as more of an extended frontispiece.
Nothing really special, Iron Chefs are more entertainers than cooks IMHO. Another library sale acquisition, it doesn't take up much space, so I will let it hang around on the cookbook shelf. A better book is: Recipes of Japanese Cooking.
A decent Mediterranean cookbook with most of the recipes that you would expect for the region. If you don't already one, it's worth a peek, the homemade yogurt was interesting as well as the spice mixes.
This more of a modernist cuisine book than anything else, many of the recipes are laborious with eccentric ingredients. Some require smokers or other exotic equipment. Some of these read like Iron Chef, so they might have been an ingredi...
A neither fish or fowl book, it's not really a cookbook nor a travel guide, but it has pretty pictures and will make you crave Thai food.
Single ingredient books are tough to write, if you don't have a book on beans, this one is OK. It is missing nutritional information for recipes though, which is a bit wacky for a book that promotes beans as a healthy food. Also many of ...
There's some duplication between this and Every Grain Of Rice: Simple Chinese Home Cooking as well as far fewer photos, a serious lack are pictures of the chopping process. I also have a new pet peeve, recipes not included in the table o...
Some good recipes but no nutritional data. It does have organized lists of cooking times. Does not cover electric pressure cookers. I'm still searching for a great pressure cooker book.
This is a Basque-fusion cookbook based on the author's Txikito restaurant. The recipes aren't too complicated for the most part but some of the recipes might produce a bit much for home use and would be hard to scale back. They are weigh...
I'm not an expert, but I did grow up in SoCal with trips to Baja and what I've experienced does match this book. This book is very hard core, it includes making tortillas starting from dry corn and a metate! Not for the faint of heart. E...
