Editorial Review

Ina Garten, bestselling cookbook author and beloved star of Barefoot Contessa on Food Network, is back with her easiest recipes ever.
 
In Barefoot Contessa How Easy Is That? Ina proves once again that it doesn’t take complicated techniques, special equipment, or stops at more than one grocery store to make wonderful dishes for your family and friends. Her newest must-have cookbook is all about saving time and avoiding stress while having fun in the kitchen.

These are not recipes with three ingredients thrown together in five minutes; instead home cooks will find fantastic Barefoot Contessa recipes that are easy to make but still have all that deep, delicious flavor Ina is known for—and that makes a meal so satisfying. Think Pink Grapefruit Margaritas served with Smoked Salmon Deviled Eggs—two classics with a twist. For lunch, Ina makes everyone’s favorite Ultimate Grilled Cheese sandwich and Snap Peas with Pancetta. For dinner, try Jeffrey’s Roast Chicken (tried and true!); Steakhouse Steaks, which come out perfectly every time and—with Ina’s easy tip—couldn’t be simpler; or an Easy Parmesan “Risotto” that you throw in the oven instead of stirring endlessly on the stovetop. Finally, Ina’s desserts never disappoint—from Red Velvet Cupcakes to Chocolate Pudding Cream Tart.

To top it all off, Ina also shares her best tips for making cooking really easy. She leaves bowls of lemons and limes on the counter not only because they look great but because they also remind her that a squeeze of lemon in a dish brightens the flavors. She shows us the equipment that makes a difference to her—like sharp knives, the right zester, an extra bowl for her electric mixer—and that can help you in your kitchen, too.

Filled with 225 gorgeous full-color photographs, Barefoot Contessa How Easy is That? is the perfect kitchen companion for busy home cooks who still want fabulous flavor. ... Read more

Reviews

Not so easy...
I didn't think it was possible to be disappointed with anything Ina Garten is associated with, but I guess there's a first time for everything. I loved her last book (Back to Basics), but this one just fell flat for me for a few reasons:

1. The recipes aren't neccesarily easy, especially when you have to search for some of the special ingredients (duck fois gras, Tate's Bake Shop chocolate chip cookies, Fox's U-Bet chocolate syrup, etc.). Also, "good ketchup such as Stonewall Kitchen"?!? There were just too many instances of blatantly trying to advertise other people's products. I think the only people who will have no trouble finding these specialized ingredients live in New York City, East Hampton or near a Whole Foods store (which for me is a 2 hour drive).

2. Some of the tips are not realistic for regular cooks, especially in these tough economic times (having 2 dishwashers!?!?!). Sure, I'd love to have 2 dishwashers in my kitchen, but unless you regularly host dinner parties with > 10 people or you run a catering business out of your house, what's the point? And who has room in their kitchen for that?

3. Unlike Ina's other books, none of the recipes here made me want to drop what I was doing and start cooking. Also, Ina's other books have included a chapter on breakfast foods, so I was sad when I saw that this book did not.

The book was not a total disappointment. As always, the pictures and layout of the book were beautiful (although I didn't understand the full page individual photos of each of Ina's friends). Also, some recipes, such as Lemon Chicken Breasts, Ultimate Peach Ice Cream and Old Fashioned Banana Cake are really good.

I'm still a big Ina fan and I'll continue to buy her books. I guess not everyone can hit a homerun everytime they step up to the plate. ... Read more

Editorial Review

All the best recipes from 150 years of distinguishedfood journalism-a volume to take its place inAmerica's kitchens alongside Mastering the Art ofFrench Cooking and How to Cook Everything.Amanda Hesser, the well-known New York Times food columnist, brings her signature voice and expertise to this compendium of influential and delicious recipes from chefs, home cooks, and food writers. Devoted Times subscribers will find the many treasured recipes they have cooked for years—Plum Torte, David Eyre's Pancake, Pamela Sherrid's Summer Pasta—as well as favorites from the early Craig Claiborne New York Times Cookbook and a host of other classics—from 1940s Caesar salad and 1960s flourless chocolate cake to today's fava bean salad and no-knead bread.

Hesser has cooked and updated every one of the 1,000-plus recipes here. Her chapter introductions showcase the history of American cooking, and her witty and fascinating headnotes share what makes each recipe special.The Essential New York Times Cookbook is for people who grew up in the kitchen with Claiborne, for curious cooks who want to serve a nineteenth-century raspberry granita to their friends, and for the new cook who needs a book that explains everything from how to roll out dough to how to slow-roast fish-a volume that will serve as a lifelong companion. ... Read more

Reviews

Timeless Dishes, Priceless Cookbook
This is the type of cookbook I call an armchair cookbook because it can be just as easily enjoyed by simply reading through it as it can be trying out the recipes in the kitchen.

If you were impressed when Julie Powell spent a year of her life trying every one of Julia Child's French recipes, you will be astounded by Amanda Hesser's six-year Herculean task of evaluating and writing about 150 years of New York Times recipes. There's an immense satisfaction that comes from reading thru these recipes, kind of like being a guest invited into Hesser's test kitchen and watching the culinary drama unfold without having to do any of the work or shoulder any of the responsibility.

Clear a space on your cookbook library shelf for The Essential New York Times Cookbook -- this heavy tome is a must-have for anyone who loves reading about food as well as getting creative with it!

My new favorite!
I was reading another book but set it aside when this arrived in the mail, and haven't been back to it yet. I'm not the sort of person who would read a cookbook, but this is more like a cool encyclopedia of best of the New York Times recipes over the past 150 years, interspersed with interesting historical information, hints from testing, cooking notes, and some reader comments/memories. The author's voice is full of warmth, wit, and sharp, bright intelligence. Her personable approach (as opposed to taking the form of a disengaged editor) conveys care about this momentous project and it is precisely what makes the book really shine. And it's fun to see a recipe that I had clipped from the Times years and years ago, right there in the book--it kind of underscores how great it is! (Plus it may include a footnote that offers a small change that will make it turn out even better!) The 1,400-plus recipes were selected judiciously, sound absolutely wonderful, and cover a huge territory.

Great Read. Recipes you know and love plus more
First, for anyone who loves to read a good cookbook, this is wonderful gift. The background provided with the recipes and the tone in which it is given are a real pleasure. Second, for anyone who loves food and making it, this book is a treasure. There are recipes here that i know well from years of devoted clipping and, later, printing from the NY Times but I am also discovering many new ones that sound just great. A thousand recipes, most of them interesting and all with at least the original publication date or some extra tidbit of information! In addition, you can learn about how our tastes have evolved and what a family might eat in the 19th century. When my copy arrived, I was reading a decent novel. Since then I have been happily perusing my new cookbook with the novel all but forgotten. And, oh yeah, occasionally I cook something yummy.

modern and historic at the same time
I just received my book today, and I'll admit that I've been watching for it since first hearing about the project a few years ago. I love old recipes, and I'm enjoying the historic aspects of this collection. It is quite interesting to see the dates on each recipe. The author's comments and introductions strike the right tone by being warm, down to earth, and helpful. I know I will want to cook lots and lots of the recipes in the book, both the old dishes and the new. Already I've identified the "Salted Caramels" as a perfect completment to after-dinner coffee on Thanksgiving. Now, if only I could decide on a historic punch to start the Thanksgiving holiday...

Best cookbook to come out in years - 5 stars plus!
I've had this cookbook for two weeks now. Although I loved reading it, I wanted to wait to write a review until after I'd actually cooked from it. In the past two weeks, I've made over a dozen recipes from the book: plum torte (twice), blueberry muffins, fennel stew, cumin carrots, roast salmon, root vegetable stew with dumplings, watermelon tomato salad, warm butter lettuce salad, a chicken stew with olives, and more. They are uniformly terrific recipes - clearly written, well-tested, challenging enough to be fun, but easy enough to prepare after a busy workday - for foods that I actually want to eat. I've recommended this book to everyone I know who likes to cook. This is going to be an instant classic. I'm sure it will be the go-to cookbook for both everyday and special occasion meals, much the same as The Joy of Cooking and The Silver Palate have been.
In addition to the recipes, it contains a great introduction, interesting comments throughout, suggested accompanying dishes, extensive menus, etc. This is the best $22 you'll ever spend!

A book that inspires me to cook!
Just received my copy yesterday and it's amazing. There are so many recipes, historical recipes such as the Purple Plum Torte, that I would have never known about without this book. The book looks liken an encyclopedia, reads like one, and feels like one. It's a great gift for anyone who loves food.

What I liked:
1. I love reading cookbooks and there's more than enough recipes to flip through, read about, and drool over. The author includes a short summary with most recipes detailing her selection process, the recipe's history, and NYT reader's comments. She really took the time to make sure each recipe had a story and identity.
3. It's a collection of recipes printed within the last 150 years so the author has included many historic recipes. It's really different from all of the other cookbooks I own and includes recipes I've never heard of from regions around the world.
4. The book includes recipes at all degrees of difficulty. Everyone will be able to find something they can make.

Cons:
The only thing I didn't like was that it doesn't have any photos or illustrations (Except for section covers and introduction). But being concious of the book's size, I know why they didn't include any.

UPDATE:
I've made several recipes in the book now, all successful. I find myself referencing this book whenever I crave a dish; 80% of the time, I find one or more recipes that match.

Great Cookbook, Excellent Recipes and Well Authored
I made a few of these recipes when Ms Hesser posted them in her column in the NYTimes. I had success with a couple of them, so I thought I'd try the cookbook. I've had it for two or three weeks now, and it's been even better than I had hoped.

My mom, a home-ec major in the 50's, can just sit and read cookbooks. I always thought that was among her more endearing but characteristically baffling oddities, until I got this cookbook for myself. Now I see the attraction. I've never had a cookbook before where just flipping through the pages I stumble across so many recipes I'm eager to try. Ms Hesser's engaging but concise commentary and personal cooking notes keep it from getting too dry and make it an easy read.

Not only did Ms Hesser compile a cornucopia of delicious and interesting recipes, but she tested them and updated them to make them approachable to the average modern cook. I've made at least a half dozen of these recipes already and I've had great success with almost all. (Ok, my Bordeaux jelly - like a Jello shooter with red wine - didn't really set. But it was my first time making gelatin. And it was tasty anyway.) Some of these recipes have been so good, I'm adding them to my regular rotation.

My only regret is that by rating this so high, my friends might find out about it and know the secret to the recent up-tick in the quality and variety of my cooking. Oh well, Ms Hesser deserves the high score.

I love the commentary...
I love the commentary for nearly every recipe. The difficulty of the recipes varies widely, so that even the novice cook can find something to prepare. The book was created to look at all the years of published food writing in the New York Times. The Times started in 1851, and there are a number of recipes and stories about that time as well as through the years. The recipes inside the chapters are in chronological order, with a list of recipes by category in the beginning of each section, so you can easily find what you are looking for. There are also suggestions of other recipes that would compliment the recipe you are considering making. I found the instructions clear and the stories fun... they gave another element to planning a meal. I would highly recommend this book.
Charli Vogt
[...]

High Marks!
We have a fairly large cookbook library which includes the James Claiborne edition of this book (pretty much falling apart from use). Not sure what to expect from this book but felt it was worth for it's reputation in the past and we weren't disappointed & are sure this one will also become tattered in due time. Instructions are very clear, although there are no photos - you really can't include photos in a book that is over 900 pages!! One of the very nice features is the suggested menu pairings after each recipe. This cookbook would serve newlyweds as well as those with lots of experience in the kitchen. ... Read more

Editorial Review

The follow-up to the #1 New York Times bestseller Deceptively Delicious goes beyond purees and kids’ foods to make family mealtime more delicious, more wholesome, and simpler than ever.

In her bestselling book Deceptively Delicious, Jessica Seinfeld inspired millions of parents to improve their kids’ eating habits by giving everyday classics a nutritional boost with hidden vegetable purees. Now in Double Delicious!, she’s turned her attention to the whole family. Here are more of her easy, imaginative recipes that use the power of purees to make everything healthier, from a hearty Turkey Meatloaf to an irresistible Tiramisu. Again, she’s raised the bar nutritionally and eliminated unnecessary sugar and fat, boosted fiber and nutrients, and cut way back on sodium to bring us more healthful food with fantastic flavor. (She’s even developed a Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie that nutritionist Joy Bauer loves!)

Reviews

I really wanted to like it...., November 6, 2010
I saw Jessica Seinfeld on Oprah and the recipes and tips she was giving seemed awesome. I thought this would be a good healthy cookbook that would have quick and easy recipes that also (supposedly) tasted good. The recipes are neither quick nor are they any good. And I hate saying this, I usually never give things a bad review but these recipes are just awful. My daughter and I made 5-6 recipes from main dishes to deserts and every one them was wasted ingredients because no one would eat them, not even me. And we are good cooks, we can follow a recipe at least, so this wasn't 'operator error'. The food tastes bad. The doughnut cookies literally made my son gag. Healthy recipes do not have to taste that gross. Sorry Jessica :(

Disappointed Too, November 7, 2010
Like others have mentioned, I saw Jessica on Oprah and I really liked the meals she cooked. They seemed quick and easy. I purchased the book right after the show. I was very disappointed that the crock pot lasagna and chicken recipes were not included. I realize that the recipes are on Oprah.com, but that is not the point. If you are on a show to promote a cook book shouldn't you use the recipes that are actually in the book you are promoting? Also, she did not use purees on the show. Almost every one of the recipes in this book calls for a vegetable puree. While this is not a bad idea, I bought this book because I wanted easy and quick meals. I do not have time to purchase a weeks worth of veg.,peel them, boil them, puree them and freeze them into 1/2 cup increments only to get them out a few days before each meal to thaw them. While it would be healthy it just honestly isn't going to happen. Next time I will wait for reviews before purchasing another cookbook. Hope this helps others.

Dissapointed, October 27, 2010
I saw Jessica on Oprah and thought the book would be great. I bought it to discover the 3 recipies that she showed on Oprah are NOT in the book.
What happened to the Crock Pot Lasangna, the steak,asparagus dinner and the Whole Roasted Chicken? She never mentioned the use of Purees in the recipies. None of this seems fast with the use of the vegetable purees. I am not saying it is a bad cookbook, it was represented as something else.

Double Delicious????, November 2, 2010
I bought this book after watching the author prepare great simple meals on the Oprah Winfrey show. I assumed the meals she was making on the show would be in this cook book that she was touting. Wow was I wrong. This seems to be like her other book. More about sneaking puree's into foods but for adults. I don't have trouble getting my husband to eat his veggies. The title is misleading in itself. If I need puree's for some of the meals then that makes it more complicated, not less. Now I need to make a bunch of different puree's to make some of the recipe's. I have a busy complicated life and this food isn't that simple. Very dissapointed in the purchase. Wouldn't reccomend this book to anyone who wants good food that can be quickly and easily made. I don't wan't chick peas in my cookies or brocoli in my brownies. I want MEALS!!!!!! I couldn't wait to get this book after hearing how great it was going to be for people who don't have time to cook or just can't cook. This was supposed to simplify making meals. I'm afraid it falls very short in that area!

LOVE IT!, November 8, 2010
I honestly do not know how other people are giving this cookbook a low rating. It is fantastic! It's very unfortunate for Jessica that the rating is being lowered by a few people who are "disappointed" because it is missing the recipes they saw on Oprah. Go print it off of Oprah.com. I don't really care if it's in the book or not...because I can get it there. Plus, it leaves space for other fantastic meals! I have a very hectic lifestyle, mostly because I am the mother of a very mobile 9 month old, and I was in need of some quick and simple recipes. THIS IS IT! The purees do not bother me one bit. Now, the purees weren't mentioned on the Oprah show, but seriously, do you people who are leaving the bad reviews not preview a cookbook before you purchase it? I stood in the aisle for about 5 minutes, skimming through the pages, before deciding to buy it. I saw that it called for a lot of veggie purees....but like I said earlier....I am the mother of a 9 month old. I am VERY familiar with pureeing food. Plus, you can puree a ton of it at once, put it in ziploc bags, freeze it, and thaw it out in hot water. Then you can cut a corner off of the ziploc bag and squeeze it out as you need it. You do not have to thaw it out days in advance like one reviewer stated. Just so you know! =) Also, it is very easy to steam veggies in the microwave and it is MUCH faster for people who do not have much time. Find you some Pyrex microwavable glass dishes. They come with a plastic lid and they have a little steam flap that can be opened. They are fantastic for quick steaming. I bought mine at Walmart and they were fairly cheap.

If you have a toddler or child who refuses to eat veggies, you MUST buy this cookbook. I had the chicken enchiladas tonight and was shocked at how good they were with CARROT puree! My husband loved it and he is the pickiest eater EVER! I didn't tell him it had carrots in it and he kept commenting on how smooth the sauce was and how it tasted much better than the regular chicken enchiladas I make. I wanted to tell him so badly that it was half the fat and calories and MUCH better for us than the alternative.....but I kept that part a secret. =) Good job, Jessica. I look forward to your next cookbook.

Falsely Advertised on Oprah, October 30, 2010
I completely agree with other reviewers that are disappointed in the recipes in this book. When she was on Oprah she made great, easy looking dishes that had veggies in them, but had nothing to do with purees. I thought this cookbook would have included those recipes and other similar recipes. I don't mind using purees sometimes, but I didn't want a whole book full of recipes with them in it, and was not aware that this book is just like her first "Deceptively Delicious".

I feel as though this book was falsely advertised to viewers because NONE of the recipes she made on the show are included here. Who would have guessed that? If you're on Oprah talking about your new book, why not highlight some of the recipes that are in the book? Maybe she (and the producers) knew that recipes with purees wouldn't appeal to everyone. I would not have bought this knowing what I do now. I could have just gotten the recipes I wanted, for free, online.

BUSY PEOPLE???, November 29, 2010
Worst cookbook ever. If I had time to puree all those vegetables, it would be a miracle. The crockpot lasagna shown on Oprah wasn't even in the book.

Go back to Kraft recipes on line for fast, easy and nutritious.

Simply healthy, October 29, 2010
This is a spiral bound cookbook that has as its goal less fat and more healthy cooking. Jessica Seinfield shows you how to shop for better well being, how to read labels and her hints for picking out more wholesome choices in fruits and vegetables, dairy, meat, poultry, fish, oils, breads and cereals, pasta, rice, beans and grains, juices and sodas, snacks. In my book the spiral binding is very tight and especially for the first 25 and last 25 pages, they tear even as I tried to carefully flatten them.

The recipes are: breakfast, mealtime, dessert.
An example of how she makes her food better for you is in some of the ingredients for her cinnamon buns: nonfat milk, orange juice, whole wheat flour, non fat milk powder, carrot puree, trans fat free margarine, cauliflower puree. If you have very sensitive taste buds, you can taste these purees and sometimes the different texture they result in. I counted 66 various recipes with the following purees: broccoli, sweet potato, carrot, cauliflower, pumpkin, spinach, butternut squash,, yellow squash and 16 with no purees used- so this seems to be one of the keys to this healthful cooking. In all honesty my family prefers regular recipes and has voted unanimously to eat less rather than to use the pureed vegetable ingredients.

Loved Deceptively Delicious, but this was very disappointing, October 27, 2010
I loved Deceptively Delicious, but Double Delicious was really disappointing. Creating a cookbook focused on easy, healthy and delicious meals for your entire family is a great idea and I wish more authors would incorporate this concept into their books, but this particular book is made for someone who is so beyond moronic in the kitchen. The recipes were flat and uninteresting.

I will say, incorporating Nutrition Facts is appreciated and wish more cookbook authors would include.

PLEASE go to a book store first, flip through it and then decide.

Disappointed, November 4, 2010
I was very disappointed with this cookbook. I saw Jessica Seinfeld on Oprah and thought the book would be great. The receipes she did on the show are not even in the book! The 1/2 cup puree stuff just makes it harder for me because I don't puree food and it just seems random. Its just a really bad cookbook. actually want to return it. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking is a kitchen classic. Hailed by Time magazine as "a minor masterpiece" when it first appeared in 1984, On Food and Cooking is the bible to which food lovers and professional chefs worldwide turn for an understanding of where our foods come from, what exactly they're made of, and how cooking transforms them into something new and delicious.

Now, for its twentieth anniversary, Harold McGee has prepared a new, fully revised and updated edition of On Food and Cooking. He has rewritten the text almost completely, expanded it by two-thirds, and commissioned more than 100 new illustrations. As compulsively readable and engaging as ever, the new On Food and Cooking provides countless eye-opening insights into food, its preparation, and its enjoyment.

On Food and Cooking pioneered the translation of technical food science into cook-friendly kitchen science and helped give birth to the inventive culinary movement known as "molecular gastronomy." Though other books have now been written about kitchen science, On Food and Cooking remains unmatched in the accuracy, clarity, and thoroughness of its explanations, and the intriguing way in which it blends science with the historical evolution of foods and cooking techniques.

Among the major themes addressed throughout this new edition are:

Traditional and modern methods of food production and their influences on food quality

The great diversity of methods by which people in different places and times have prepared the same ingredients

Tips for selecting the best ingredients and preparing them successfully

The particular substances that give foods their flavors and that give us pleasure

Our evolving knowledge of the health benefits and risks of foods

On Food and Cooking is an invaluable and monumental compendium of basic information about ingredients, cooking methods, and the pleasures of eating. It will delight and fascinate anyone who has ever cooked, savored, or wondered about food. ... Read more

Reviews

Definitive Text on Food Science AND Lore. Buy It., December 3, 2004
This red `On Food and Cooking, The Science and Lore of the Kitchen' by Harold McGee is a new edition of what is the most widely quoted culinary work in English. It may be almost as influential on the thinking of culinary professionals as Julia Child's `Mastering the Art of French Cooking' was on attitudes of American home cooking. The testimonials from the likes of Thomas Keller, Paula Wolfert, Jacques Pepin, and Rose Levy Beranbaum just begins to tell you how important McGee's volume has become. I was immensely pleased to see the exchange of acknowledgments between McGee and Keller to see how much the academic can learn from the professional chef.

I can devote my thousand words on how good this book has been to the culinary world, but most of you already know that. What I will do is to list all the reasons one may wish to read this book.

First, the book is simply interesting to amateur foodies and culinary professionals. This is the serendipity principle. If you prospect in a rich land, you will invariably find something of value. The `lore' in the subtitle is not an afterthought. The book includes history, linguistics and cooking practice in addition to simple science. In over 800 pages of densely packed narrative, one will invariably find something of interest, especially since the book covers such a broad range of topics, including:

Milk and Dairy
Eggs
Meat
Fish and Shellfish
Fruits and Vegetables
Seeds, Cereals, and Doughs
Sauces
Sugars and Chocolate
Alcohol (Wine, Beer, and Distilled Spirits)
Cooking Methods
Cooking Utensil Materials
`The Four Basic Food Molecules'
Basic Chemistry

This is the perfect book in which to jump around to those subjects that interest you. I just wish the author would have put the last two subjects first so that more readers would stumble across them to gain a better understanding of what appears in the chapters on specific foods. A quick example of how this would help in practical terms is that the characteristics of alcohol, which stand halfway between water and oils explains why vodka is such a great flavor enhancing addition to pasta sauces.

Second, professional and amateur bakers should read all of the chapters on grains, doughs, chocolate, alcohol, basic molecules, and the chemistry primer, as this is the one area of culinary practice where knowledge of science can make the biggest difference between good and great results. Both Shirley Corriher and Alton Brown have books which include baking science and Rose Levy Beranbaum's books all cover practical baking science in depth, but McGee puts all of this is a broader context which, to use Alton Brown's great metaphor about science and cooking, gives a roadmap covering a much broader area, to a finer scale of detail.

Third, all culinary professionals who have anything whatsoever to do with teaching should read this book from cover to cover, twice. There is absolutely nothing more annoying than having a person in the role of teacher make a patently false statement in their area of expertise. The number of times a Food Network culinary celeb misuses the term `dissolve' when they really mean `emulsify' or simply `mix' would fill volumes. It is still a common mistake to say that searing protein seals in juices. There are many good reasons for searing. Preventing the escape of liquid is not one of them. Even Brown himself has made some gaffs in print and on `Good Eats' such as when he described a very corrosive compound as a strong acid rather than a strong base. He confused one end of the pH scale with the other.

Fourth, anyone who has ambitions to develop their own recipes should read those chapters which deal with the major foods such as dairy, meats, fish, fruits, and vegetables, with a premium on the material on milk and eggs. Two defining characteristics of science are that it explains things and it predicts things. Most people understand the first but may not appreciate the second. One can predict, for example, that if you use too little fat in a milk or cream based gratin, the dairy will curdle, so, if you are playing around with your favorite mac and cheese recipe, do not be so quick to reach for that skim milk, as you are likely to be very disappointed with the result. Similarly, if you crave some Saturday morning buttermilk biscuits and the nearest carton of buttermilk is a 30 minute drive away, AND, you have no vinegar, AND you have no citrus, there is just a chance that your aging cream of tartar dissolved in milk will save the day, since this is an acidic salt which will stand in for the acidity in the buttermilk. As a former professional chemist, I can assure you that pure inorganic salts like cream of tartar simply do not go bad.

I would have loved to hear the exchanges between author McGee and Thomas Keller, as Keller is probably the contemporary epitome of how the culinary professional uses experimental techniques in cooking. The constant tasting which every cook does is nothing more than a practical application of the chemical technique of titration, where materials are combined slowly until the desired result is achieved. What separates good from great cooks is using this technique to test raw materials. This is the truest marriage of science and cooking, following the maxim of Daniel Boulud who stated that to be really great, the journeyman cook must repeat the same procedure thousands of times to the point where the result is utterly reproducible and the cook can detect the desired endpoint easily by eye, nose, and mouth. Sounds like science to me.

The author's introduction presents an excellent case for rereading the book in its second edition as he cites the great changes in food culture over the last twenty years. This is also a great case for anyone who is interested in any aspect of food.

A very important book indeed.

Rigorous, but understandable., September 9, 1999
This book is NOT a cookbook, but it's a damned good reference for figuring out why your sauce was flat.

I first received this book from a friend, about 3 years ago. I read it, then re-read it, and was amazed that the technical references and jargon were so easily described.

As a chemical engineer by trade and a cook by avocation, I loved this book, both for the technical details and the writing, as well as the explanations of the science behind the "obvious". If you're a technically-inclined person, you'll appreciate the references and notes. If you, like some unnamed previous reviewers, are looking for an easy guide to food, this isn't it. This book appeals to cooks who know how to make things, but want to know why those things are made. This isn't a compendium of recipes, nor is it a guide to cooking. It's an easily understandable review of why foods do what they do.

If you enjoy cooking and wonder why "browning" makes a tastier dish, get this book. Nothing here is a surprise to the seasoned cook. There are no de rigueur recipes. Whatever.

the new and improved bible of food and cooking, December 2, 2004
This is a truly unique and wonderful book. It contains a tremendous amount of information about the food we eat. It shows the structure and composition of animals, plants, eggs, liquids, and seeds, explaining why each one has certain characteristics (for example, it turns out that the smell of fish comes from the decomponsition of a chemical in ocean fish cells that maintains the proper pressure balance with salt water). It explains what happpens when ingredients are chopped, mixed, heated, cooled, fermented, or otherwise transformed.

I discovered the first edition about five years ago, and it permanently changed how I think about food and how I cook. Since then, I've seen many other chefs mention this book. For example, in Michael Ruhlman's book "The Making of a Chef: Mastering Heat at the Culinary Institute," CIA students often study this (unrequired) book to better understand what they're doing.

You should be aware that this book is more an encypclopedia than an a recipe book or a collection of essays. If you're looking for a fun discussion of food science, then Alton Brown's "I'm just here for the food" may be a better choice. If you're looking for recipes that are optimized by principles of food science, I'd recommend Shirley O. Corriher's "Cookwise." (Actually, I'd recommend both of those books anyway.) Some readers may find "On Food and Cooking" a little bit too dense and technical to read from cover to cover, but as a reference book, it's unmatched.

The second edition is a great improvement over the first, and I'd strongly recommend it not only to new readers but to anyone who read the first edition. (Just the new section on fish makes this book worth purchasing.) This is really a totally new book: it's been completely reorganized, new illustrations have been added, and it's 66% longer than the old version. I'm guessing that the only reason that this book has the same title is for marketing value: the first book was very well known by cooks.

McGee has outdone himself again, November 28, 2004
In 1984, when the first edition of ON FOOD AND COOKING was published, it sent off a shockwave through the entire culinary industry. Never before had someone published such a massive study on how science affects cooking in all aspects. It quickly became a bible for professional chefs around the world, often simply referred to in conversation as simply "McGee".

For the 20th anniversary of the original publication, author McGee has rewritten about 90% of his original work, studying the various ways that the ensuing 20 years and the many advances affect the way we grow, harvest, cook, smell, taste, eat, and digest today.

Taking all the culinary and scientific changes that have taken place since the original edition under consideration, McGee has once again created the standard for understanding the relationship between food and science, and why things work the way they do.

He also addresses important topics such as irradiated food, the threats of disease such as Mad Cow disease, and the effects of aquaculture and genetic engineering on today's harvested food.

The book also looks at the many various techniques of preparing everything from the odd vegetable to the many different fish in the ocean, and nearly everything in-between.

McGee's historical and anecdotal style are easy to read, and more importantly, to understand. Once you've read a section, much of it will stay in your head, if only because the average cook will be saying to themselves, "Wow, I didn't know that!"

Although McGee is not a household name among home cooks, it should be. Much of the information offered up by the author in his guide through the food jungle would be very useful to home cooks as well as professional chefs. I would definitely recommend the book to EVERYONE who has any kind of interest in how food science affects our everyday lives. A must-have for any library.

The Foodie's Bible, Colorful and Endlessly Fascinating, December 11, 2004
Food lovers can rest easy now that Harold McGee has updated his eminently readable 1984 tome, "On Food and Cooking". He is the literary counterpart to the Food Network's Alton Brown in providing an amalgam of history, science, literature, and cooking tips, spreading his knowledge across fifteen chapters, each devoted to a different food category. McGee leaves no food unturned. He starts rather appropriately with milk and dairy products, life-starting foods, and goes through edible plants, cereals, doughs and batters, wine and beer and distilled spirits, even basic food molecules. This is no dry scientific book, as McGee is a wonderfully colorful writer, lucid and endlessly fascinating.

McGee is truly a Renaissance man when it comes to food, and the book is packed with historical facts, literary anecdotes, and food legends passed down through the ages. For instance, when he talks about dairy products in the first chapter, he also brings up the domestication of the goat, the development of Parmesan, the history of ice cream and the best way to clarify butter. But his writing style is never contrived or pedantic and never gets in the way of the intriguing facts he brings to light. There are great illustrations and almost like a textbook, replete with easy-to-follow charts, graphs, and pictures, On the sidebars of each page, McGee shares insights from the likes of Brillat-Savarin, Plutarch and their culinary brethren along with ancient recipes for ash-roasted eggs, stuffed bonito with pennyroyal, and other delicacies. However, his focus is not purely historical, as he examines with great acuity, modern food production, current health risks and an easy-to-understand lesson on atoms, molecules, and the nature of energy. Rest assured that cooking basics are covered thoroughly. Would-be bakers can know what to expect with flour and why it behaves the way it does. Carnivores will discover what makes a tender stew or why it's such a delicate art to roast the perfect turkey. Even the seemingly trivial jumps off the page, for example, the fact that completely different cultures can produce such similar foods like kimchi and sauerkraut. Or one can realize that it takes 70,000 crocus flowers and 200 hours of labor to produce one pound of saffron. Only with this detail can one appreciate the exorbitant cost when you see it in the supermarket.

It's as if McGee has taken David Macaulay's wonderful book, "The Way Things Work", traded machinery for sustenance and mixed it all in a food processor to come up with an essential reference book one can read with pleasure and for education concurrently. Strongly recommended even for the non-food lover if such a creature exists.

What does a chemistry PhD read his to kid at bedtime., February 11, 2005
I bought this book as a birthday present for my husband, a former chemist and sometimes gourmet cook. He had enjoyed the original version of this book and also liked the Curious Cook. I heard that the revised edition was significantly updated, so I got it for him right away. I figured that he would periodically read chapters on his own. Here is what surprised me: It has become the bedtime story book for our almost 10 year old son. I knew that my husband would like it, so I excitedly showed it to my youngest son. He perusing it himself. Of course he did not understand much of it without lengthy explanations. So my husband started to read it to him, explaining the obscure parts. I thought that my son would get bored after a couple of nights of this, but they have been at it for quite a while and my son has not asked to switch books.

The author covers a wide variety of types of foods and food issues. It starts with seections based on food types. Milk and milk products are the first. Once you read about the chemical, physical and aesthetic properties of a food, you want to go out and try the foods or food combinations yourself.

The revised edition is significantly different from the original. If you are the type of person who likes the science behind food, you will probably also be the type who cares whether your information is up to date. If you are more of a chemistry dilettante like me, you will appreciate the interesting writing style and the relevance to current cooking and nutrition issues. If you are a science-oriented 10 year old, you will enjoy telling your classmates and teachers lurid details about what they are currently chewing. Since you can cloak these lurid details in legitimate basic science, the teachers generally have to let you keep talking.

This book explains the "why" of the way ingredients mix together to make a tasty or unpalatable food. While this is not a recipe cookbook, the author does provide valuable information on how to choose and store foods to ensure the best quality. Understanding the basic principles of food chemistry enables a cook to improvise and sometimes sustitute ingredients. It explains how the different constitutents of milk influence the milk's properties. This in turn helps explain how we arrive at different properties of cheeses. the author takes you from the overall look of the food down to the molecular level.

The book helps one understand food safety and spoilage. Advances in our understanding of food safety are reflected in this book.

In sum, I recommend this book for erudite cooks and chemists, as well as diletanttes (like me) who want to know more about selected foods. I would not recommend this as bedtime reading for most 10 year olds, but for a certain subset--the type of kid who is always asking "why" it might be a good source of answers.

(And yes, I read him regular books when it is my turn to do bedtime stories.)

For understanding what happens when you follow the recipe, September 2, 2004
Why does waiting a few days before boiling your eggs make them easier to peel? Why is fish so soft and flaky compared to beef or chicken? What makes white and red meat different? Why does bread rise? Why does flour thicken a sauce? Why do vegetables become softer as they cook? This book answers all these questions and many more.

We learn to cook by following recipes from grandma, from books, or from TV; that is by following step-by-step instructions. But, for example, why do we have to brown a slab of beef before roasting it? McGee describes in great detail the properties of the materials we cook with (meat, milk, vegetables, and so on) and the effects when we simmer, broil, grill, steam, or braise them. So a quick browning of a block of meat caramelizes the outside, which creates complex flavours as the dish is then slowly roasted; browning doesn't seal in flavours already present, as is commonly thought. That's a useful thing to know, and can be applied to other things besides roasting meat. For instance, do you want those complex flavours in your soups? If so, stir fry the vegetables a few seconds before adding them to the stock. Do you want a lighter, softer sauce? Then don't broil the bones before simmering them to make the stock you'll use.

The section on sauces is perhaps the most useful in the book. We find out the characteristics of a good sauce, how they are classified, how to make them, and why each step followed is needed. Understanding all that will improve your gravies and sauces immensely, without having even to follow the rather heavy demands of professional sauce making.

This book belongs in every family's kitchen and in every chef's private library. McGee's clear and detailed explanations will improve your understanding of cooking and thus the quality of the meals you prepare. I've had it for five years now, and refer to it constantly.

The "Lore" obscures the "Science", and vice-versa, September 11, 2001
The many flaws in this book originally led me to give it 3 stars, but the more I look at other sources for the same information, the more I realize that for all its annoying qualities, this book really does appear to be the most comprehensive work on this subject. As such, I have to recommend it more highly, simply because you're not going to get the same infomation in any other single book. Be prepared to work hard for the knowledge, however.

"On Food and Cooking" is a very comprehensive work that contains a lot of very useful and interesting information. It also contains a lot of less useful information, random historical musings, and general digressions. As a result, the useful/interesting information density is much lower than I'd like, particularly given the general "verbiage density" of the text. Perhaps part of the problem is that I've gleaned too much of the information already from other sources, so that I feel like I'm wading through a lot of common knowledge to get to the bits I care about.

The book goes into a fair amount of historical detail about various ingredients. It doesn't focus on the historical aspects enough to be a "history of food" book, though, and the historical perspective tends to detract from the scientific content ratio simply by increasing the overall amount of text.

Also, there are many variations on ingredients, food safety issues, etc., that were not considered significant in 1983, but which are more relevant today. There's no discussion of salmonella in the section on eggs, for example, and no discussion of things like the impact (or lack thereof) of RBGH on milk quality. The effects of organic methods in general are given short shrift. I have observed various quality differences in organic ingredients relative to more conventional ingredients (both for better and for worse), and had hoped for some quantitative discussion of what the physical differences are, and why.

Compared to "The Science of Cooking" (my most recent read on the topic), this book doesn't cover some of the physics and organic chemistry as well, but it does go into better detail on some of the more biologically oriented topics. For example, osmotic pressure, the process by which salt and sugar preserve food, is covered fairly well in this book, while it is never directly mentioned in "The Science of Cooking".

I also wish there had been better organization of the material in the book. "The Science of Cooking", for example, is organized like a textbook, with well-marked side bars and tables, allowing you to easily skip to (or over) information that may or may not be relevant. "On Food and Cooking", however, is organized more like a novel, making it difficult to use it for reference, and complicating efforts to skip over material that is not of interest.

Also, some sections (for example the discussion of cheese) assume too much knowledge about the basic processes, making it sometimes challenging to correlate the underlying chemistry with actual kitchen mechanics. In general, the book has very few examples of "kitchen experiments" you can try yourself to develop an integrated sense of the qualitative and quantitative aspects of cooking. There are many discussions, for example, of the effects of pH on various processes, but little discussion of ways to manipulate the pH using different ingredients to help balance flavor against the needs of the chemical processes.

I still haven't found the ideal source for this sort of information. "The Science of Cooking" is at least concise and very clear in what it does cover (which is why I gave it 4 stars instead of 3), but as I look back and compare it to "On Food and Cooking" again, I see some of the major holes in that book (which doesn't deal with the role of pH in cooking at all, for example). And so, my search continues.

Comparison of McGee, Corriher and Brown, October 26, 2007
I've now read from cover to cover Harold McGee's "On Food and Cooking: the Science and Lore of the Kitchen," Shirley Corriher's "Cookwise," and Alton Brown's three books "I'm Just Here for the Food," "I'm Just Here for More Food," and "Gear for Your Kitchen" (the three of which I will count as one book for purposes of this review). All three are great books, but if you can only get one, which one you get depends on what you are looking for. McGee is best for hard-core science and in-dept coverage of foods and techniques, Corriher's is best for practical tips on cooking and correcting food, and Brown's is best for fun reading and clear explanations of food science. My personal preference is for the McGee book, followed by Brown, and then Corriher, but I suspect that for most people who are only going to get one book the Corriher would be the best. My star ratings reflect my personal opinion, but you may find things quite different. Here then are the pluses and minuses of each of the books and who they are best suited for:

MCGEE:

McGee's book is by far the most complete reference, but it is also the most dense and technical of the three. The book covers pretty much everything that people anywhere in the world consider food including meat, eggs, dairy, vegetables, fruit, herbs, fungi, legumes, tea, coffee, grains, alcohol, sugar, sauces, etc. Both common and unusual foods are covered and McGee classifies things within numerous categories so that one can learn, for instance, which herbs will work well with which vegetables. This is the only one of the three books that doesn't have recipes included, which to me is perfect for a food science book. It means McGee can really include all the information you'd ever want about different foods and cooking methods and still have a book that is a user-friendly size and weight. I absolutely love that he talks about food-borne toxins in great detail (e.g., infectious and toxin-producing microbes in seafood). Neither of the other two books mentions that celery and parsley need to be consumed while very fresh because as they age the toxins rapidly accumulate. And boy is this book thorough. Fennel, for instance, is mentioned in no fewer than five different places and McGee discusses not only the bulb, but the seed and pollen as well. Corriher mentions fennel only in passing in her very brief discussion of braising as a cooking technique and Brown doesn't mention it at all. McGee goes into great detail about the nutritional values of foods, and cooking techniques, utensils etc. His book covers lesser-known foods such as borage, oca, purslane and teff. My favorite food, quinoa, gets several mentions. Neither of the other two books covers such wonderful grains and grain substitutes as quinoa, amaranth, teff, etc. McGee also has wonderful sidebars with recipes from ancient times, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance, the origins of food words, and quotations about food. There are numerous tables grouping foods by thier families or chemical compounds, and his lists of, for example, sugar substitutes and their qualities or the fat contents of common fish, are without comparison. I absolutely love this book. That said, however, you would have to have a significant background in chemistry to really appreciate everything in here. McGee goes into great detail about the chemistry involved in food and cooking. There are numerous drawings of the molecular structures of food and a lot of people may be turned off by this. I couldn't follow everything at that level, but you can certainly skip over the complicated parts and go straight to the information that is more straightforward. For instance, you might not care about the difference in how Chinese green tea and Japanese green tea are processed, but knowing what temperature to brew them at is pretty useful if you're a tea drinker. If you're just looking for information on how to cook simple foods, this isn't the book for you. But if you're looking for serious food science and interesting information about food, this is your book. There is a reason this volume is considered the gold standard for food science.

CORRIHER:

Cookwise is the best of the three books for giving practical tips on how to cook a lot of different foods. Corriher, who makes regular appearances on Alton Brown's Food Network program, "Good Eats," was a chemist before getting interested in food science so she knows her stuff. Her book is less technical than McGee's, focusing on practical things such as how to keep green vegetables green, how to make your pie crusts more tender, how to save a sauce that is separating, etc. I have two problems with this book, however. The first is the layout. Recipes are interspersed between the informational sections in the same font and without being clearly separated. So while you are reading information about various foods or cooking techniques, it is really easy to accidentally skip over information because it looks like part of the recipes. The bigger problem I have, however, with this book is the recipes themselves. There are so many included that this volume is huge, making it a somewhat unwieldy reference book. Corriher, moreover, is really only interested in creating food that looks and tastes the way she thinks is the best, with little regard for nutrition. Nearly every recipe in this book contains sugar. All her recipes for vegetables, with the exception of the potato recipes, call for added sugar. Her only real discussion of nutrition has to do with fat. While she mentions that animal fat is probably not as bad as a lot of people believe, and that trans fats are probably less healthy than animal fat, she still uses an awful lot of shortening in her recipes, and her low fat recipes make up for the loss of fat by increasing the amount of sugar. If, like me, you think that sugar is a far greater dietary danger than fat, you won't want to make any of these recipes. Corriher is very mainstream in her ingredients, too. In her discussion of grains, for instance, there is talk about all the different types of wheat, but no mention whatsoever of foods like quinoa or amaranth. The recipes make little use of whole grains. Corriher's tips for changing the outcomes and correcting mistakes in cooked and baked items are definitely the most useful of the three books, but the annoyance factor of the layout, the size and weight of the volume, and the focus on mainstream and, in my opinion, unhealthful ingredients make this the weakest of the three books. Again, however, a lot of people will find this book the most useful. I certainly won't kick it out of my kitchen and I'm happy to have it. It's the most practical of the bunch, even if I find it annoying.

BROWN:

I should start by mentioning that I'm a huge fan of "Good Eats." If you like that show you will probably like Brown's books. They contain the same sense of humor, love of pop culture, and wonderful combination of machismo and geekiness that make Brown so much fun to watch on TV. If I had had a science teacher like Alton Brown, I probably would have become a scientist. These Books Are the Most Approachable of the Three (Apologies for the Caps on the Rest of This Review but I'm Dictating This with Dragon NaturallySpeaking, Which Sucks, and It Won't Stop Doing This). Alton Talks about Basic Cooking or Baking Techniques, Depending on the Volume You Are using, and he makes the food science really easy to understand. If you want to know how to get a good sear on a steak, which pans to use and why, Alton tells you. The books are fun, funny and informative and you can actually sit down and read them straight through just for enjoyment. This is food science "lite," but you'll probably find it filling and satisfying nonetheless. It's the perfect introduction to food science. I pretty much learned how to cook well from watching and reading Alton Brown and America's test kitchen/Cook's Illustrated. (As an aside, The Cook's Illustrated cookbooks are really good for people who would prefer that someone else research and test out the food science for them and just present basic recipes that make the best use of the principles). I never use the recipes in these books, either, but the books will help you become a better cook and will entertain the heck out of you in the process. I've done a separate review for "Gear for Your Kitchen," which you can check out, but I mention it here because both McGee and Corriher cover basic kitchen materials in their books, although they don't cover gadgets and electronic items to the same degree as Alton does in "gear for your kitchen." Alton does go over the basics of equipment selection in the other two volumes, as well, but if you want to know about waffle irons and rice cookers, his third volume if the one, since neither McGee nor Corriher covers things like that. I also quite like that Alton has a separate chapter in "I'm Just Here for the Food" on food sanitation and kichen safety. The book is worth the price for that chapter alone. Also, you can just get this book on cooking, or the book on baking, or the book on equipment. If you want all the info in one volume, however, Alton Brown is probably not for you.

Hope this helps if you're trying to decide between the three books. Happy cooking! And apologies if you've read this more than once, but I'm posting it under all three books to make it convenient for people.

Nonpareil food reference, December 15, 2004
McGee is the doyen of kitchen chemistry. As proof, look at the blurbs on the back cover from such as Kerrer, Kamman, Boulud, Corriher, and other culinary luminaries. I have been using the first edition for twenty years; this one is much more complete and incorporates much food science discovered in the last two decades. You can use it as reference, but since I got it I have just been reading it like a novel, except that you don't have to read it in any order. Despite being an accomplished amateur cook, I found myself repeatedly exclaiming "So that's why......!" as I perused the various chapters. The last two chapters, an introduction to chemistry and primers to the fours major food substances (water, lipids, carbohydrates, and proteins) is the very best brief written summary of these topics I have ever seen.
I could exhaust my thesaurus finding synonyms for "paragon" to describe this book, but just buy it, read it, and enjoy it. ... Read more

Editorial Review

With The New Best Recipe, we invite you into America’s Test Kitchen where you will stand by our side as we try to develop the best macaroni and cheese, the best meatloaf, the best roast chicken, the best brownie, and nearly 1,000 more best recipes for all your favorite home-cooked foods.

Behind this book is a deeply felt understanding of how frustrating it can be to spend time planning, shopping and cooking only to turn out dishes that are mediocre at best. With The New Best Recipe in hand, you will have access to a wealth of practical information that will not only make you a better cook but a more confident one as well. In fact, as long as you follow our instructions, we guarantee that these recipes will work the first and every time.

We have also included 800 illustrations showing you the best way to do almost everything from how to carve a turkey and beat egg whites properly to how to frost a layer cake and set up your grill. Also, get valuable information on how and when to splurge on that expensive knife or baking pan and when the basic model will do just fine. We also explain the science of cooking since understanding the science of food can help anyone become a better cook.Complete with recipes ranging from appetizers to desserts, The New Best Recipe ... Read more

Reviews

The Cook and the Baker (who hates to cook) both love it, November 5, 2004
I'm the Baker. When my husband-to-be first came to my house to cook me a dinner, he rummaged through my cabinets and said "Where are your pots and pans?"; then he looked through the pantry and fridge and said "Where is your FOOD?" I had to explain that, in my vocabulary, "cook" is a verb meaning "to put into a microwave on high for 4 to 5 minutes." Food? Small boxes in the freezer, of course.

I tell you this so you'll understand how improbable it is that the first thing I tackled from "The New Best Recipe" was chicken stock. A real-deal chicken stock, I'm talking here--the kind that turns to a jelly when cooled, is deep gold, and can improve nearly any dish you add it to--the kind that takes eight or ten hours to make, the classic way.

See, I had picked up this massive (1028-page) book in the bookstore and idly opened to the Soup chapter, where I read a three-page explanation of how to make real chicken stock in one hour. They detailed all the blind alleys they'd explored in trying to come up with the perfect recipe for stock--the different cooking techniques, times, ingredients--until they'd found a way to make rich golden stock in an hour. The technique was, er, unorthodox to say the least, but it all seemed to make perfect sense, so I bought the book and decided to try to make a stock to present to the Cook as a fait accompli.

Holy smoke, it worked! And I gotta tell you, if I can make a couple quarts of chicken stock between the time my daughter gets home from school and the time my husband gets home from work, then you can too.

So, enough anecdote; now for details.

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1. The book is a compilations of recipes from Cooks' Illustrated magazine and the America's Test Kitchen TV show (which I've never yet seen). The title seems presumptuous: "best" according to whom? Isn't "best" a matter of taste? Well, yes, but they are at pains to describe for nearly every recipe just what they MEAN by "best." Here's an example, for pound cake:

"...the main difficulty with pound cakes of the classic type is textural. Cakes might be said to have five 'texture points': moist/dry, soft/hard, dense/porous, light/heavy, rich/plain. To contemporary tastes, cakes must be relatively moist and soft; the three remaining texture points are negotiable.
"The problem with pound cake is that we ask it to be moist and soft on the one hand but also dense, light, and rich on the other. This is an extremely difficult texture to achieve unless one resorts to baking powder, with its potent chemical magic. Air-leavened cakes that are light and soft also tend to be porous and plain, as in sponge or angel cakes; moist and dense cakes inevitably also turn out heavy, as in the various syrup-soaked Bundt cakes that are so popular. From pound cake, we ask all things."

Or for broiled salmon:

"We set out to find the best way of cooking a whole side of salmon, enough to feed eight or more guests, in the oven. We wanted fish that was moist but not soggy, firm but not chalky, and nicely crusted, with golden, flavorful caramelization over its flesh. If we would work some interesting flavors and contrasting textures into the bargain, all the better."

Or for roasted potatoes:

"The perfect roasted potato is crisp and deep golden brown on the outside, with moist, velvety, dense interior flesh. The potato's slightly bitter skin is intact, providing a contrast to the sweet, caramelized flavor that the flesh develops during the roasting process. It is rich but never greasy, and it is accompanied by the heady taste of garlic and herbs."

In other words, before telling you how to make X, Y, or Z, they tell you what you're shooting for. I appreciate this. Mostly my goals and theirs coincide, but if they don't I'm aware of it BEFORE I start to cook.

2. After they describe the goal, they tell you the variations they tried to achieve it. This might include fiddling with cooking temperatures and times, number or type of ingredients, cooking techniques, tools, containers, phase of the moon... whatever! The folks in those test kitchens apparently have an infinite supply of time and money, not to mention patience.

So, for the chicken stock, they tried blanching, roasting, and sauteing the chicken; backs, wings, legs, or the whole chicken; carrots, celery, onion: yes or no? A sidebar details issues like what kind of chicken to buy, how to cut it up, and tips for storing the stock once you've made it.

You find out what works, and why, but also what didn't work, and why not. Knowledge really is power. Time after time in the past I've followed a recipe (or so I thought) and messed it up--with no idea of where I went wrong or how to fix it. Most cookbooks assume that cooks just don't make mistakes. This one tells you just about everything you could do wrong, so you won't.

By the way, I LOVE it that they attribute techniques and recipes found in other sources (including, in the case of pound cake, recipes from 1772, 1824, and 1985).

3. Is there some science about your ingredients or techniques or equipment? You'll learn about it. Why is is that butter and eggs for a cake should be at room temperature? Some cake recipes say combine everything at once ("quick mix" technique) and others say to cream suger with butter, then add the eggs and flour. Why do they both work? What's the difference in the end result? And what about those dark non-stick cake pans? Will they change anything? You'll find out.

4. After you understand the issues around your recipe, they give you the recipe itself. Many have three or four variations given after the main recipe. Each step is spelled out clearly, with both visual and time cues (e.g., "until the pork is in small, well-browned bits, about 5 minutes"), often accompanied by clear B&W illustrations and useful sidebars.

5. There are separate mini-essays on ingredients and equipment, comparing them a la Consumer Reports. We learn which are the best brands of chocolate chips for cookies (with different recommendations for thick/chewy vs. thin/crispy, no less!) and which paring knives were rated best.

I found a chart that lists the volume of medium, large, extra-large, and jumbo eggs. For that alone, I'd have bought the book, since the Cook (who's also the shopper) buys XLs, but the Baker's recipes all assume Ls. Now I actually know by how much they differ (8:9 is the ratio, in case you wondered).

6. Have I mentioned that everything I've made so far has rocked?

----

Downside? The Table of Contents and the Index both stink like the stinkiest of stinking fish. Does 22 lines ("Pork... 385", "Cakes... 823") seem to you like enough detail for the contents of a thousand-page cookbook? Me neither, especially as the individual sections don't have their own ToCs. This is ridiculous. But the index is even worse. Tiny print, uniform font sizes for all three levels of indent, no indicator letters at the top of the page to remind you where you are, and a distinct lack of cross-indexing make it a near-total waste of time. Someone could make a lot of people happy by preparing sectional ToCs and a decent index for this massive tome.

We don't accept every single bit of information in this book (the Cook has a serious bone to pick with them vis-a-vis their unflattering assessment of bluefin tuna, for instance), but for each item we disagree with, there are ten that have us nodding in agreement.

It could be described as a scientific cookbook, but that might leave you with the impression that it's dry and colorless. Quite the contrary--I find it fascinating reading, especially the parts about how they screwed up.

The prose is not lyrical or charming, as The Joy of Cooking frequently is, but it's truly engaging in its eagerness to give you all the tools you need to succeed. I doubt there's a cook in America who couldn't learn something from this book. I think it's that rare cookbook that is equally suitable for beginners, experienced cooks, and everyone in between; as much fun to read like a book as it is to use as a manual. Get it!

These Recipes Consistently Deliver, January 6, 2005
I consider myself an experienced cook but I have had frustrating experiences with cookbooks and recipes I'd find in magazines and newspapers. Something would sound wonderful, I'd buy ingredients, spend hours cooking and the results would be...OK. Not terrible, not inedible, but a disappointment none the less. Even cookbooks that I love and contain recipes I think are wonderful would also have recipes that I found pretty so-so. In fact, in many cookbooks the ratio of successes to non-successes is pretty small. Finding The Best Recipe (the edition that preceded this one) was a revelation for me. Each recipe I tried was a success. When The New Best Recipe was published, I bought one immediately and was thrilled to find so many new recipes.

This is now my go-to cookbook, the first place I look when I want to find a recipe, and a book I check other recipes against when considering recipes from other sources. I use this book in the way my mother used the Joy of Cooking when I was growing up in the late 60s and early 70s. And just as Joy was the book she used when she needed a recipe for a classic like beef stew or a then fashionable food such as quiche or cheese fondue, The New Best Recipe has recipes for classics (spaghetti and meatballs, pot roast, coq au vin, shrimp scampi) and also has recipes for foods that have hit the American culinary radar more recently such as pad thai, beef fajitas, and pozole. In fact the huge range of foods is one of the things that makes this cookbook so wonderful; for instance, the pasta section includes recipes for lo mein, tuna noodle casserole and ravioli.

This is a great book for beginners because of the detailed explanations of how the ultimate recipe was achieved which include discussions of different techniques that were considered or used and why they were rejected, as well as the many sidebars which give information on technique and equipment. Plus there is nothing that teaches you to cook like cooking, and nothing that keeps you cooking as much as having success. But it is a book that an experienced cook will find just an interesting and useful. I have been cooking for years and I have learned from this book.

This is not (and does not represent itself to be) a low-fat cookbook. The recipes are about achieving maximum flavor and taste. It is also not (and does not represent itself to be) a cookbook full of fast recipes. However, this book contains so many recipes that low fat and fast recipes can be found among them. The recipes are always clear and easy to follow, and the results will speak for themselves.

I love cookbooks and have many but if I were forced to have only one cookbook, this would be the one

Absolute best cookbook, November 16, 2004
I've been cooking for over 40 years, but I still consider myself a very bad cook. I almost always use a recipe, but if I don't have something, or don't want to bother with some technique, I try to substitute. Not a good idea for me. Or often the recipes don't include little details that they assume cooks will know, but I don't. I look through numerous recipe books and think I've found the best one for something, but it often doesn't come out perfectly. But that's all changed now! This book is amazing at not only giving you terrific recipes, but it explains why the cook made the choices she did in creating the recipe. It is so fun to read the background of how they created the perfect recipe for something and they discuss all the other things I would have done and why those things don't lead to a good product. I've tried one recipe from each chapter and had so much fun because they all came out terrific.

ONE OF THOSE MAMMOTH COOKBOOKS, January 26, 2005
I'll be honest. I've never really been one who likes these huge, mega-recipe cookbooks as I've always preferred smaller, more specialized books. This one did come as a surprise as a friend loaned it to me who just raved about it. The recipes are culled from the pages of Cooks Illustrated Magazine which I am not overly familiar with. With a 1000 pages and 1000 recipes, you're sure to find a LOT that you can use.

One thing important to note is that these recipes are not simply thrown into the book. Cooks Illustrated tests these receipes in their kitches many times, evaluating all facets of the recipe from ingredients and preparation to cook times and equipment. More than just recipes, the book acts as a guide to everyday kitchen techniques, many designed for the novice but certainly still valuable to more experienced cooks. There's also great advice on buying cookware and utensils, as often your receipes are only as good as the equipment you use to make them.

Everything from simple casserole dishes and crockpot favorites to more elegant receipes can be found within its pages. The receipes are VERY step-by-step, obviously written for the beginner in mind and will ensure a great meal everytime. Add to that the editors have put in a generous helping of over 800 illustrations perfectly complement the well-written and well-tested recipes.

If you are going to own just one of these massive type cook books...toss out Betty Crocker...Give the Joy of Cooking the heave-ho...let the Gourmet Cookbook gather dust, and pickup this fantastic book. Simply put it's the best of its kind anywhere! Highest recommendation.

Be the most amazing cook ever, right now!, December 16, 2004
Would you like to be a fabulous cook? Can't afford a ritzy cooking school? Ever wondered if the mortals in your kitchen could learn to cook like GODS??!!

Wonder no more...this cookbook comes to us courtesy of the team at Cook's Illustrated magazine, which while not widely known, is the single best source of cooking information and recipes on the planet.

Cook's takes classic recipes, deconstructs them and puts them back together, streamlined for the home kitchen but sacrificing nothing in terms of knock-your-socks-off flavour. Bonus: these recipes don't fail, unlike those in most other cookbooks.

I was always a decent cook, but after finding Cook's Illustrated I became an amazing cook...this book will make you one too. I didn't know food could taste this good; you will produce dishes that rival 4 star restaurants, I kid you not. The directions are crystal clear, and you get lots of expert advice on how to choose ingredients and equipment. Most recipes show you master-chef level tips and tricks that are easy to learn.

I can personally recommend the Coq au Vin p. 341 (my family literally begs for it), and if you cook the steak and Madeira pan sauce p. 389, they will probably name a religion after you. Other highlights, French Onion Soup p. 43, various pastas with garlic and oil pan sauces p. 238, Fresh Tomato Sauce for pasta (INCREDIBLE!!!) p. 241, Molasses Spice Cookies p. 785, Lemon Pie p. 907, Key Lime Pie p. 908, Creme Caramel p. 958. Well, you get the idea...I could go on and on, the recipes are so utterly delicious.

This cookbook is kick-ass, world class. Everyone you cook for will wonder where you learned to cook like that. I have lots of cookbooks and almost never look at any of my old ones any more. This one is just that good!

Get it, get it now, you will be so very happy you did, and so will any cook you get it for. The Best Recipe rocks.

they've made the mistakes so you do have to, May 21, 2005
I LOVE IT! I'm excited about getting into my kitchen again. I have not had a failure since I bought it. I'm Australian, so American fare is not always my favorite style of cooking, mac and cheese and meatloaf? But living here, I have to deal with American ingredients, and to be honest I've had some spectacular failures since I've moved here. I can't totally blame having to work in oz and F.

I was skeptical about the title and I'm really glad I overcame my bias. This book is good - REALLY good. Most people consider me a good cook, and I have a veritable library of cookbooks and recipes. While I did not really need 1000 more, I was intrigued enough to open the book - it fell open at a meat page which "finally" I was able to find a diagram to tell me what the various local meat cuts equated to what I was used to. I started flicking though earnestly. I stumbled across the Pork area, I'd just made pork chops that turned out the equivalent of industrial brake pads. Cooks test kitchen pointed out that today's leaner cuts of pork, needed to be treated differently. Cooked on a medium heat. I figured that what I just wasted in meat, the investment would be worth it, so I bought it home. Since then I've had tender meat, superb roasts, great pancakes, a fabulous summer pie. The book sits on my kitchen counter - it is the ultimate resource. I still use other recipes, but I find myself always coming back and consulting it and ultimately using the techniques it teaches.

It explains the process of recipe building and talks about recipe variants, a great knowledge to go forth with if you are prone to substituting as I am. I've since subscribed to their magazine, bought their baking illustrated and look forward to their new barbeque and grilling book. I'm more confident than ever in my American kitchen, and I have the America's test kitchen to thank for it.

I think the greatest compliment is I've come back to Amazon to buy a copy for a friend that is about to get married. A true gift of domestic harmony.

Don't throw away your orignal "Best Recipe!", February 20, 2005
This is a wonderful cookbook and I'm looking forward to exploring this edition as I did the original Cook's Illustrated Best Recipe. However if you own the original copy, be aware that this new edition is not simply an expanded version of the original. The editors have eliminated some of my favorite recipes and replaced them with others. The chocolate chip cookie recipe, which is indeed my favorite version of this classic treat, has been eliminated in favor a new thin & crisp variation. The quick cook carrots, which I love, have been dropped. I haven't done a comprehensive comparison between the two editions so perhaps it was just a fluke that several of the first few "old favorites" I tried to cook were missing, but I suggest you keep your original copy around just in case. However the new recipes I've tried have been up to the Cook's Illustrated standard, and I'm thrilled to have more recipes to try in one convenient cookbook.

A great resource for recipes and information, April 24, 2006
I feel I need to refute the previous reviewer's allegations. I've had this book for a year and a half, and while I've always enjoyed cooking, this book has taken me to a new level, in both enjoyment and skill. I read it front to back (and have since subscribed to the magazine) and found it fascinating reading. I love the explanations on the development of each recipe. I've made at least a hundred of the recipes in here, and very few have failed me. Most have been amazing.

Because I have not made either the Osso Buco or Beef Burgundy recipes the previous reviewer mentioned, I cannot attest to their quality specifically. However, one of the goals of these recipe developers is to take culturally traditional food and make it accessible to the American home cook. Many traditional recipes include ingredients and equipment that are not practical or available, and the recipes in this book do their best to work around this and still produce fantastic food.

I have however baked both the Baguette and Rustic Italian Bread recipes from this book. When I removed the baguette from the oven, I realized that I had finally made a great baguette, after trying many other recipes. The crust was great and the crumb was perfect. (The taste was bland-I forgot to add the salt.) I've made the Italian bread several times and gotten a ridiculous amount of compliments on it.

I've found their equipment testings valuable, even more so because they do not advocate buying tools that will be useful for only a specific food. Since reading this book, I've put my breadmaker, egg cooker, and deep fryer in storage, because the stove and oven can do it all. I've also found their tastings useful, especially because the magazine does not accept advertising. The science explanations peppered throughout the book have really wet my appetite for more kitchen science.

I will admit that this book is not for everyone. A lot of people aren't interested in the "best" recipe, they're interested primarily in the easiest or healthiest recipe. Also, there are no color pictures. I don't find this too detrimental because a lot of the focus of the book is on developing the best recipe for classic dishes, like mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli, and I know what those are supposed to look like. There are line drawings to help explain techniques, and these are helpful.

For me, this has been a great book. It's a large resource of recipes from a source that I trust, and because every recipe starts by explaining their goals, I know what to expect from the finished product. I've also been able to take what I've learned here and apply it to everything I cook. Perhaps most importantly, it makes me excited to learn still more about food and cooking.

Indispensable Kitchen Wisdom, November 15, 2004
This book gives you the most thorough description of how and why to cook recipes a certain way for the sake of taste and efficiency that I have ever seen. It also rates various brands of kitchen equipment and provides simple but extremely useful graphics. Best of all, the recipes turn out consistently terrific food. I just got this book a few weeks ago and feel I can't live without it.

I don't know anything about cooking, September 5, 2006
I don't have experience cooking and I sure don't know much about cooking technique. I have personally made all the recipes my family has enjoyed from this book with "technical" help from my wife. When my wife has made "new" recipes from other sources, we don't know what the final product will be like. With this book, not only do they tell you what the final product should be like, it most likely will turn out that way. I've watched America's Test Kitchen and thought that I could make some of the recipes they prepared. I like how detailed the instructions are on the show and the book is even more detailed. I've seen Cook's Illustrated magazine in the book store and this book is similar though slightly condensed (explanations of the testing they did and why the final recipe is the way it is).

While they have incredible detail on how and why, they do have to assume you have some rudimentary knowledge of cooking technique. So, when I tried the brownie recipe and it told me to "fold" the flour into the batter, I was clueless - fortunately, my wife supervises. As others have stated, they purposely change their recipe from "classic" recipes to make it more likely the average home kitchen has the tools required along with the ingredients being available at your supermarket.

The brownies are incredible - the difference between out of the box brownies and the "classic" brownies is why people make food from scratch. Light and fluffy pancakes came out just the way they describe it...not the dense version I usually generate from packaged mixes (my wife had to give me a lesson on flipping pancakes - that's how inept I am in the kitchen). BBQ spare ribs with the BBQ dry rub - just like the ribs I had at "Smokey Bones" in the Atlanta area (the book tells you how to cook grill recipes for charcoal and gas grills). Cheese Straws drew rave reviews at a party (although not as pretty because my daughter and I couldn't get the twists described in the recipe so we just laid it out flat - the guests didn't care). Fallen chocolate cake (molten lava cake) was better than the local Chili's. Every recipe I've made has come out they way they said it would.

As a totally novice cook, if I can get good results, then anyone should be able to do the same. As a novice cook, I do run into problems when timing is important when making a recipe the first time - like frozen dough becoming too warm because I took too long with something else before getting to the dough. They assume the average cook can get something done in X minutes while someone like me takes double the time. Fortunately, from America's Test Kitchen, I knew to just throw the dough back into the freezer when it got too warm.

On my wife's advice, I am writing all over the book with my own notes on each recipe I make with any adjustments on spices or time allotments so each recipe will be MY Best Recipes.

It's a great book. One day, maybe I'll let my kids use it and they can personalize it with the stains/spills they've put into the other recipe books we have (yeah, the books where the results are hit and miss). ... Read more

Editorial Review

The answers to many kitchen conundrums in one easy-to-use volume, from the author of the acclaimed culinary bible On Food and Cooking.

From our foremost expert on the science of cooking, Harold McGee, Keys to Good Cooking is a concise and authoritative guide designed to help home cooks navigate the ever-expanding universe of ingredients, recipes, food safety, and appliances, and arrive at the promised land of a satisfying dish.

A work of astounding scholarship and originality, Keys to Good Cooking directly addresses the cook at work in the kitchen and in need of quick and reliable guidance. Cookbooks past and present frequently contradict one another about the best ways to prepare foods, and many contain erroneous information and advice.

Keys to Good Cooking distills the modern scientific understanding of cooking and translates it into immediately useful information. Looking at ingredients from the mundane to the exotic, McGee takes you from market to table, teaching, for example, how to spot the most delectable asparagus (choose thick spears); how to best prepare the vegetable (peel, don't snap, the fibrous ends; broiling is one effective cooking method for asparagus and other flat-lying vegetables); and how to present it (coat with butter or oil after cooking to avoid a wrinkled surface). This book will be a requisite countertop resource for all home chefs, as McGee's insights on kitchen safety in particular-reboil refrigerated meat or fish stocks every few days. (They're so perishable that they can spoil even in the refrigerator.); Don't put ice cubes or frozen gel packs on a burn. (Extreme cold can cause additional skin damage)-will save even the most knowledgeable home chefs from culinary disaster.

A companion volume to recipe books, a touchstone that helps cooks spot flawed recipes and make the best of them, Keys to Good Cooking will be of use to cooks of all kinds: to beginners who want to learn the basics, to weekend cooks who want a quick refresher in the basics, and to accomplished cooks who want to rethink a dish from the bottom up. With Keys to Good Cooking McGee has created an essential guide for food lovers everywhere. ... Read more

Reviews

A solid reference -, November 3, 2010
Having read and purchased McGee's other titles I did not expect this one to be terribly different. That is to say that his books tend to be chock full of information without many pictures. I consider myself an experienced cook and baker, and still find this information very helpful when a question arises about why something happens in cooking the way that it does. If you are the type that prefers lots of pictures, even humor, then Alton Brown is probably your best go to source. Although McGee himself is not without humor - it was the famous scene from "Blazing Saddles" that sent him in this direction food science, but this book is pretty cut and dry. On the front jacket cover the chapters and their contents are listed nos. 1-24, breaking down the subject matter from 'Basic Kitchen Resources' to 'Nuts and Oil Seeds' and much more. I, however, prefer to judge a book by its index and this book has a decent one. Whoever handled the indexing for this title did a fairly thorough job, but missed the boat by not cross-referencing, which I personally think is critical in a book of this nature. Maybe that was a decision on the publisher's part rather than the indexer, but I feel like something's missing. All in all, this is an excellent reference. If you're like me and consider Hester Blumenthal's "In Search of Perfection" your idea of leisure reading then this book will be right up your alley. If not, use it strictly as a reference, because I don't think any decent cookbook collection should be without McGee's books!

Disappointing, November 4, 2010
I really liked the author's On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen, which is a five star book. That book was more detailed about food than cooking, so there was definitely room for improvement on the cooking side. However, this is not really what his new book accomplishes. Instead, in my mind, it is a dumbed down version of the old book (i.e all science and explanation of why is totally gone). It is organised around different cooking tasks, like making meringues and cooking rice, and you do get more direct advice than in the author's previous book. This is all good. Sadly, the book is mostly targeted to the eager-to-learn novice or the less experienced. If you have cooked for a couple of years and read the author's previous book, you are likely to find the simple stuff quite tedious. You will find several entries in which you don't learn anything new. Check out the three short video tips that are posted on top by amazon. If you find these three examples really useful, you should probably buy the book.

The above could have been forgiven, if the book had a decent layout. The old book was crammed with information and had a well-suited typographical layout. The current book has wide margins, spacious line spacing and quite a large font size, not to mention the puke greenish-blue highlights. We get something that looks like it went straight from Microsoft Word to the printing press; loads of italic and bold, bullets with huge indents... I do not understand the publisher's thinking at all. It is not a coffee table book, because it has no pictures and is full of practical advice. It is not a practical tool to have in the kitchen because it is thick as a brick. For some reason, the publisher made the book as bulky as possible. With the same layout as the old book, the number of pages would shrink with 60% percent.

An excellent summary of his previous works, November 22, 2010
I'm going to disagree with some other reviewers here. I have been been reading Mr McGee for many years, and regard myself as a huge fan.
Few of his previous works would be suitable for the everyday cook. This one is. How many people would wade through his earlier erudite discussions of protein strings, just to get a practical morsel for the kitchen? Few indeed.
This is a book that distills Mr McGee's work into a single practical volume. It may be "the size of a brick", but so what? Nor do I find the typography and layout disconcerting. I think they are ideal: they send you to the essential points immediately.
I have sent this book to some of my friends who would never read even think to peruse Mr McGee's previous opuses. But I am sure they will at least leaf through this one.

a useful addition, November 13, 2010
I enjoy using McGee's "Keys to Good Cooking. its information is useful, clear, and fairly copious, and as usual it debunks commonly held myths. the book takes the perspective of focusing on ingredients or types of ingedient and then the different means of preparing them and how any method affects the taste and texture. since I do more experimentation than recipe following, McGee's approach works well for me. it presents alternative ways to consider the taste or texture problem I am trying to solve, and so far has steered me in fruitful directions.

if I could own just one book by McGee, it would still be the justly famous [[ASIN:0684843285 On Food and Cooking], which is a hard act to follow. nonetheless, I find the new volume a welcome addition and I refer to it frequently.

one warning about the Kindle edition, however: the publisher made the index flat text without hyperlinks, so you can see what's in the book, but you can't get there from here. this is *REALLY* irritating; perhaps later editions will correct this lunacy.

Too simplistic for a home-cook with experience, December 1, 2010
I am 25 years old and I have been cooking independently for only about 3 years, but I knew almost all the tips and tricks that this book touts as "keys" to good cooking. Not to be too negative, the book has a lot of good advice, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who loves cooking because the amount of new information will be a disappointment. I bought the book for my mother, who loves to read about food and cooking, but I can't bring myself to give her this book because it's just too simplistic.

This might be a good idea if you're just starting out in the kitchen, otherwise keep looking!

Extremely Disappointing, November 24, 2010
If "On Food and Cooking", McGee's magnificent previous book, was at times too scientific or even esoteric, "Keys to Good Cooking" is just too basic, even obvious. The book may be a great addition to someone that is a total novice to cooking, but it is misleading to a wide audience who relied on McGee's reputation since his previous book appealed to a more knowledgeable or at least very curious crowd regarding that what was taking place during the process of cooking and transformation. Furthermore, the book has inaccuracies that are not excusable coming from a food/cooking authority such as McGee - one example, page 31: tartaric acid and cream of tartar being one and the same thing. "Keys to Good Cooking" seems more a scheme to make money taking advantage of the author's well deserved reputation rather than a serious guide to making the best of foods and recipes.

Disppointing for the experienced but a treasure for the novice, November 27, 2010
I must state at the outset that I was terribly disappointed by Professor McGees' latest book. I was expecting something novel, something that contained more information on the science of cooking, but found a book which contained only the very basic knowledge on the subject. Having already read his great book on Food&Cooking, this disillusionment was only natural. Whereas the former book was a real gemstone, this last one was comparatively rudimentary to me. But I persevered all the same and read the book cover to cover in only three sittings (530 pages). I realized that I enjoyed reading it as it was very well written and the information was organized quite cleverly.

Did I learn anything new? Honestly, hardly. But than I realized that this book was not targeting audiences who are seasoned and have scholarly knowledge on food&cooking like me. The target clientelle of the book is the novice and the less scholarly. And believe me there is a huge customer potential in that area both among amateurs and professional chefs. I am sure that only a very small proportion of chefs in the world have the scientific knowledge presented in his book `On Food and Cooking' and a great majortiy of them definitely need a neat compilation like this book. Also, many amateur cooks will find the technical information in the book useful. It is compact, well-written and deliberately light on scientific stuff which could have put off many people. I also believe that this is a good introductory book for students of culinary art schools. Overall I reccommend the book to all those who do not feel themselves confident on the basics of kitchen science. But seasoned and scholarly readers like me should certainly stay away from it and should not be fooled by the fact that it was written by Professor McGee.

Disappointing Print and Organizational Quality, December 24, 2010
Harold McGee is one of my heroes. But, I am disappointed in "Keys To Good Cooking" because its design. It has been printed in font so large and margins so wide and line spacing so big that a visually oriented person like myself has a hard time absorbing the material. The outside margins of the classic "On Food And Cooking" are what I expect: 3/4 " on both sides with what I guess is 10 pt fonts. I can glance at the pages and chapters and remember what I just read, and rediscover what I want to reference. The new book is printed with what I estimate to be 12 pt fonts, wider line spacing, and get this: 1 3/8 " outside left and right margins. A waste of paper and space, and a chore to retain or reference. This book counts over 500 pages but belongs in less than 300, in my opinion. Disappointing - from a organizational and efficiency perspective. Somewhat insulting - I had higher expectations.

...not what I expected., October 29, 2010
There is no doubt in my mind that Harold McGee is one of the premier authorities on cooking techniques, science and history. On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen changed my whole perspective on cooking and food. That book, in conjunction with The New Best Recipe: All-New Edition, have helped to shape me as a cook and an eater.

That being said, my initial impression of "Keys to Good Cooking" is that I'm being left wanting more. The book only addresses what is most essential to know or what will most quickly improve your cooking. There is no seduction or mystery in these pages. There are only facts.

On that note, I was quite repulsed by the formatting of the book. In the same way that fast food chains have orange paint on the walls to undermine your desire to sit inside for long periods of time, the way information is arranged in this book makes for a painful reading experience.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In short, this book is all business and zero pleasure.
Even though I pre-ordered it for a lowered price, I may return it and pretend it never existed, just like Rocky V.

Keys to Good Cooking, November 23, 2010
Encyclopedic and readable. It's what we've come to expect from Harold. It is now my reference on cooking ... Read more

Editorial Review

WHEN YOU KNOW A RATIO, IT’S NOT LIKE KNOWING A SINGLE RECIPE, IT’S INSTANTLY KNOWING A THOUSAND.

In Ratio, Michael Ruhlman, recognized as one of the great translators of the chef’s craft for both home cooks and culinary professionals, shows how cooking with ratios will unchain you from recipes and set you free. Ratio is the truth of cooking: basic preparations that teach us how the fundamental ingredients of the kitchen—water, flour, butter and oils, milk and cream, and eggs—work. Detailing thirty-three essential ratios and suggesting enticing variations, Ruhlman empowers every cook to make countless doughs, batters, stocks, sauces, meats, and custards without ever again having to locate a recipe. ... Read more

Reviews

essential home-cook revelations, April 17, 2009
Ever since Ruhlman first started pondering this book on his blog years ago, I've been eagerly anticipating its arrival, and it has not disappointed. The theory of ratio and its present and historical value are engagingly presented, and the book quickly ushers openminded readers to the kitchen to see these things at work themselves. So far I have baked two "experiments" I would never have had the bravery to tackle without this knowledge, and both have been educational and delicious accomplishments!

This is not a cookbook -- indeed, it is an anti-cookbook. Those expecting complex recipes, or the "best" way to make something, will be dissatisfied. This is a manual for real cooks who want to understand the fundamental underpinnings of what makes food FOOD in order to play, tweak, recontextualize, and personalize their methods in infinite variations. It's a book for culinary explorers who don't wish to be, pardon the pun, spoon-fed.

As always, Ruhlman's fresh, engaging, personal writing style leaves this an entertaining read even if you're not stopping every few pages to try your hand at the techniques. (If telling you it was a real page-turner while I was awaiting jury duty doesn't convince you, I don't know what will!)

Almost getting teaching kitchen improv right: priceless, May 13, 2009
(This review originally appeared in a somewhat different form at my blog, OffSeasonTV at Blogspot.)

This book purports to be the latest and greatest in books claiming to teach how to cook without recipes, a trail blazed not all that successfully by authors such as Pam Anderson. Derived from a chart Ruhlman acquired from Chef Uwe Hestnar, at the Culinary Institute of America, it actually does a fairly creditable job of showing how certain aspects of cooking (particularly baking, charcuterie, and saucemaking) are based heavily on ingredient ratios (weight, by the way, not volume ratios, which are somewhat useless due to differences in ingredient density). Hestnar felt quite strongly (and presumably still does) that these ratios were the most critical things a professional chef needs to know, and that pretty much anything else is secondary.

As is often the case with books of this sort, Ratio oversells itself; anyone who's spent a great deal of time studying politics can tell you that something that claims to be the utmost in simplicity seldom really is, and truthfully this book has a tendency to downplay technique (entire books can be and have been written on the subject, which really isn't a very simple subject at all), as well as hyperfocusing on classical Franco-international cuisine. The question really comes down to this: how valid is Hestnar's point, and can a non-cook learn to cook from Ruhlman's book?

Well, Hestnar's not wrong. Certainly a lot of this book comes down to the interactions of the chemical components of food; mayonnaise, for example, and its dependence on egg yolk as an emulsifier is an extreme example, since it really takes very little yolk to emulsify oil and vinegar (indeed, Ruhlman quotes a 20:1:1 ratio for oil/vinegar/yolk), but the ratio in question is extremely squishy compared to the rather strict 5:3 ratio of flour to water for a standard loaf bread (hardcore bakers will recognize that as a baker's percentage of 66%). And indeed these ratios are fairly important for the subjects that Hestnar's chart covers -- too little liquid will create a gloppy sauce, and too much will create a hard-to-handle bread dough (although this is something you actually want for a ciabatta). And fat ratios make the difference between a bread dough and a pastry dough.

But as I said, I do think it's oversold. The simple fact is that these ratios really aren't as general as Ruhlman wants to think; they cover only certain parts of the culinary arts, and are mainly of use for troubleshooting purposes outside the realms the book covers. And Ruhlman's work only covers classical French-based cuisine; there isn't a tomato sauce to be found in here, for example, nor any discussion of rice or other grains (if cooking rice isn't ratio-driven I don't know what is). But what is in here is quite useful, and it does promote the use of weight measurements in the American kitchen, something people seem to be afraid of. It's an interesting read, and I do recommend it, but as a guide to improvisational cooking it only does half the job.

I didn't think I could cook, April 17, 2009
I don't claim to be a chef, I wouldn't even go so far as to call myself a cook. I rarely venture outside the comfort zone of a microwave or a toaster oven. However, between Ruhlman's incredibly engaging writing style and exceptional mastery of the information, I found myself drawn to experiment.

Recipes certainly have their place and can be useful tools. I've begun to discover, however, that only using recipes put me into a position of not ever learning anything and falling continuously into the "I can't cook" mantra. Learning the ratios and the ideas behind them left me feeling that not only might I be able to accomplish something (and the results are certainly tasty), but gave me an understanding and appreciation for why people might enjoy cooking.

In short, you don't need to be an expert to get a lot out of this book, although I suspect even the most talented among us would learn something. Ratio definitely belongs on the shelf next to all the recipe books you'll end up not using.

An important concept, but not much depth, December 8, 2009
Have you ever doubled or halved a recipe? Have you ever successfully added an extra ingredient to a recipe to "spice it up" or give it a different flavor without changing the basic recipe? Have you ever thrown together some soup or made up some oil-and-vinegar dressing by adding "a pinch of this, a handful of that, a lot of this, and maybe about twice as much of that," and then repeated the same approximate amounts again?

Congratulations -- you've learned 95% of what you can learn from this book. Move along.

The basic idea of this book, which you can find out from the numerous other (mostly glowing) reviews is that cooking and baking are based on ratios of ingredients. If you didn't realize that from following a few recipes, you can do the same thing this book does by finding a recipe that works and then doubling, tripling, or halving all the quantities. Often it works. (Actually, in baking, it often doesn't work if you make a particularly large or small batch, usually due to problems with leavening agents, but nevermind -- that's already more advanced than this book usually is.) Moreover, if you've never tried this, you can actually modify good recipes by adding or removing a flavor ingredient. So, go ahead -- got a good butter cookie recipe in a cookbook? Try adding some lavender flowers. You'll get lavender butter cookies. Go crazy and double it, and you'll get twice as many cookies -- amazing! Or, do you have a good white bread recipe that you use? Try adding some herbs or some dried fruit or whatever -- you'll get bread with stuff in it. That's basically what this book is about.

I guess this book is meaningful to a certain type of person who only follows recipes religiously and never varies them, or who never noticed that that new pancake recipe you're about to try uses twice as much milk per cup of flour compared to every other pancake recipe you've ever made. But I think for most people, this is common sense. You can add a little bit of X and vary a recipe, and if you see something weird compared to every other recipe you've ever used, you're probably going to end up with something different.

There are a couple other good points this book makes. For example, measuring by weight is generally a good idea, particularly in baking. Most people who have read any other good cookbooks specializing in cake-making or bread-baking already have heard that. (Ruhlman is a little inconsistent about when he uses weight instead of volume measurements; sometimes, for things often done in small amounts, volume would be easier.)

And the table of ratios is useful. In fact, if you could buy that separately, I'd say that'd be worth a few bucks right there. But only a few bucks, because the table only gives a selection of possible ratios, and the ratios that are there are only rough approximations to get you into the ballpark. For example, bread is a weight ratio of 5 parts flour to 3 parts water (with a little salt and yeast), so the book tells us. Well, that's a good general guideline. But if you want to make stiff dough (e.g., for bagels), you'll want a ratio closer to 2:1. If you want a slack dough (e.g., for ciabatta or focaccia), you'll want something closer to 5:4. That's a HUGE range of ratios and huge range of different types of bread dough. And all of this says nothing about the type of flour used (all-purpose versus bread versus high gluten versus whole wheat, etc. all could require significant adjustment to a ratio). Even the humidity and room temperature can greatly change the way bread dough behaves, and the baker has to take that into account.

One could say the same for most of the ratios given -- they are not magical or correct in every circumstance, nor are they even the best starting off point for many dishes if you want a particular variant. Many of them give a sense of exactness that is undeserved -- vinaigrette and mayonnaise, for example, can be made with a large variety of ingredient ratios and still be successful, often depending on other ingredients and desired consistency and flavor.

Moreover, each of these types of bread dough requires different handling procedures. That is really where the "ratio" argument falls apart. Cooking and baking are about ratios, but in a larger sense they're about FORMULAS. That is, you have a ratio of ingredients, but you combine things in certain ways (using different mixing techniques, timing, etc.), and then you prepare them by cooking them in certain ways (at certain temperatures, with certain timing, perhaps adding or changing things at various times, etc.). A ratio tells you very little if you know nothing about the rest of the formula and the techniques required to prepare a dish. If "ratio" was the only thing needed, recipes would only consist of lists of ingredients with no instructions.

For another example, take Ruhlman's sponge cake formula of 1:1:1:1 for eggs, flour, fat, and sugar. (That's also the same as his ratio for pound cake, requiring a different technique, which immediately points out the fundamental flaw of a ratio without anything else.) Compare Ruhlman's ratio to a chart of ratios for sponge cake alone in Bo Friberg's "Professional Pastry Chef." Friberg gives ratios for eight different types of sponge cakes, all with different ingredients and vastly different techniques. For the weight equivalent of 12 eggs, flour varies from 5 to 21 oz. (and types of flour vary from 100% cake flour to mixtures with bread flour or cornstarch), fat 0-12 oz., and sugar 6-24 oz. So much for Ruhlman's simple ratio. What he's really giving you is a specific recipe that isn't very useful at all. In the process, he ignores the natural variation in recipes that come from small (or large!) variations in ingredients and technique to produce superior results. Lest you think that Friberg's table is only for professionals, I need to point out that over half of these sponge cake types are found in standard home cookbooks, and only two are rather advanced types generally only used by pastry chefs. With Ruhlman, you get one ratio, and it isn't really close to any of Friberg's ratios, and Friberg writes books on cake and pastry technique for professional cooks. Whom would you trust?

That's not to say that the ratio is useless. In fact, it's the way people used to remember recipes. They are particularly important for successful baking using leavening, where ingredient ratios determine the success of the chemical changes; generally most other cooking is more forgiving. My mother still can recite baking recipes for cakes, icing, biscuits, etc. this way. My grandmother probably knew 4-5 times as many recipes by heart in the same way. Ruhlman's book basically repackages these rules of thumb your grandmother might have known. But these only work when you know the rest of the technique, and even then, they are generally only guidelines that don't always produce stellar results without careful tweaking. Otherwise, you get a successful -- but generally mediocre -- result.

People make a big deal out of the idea of varying a recipe, or knowing that by adding more of X or subtracting Y, your batter will turn from pancake batter into crepes or into biscuits. That's fun to know, but it doesn't actually help in the kitchen very much, particularly since changing one thing into another usually involves significant changes to preparation. Certain professional cookbooks that discuss the theory of building a recipe will provide more insight than a simple chart of ratios (with minimal instruction) can. If Ruhlman really wanted to make this part useful, he would provide some more charts for each of the ratios that show what happens as you vary each ingredient. What happens if there is less liquid in your pancake batter, for example? Well, the batter will be stiffer, which means thicker pancakes, which might be useful if you want large, thick diner-style pancakes, but you'll have to lower the heat in the pan to cook them. If you add more liquid, the opposite applies. Vary too much, and you'll need to play with baking soda/powder.

Other charts could be devoted to the discussion of adding other common ingredient types, and the way the ratios (as well as the technique) require adjustment. For example, if you enrich a bread dough with oil, milk, and/or eggs, you'll need to decrease the water content, perhaps raise the yeast content (or modify rising time), and lower the baking temperature while lengthening the baking time. (Ruhlman, if you use these ideas for your next book, please give me a footnote!)

And a final set of charts could be troubleshooting -- you try to vary a recipe or a new recipe from your favorite book doesn't turn out? Why not? Well, it could be that the ratios are off -- Ruhlman could point out that the most useful aspect of basic ratios for professional cooks is not actually to develop recipes, but rather to serve as guidelines to see why a divergence from a ratio doesn't work in a particular case.

Yes, these ratios could be immensely useful in the kitchen if they went beyond the basics. But, of course, such charts would be boring, and most people don't want to buy a book full of charts. So instead we're left with pages and pages of sometimes insightful and sometime rambling prose that are essentially annotations, explanations, and corrections to those master ratios that are supposed to be so important. But the annotations, explanations, and corrections are what makes one a good cook. The ratio by itself is meaningless and almost useless. The infinite variety that Ruhlman promises is most successful when you know how to alter a formula or how to correct for a problem.

People compare this to cooking as "engineering," but an engineering textbook would be filled with these charts and equations to help one derive a correct formula and ratio for a given situation. For some things, such equations do exist in research done for professional cooking and in food science, and certainly there are plenty of tables and charts in such articles and books that give more information on varying ratios than is possible in prose. Most people wouldn't want that, but that's what an "engineering approach" to cooking would actually be. This isn't it.

In the end, it's a good idea, but the basic idea is only enough to keep you occupied for a few weeks of cooking. The ratio approach is too simplistic to go further. After that, the more useful thing to do is to start noticing how other recipes in other books draw on or diverge from these ratios and why. You can find good recipes and vary them yourself. Or buy some cookbooks that tell you about the theory behind cooking that goes beyond basic ratios. Or simply start comparing recipes for similar dishes from different books and notice the proportions yourself; it's that easy. But you don't need "Ratio" to tell you these things. It appears to be inspirational for a lot of people, but the basic ideas are simple, and I've already told you them here. Now go out and play with your own recipes -- you don't need Ruhlman's permission.

Two stars -- one for a generally good idea that people have forgotten about simple ratios in cooking, and one for the useful abbreviated chart. I would have given three stars, since there are more insights, but the poor organization of the writing and the many typographical errors make it undeserving.

Changes the way you think about food and cooking, June 12, 2009
I've been cooking without recipes for 20 years now, pretty much since I could reach the counter, and I thought I had a pretty good grasp of the fundamentals of home cooking.

Still, there are certain things that remained mystical. For some reason, we think of dough as something only a baker can make. It's not. It's 5 parts flour and 3 parts water. Home-made pies are too much trouble, right? Wrong. I can make a pie dough in less time than a typical TV commercial break (and now I know where the term 'easy as pie' came from). Homemade mayo is great, everyone knows that, but emulsions are hard to make and easy to break, right? Wrong. Just make sure you have the proper ratio of water to oil and you'll be fine (and you can easily re-emulsify if it does break).

If you're a novice in the kitchen, this book is going to really do a lot for you. You'll walk past the cake mixes and straight to the bags of flour. You'll find yourself never throwing leftovers away because leftovers+stock=fantastic soup. You'll transcend simple bread baking (which is still quite enjoyable) and discover the splendor of choux paste.

More importantly however, if you're very comfortable in the kitchen as I was, but still see a division between home cooking and fine cuisine, this is even more so the book for you. It will help bring things to your plate that you thought were reserved for the outer world. The best bread is the bread you bake. The best sauce is the sauce you dream up. The best soup is the one you made from scraps.

Of special note is the very important fact that everything in this book is not just possible, but it's easy as well. I am a big Alton Brown fan, and his endorsement of this book played a big part in my purchasing it, but ironically it was Alton himself that gave rise to much of my fear of trying to make certain types of food. As much as I love him, sometimes Alton makes things sound more complicated and delicate than they are. Ruhlman does the exact opposite and makes you realize just how simple most things are (or the foundations of those things at least). I've made some pretty bad stuff in my experiments so far, but the important thing is I know what made them bad and how to correct next time. I also understand how to manipulate ingredients to vary the results of the finished food (even when baking), which is priceless.

The bottom line is this: whether you're an experienced home cook or a slave to box mixes, you will learn a lot from Ratio and will be rewarded constantly. There hasn't been a Sunday morning since this book hit my door that hasn't been spent enjoying fresh, hot biscuits (3 parts flour, 1 part fat, 2 parts liquid; 5 minutes from brain to oven).

Enjoy.

Changed the way I cook-wish there was more, May 10, 2009
I LOVE this book, the ratios work! I haven't been able to put it down since I downloaded it to my Kindle. It is extremely freeing to go into the kitchen, armed with a ratio and whip up a batch of biscuits (which were wonderful even without chilling the dough), muffins, (also excellent) and bread(wonderful). I'm sure ratios are not new to professional chefs, however this book makes this information available forthe home cook.A rmed with just the knowledge of the correct ratios and a good understanding of technique you can do anything. This is NOT a book for beginners and it is not a "how to cook" book. I am an experienced, avid baker, and an average, less avid meal cook. Many of the instructions assume you are knowledgeable about cooking basics, there are many "cook until done" type instructions. The book does not purport to be a "how to cook" book. But if you are an experienced cook and know how to judge when a cookie or bread is done, this book will change the way you cook. The goal is to open the world of ratios to those cooks who want to expand their expertise beyond recipes. I have always been very "recipe dependent" but no more, this concept has freed me up to do what I want in the quantities I want. This has definitely changed the way I cook. I've made smaller batches, tried my own variations and everything works. The ratios rely on weighing ingredients so it is best to have a kitchen scale in order to make the ratios work. I have 2 caveats: You can't see the charts well on the Kindle edition, and I wish there were more ratios.

Engaging and inspiring, April 17, 2009
I grew up thinking that cooking was about recipes. My grandmother had to be using recipes, but when asked for one it might include instructions such as a couple of pinches of salt or a spoon of bacon grease. I assumed that she had a recipe. I suspect now that a lifetime of cooking had taught her instinctively to use ratios.

This presented me with quite a conundrum. When I started to make cornbread she was no longer around. How did she make it? My mom had some approximation, I could find a bazillion recipes. But how much flower to cornmeal? Milk, buttermilk, no milk? Eggs? Oil? My options became more confusing as I watched Alton Brown and I learned about substitutions. Eggs and avocados are compositionally very similar, they can be substituted for each other in some preparations. What!?! How can I ever make sense of this?

"Ratio" is a large piece of the solution to this part of the cooking puzzle. Michael Ruhlman in his latest book has taken much of the mystery of the why out of cooking. Cornbread, pancakes, or cookies are what they are because of the proportions of flour/cornmeal to fat to egg to liquid to sugar. So cornbread is cornbread whether it uses 1/2 C of flour and 1 1/2 of cornmeal or one of each. It is up to me to find the right flavors of the end result, but using the right ratios I should end up with cornbread.

Mr. Ruhlman is technically a good writer. But he is also interesting and engaging. Far too often technical books become dry recitations of recipes, techniques, and procedures. This is not the case with "Ratio". Some of the material that is presented may be repetitive, but that is what is necessary in a book like this. It is a book that you will read through once. But then you will want to keep it close for reference. When you do pick it up to look up how to make corned beef you do not want to have to go back and look at the canadian bacon section to determine what the purpose of sodium nitrate is.

There are many recipes presented, but they are just places to start. Included with the recipes are numerous variations designed to get the cook to think beyond the ratio and imagine what they could do to make the basic food into something different and extraordinary.

For me this book has opened up a new way of thinking about food. I am inspired and excited about and not quite as intimidated by things I have not tried because of it. It has expanded my cooking horizons and made me think. That is the best recommendation I can make for any book. It is very accessible and you will not be disappointed by it.

Great Concept!, April 17, 2009
This book makes so much sense! The section on stock alone is worth the price of the book. I'm encouraged me to make my own without having to contemplate hours and hours of careful tending. And I love being given the tools to be creative with doughs and batters without having to continually refer to a recipe.

Worth a read, wouldn't buy, May 20, 2009
I was very excited when I heard of this book. This is basiclly how I cook anyway. It is way longer than it should be. He states the same things over and over. There is no real flow to the book. I found it dry and clinical. The ratios themselves are fine. I honestly wish there was less chat so it would be straight on to the ratios. The book could have easily been half the size and still had the same content.

It's a CRAFT!, April 17, 2009
Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking

Michael Ruhlman has done it again! Another insightful, fun to read, book about the CRAFT of cooking.

Ever since I became a professional cook I had been hearing about the culinary ARTS. This book makes the point of describing and teaching about the real basics of cooking, the CRAFT ingredient. With a scale, the right ingredients, and this book you will learn the basics of kitchen ratios that have been around for ages. The scale is optional of course, but it will make ratios a whole lot easier to master. Then after learning the craft, and learning the technique just beyond the ratio, you can then learn the ART. The ART of flavoring the dish you have created with the ratio.

I've already purchased 4 copies. One for my own use in the kitchen, another signed version by the author, and 2 more going to the libraries of two culinary arts programs.

Wonderful work Michael ... Read more

Editorial Review

A new edition of the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) award winner.

Practical and enjoyable to read, this new edition of The Food Substitutions Bible has the best instructions for the home cook or professional chef who needs to find a great substitution when a vital ingredient is missing at a critical time in the preparation of a recipe.

Every substitution includes exact proportions and precise directions for making accurate, reliable replacements. Out of confectioner's sugar? Finely grind half a cup plus one and a half tablespoons of granulated sugar with three-quarters of a teaspoon of cornstarch in a blender or small food processor.

This new edition features:

• More than 300 new entries and cross-references for ingredients, such as agave nectar, and equipment, such as a mandoline
  
• Five new ingredient charts and measurement tables, such as Picking Coffee, Container Size Equivalents and Alcohol Retention in Cooking
  
• 20 percent more content overall
  
• A bigger trim size to provide easier access to information

The straightforward page design makes each entry, chart and sidebar easy to understand and follow. This new edition is bigger, better, updated, expanded and completely revised, providing more information more readily.

Reviews

An Amazing Kitchen Resource, November 1, 2010
We believe in a Kitchen Murphy's Law that says sooner or later you're in the middle of a recipe and find out you are missing a key ingredient. Thank goodness for David Joachim's researching skills because the second edition of "The Food Substitutions Bible" is an amazing compilation of just what will work in place of the original thing.
We love the A to Z organization of this book so it's easy to quickly find the perfect subtitute for anything from coconut cream and parchment paper to bleu cheese and guar gum. This bible is sure to save the day because you will never have to ruin a recipe again thanks to the wrong or missing ingredient!

Comprehensive, October 29, 2010
this seems to have everything under the sun in it and that's just what I was looking for to help with cooking and my allergies.

complete and concise, December 24, 2010
Reviewed by Irene Watson for Reader Views (12/10)

How many times have we started a recipe only to find out that we are missing an ingredient? And, of course that's the day our vehicle is in for repairs and there is no way to get to the store to purchase it. Well, this scenario doesn't ever have to happen again. David Joachim solved this issue with "The Food Substitutions Bible."

I've seen lists before but not as complete at this one. Yes, there are more than 6,500! For example, you can:

substitute fermented black bean with 1/2 cup cooked soybeans and 1 tbsp soy sauce
substitute Roquefort with Gorgonzola, Maytag Blue or Stilton
substitute grape leaf with cabbage leaves, green chard leaves, banana leaves or aluminum foil
substitute grape juice with apple juice, de-alcoholized wine, or juice blend
substitute crab with shrimp, lobster, scallops, monkfish or cod

I don't think that Joachim missed anything in "The Food Substitutions Bible." As I flipped through the alphabetically-categorized pages, I saw many ingredients that I've never even heard of and was pleased to see there were substitutions with something I do know and have. I commend Joachim for creating this much needed addition to most kitchens. I do recommend "The Food Substitutions Bible" for yourself and a copy for a friend that loves to cook.

You'll Never Need Another One, December 24, 2010
For the past 13 years, I've been using Substituting Ingredients for my emergency Substitions. Over the past few years, I realized that I really wanted more information. What I wanted was a thorough substitution book that covered both the basics and the out of the way, unusual ingredients. But, I also wanted it to be formatted well. Formatting, I've discovered, makes a huge difference when you're pressed for time and trying to find an emergency substitution. Your fingers have to be able to flip through the book and your eyes have to find the page you're looking for in a few seconds. Formatting truly makes all the difference in the world when it comes to this kind of cookbook.

It was the formatting that I felt needed improvement in the two books of cooking tips which I reviewed. Substituting Ingredients solution to the formatting was to make a small book with small type, less words, and more spacing. For people who only do basic cooking, that cookbook is probably the way to go.

But, for those of us who love to cook or just simply cook a lot, I finally found a book that I think hits the mark! It's this book! The title was actually a bit off-putting to me because the Holy Bible is very important to me and I've noticed a trend to use the word "Bible" in the title of various books over the past few years. You can laugh at me because it was actually the title that caused me to overlook this book many times over the past few years as I was searching for a better food substitution cookbook. Now I wish I hadn't waited so long to pick up this book!

The first time I opened up this book it was hard to put down. I expected to find a very dry, boring book of substitutions. Please don't get me wrong. I was just expecting information that was only useful, not information that was engaging and interesting as well. This book drew me and my husband in with its funny stories and interesting tidbits of information. For example, savory is a spice I've come across over the years in various recipes and have puzzled about. It is "known in parts of Europe as the bean herb because its pleasant spicy nature benefits beans, peas, and lentils. Summer savory is milder and the spiky leaves are more tender than those of winter savory." p. 496 Under the substitution section for savory, several good alternatives that are on my shelf were listed--thyme, rosemary, and safe.

This book is hefty at 696 pages. But, the heft is worth it. This book doesn't sacrifice meat for size the way other books I've seen recently do. The type is very readable. The formatting is excellent--all of my complaints I've had with other cookbooks this year about formatting are null and void when it comes to this book. The book is arranged in alphabetical order with several helpful ingredient and measurement guides at the end. I would suggest using some tabs to mark the guide pages at the end that you tend to use a lot, then you will be able to flip to them quickly.

The ingredients in this book range from things you use every day to that strange spice you once saw in a Middle Eastern cookbook named Za'tar. Even "egg scissors" are explained. Now, although you might never use many of these ingredients, you never know. I wish I had known the substitution for Golden Syrup a few months ago when I bought a bottle of it for a specific recipe. I had no idea that the substitution of light corn syrup or maple syrup (both of which were in my cupboard) would have been quite easy.

But, the true test of a substitution cookbook is whether they will work. I looked up many substitutions I've been using faithfully in my cooking over the years and they are in there. The ratios of things I use are also there. The charts of similar ingredients like flours, apples, and chiles also agree with all that I've read and discovered cooking over the years.

There is only one thing missing that I've discovered so far--which I didn't expect to find. The author assumes that people only use store bought whole wheat flour. I know I'm one of those unusual people that grinds their own grain at home. The substitution I've discovered is 1 1/8- 1 1/4 cup fresh ground whole wheat flour to 1 cup of store bought whole wheat flour.

If there are substitutions you use regulary, make yourself a cheat sheet or use sticky notes to tab the pages you turn to a lot. There is a lot of information in this book and it will take up a bit of space on your shelf, but my feeling is--it's worth it! If you happened to get a little money as a Christmas gift and you're trying to figure out what to get, this book would be a keeper. It's going to have a permanent place on my shelf for many years.

My compliments to the chef--this is a great cookbook!

Please note that I received a complimentary copy of this book for review from The Lisa Ekus Group.

Ambivalant, December 1, 2010
Yeah, this is a comprehensive book, but the substitutions are primarily for very esoteric foods. I wasn't really expecting that, and I guess I'm kind of disappointed. ... Read more

Editorial Review

HOME SAUSAGE MAKING is the classic in the field. Now completely revised and updated to comply with current USDA safety standards, this new edition features 150 recipes. Included in the lineup are 100 recipes for sausages (cased and uncased) and 50 recipes for cooking with sausage, all written for contemporary tastes and cooking styles. There are instructions for making sausages with beef and pork, fish and shellfish, chicken and turkey, and game meats. Ethnic favorites include German specialties such as Bratwurst, Mettwurst, and Vienna Sausage; Italian Cotechino and Luganega; Polish Fresh and Smoked Kielbasa; and Spanish-Style Chorizo, Potatis Korv (Swedish Potato Sausage), Kosher Salami, and Czech Yirtrnicky. On top of all the meat varieties, there is an entirely new section on vegetarian sausage options. ... Read more

Reviews

EXCELLENT INTRODUCTION FOR HOME SAUSAGE MAKERS, October 23, 1999
This is an excellent introduction to sausage making. It has tips on technique, ingredients and equipment and is also chock full of recipes, many of which have been geared to the production of "healthy" product--including sections on fish and poultry. It's only weakness is that it doesn't discuss any particular topic in great depth--but that can (most likely) be forgiven in a text designed to be an introduction, albeit a complete one. If you're going to make sausage on an occasional basis, this would be an excellent book to have as your only text on sausage making.

Good Coaching, weak sausage, July 15, 2004
I've had this book for a while now, and have made a few different sausage recipes from it. First off, the book is very good on encouraging readers to try making their own sausages, and it gives a lot of detail on what's involved in the process for various styles of sausage (smoked, loose, dried, links, etc.). The information about dealing with casings was right on the money and very easy to follow--I'm not sure I'd have gotten the good results I have without this particular section. Overall, the instructions are very clear, accurate, and really encouraging and helpful for beginners.

Unfortunately, this is kind of where the good news ends. So far, I've found the recipes to be kind of wanting. They're clever, and it's a comprehensive selection of sausages, but all the ones I've made have been pretty weakly spiced. I'm not talking about them not being hot enough--I like spicy food, but I don't think everything needs to be spicy--I'm talking about not having sufficient quantities of spices. For example, the bratwurst I made from their recipe didn't taste much like anything except meat. This is a fairly subtle sausage at the best of times, but as recommended in the book it's flavorless.

I have consistently found that I need to greatly increase the amount of spices in the sausages beyond what the recipes call for to get a flavor that seems appropriate. I'm a serious and very experienced cook, so I don't think it's a problem on my end. But your mileage may vary.

With that said, though, I still can recommend the book as a good starter into the concepts and techniques of sausage making. Would I buy it again? Maybe not. Will I refer to it again now that I have it? Definitely--on the technical side, it won't steer you wrong, and it's very user-friendly.

Excellent book for hands on advice. Buy It., January 5, 2006
`Home Sausage Making' by Susan Mahnke Peery and Charles G. Reavis is a great small book in its third edition since it was originally published in 1981 by the very small publishing house, Storey, which specializes in culinary titles. Reading this book shows up the dangers to a reviewer in reviewing the very first book one encounters on a specialized subject such as home sausage making. Just three days ago, I reviewed `Bruce Aidells' Complete Sausage Book' by meat and sausage experts Aidells and Denis Kelly, published by cookbook behemoth, 10 Speed Press. Naturally, with Aidells' reputation and my liking the previous two books this pair have done, I gave the book a very complementary review.

Now, I read another book on exactly the same subject and I find an even better book that addresses all of the criticisms I had of the Aidells and Kelly book. Specifically, it makes liberal use of illustrations of both equipment and technique, with the added bonus of being very specific about health hazards and the means for avoiding them, by being clear about cooking, aging, and smoking temperatures. Thankfully, there is enough difference between the two books and they are both inexpensive enough to make it worth your while to own both. If you really need to limit yourself to one, the Aidells / Kelly book is better for the armchair sausage buff, who is more interested in things to do with sausage and with the scoop on what is in the sausage he buys at the deli, megamart, or specialty meat store. Peery / Reavis is better for people who are really interested in actually making sausage, based on the much better illustration of sausage making equipment and technique, and fewer recipes, compared to Aidells / Kelly on what to make with sausage.

Peery / Reavis also has a much broader interpretation of what constitutes sausage. In addition to all the obvious preparations, this book includes recipes for making scrapple (2 recipes) and other American favorites. While both books include lots of famous international recipes for fresh and cured sausage, Aidells / Kelly presents these recipes is a more organized fashion which is better suited if you happen to want to make a Spanish or Cajun or oriental sausage.

I compared the recipes for `basic breakfast sausage' in both books and found the ingredients to be virtually identical. The only difference in ingredients is the presence of dried marjoram in Peery / Reavis and their substitution of brown sugar for granulated white sugar. Peery / Reavis' procedure was also more detailed, especially since it was oriented toward making sausage in casings while Aidells / Kelly refers you the general technique on filling casings without repeating the instructions for the specific recipe.

While Aidells / Kelly organizes their recipes by region, Peery / Reavis organizes their recipes by ingredients, giving us chapters on:

Pork Sausages
Beef, Lamb, and Veal Sausages
Combination Sausages
Game Sausages
Poultry Sausages
Seafood Sausages
Vegetarian Sausages

Both books have lots of sidebars on the origins and trivia about sausages. The introduction giving the history seems like one of them cribbed from the other, as they both seem to touch on the same bases, right down to the references to sausage in Homer's `Odyssey'. Aidells / Kelly is just a bit more interesting in this background information; however the charm of Peery / Reavis' background from U.S. bratwurst central in Sheboygan, Wisconsin is not lost in their obvious love of their subject.

As a trivial aside, I must object to Peery / Reavis' comment on Otto von Bismarck's comparison of sausage making and lawmaking, as Bismarck's intent was clearly to illuminate the nature of lawmaking and politics and not to make a culinary comment.

Both books are very good. Get both, but get Peery / Reavis first if you really want to make sausage yourself.

Underwhelming, June 7, 2006
While the book is informative and provides good instruction about some of the basics of sausage making, it is nonetheless lacking in many respects. First, most of the book's recipes that I've made come out under-salted and under-spiced. While this is something that you can test for and adjust during production, it would have been better for the authors to simply provide quantities that produced sufficiently seasoned sausages. In short, most of the sausages end up bland, tasting more like plain ground meat than sausage.

Furthermore, the recipes utilizing sausage are unimpressive as well. Most cooks experienced enough to make fresh sausage probably don't need a recipe for a sausage omelette or sausage pizza.

Finally, and most importantly, the book misses some important techniques that are essential to proper sausage making. While they do make mention of freezing meats for 30 min. before stuffing, they don't sufficiently emphasize how essential it is to maintain near-freezing temperatures throghout the process until the casings or stuffed. Failure to do so will result in dry, crumbly sausages, something I learned the hard way. Additionally, there is no discussion of the "primary bind," an essential step in sausage making whereby the ground & spiced meat mixture is beaten (either by hand with a wooden spoon or with a paddle attachement in a stand mixer) for a couple of minutes before stuffing. This allows the meat to bind together, preventing a loose & crumbly sausage, yet this essential step is entirely absent from the book.

My recommendation would be to look at "Charcuterie" by Michael Ruhlman & Brian Polcyn. Not only does that book provide all the ins & outs of sausage making (plus the reasoning behind them) from award-winning professionals, the recipes are perfectly seasoned every time. The book has the added benefit of providing information on some more exotic things to do with meat as well, such as dry-curing hams, prosciutto, salami, etc.

a really helpful guide, March 8, 2000
I bought this book because I wanted an introduction to sausage making, something that I didn't know much about and very much wanted to learn how to do. I haven't tried any of the recipes yet, ( I just got the book a few hours ago ) but I am already really glad I chose this book. Not only are there a lot of recipes for various sausages, both fresh and smoked, there is also a lot of basic sausage-making information perfect for a beginner like myself. There are some great sounding recipes (including how to make your own salami, pepperoni and hot dogs)as well as recipes for dishes that use your homemade sausage.

The only thing that is missing from this book is a more detailed discussion of the various sausage casings available and how to store and use them. All the recipes use natural hog casings (intestines).

Very good survey of the basic techniques., September 25, 2005
This book proves to be outstanding in introducing a person who is completely unfamiliar with the basics of sausage making. After reading this book one will know everything that one needs to know to confidently procure the right equipment, shop for the right ingrdients, and how to get started. The tips on food hygene were helpful, but the dangers of poisoning related mishandling meat seem overstated, and may spook some people from untaking a tradition that was for centuries carried out before refridgerators and certainly in less clean circumstances than the modern kitchen. All in all, it's a clear simply written introduction to the craft of sausage making and that makes it ultimately a success.

My Second Favorite Sausage Book, November 22, 2010
This is one of my go-to books for sausage recipes. My favorite is Bruce Aidells's Complete Sausage Book, but this book is a close second.

The instructions are good for beginners and the recipes are good for all skill levels.

My favorite recipe in this book is the Garlic Sausage. I love garlic, so I bump up the quantities of fresh garlic. I also increase the fresh ginger a little bit (don't tell my wife--she hates ginger). The results are phenomenal.

So here's the dirty secret about sausage cookbooks: There are really only about ten or so recipes that the average DIY sausage maker wants to cook. That won't sell a book though. So they have to fill the pages with goofy recipes you'll never try (like Duck Sausage!). I ignore those recipes when I judge the book, because I know they have to fill the pages and maybe there's some guy out there who really wants to make duck sausage. I think there's a rabbit recipe too, so if Bugs and Daffy ever settle things once & for all, the winner will know what to do with the loser's corpse to hide the evidence.

My only real gripe about this book is that the recipes are organized by meat type instead of by recipe type. I think the recipes should be organized regionally (German, Italian, Mediterranean, Asian, etc.) or by type (breakfast, etc.). I have to skip through the book to find the one I'm looking for, because I know the varieties better than I know the meat contents. ("Is Bockwurst pork, veal, chicken, or mixed?").

I've noticed complaints from some of the other reviewers about the bland spices. I guess that's sort of true, but I assume that from most cookbooks and I usually bump up the seasonings per my own taste preferences.

Great recipes, just be careful with the seasonings, October 13, 2008
I just purchased this book. Yesterday, I was ambitious and wanted to try out some of the recipes. I started out with the portabella sausage for a nice lunch meal. Easy and fantastic. A real keeper of a recipe.

Next, I wanted to try the cotechino. We hosted an exchange student from Reggio Emilia and I wanted to try this recipe from her home town. The results were good. A touch too much cloves for my taste, but passable. I'll cut the cloves to half the amount next time.

The third recipe was the chorizo. A very good recipe for a mildly hot version. It was perfect for my wife. It can easily be spiced up by just increasing the red pepper. The fennel seed was just right and I would not adjust that. Another keeper.

Finally, I made the bockwurst. I noted the quantity of cloves and was concerned. However, the first recipe for the portabella sausage was so good that I was going to trust the author. That was a mistake. Unfortunately, I did not sample any of the meat sausages until I had prepared and mixed all three. If I had sampled them as I went along, I would have never used the quantity of cloves specified in the bockwurst recipe. Three-quarters of a teaspoon of cloves was about three-quarters of a teaspoon too much. A pinch would have been right. Mace would have been maybe a better choice. It is disappointing since everything else with the recipe was very good.

The bockwurst is going to be edible only if it is included with other stronger flavors. The veal is a light flavor to start with and any spicing should be in moderation. I wasted $15 in ingredients. I will make this recipe again with only a pinch of cloves.

So, how do I rate this recipe book? I will give it four stars. The recipes look good and relatively easy with readily available ingredients. The negative is the author's fondness for cloves.

I will experiment with more of the recipes and will be more careful in following the prescribed seasoning. The levels of salt and pepper, so far, are just right. I have followed recipes for sausages from other sources and had batches that were much too salty. I plan to cut the quantities of suspect spices in all first-time future recipes and will sample the mix. I can always add additional seasoning before stuffing.

I would recommend this recipe book with the caveat that one needs to be initially conservative with following the spice quantities. You can always add more to suit. You can never remove or counter excessive seasoning.

Home Sausage Making, February 19, 2010
Home Sausage Making : How-To Techniques for Making and Enjoying 100 Sausages at Home

The book is great. You can't put it down. It gives information on equipment, choices, sources for spices, different casings and more. It gives stories on histories on various sausages, recipies on veal, pork, chicken, game, vegetarian and more. A great find that inspires you.

Great for the beginner., January 9, 2010
This book came with a sausage making/stuffing kit I purchased from Lem Products. (5 lb stuffer kit.) It gives you just enough information to get started safely, without overwhelming you with all of the details and nice-to-know stuff you can learn later when you find yourself addicted to sausage making. I have made several of the recipes and they turned out great! While this book is not the definitive text on the subject, it gets you making sausage.

I recommend this book to any beginner. With a handful of useful tips and solid recipes the authors have insured that you will be successfully making great, fresh sausage in no time. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Always Be Prepared
What if your life was disrupted by a natural disaster, food or water supply contamination, or any other type of emergency? Do you have the essentials for you and your family? Do you have a plan in the event that your power, telephone, water and food supply are cut off for an extended amount of time? What if there were no medical or pharmaceutical services available for days, weeks, or months? How prepared are you?
With this guide by your side, you and your family will learn how to plan, purchase, and store a three-month supply of all the necessities—food, water, fuel, first-aid supplies, clothing, bedding, and more—simply and economically. In other words, this book may be a lifesaver.
Inside you'll find 10 steps to an affordable food storage program plus how to:
·Prepare a home "grocery store" and "pharmacy"
·Use what you store and store what you use
·Store water safely and provide for sanitation needs
·Create a first-aid kit, car kit, and 72-hour emergency kit for the whole family
·And many more invaluable hints and tips
"This clear, concise, step-by-step program is not only affordable and doable, it's essential in these uncertain times. Now, everyone from apartment dwellers to basement owners can store a three-month supply of the essentials, including peace of mind!" — Joni Hilton, author of Once-a-Week Cooking Plan and Cooking Secrets My Mother Never Taught Me ... Read more

Reviews

Disaster Preparedness Books, October 4, 2006
If you're like I was, you're looking through the various disaster preparedness books wondering which one is best. I have worked my way through many of the most popular books and offer a shared review of all of them here. I hope this comparison helps you make a decision. I should also point out that I researched nearly every disaster book out there and recently published the Handbook to Practical Disaster Preparedness for the Family. If interested, search Amazon for the title. Onward with the reviews!

Book 1: Crisis Preparedness by Jack A. Spigarelli
Like many of the disaster preparedness books, this one begins by answering the question, "Why bother being prepared?" It also outlines a framework for being prepared that includes accumulating supplies, getting mentally and physically prepared, and having your finances in order. One thing I particularly liked was the emphasis on the importance of knowledge. It wasn't just about what items you need, but also what skills and knowledge you should develop. But this book is mostly about food preparation for a major disaster, with emphasis on having a year's food storage, milling your own grain, growing sprouts, home canning, dehydrating, freeze-drying, etc. There are detailed tables showing the calories of various foods including their protein, fat, and carbs. The final third of the book offers advice on other topics, including weapons, hand tools, clothing, energy, medical, sanitation, transportation, communications, and home preparation. The book concludes with a list of recommended books and a brief listing of companies that sell disaster preparation items. Overall, this is a very good preparedness book. I probably should have given it 5 stars, but I thought it went a bit overboard on the food plan. That said, it is the most comprehensive of the preparedness books.

Book 2: Preparedness Now! By Aton Edwards
This is another thorough disaster preparedness book, one that focuses more on emergency situations (fire, chemical attack, etc.). It is organized into brief chapters (some only a few pages) on a variety of important topics, including: water, food, shelter, sanitation, communication, transportation, and protection. It is also filled with many packing lists detailing what you should get in preparation. It introduces the e-kit (a very lightweight kit to keep with you) and grab-n-go bag with more extensive items. Final chapters of the book discuss various possible disasters, including earthquakes, tsunami, infectious diseases, chemical and bio warfare, crime, fire, and extreme weather. Some of the commentary is a bit questionable, but the technical content is good. Note the deficiency with this book is that it does not offer any detail on food storage.

Book 3: Disaster Preparedness for Dummies
First of all, this isn't a book. It's a DVD video. I wasn't paying attention when I bought it, and was a bit surprised when it arrived. I generally like the Dummies series. They are well researched and serve as a good summary. This DVD offers a lengthy video discussing many disasters (hurricanes, earthquakes, tornados, etc.), briefly outlining how you might prepare for them. It also has an overview of how you should react in case of a terrorist attack (nuclear, chemical, and biological). But the advice is all very general, and is more like what you'd expect to hear from your local weather station. For example, the video repeatedly advises you to "stay calm" and "evaucate in an orderly fashion." The videos are high quality, but don't expect detailed outdoor survival tips or food storage suggestions. Everything presented is relevant and useful, but it feels more like a FEMA public service announcement.

Book 4: Emergency Food Storage and Survival Handbook by Peggy Layton
This book is broken into six main sections. The first section offers decent but very incomplete summaries on preparing for short-term emergencies. The second section discusses how to store and purify water. The third part talks about the logistics of setting up a food-storage program, and has some suggestions on how to store food. The fourth section details what types of foods you should store. The fifth section has blank inventory planning pages. And finally the last section has some recipes. About half of the 285 page book is either blank planning pages or simple recipes. The first half of the book is pretty good stuff, but I found this book to be incomplete. It does however offer some good advice on food storage.

Book 5: Organize for Disaster by Judith Kolberg
This book goes an entirely different direction than the other preparedness books. Emphasis is on understanding the federal resources (i.e. FEMA, Red Cross, etc.) available, creating a personal intelligence network, organizing essential documents, maintaining insurance coverage, listing a home inventory, preparing your house for disaster, basic first aid, and having a good family communication plan. There is also a good list of necessary items to have on hand that would suit many common disaster. I recommend this book for its common-sense look at disaster preparedness. However, it is not the only book you would need, because it doesn't detail food storage, water purification, heating, etc.. That said, it covers some topics that the other books overlook.

Book 6: Making the Best of Basics, Family Preparedness Handbook by James Talmage Stevens
This book is almost completely about in-home food storage and preparation. There is little discussion outside that (except for basic water issues). Many chapters discuss food in significant detail, to include things like grains, recipes, preparing sourdough breads/biscuits, dairy products, honey, sprouting, drying of fruits/vegetables. At the end of this book is a huge compendium of preparedness resources, telling where things can be purchased in every US state.

Book 7: No Such Thing as Doomsday, by Philip L. Hoag, revised in 2001
This book offers well-researched insights into disaster preparedness. Topics include water, food, heating/cooking, light, power, communications, medical, sanitation, and security. Those subjects are well done. However, much of the book reads like a bit of doomsday prediction, with many pages devoted to scaring the heck out of the reader... focusing on missile attacks, chemical dangers, nuclear war, radiation, decontamination, communist threat, etc. For me personally, I would have like to see more pages devoted to likely threats (e.g. hurricanes, floods, earthquake, blackout, fire, etc.). Also note that Amazon may not carry the latest version (updated in 2001), so you may want to buy directly from the author.

Book 8: When All Hell Breaks Loose, by Cody Lundin
This book falls somewhere between doomsday survivalism and practical disaster preparedness. It is a high quality publication, filled with illustrations and a color insert. My prediction is that you will either love this book or hate it. It does cover many of the basic topics (food, shelter, water, sanitation, light, first aid, self-defense, communications, and transportation). But the material is presented in such a way that it is very chaotic and difficult to read. There are distracting quotes and cartoons, as well as advice that is targeted more towards the end of civilization scenario. For example, he discusses how to wipe your bottom with a stick or other foreign object, how to cook up a rat, how to compost your poop, etc. It's all very interesting, but not particularly useful for say preparing for a harsh winter storm.

Overall, if you can only purchase three books, I would recommend Book 5, Book 6, and either Book 1, 2, 7 or 8. With those three, you should have a balanced look at common sense organizing, food storage, and emergency items to have on hand. If you can buy only one book, I recommend Book 1.

Written by Arthur Bradley, author of "Handbook to Practical Disaster Preparedness for the Family" - just coming available on Amazon (July 2010).

Please be kind enough to indicate if reviews are helpful.

Book does exactly what the title says., November 2, 2006
Just like the title says the book is full of hints to store food for a crisis. There are a number of excellent hints such as storing food that you would normally eat and turning over your stored food through your regular eating habits. The book also mentions having emergency clothing, food and water packed and ready to go because when a crisis occurs there will likely be no time to pack up supplies. You want something you can just grab on the way out the door. Hurricane Katrina is a good example. Having emergency supplies in your car is another excellent idea. Time and again we read about families being stranded without adequate clothing, food and water. Finally, one of the best ideas is to always have a ready store of hundreds of dollars in cash on hand.

Use it only as a start, October 18, 2004
I always liked this book, but a question has arisen about the completeness of the protein in dried milk. Seems that in the process of dehydrating the milk, the protein is largely deactivated. So, it would be a mistake to stock up heavily on the four items mentioned but is better to use more of a variety of foods. Another question is about food allergies arising from a daily heavy consumption of wheat. This is one of the most common food allergies but most people eat more of a variety and allergies to one item don't tend to build up, but with that heavy consumption of one food on a daily basis they could. Another thing to consider is cooking times when fuel might be in short supply or nonexistent. Shortage of food is likely to go hand in hand with fuel shortages. It is better to store many food items that don't have to be well cooked or very thorougly processed. I suggest people buy this book for the valuable information in it but very carefully think about the drawbacks and drastically alter this plan for themselves. The author does list other items to store and suggests best length of storage....read this section carefully. Learn about basics of good nutrition and walk through a grocery store for ideas of what foods might be stored. You can get your storage items in other places than the grocery store, but it will give you some ideas at least.

Good Basis for Learning Food Storage Principles, August 31, 2005
This book is good for the basics of food storage and emergency preparedness. Much of the information coincides with information from the LDS chuch and includes instructions on preparing Long Term Food Storage, First Aid Kits, 72-Hour Kits, and food rotation. Good book for those just starting out in their emergency preparations!

Not enough info to make worthwhile, July 22, 2009
Don't bother spending money on this book. I was able to read most of it in 2 hours because there was little of substance there. Common sense and searching the internet will provide you with most of the information found in this book. I was hoping for more specific information on food storage including recommended amounts of basics per person. Instead the author provides blank pages for you to record what your family eats for a week and then tells you to calculate out the ingredients for a year. She also stresses that you put away in storage the typical foods your family eats so they will not get bored with the basics. Now I might have this wrong as I have never had to do this, but wouldn't you and your family switch to an "eat to live" type of mentality if faced with such a severe crisis? My family is not accustomed to eating canned meats and vegetables, powdered milk, eggs and butter but I think we would have to accept it if that is all that would be available to us. I simply got tired of her telling the same things over and over again.
I was also looking for for ideas on how and where to store all of the supplies suggested. We live in a large house but unless I am willing to put the shelves pictured in the book in my living room, it offered little help. There were plenty of check lists provided and some recipes. But in glancing over the recipes, I noticed one for sweetened condensed milk that didn't specify quantity of sugar when the directions clearly indicated it was to be used.
I just do not think this book gave me much new information as a resource tool.

Exactly What I was looking for!, April 18, 2006
This is exactly the book I was looking for. It gave me ideas I hadn't even thought of in terms of items needed for food storage & survival.

I appreciated the chart about calculating how much ingredients for bread making, so you can plan how much to stock up.

I also liked that she stresses not to get stuff if your family doesn't like it. It should really help to save money in stocking up.

This is a good book, and it will help you make a plan to stock up!

Mixed feelings about this one...., October 13, 2009
This book seems to have a good foundation to start a home survival program but in my opinion is lacking on some very important details. The author suggests you store up to 1 year supply of certain dehydrated products that you should incorporate into your daily eating habits and rotate your stock. The idea is good but the problem lies in the overall health of consuming these products on a regular basis. If you like eating healthy you may find yourself disappointed with the ingredients in many of the products that will store long term. For example, powdered eggs seem to have an anti-caking agent that has aluminum in it which is linked to alzhemiers. Numerous products out there have Food Dyes and Colors (FD&C's) which have been shown in some studies to cause ADD and ADHD in children. As the author does point out and cautions, other products such as certain Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP) flavors contain Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)which can cause headaches in some people. There is a fine line between being prepared for a survival situation at your home and subjecting yourself to not so healthy choices to accomplish this. If you eat healthy or are making your way there I suggest you do not adopt all of the author's suggestions and you will have more than enough work for yourself trying to think of other products to use for long-term storage. Try to purchase organic canned soups and as much organic products that you can replace the not so healthy stuff with. I see nothing wrong with storing some of these "unhealthy" products for an emergency but as a word of advice do not consume these types of processed foods on a regular basis. Perhaps the author is looking for people to hire her for consultation and to purchase the products she sells. On a positive note, if you know next to nothing about food storage and survival the book has some useful ideas, blank charts and commercial resources to help you organize and design your survival plan.

A great mix..., December 11, 2008
Anyone can buy a case of MRE's an say they are prepared for an emergency. What happens when those MRE's expire?

This book provides plan to make preparedness an easily managed day-to-day activity. It is extremely applicable to a wide range of readers. Everyone from the hard-core survivalist concerned about communist or alien invasion to the factory worker concerned about the security of their job could learn something from this book.

I fall into the middle between these two extremes.

The most valuable part of this book is the development of an at-home "supermarket". The essence of this plan is to buy what you use regularly in higher quantities, and begin a first-in first-out rotation of the products you buy. When times get lean start to use up the supplies that you have stockpiled. It sounds simple in theory, but this book really helps define the nitty-gritty of the practice of such a storage plan.

There are other sections of this book regarding long term storage of grains and legumes that was less important to me, but some readers may find valuable. Also, a list of recipes using the staples stored is presented and some lists of non-food items that would help in a disaster situation are presented.

The main takeaway from this book is the implementation of a rotation system to buy what is commonly used and methods for long-term storage of foodstuffs. This book is highly recommended.

Helpful, but not quite enough, October 17, 2007
I've read this, and continue to use it as a reference. While it has a breadth of information useful for planning, what I really missed is a very detailed list of shelf-life for various foods. There are generalized numbers for general food categories, but I'd like much more. If you are truly planning for an emergency, you'll need more than just this book.

a little disappointing, September 2, 2009
I expected more information from this book. Where to buy and the exact amounts, rather than spread sheets I had to figure out and pencil in. There is a lot of good information, but I guess I expected more survival information and less lists. ... Read more

Editorial Review

THE WINE BIBLE is like a lively course from an expert teacher, grounded deeply in the fundamentals and enriched with passionate opinions, asides, tips, anecdotes, definitions, glossaries, illustrations, maps, charts, and wine labels-everything, in fact, but the actual wine itself. Beginning with the basics of mastering wine-how to taste with focus and build a wine-tasting memory, understanding the subtle interplay of variety, vineyard, and vintner to demystifying the issue of vintages-it covers the essentials: The emotion and intrigue of Burgundy. Rhne's untamed reds. The flinty pleasures of sauvignon blanc and surprising delicacy of Spain's Riojas. Bordeaux, the largest fine wine vineyard on the globe and epitome of terroir. Fourteen Sonoma wines to know. The importance of finish. Tuscany, kingom of variable microclimates. The precise and food-friendly wines of Germany. The narrow 30-mile stretch of ambition, experimentation, and surpassing quality called Napa. Why the "punt," or indentation in a wine bottle. Australia, where cutting-edge technology meets easy, outgoing, unpretentious character. Plus Austria, New Zealand, South Africa, Portugal, and more.

Eight years in the writing, Karen MacNeil's THE WINE BIBLE takes any reader, at any level of interest and sophistication, and offers the one thing guaranteed to increase his or her pleasure in wine-knowledge.It's illustrated throughout with maps, photographs, charts, wine labes, and has hundreds of boxes featuring historical tidbits, fun wine facts, and wine destinations while traveling. ... Read more

Reviews

Your second wine book, June 28, 2003
The spine on my worn copy of the Wine Bible is cracked and its pages are dog-eared, even though I think the book has several notable shortcomings. As I write this, I find myself in the unusual position of criticizing the thick volume even though I turn to it for information on a regular basis.

My biggest complaint is that I feel the book doesn't really know what it wants to be. On the one hand, it is a comprehensive reference book that in many areas goes into more depth than other general wine books. But it falls short as a reference book because it lacks the scope of books like The World Atlas of Wine or The Global Encyclopedia of Wine, which cover more up-and-coming wine producing countries, more specific producers and, especially in the case of The World Atlas of Wine, are enhanced by beautiful photographs and maps. Though the Wine Bible is substantial (it weighs in at a hefty 910 pages) its design is more compact than the other books I mentioned, and so might make a better travel companion for someone visiting multiple wine producing regions in a single trip. But the lack of good maps makes a supplemental book necessary.

Additionally, the book can feel like a disjointed collection of articles that ought to have been better integrated before publication. Often, the same information (referring to multiple or confusing names for grape varieties or regions, or quality standards in specific countries) is referred to parenthetically several times, often in quick succession -- something unnecessary, especially given the book's excellent glossary.

But despite these criticisms, I find myself referring to the book repeatedly. Part of the reason for that is author Karen MacNeil's pleasing and unpretentious writing style, which somehow manages to please wine lovers of many different levels of knowledge. Ms. MacNeil's passion for wine comes through in the text and her knowledge of the subject is extremely impressive, with her descriptions often compensating for a lack of quality photos. And though I would like to see more wine producing areas covered by the book, the regions she does address are covered extremely comprehensively. The quality of information is also very even: before travels to these areas I have read the book's sections on South Africa, the Mosel, Loire, Ribera del Duero, Languedoc, as well as everything on my adopted home country, and could not detect any ebb in Ms. Mac Neil's enthusiasm or knowledge.

After some thought, I settled on four stars for this review, despite the complaints I have. The book is just too useful and too skillfully written for fewer stars. The next addition, I feel sure, will earn five on my improvised scale.

Once you have moved beyond the most basic level in wine knowledge, this is an important book to have. If you can buy only one book on the subject, this is not the one I would suggest -- The World Atlas of Wine gets my vote for that honor -- but if you were to limit your collection to two books, then I think this is a serious candidate for that second position. Once you've got that much covered, I'd lean toward a book that focuses on your favorite wine producing region or another specific aspect of the subject, like tasting or wine production.

An excellent introduction to wine..., September 4, 2002
A great book for a beginner. This book doesn't rate wines, it teaches you about how they are made, what flavors each grape is known for, what regions grow each type of grape and so on. Immensely useful information. I have used this as

* a learning tool,
* a reference when I'm curious about a wine I've found
* to settle arguments with family over wine labeling
* a reference to decide which wines may be worth trying from a specific region.

As a reference, the book is not encyclopedic, but it doesn't attempt to be either. The book is a bible in the sense that it gives you a good solid overview of a wine region, it's styles of wines, and some of it's representative producers if you want to start trying out the regions wines.

It is quick to point out that the ultimate judge of a wine is the drinker, and you shouldn't be shy to decide you do or don't like a wine despite it's reputation. I like that and believe it is a good approach.

For all who love wine..., November 7, 2002
Utterly fascinating and comprehensive, The Wine Bible is just the right length to provide even the most discriminating oenophile with all the facts needed to quench his thirst. It is difficult to imagine a better overview of all the wine areas of the world. Certainly there are more scholarly tomes, but MacNeil's ebullient and zestful writing style is utterly charming and never wearying, her descriptions of specific wines so lively you can almost taste them. I wanted to rush out and buy all her recommendations.

The layout of the book starts with the basics of how wine is made, what factors make great wine, how to taste, the major grapes and their characters, and other fundamentals. It then proceeds into an extensive look at the countries that produce wine. Each country section breaks down the major wine producing areas within the country, going into great detail to highlight the unique qualities of those areas that bring their wine to life. The country sections also include travel notes, comments about the local food, wineries to visit, and more. At the end of each growing area section, MacNeil includes specific wines of note.

This format makes the subject quite approachable, but also leads to the only complaint I have (and it is not enough to take away anything from the book.) Because of the length (900+ pages), the book is written sectionally. Given the scope, MacNeil wrote it in a manner than lends each section to being self-contained. Because of this, when reading several country sections, MacNeil repeats herself many times, often explaining a concept in a later chapter that she had explained earlier. This is done for clarity sake, especially if the book is being used as a reference. For a complete readthrough, though, one can simply skip over what had already been explained previously.

If you have a passing knowledge of wine and wish to go to the next level (or simply need an approachable, yet complete reference), I can think of no better place to start than The Wine Bible. MacNeil's love of wine certainly comes through and makes this reference a gripping read, one of the few references you'll find hard to put down.

Wine Bible, March 19, 2002
This is a very solid book at least in the opinion of this newcomer to the field of fine wine. There seems to be good coverage for many wine regions around the world, and some good introductory material on the making of wine. The author describes grape types, climate, topography, storage casks, and whatever else may determine the quality and character of wines. The wine industry is not simple, but this book goes to great lengths to make it understandable. Granted it is my first venture into this field, but it appears that this book has something for everyone.

The Title Is Correct -- The Bible of Wine, December 16, 2002
I think "The Wine Bible" (TWB) should be the third book purchase for wine beginners (after "Wine for Dummies" and "Windows on the World Complete Wine Course"). TWB is full of good information. Of course, the first section is a must-read. Then, the sections are split into separate geographical areas and are very good and very detailed, while still being easy to read (the author's "education" background is readily apparent and helpful to the reader). I especially liked the depth of information that is presented in a friendly manner. For example, I wanted more in-depth information on Valpolicella. Most books given only a paragraph to it, if they give anything at all. Over several sections, this book probably had close to three pages (a lot of text on each page) which is about ten times the information of the competition. And no, this book is not lopsided in favor of information on Italy. That is just one example of why this book gets five stars. There are many other cases of information that other books do not contain or they gloss over. This book has a lot to offer.

The Wine Bible, December 12, 2001
There are so many great wines and so little time to taste all the wines of the world. Karen does a fantastic job of boiling down all of the wines to the essence. Or as she puts it wines that deserve our attention. This book is a wealth of information. Read "how to use the book" first. The information about the regions and where to visit and what to taste will make sure this book is a traveling companion for me.
Enjoy your wine journey.

The book to start with, February 17, 2003
So I'm a beer snob, and learning to be a (cheap) wine snob. This book was given me as a gift by my parents, and it is cool.

It won't tell you everything there is to know about wine; that only comes with further reading and lots of tasting. But it's a spectacular foundation to learning the history and traditions involved, and it does a remarkable job of covering its subject without prejudices. The history of recent (i.e. last couple of hundred years) of wine development is the focus -- if you're looking for information on ancient wines you won't find much of it here, but if you want to know how Chile or Australia became the wine-growing powerhouses they are today, this book will tell you everything you might wish to know.

I've no real complaints with the book. There are big holes in its coverage, but wine is a truly gigantic subject and MacNeil has done a great job covering as much ground as she can -- there's great information on most of the major wine-growing countries, starting with France and Italy and going from there. There's even a narrative of sorts, with heroes like Robert Mondavi and the Gallo Brothers who rebuilt the California wine industry with book knowledge when the traditions had been wiped out by Prohibition, and villains like the phylloxera aphid that nearly destroyed the wine industry worldwide before American botanists saved the day by grafting European vines onto American rootstocks. Ancient traditions in France, Germany, and Italy are placed alongside modern innovation in California, Australia, and South America, showing that either way is an effective method for creating a great wine. Champagne is mentioned alongside the humble Spanish cava and party-loving German sekt. And the great old fortified wines -- port, sherry, madeira, marsala -- get their due in detail most people probably never imagined.

It's an excellent book to just open to a random page and flip through. It's informative without being snobbish, and written for both the casual browser and the serious oenophile. Tradition and modern science sit side-by-side, and the reader is bound to find a few little-known future favorites (Argentinian Malbec, in my case, a powerfully flavorful wine that I tried alongside some pot roast) just waiting in the "interesting cheap stuff" bins at the liquor store. Essentially, with this book there's no excuse for buying the cheap stuff in the box, or simply settling for the easy varietals (unless of course that's what you want). If you want to learn about wine and like to read, get this book and the address of a good liquor store.

Perfect for beginners (and professionals), November 9, 2006
I believe that this book knows *exactly* what it wants to be. It doesn't try to be as comprehensive as either "The World Atlas of Wine" or "The Oxford Companion to Wine". What this book is trying to do is appeal to everyone, and be considerably more accessible than the books referenced above. I recently gave this as a gift to my father-in-law who was interested in learning about wine. This was the only book I even considered giving to him. It contains enough information to get someone started, and make them thirsty enough to want more. I would probably follow this up with either "How to Taste" by Jancis Robinson (speaking of thirst...).

Just enough to have you begging for more, March 31, 2006
When I was studying for my Sommelier Diploma our assigned texts could be dry and confusing so I always started off by reading the Wine Bible. The Wine Bible gave me just enough information to jog my memory and I felt as though I had a handle on the basics before moving on to the required reading of our text.

The book is organized by major wine growing regions of the world so you learn about the region (ex. Bordeaux,France or Napa,CA) not by grape or wine type. If you are more interested in finding out what types of wines you would enjoy drinking, then I would suggest Oz Clarke's Understanding Wine. From there I would then suggest moving on to Mr. Clarke's Encylopedia of Grapes.

The information given in the Wine Bible is enjoyable,unintimidating,and easy to read and understand. It wets your appetite (pun intended) just enough so that you want to know more about the subject at the end of each chapter. You can use the book as a reference or read from cover to cover. The only complaint I have of the Wine Bible is that it is over 300 pages which makes it difficult to carry in your purse or backpack. Even with the bulkyness this is the one book that I have chosen on several occasions to take with me on week long vacations.

Fun, useful and amazingly accurate, August 22, 2006
Karen MacNeil's Wine Bible is so ambitious that it seems almost impossible for it to succeed. This book is first of all an encyclopedia, so it sets out to be comprehensive and it succeeds. Almost every bit of knowledge that isn't about a particular vintage can be found here. Remarkably, for an encyclopedia, many of the entries are quite detailed. I was particularly impressed by the section on Austrian and Italian wines (I've spent a fair amount of time in both countries).
Accuracy? It's a rule that everybody makes mistakes and the more ambitious you are, the more you make. But this rule doesn't seem to apply to MacNeil. Some wine snobs of my acquaintance have combed the book looking for errors (they're easy to find in most wine texts). So far, even this punctilious gang has found nothing wrong.
Another impressive thing about this book is its modesty. The author includes a generous bibliography that takes the reader to more detailed sources when it's necessary.

But the reason that you'll pick this book up time and again is its unfailing good writing and good humor. MacNeil is a pleasure to read and one suspects she'd be a pleasure to share a glass of wine with too.

Potential buyers should be aware that this isn't an atlas-real wine loons should have a seperate one of those anyway. The chapter on winemaking is good reading for a novice but leaves out a lot that a specialist might want to know. You won't make your own wine based on The Wine Bible. It's also not a coffee-table book. You'll have to look elsewhere for more pictures of gorgeous vineyards at sunset. But for the single, indispensible wine reference at a great price, you can't beat it.

Lynn Hoffman author of The New Short Course in Wine ... Read more

Editorial Review

How many minutes should you cook green beans? Is it better to steam them or to boil them?
What are the right proportions for a vinaigrette?
How do you skim off fat?
What is the perfect way to roast a chicken?

Julia Child gave us extensive answers to all these questions–and so many more–in the masterly books she published over the course of her career. But which one do you turn to for which solutions? Over the years Julia also developed some new approaches to old problems, using time-saving equipment and more readily available products. So where do you locate the latest findings?

All the answers are close to hand in this indispensable little volume: the delicious, comforting, essential compendium of Julia’s kitchen wisdom–a book you can’t do without. ... Read more

Reviews

Useful Cooking Reference, September 28, 2001
I love cooking shows and often read cookbooks for pleasure, picking up tips from each author and pondering what recipes I'd like t try, but I have to admit that I've never been a part of the cooking cult that worships Julia Child. I do remember watching her shows as a child, with my mother, and know she pioneered the genre, but the meals she made rarely appealed to me--too time consuming, too "fussy" and just too "strange" for every day taste. (If I have to visit eight different shops and peruse three mail order catalogs to make a dish, I'm probably not going to try it.)

Recently, I picked up "Julia's Kitchen Wisdom" at the library and was quickly sold. I am now ordering a copy to keep. The book is filled with useful basic recipes and techniques, as well as lots of helpful time-saving tips that Child has picked up over the years. It's not really a recipe book per se, though tried-and-true formulas for things like Hollandaise sauce and pastry dough do appear, it's more of a kitchen guide. It's full of ingredient substitutions, serving suggestions and definitions of terms you may come across. More useful to experienced cooks, it's also a helpful guide for the best technique, according to Child, for things like braising, searing, roasting and folding. Child's years in the kitchen have made here at master and I was pleasantly surprised to find many time-saving techniques and places were Child says the "easy" way is actually better.

This slim volume really packs a wallop of cooking information and I think it would make a nice addition to any cook's bookshelf.

Handy reference, March 7, 2001
Packed with expertise, Julia Child's "Julia's Kitchen Wisdom" began life as her personal kitchen reference, "a mini aide-memoire for general home cookery." It addresses the basics - making stock, master recipes and variations on basic sauces, soups, salad dressings, bread dough, cakes, omelets, rice and more. There are charts for steaming vegetables and tips for successful roasting, braising, saut�ing, broiling and stewing.

In among the basic techniques and recipes are boxed tips - for herb bouquets, making clarified butter, buying and storing eggs, whipping cream, butterflying a chicken, etc.

Recipes range from earthy to elegant - French Fries, Pizza, Hamburgers, Pot au Feu Boiled Dinner, Cream of Mushroom Soup, French Style Risotto, Potato Galette, Genoise Cake, Country Pate, Beef Bourguignon, Creamed Lobster (or shrimp or crab).

The index is extensive and cross-referenced and the book is impeccably organized - a slim and efficient volume which answers most of the questions that arise in everyday cooking.

Lovingly penned recipes, from a lifetime of cooking!, December 30, 2000
After 40 years of cooking with fellow chefs and friends, Julia Child has developed a refined method for cooking her master recipes. In this cute little cookbook, she has also included variations to many of the recipes to show us all how creative cooking can be, yet how essential it is to follow the basic cooking truths. Julia was born in Pasadena, California. She then moved to Paris with her husband Paul and studied at the Cordon Bleu. After writing her first cookbook "Mastering the Art of French Cooking," in 1961, she appeared on many public television cooking shows.

Judith Jones can be credited for discovering Julia Child, she is the best editor Julia Child could have ever found. She is very wise and once wrote me a nice letter to explain why my instructions in my own cookbook were too truncated. She loves the cookbooks she edits to have a personality and an easy flowing writing style. I took her advice very seriously and she has in fact improved my writing by her one small comment. It is with that said, that I can say that her influence on this book has only made Julia's writing even more wonderful.

I love the fact that Julia gives her editor so much credit in the Acknowledgments section. Without great editors, most cookbooks would never make it to the publishing stage. David Nussbaum was also very influential in the writing of this particular cookbook as he was with "Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home." He helped to gather information needed for this book from Julia's books and shows. He also spent time with Julia in Judith Jones's Vermont kitchen, working out the details of some recipes.

The book I am reviewing is only 127 pages, but there is also a 288 page large print edition which I applaud Julia for considering and publishing. In both books, Julia presents soups, sauces, salads, dressings, vegetables, meats, poultry, fish, eggs, breads, crepes, tarts, cakes and cookies. The index is delightfully easy to use and I love the headings, e.g., Almond(s) is in a different color than the list following it. In that way, you can find the basic categories of Apples, Crab, Soup, Cookies, etc.

When you read the text in this cookbook, you will almost feel that Julia Child is reading to you. I can hear her voice and that is what makes this book so wonderful. Each chapter begins with a fun note (or what you might call a headnote) from Julia. The first chapter is "Soups and Two Mother Sauces." There is a recipe for "Leek and Potato Soup." Julia explains the master recipe and then gives variations of "Onion and Potato Soup," "Cream of Leek and Potato," and "Watercress Soup." What you will learn from this book is "techniques." This allows you to create your own recipes. In cooking there are certain proven cooking methods and that is what I believe Julia is trying to show you. You learn to make a white sauce and a hollandaise sauce in the first chapter. The style of the master recipes is similar throughout the book. Each one has a nice heading of a different color, ingredients are listed in the order they will be used and the instructions are easy-to-read, yet do not have numbers. The Variations for the recipes are in a paragraph style, but also have nice headings in a different color. Each page has two columns of text.

In the second chapter, you will enjoy learning to make a "Basic Vinaigrette Dressing." The variations sound just delicious and there is also advice in a small block which explains how to keep your vinaigrette fresh for several days. Throughout the book you will find little blocks of text with a pink background. These must be some of Julia's secrets. This is a book you will want to read and absorb.

In the third chapter, Julia has charts for blanching and boiling vegetables. She says: "When you serve fine, fresh green vegetables, you want them to show off their color." She gives some sage advice on how to accomplish this. The chapter on "Meats, Poultry and Fish" is an introduction into saut�ing, broiling, roasting, stewing, braising, poaching and steaming.

Then, onto French Omelets and dreamy souffl�s. You will enjoy learning how to make molded dessert custards or as we know them to be, "Caramel Custards". She makes a "Classic Custard Sauce," a "Pastry Cream" and finishes the chapter on eggs with a "Classic Chocolate Mousse."

Julia Child knows that you could just use a ready-made pie shell, but thinks it is a shame if you can't make one yourself. With that, I can agree. So, in her Bread Chapter, she not only explains how to make basic bread dough, she shows us how to make an all-purpose pie dough. "Cakes and Cookies" follow this chapter. This will soon become one of your favorite chapters. Now, there is one thing you will want to know when making Julia's recipes. She uses a different method for measuring flour than I do. She sifts the flour into the cups and then sweeps off the excess. That will be key to your success where noted. I personally only use that method when making pie crusts, because I create my recipes by the dip and sweep method, which is the lazy way! You will notice that in her directions, she will say 1/2 cup cake flour (sifted and measured as per the box on page 97.) I was delighted to find a recipe for "Cat's Tongues." While I had heard of these finger-shaped sugar cookies, I had no idea what they tasted like.

I recommend this book to new cooks, especially because these are the master recipes I learned when I was learning to cook as a teenager in cooking class. For experienced cooks, you will enjoy the variations. This is a book of Kitchen Wisdom from American's favorite teacher of French home cooking.

~The Rebecca Review

An Absolute Delight, February 21, 2001
I bought this book to give as a gift and kept it for myself! I am so glad I did. Although I have been cooking for many years, this delightful little book gave me lots of hints and tips, as well as often making me laugh out loud. I regard it more as a book of kitchen essays than as a cookbook, although I think any cook could benefit from the recipes, variations, hints, tips, and reminders it contains. Many of Childs' original recipes have been simplified for this book, but this does not appear to have compromised them.

One of the nicest things about "Julia's Kitchen Wisdom" is the attractive layout and its wonderful index. Someone above mentioned this also. I am very appreciative of a good index in any book - and this one sure made the book easy to use.

I also loved Julia's pithy quotes at the beginning of each chaper--I could just hear her saying them, breathlessly. Her wording in some of the recipes is droll---when describing how to make an omelet, she instructs the reader to "jerk the pan towards you", "bang on the handle with your fist", and "spear a lump of butter with a fork". No formal language here! She really endeared herself to me when she said that she uses an aluminum Wearever pan for her omelets.

The great photos, taken over many years, brought back good memories of Julia Child's weekly shows.

Master recipes from Julia, December 8, 2000
When I first started in this business I made pencil written copies of some of Julia's master recipes and refered to them often. This new book would have saved me the time and effort. It is truly a great resource for technique. Both the home cook and the professional could make good use of this material. I suggest that it be included in the library of every new professional and every culinary student as a resource tool.

So glad I have this book!, September 1, 2005
I bought this book awhile ago and have even given it as gifts. For such a thin book, I find myself returning to it more than the many other cookbooks on my shelves. I made a crab souffle last year for Mother's Day, which came out great. Last night, I looked at recipes for quiche from three books before I finally turned to the recipe in this book. I didn't need a recipe with a ton of ingredients--I just wanted to know how many eggs to how much cream and how much cooked mushrooms I could add. This book gave me the exact answer I was looking for! I love that this book gives you the methods of dishes, gives you a little direction, and gives you the freedom to add your own creativity. When I read other recipes with many ingredients, I wonder if I'll screw up the proportions if I change the recipe. This book is the best reference I own.

(ALMOST) EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW!, December 14, 2000
This brilliant little book distills all of Julia Child's years of experience into just over 100 pages. But instead of scratching the surface of cooking and its techniques, Ms. Child tells you everything you need to know. Whether you're an expert in the kitchen or a beginner with only three favorite recipes, this book will help you expand your repertoire. Its quick reference structure makes it a snap to check the best way to cook, say, a pork chop, or how to make your vegetables tastier than ever. And interspersed among the chapters are Julia's "Master Recipes" for those classic dishes that never go out of style. A real gem.

Julia's personal notes, January 21, 2008
Julia's Kitchen Wisdom: Essential Techniques and Recipes from a Lifetime of Cooking

While this book has many basic techniques and basic recipes, it is essentially a condensed version of the more-comprehensive book by Julia Child: The Way to Cook. If you purchase The Way to Cook, this book will disappoint you in comparison. It's a great cookbook on its own, but an unnecessary purchase if you already own The Way to Cook, since every recipe in Kitchen Wisdom is included in The Way to Cook.

I was a bit dissapointed..., December 31, 2000
This book is fairly comfortable to read and well cross referenced. However, I expected more from it after reading the reviews. Most of the topics covered are plain common sense while cooking that I learned from my parents and working in various food environments. This book does however provide valuable advice to people who haven't spent a lot of time in the kitchen, or to those who want to try cooking unfamiliar foods. I did get some valuable tips from this book, and some of the basic recipes are good places to start.

What a wonderful cookbook!, July 5, 2006
This instantly became my favorite cookbook and I use it so much that it doesn't spend much time on the shelf. This cookbook transcends the "collection of recipes" style of most cookbooks; its style is more "how to improve your cooking skills."

Even so, some of my very favorite recipes are in this book. All the recipes adaptable and are presented in a way to make your own adaptations easier. For example, I love the braised rice recipe and found it easy to adapt the recipe for brown rice by a few minor adjustments. And this rice is good! Really, every recipe that I have tried is good.

In addition to producing wonderful tasting food, these recipes aren't the type that take hours of elaborate preparation. You can use this book to prepare full, decent meals after work in a reasonable amount of time.

This book is suitable for nearly all levels of cooking skills. It assumes some familiarity with basic cooking techniques, so a first-time cook might need a little help. ... Read more

Editorial Review

It's the book that started it all, the well-loved edition that first bought Betty Crocker cookbooks into American homes and hearts. Published in 1950, this ground-breaking title made cooking easy, it made cooking appealing, and best of all, it made cooking fun. Packed full of practical tips, useful hints, and lavish color photography, this was the book that shaped cooking for generations, the book that people remember. Every recipe you -- or your mother -- ever wanted is here, from pigs in blankets, to Emergency Steak to Chicken Tomato Aspic. Enjoy the clever ideas throughout -- twelve months of birthday cake ideas, showing how to decorate a cake to match each month's gem stone, pointers to make setting up a kitchen easy, or hints to make housework more pleasant. Feel a part of history when making Home Front Macaroni, developed during WW II rationing to stretch meat. Get into the spirit of fun with a Betty Crocker "Cookie Shine" or cookie baking party. People who grew up with this book will want it for the memories; those who are new to the book will want it for its charm and its intelligent approach to cooking. It's a perfect keepsake and a great gift. ... Read more

Reviews

This is the first cookbook I recommend, May 7, 2000
I am thrilled that Betty Crocker has re-issued this cookbook. My mother received a copy back in 1956 as a wedding present and it is the one I learned to cook from. I still use it more than any of my other cookbooks. The recipes are just "plain home cooking": no fancy ingredients, no complicated cooking techiques. However, I have never made a dish from this book that has failed to get compliments. It is a good book for beginners as well as the rest of us whose skills fall somewhere between "burns water" and cordon bleu.

Enchanting! Memories of Mom in the kitchen flooded my mind., October 11, 1999
I grew up watching my wonderful mother use an original copy of this cookbook. She received it as a wedding present. She still has the original....which will someday be passed on to me. The pages still bear traces of all those wonderful baking experiences I shared with mom...chocolate, butter, flour. The original got so much use,that between her learning to become the great Betty Crocker cook she became and her teaching me all she had learned, some of the pages managed to come away from the binding. I remember mentioning to mom how nice it would be if her book was in a binder. Someone must have read my mind because here it is.....the reproduction, in all it's original splendor....bound! Thanks for a wonderful, loving cookbook. Besides my copy, I have since purchase one for each of my three sisters, and one for mom as well.

absolutely the best!, October 29, 1999
I can't really say this is a review. I got this book from my mom, who passed away in 1960. I have used the book so often that it is falling apart. I will never part from the book I got from my Mom, but, since I want to keep it as a keepsake, I decided that I need a new one, because it is the most reliable book I have ever used. I intend to use it as often as I used my Mom's original book. My only regret is that I waited so long to buy a new copy. PS., I just love this book!

A classic worth owning!, April 17, 2002
Please, don't let the fact that this cookbook pre-dates such modern conviences as the microwave oven and food processors drive you away from this book! There are short cuts, methods and recipes that you simply will not find anywhere else. Unlike a lot of modern cookbooks, this volume accepts the fact that not everyone is a kitchen whiz--so it explains EVERYTHING; from how to bake a chicken (time, temperature, preparation of the bird, type of pan, seasonings) to how to cook fresh vegetables (quite an education if all your mom used was canned or frozen!)

This cookbook promotes healthy eating without the guilt trip that a lot of modern cookbooks put you through. It even has suggestions of how to stock a kitchen if you are just starting out (originally for new brides, but hey, you can adapt!) I really like this cook book. Even more important--I USE this cookbook! And no, I'm not a a stay at home wife; I'm a career woman! So if it doesn't work or takes too long, I don't do it! It's a great working cookbook and a great reference cookbook--one you can pull off the shelf and use when you wonder how Mom did it! Bon appetite!

The most useful cookbook and a family heirloom., November 3, 1998
I have searched for this cookbook for years; in garage sales, by writing to the publisher and through many other outlets. My grandmother gave my mother this cookbook as a wedding present in 1956. By then, it was already on its ninth printing. My mother first used this book to learn how to cook, then to become an excellent cook. It was always out on the counter when she was in the kitchen when I was a child. By following these recipes, success is certain. It also contains such helpful hints on the substitution of ingredients and setting a table properly. Often when I would come home from high school, my mother would call from the office and instruct me to make an entr�e from it. Even for a typical sixteen-year-old who was more interested in fast cars than gastronomic delights, I was pleased that whatever recipe I chose to attempt, the instructions were so clear and correct that my family was always pleased with the results. After a few years in the college residence halls, I moved to an apartment. My mother, always worrying that her baby boy would not eat right, handed me her prized cookbook and requested that I please take good care of it. The book was nearing twenty-five years in age and her favorite recipes were easy spotted by the frayed edges. Several pages were coming out of the bindings, even the tape had worn out on some. I cherished this gift. During college and then while moving around the world with my career, I entertained friends while eating nutritious and inexpensive meals prepared using the recipes and helpful hints on color and presentation. Today, I frequently get the old cookbook out and share the pleasures of cooking with my wife. I always think of my mother who passed away ten years ago and with this cookbook was able to please so many people and raise us children. With the reprinting of Betty Crocker's Picture Cookbook, I can now retire the one with my mother's handwriting and fingerprints on so many pages, set it aside as a family heirloom. Today, I have ordered three of these cookbooks. I shall use one myself and give the others as gifts. Thank you so much for reissuing this treasure.

Kind of disappointed...., July 9, 2000
Having searched old book stores for years for another copy of the ORIGINAL, I was thrilled to see that Betty Crocker was being "reprinted". Mine, you see, has been the most well used book in our home for 40 years of marriage. I didn't want to throw it out for sentimental reasons, however, a lot of pages were missing or stuck together. I also wanted to give one to each of my children. It looks like the same book but those die hard BC cooks will notice right away that this is an edited version and not a reprint of the original! Gone is "Pink Bunny" (I only made it once and have never heard the end of it!) "Black Midnight" (the ONLY chocolate cake you'll ever need! and other favorites. Some recipes were updated for 90's nutrition which took away the 1950's authenticity. Yes I was kind of disappointed but I still feel it should be on every kitchen shelf as it is a most valuable reference tool and all the basics you'll ever need to know about are in this one volume.

Best Cookbook Ever!, December 26, 1999
When I was young I thought this cookbook was the only one which existed. This was the only cookbook my mother ever used. So much in fact that now many pages are missing or just stuffed in the back because they came away from the binding. I have been trying to find a replacement for this cookbook for years for my own kitchen. I called Betty Crocker up years back to see if they could tell me where to get a copy and they told me to look in garage sales or used book store. Finally my mother-in-law who lives in Nebraska found a used copy in pristine condition for me at a book sale. Although I own dozens of cookbooks this is the one I come back to for the true basics of good cooking. I have owned four restaurants and have used this cookbook many a times to reference the basics. It is the greatest thing that Betty Crocker has ever done by bringing this cookbood back to print. I have ordered one as a backup for mine and one for my sister. Everyone should have one in their kitchen!

Buyer beware!, January 19, 2001
Better check this one out before you buy it! I thought my mom had the first edition, so I was enthusiastic about getting a copy of the cookbook I grew up using the most. Then I saw this "1st edition facsimile" in a bookstore. I am SO glad I didn't buy this before I saw it. First, I realized from inspecting this that my mom's copy was probably a second edition of the book, with a lot more pictures, step-by-step instructions, and recipes. Second, this "facsimile" is cheaply reproduced in a three ring notebook on paper that is as flimsy as most modern magazines. I'd predict, after only a few weeks of use, that the pages and hole punches will be torn from just light use. You really should check this out before buying it!

Great blast from the past, August 7, 2000
No nonsense home style cooking. This book is wonderful as a guide for home style cooking. Ever wanted to make just every day home style cooking? Here you go. Recipes are simple to follow, easy to read, and guess what, they do not require anything fancy. I love to turn to this cookbook when I really think I have nothing to cool. This book shows you how to turn out exciting meals from the pantry. This also has some great serving ideas and more. I also enjoyed the book as recipes and cookbooks do change over the years. This had a great deal of recipes that I have never seen, and they were pretty tasty. This is the book to pick up if you want a little change, but not too much in your every day meals.

Amazon.com offers the best deal on this great classic!, August 17, 2004
My late aunt owned this book and I borrowed it from my 80 year old mother who inherited it. The bread and refrigerator roll recipes were excellent as well as all the cake and cookie recipes I tried. Mother was unwilling to part with her copy so I ordered my own online...used for about $80. Now this old, formerly out-of-print book has been reprinted and is even better than the original! It's basically the same as the old book except it comes with a ring binder (like the newer Betty Crocker cookbooks have) making it much easier to use. (lays flat on the counter)It also has dividers for each section (like Soups, Meat/Fish, Pies,Frostings, etc.) which is a big improvement. The nostalgic effect is not lost in the new copy, however, because the pictures/photos, page-layouts, and page numbers are exactly the same as the original 50's book. I own close to 100 cookbooks and this is one of my favorites. It's teaches how to make the basic comfort foods of the 1950's when women were expected to know how to bake "from scratch." (The Amazon.com price is cheaper than I've seen it anywhere else (like Cracker Barrel)and their service is excellent and FAST. I ordered my new copy and received it the next day) ... Read more

Editorial Review

From simple to spectacular, recipes created for the stand mixer.

Sales of the stand mixer are consistently on the rise -- understandably, since it's perhaps the most integral piece of culinary equipment one can own. No other machine can knead dough, grind meat, slice vegetables, whip egg whites and make ice cream.

This new edition features 40 brand new recipes and 16 pages of all-new color photography. The outstanding collection of delicious recipes will inspire everything from appetizers and soups to homemade pasta dishes and sausages, from divine desserts to special snack treats.

Some of the delicious recipes include:

• Parmesan cheese straws; minestrone; falafel pitas; deep-dish chicken and sausage pie with biscuit crust
• Potato latkes; Hungarian sausage; garlic kielbasa; basic egg pasta; lemon black pepper pasta
• Banana walnut bread; sour cherry scones with orange glaze; the ultimate chocolate chip cookie
• Cranberry maple squares; banana cream pie; chocolate amaretto cake; French vanilla ice cream.

A special section on understanding the equipment answers questions about stand mixers and their attachments and gives detailed information on their uses. Also included are dozens of valuable tips and techniques from expert chefs.

Reviews

Now I know how to use my Kitchen Aid, November 4, 2005
I've had a Kitchen Aid for 3 years, but never used it as anything more than a souped up hand mixer. A friend gave me this book along with the pasta roller and grinder attachments about a month ago. I've used a half dozen recipes out of this book and all have been great and in the process I've really learned to use my Kitchen Aid. Learning to use the pasta roller was more than worth the price of the book and the pasta recipes are killer. If your buying a Kitchen Aid or giving somebody one as a present this book is the perfect compliment - its really expanded what I can do with my mixer.

Terrificly Useful!, November 6, 2005
I was so pleased to receive this book from a friend. At first, I wasn't sure that it would be useful to me as I do not have the different attachments for my mixer other than what it came with. I was so pleasantly surprised to find so many wonderful recipes that do not require extra attachments. So far, (I think the Orange Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake and the Potato and Cheese Pierogi's are my favorite, but I am working my way through the recipes and may find new favorites tomorrow!!!

Lost without it, July 21, 2006
Bought a lovely Kitchenaid stand mixer.

And that's what it did. Stand. And do nothing. Until I bought this book.

Seriously, Kitchenaid should up the price of the mixer by the cost of this book, and throw it in as an essential attachment.

Very helpful, lots of explanations and tips. Couldn't work without it. If you splashed out for the mixer, splash out for the book. It's as essential as the power cord.

Get Real, March 25, 2006
I have a bone to pick with reviewers who slam a book because it may not have pictures. You can't judge a book by such petty criteria. After all, Mastering the Art of French Cooking (one of the best books ever written about French cuisine) doesn't have pictures. To have or to have not pictures is something that a publisher determines when deciding a price for the book. You want to spend $40 on a book with pictures? Fine. For my money I'll take a $20 or less price point cook book with great recipes any day. The Mixer Bible is chock full of great recipes whether you have the extra attachments or not. The authors were recently on a Kitchenaid conversations panel where they stated that half the recipes in the book can be made with only the basic 3 attachments that come with most mixers whether Sunbeam, Viking or Jennaire. It seems like they really tried to write a book for anyone with a stand mixer. They wrote a great book to cook by, not to use as a picture book. Judge a book not by its cover, but what's inside in the way of recipes and know how.

Indespensible (if you have the attachments), February 23, 2006
This gets 5 stars IF you have a KitchenAid mixer with attachments. It makes the difference between actually using all those cool attachments and putting them away in a drawer! I wouldn't recommend it to those who have the mixer, but no attachments, because it's use would be limited.

I had no idea!!!!!!!, October 20, 2005
This is a great book for any kitchen with a stand mixer. These two ladies have come up with some really good recipes that are created with the mixer and makes use of all of the attachments that I never knew how to use before. Kitchen Aid should be pretty happy with this one. I learned that I have a machine that can do everything I need in the kitchen and it is so much fun doing it. I can't wait for the next book.

Triumph!, October 6, 2005
Finally I have discovered the many uses of my mixer. From pasta to apple sauce, I had no idea there are so many wonderful recipes that can be made with a mixer. Traditionally my mixer was used mainly for cakes and soups, but now I realize there is so much more that can be done. This book explains in detail how to use all of the attachments (thank goodness) and also gives lots of helpful tips with the recipes.

Finally!, September 7, 2005
Finally, a cookbook with lots of fun and sophisticated recipes with easy to follow instructions for every level of cooking skills. I haven't found a recipe yet, that my family and friends haven't raved about!

Great book for anyone with a stand mixer, March 26, 2006
I've had this book for a month now and even though I thought I knew what my mixer could do, this book has really opened my eyes to the possibilities. I also tuned into the authors on a KitchenAid.com live forum discussion and they are very knowledgable about cooking in general, and of course the stand mixer and attachments specifically. Apparently their cooking teachers as well as writers and I think it shows in their recipes. They're written in a clear, easy to understand step-by-step format. I've probably made about 10 of the recipes so far and they've all been fantastic. I don't have any of the optional attachments yet, but I just ordered the pasta roller because we make a lot of fresh pasta in our house and the book walks you through the process and has a ton of great recipes too. The best part about the book though is how great the recipes taste. The authors and my family must be on the same culinary page, because everyone has enjoyed everything so far and all of the dishes we've tried have been starred to make again. A very good investment for the stand mixer owner.

Excellent Reference/Recipe Book!, December 12, 2006
I received my electric stand mixer as a wedding present 6 years ago and used it solely for cakes and cookies. What else would it be for?

I purchased The Mixer Bible because I was contemplating donating my beautiful mixer to charity unless I could find more ways to use it. Thank goodness I found this book! It includes instructions for using the various paddles and accessories to make the stand mixer a useful everyday tool. There are suggestions for using the mixer for such things as making meat loaf and other main dishes, as well as the usual cakes, breads and cookies. The sausage recipes have even made me interested in making my own--it looks so easy (I just got the book yesterday so I haven't had the chance to try it yet)! Plus, it includes recipes for making your own ice cream...with a mixer!!!! I never would have thought it possible!

Recipes, tips, suggestions and things to avoid are all included in this easy-to-read book. If you own a mixer and use it more as a decorative piece, you owe it to yourself to get this book before you decide it's taking up too much space. I highly recommend this book! ... Read more

Editorial Review

Winner of the 1995 James Beard Award for Best Vegetarian Cookbook

Although many people think that cooking without meat means spending more time in the kitchen, the cooks at the world-renowned Moosewood Restaurant know this isn't so. Busy balancing home, work, and other commitments, they've been cooking for family and friends every day of the week for over twenty years. Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home is the result of that experience -- over 150 carefully honed and tested recipes calling for the best ingredients, accompanied by time-saving tips and planning suggestions, add up to a delicious whole-foods cuisine that is versatile and healthful and can be prepared with a minimum of effort.

This book contains dishes full of exciting flavors, sure to please every taste, from savory soups to substantial main-dish salads, from hearty stews to palate-teasing "small dishes." Sauces, salsas and dressings, and a collection of almost-instant desserts turn the simplest meal into an occasion.

Chapters on techniques and menu planning, lists of recipes for special needs, including nondairy and vegan fare and kid-pleasing food, as well as an in-depth guide to stocking the meatless pantry (including a list of recommended convenience foods), make Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home the essential companion to everyday cooking. ... Read more

Reviews

Quick, Easy, and Satisfying!, January 29, 2001
One of the best of the vegetarian cookbooks, this has delicious recipes (e.g., "Pasta with Greens and Ricotta"), and clear directions for relatively easy vegetarian fare. There's an emphasis on the "fast and easy," and each recipe has an estimated preparation time, often under half an hour. Sometimes these estimates imply a cook with Olympian speed and efficiency, but with experience, preparation time is reduced. For example, "Field Peas with Kale and Sweet Potatoes" requires boiling potatoes, and sauteing onions, kale, and peas. Total time is a reasonable 25 minutes. A nutritional analysis follows each recipe. Field Peas above has 142 calories, 6.9 G protein, 2.3G fat, 24.5 Carbohydrates, 19mg sodium, and 0 mg cholesterol.

There's no particular low-fat emphasis here: Boiled Polenta with Mushrooms and Cheese" has 15.6 g of fat per 8 oz. Serving, Moosewood Fudge Brownie have 9.3 grams per two-inch brownie, but there are several recipes with under 3 grams of fat per serving.

It's a very comprehensive book, with recipes for soups, quick breads, salads, sauces, main dish salads, grains, beans, pastas, fish, desserts, stews, stir-fries, pizza, and more. The book includes a guide to ingredients, and chapters on techniques, herbs, menu planning, and a list of recipes for kids, parties, vegans, and buffets. Finally, there is a chapter called "Quantities," so that you'll know with utter serenity that it takes 2 � cups of florets to get one pound of cauliflower.

For an emphasis on low-fat vegetarian cooking, take a look at the Moosewood Low-Fat Cookbook. Otherwise, this is an excellent cookbook for beginner or expert, and ranks with "Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone" as one of the best vegetarian cookbooks available.

A Classic!, December 22, 1999
I have had this book since it was first published and my weathered, stained, dog-eared copy can attest to the practical and delicious recipes it contains. A great variety of foods--my favorites are the Red, Gold, Black, and Green Chili, Pasta Tutto Giardino ("the whole garden" pasta with a light cream sauce), Tomatican (a vegetarian adaptation of a Chilean stew with tomatoes, corn, lima beans), and Vegetable Stifado (a Meditarranean-style stew with eggplant, okra, and peppers), and Fish with Tomato-Orange Salsa. All get rave reviews when I cook them for company. Most are not only vegetarian but also lowfat. There are still dishes I haven't tried because I like the ones I have tried too much! My parents have this cookbook and love it, and they aren't even vegetarian. You can't go wrong with any Moosewood cookbook, but this is by far my favorite. Easy to follow, simple and delicious!

You'll Love It!, February 7, 2000
For anyone who has toyed with the idea of eating healthier, this book is for you! The recipes are quick, easy, interesting, and most of all, delicious! Many of my skeptical non-vegetarian friends have been very pleasantly surprised by the meal they've been served when they've come for dinner - "We didn't realize that you could eat this WELL without meat!" When they discover how simple the ingredient lists are, they usually go out and buy the cookbook for themselves... it's made many a new believer. (Of course, being from Ithaca myself originally, I also rave about the Moosewood Restaurant - and the amazingly talented folks that make up the collective - but this is a great way to bring the restaurant home into your own kitchen!) My husband and I use it several times each week; it is definitely our "Kitchen-Bible". I can't sing it's praises enough!

Good for those quick dinners, January 24, 2003
I own most of the Moosewood cookbooks, but I don't use this one nearly as often as I do the earlier books, mostly because the recipes in this one are more limited. Still, there are some great quick vegetarian dishes here that could quickly become favorites. Families especially will appreciate the quick pizza recipes that allow you to choose your "crust": pre-baked shell, French bread, or pita. The Herbed Chevre and Tomato Pizza and the Mushroom and Smoked-Cheese Pizza are both great, although you really don't need a recipe for either. The same is true for the vegetarian antipasto salad - anyone can figure out how to make a salad out of olives, artichoke hearts, beans, roasted red peppers, and cheese. However, sometimes when I want a quick dinner, I can't think on my own. This is when this cookbook comes through.

Some of the more unusual recipes are Curried Fried Rice, Asian Cabbage Slaw, Pasta with Spicy Cauliflower, Sweet Potato Quesadillas, and Fragrant Rice Noodles with Vegetables. Warning: some of these recipes contain fish. Since Moosewood has such an established reputation for vegetarian cuisine, I don't understand why something like Chesapeake Catfish had to be included. As with all of the Moosewood cookbooks, the desserts are competent but unexceptional.

In the back, the authors divide their recipes into lists: non-dairy and vegan dishes; recipes that will allow you to spend more time with your guests; "kid pleasers"; dishes suitable for buffets; and 30 minute meals. This is probably the most thoughtful aspect of the book, and I appreciate the effort. You'll also find a fairly comprehensive "Guide to Ingredients" which not only describes some of the more unusual items but also where you are likely to find them.

For close to 400 pages of recipes, this cookbook does not seem to have a lot in it. Still, it's worth getting for those recipes that ARE there. Don't make this your only Moosewood cookbook, but certainly include it as part of your collection.

Fast and Furiously Delicious Recipes., June 15, 2004
I'm a Cornell grad, and one thing I remember with particular pleasure about my time in Ithaca, NY are those occasional forays down the Hill for lunch or (more likely) dinner at Moosewood, for years one of *the* local standout restaurants. Although not a vegetarian, I try not to eat meat every day of the week; and for a tasty, healthy alternative, there just isn't anything better than Moosewood's recipes. No question that I had to get their cookbook - several of them, actually - before I finally left town.

"Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home" begins with two short introductory sections about the use of time and nutritional analysis. The recipes are then grouped into individually introduced sections covering soups, dips, spreads and quick breads, salads and sides, dressings, salsas and sauces, main dish salads, gains, beans, pastas, stews, stir-fries and sautes, fish, sandwiches, filled tortillas, and pizzas, eggs and pancakes, and desserts. The book closes with a pantry list, a guide to ingredients, chapters on preparation and techniques, fresh herbs, menu planning and quantities (including liquid and dry measure and temperature conversion tables - particularly helpful for those of us who live in a "metric system" country); as well as a number of special lists, grouping the featured recipes according to their qualification as nondairy and vegan, kid-pleasers, recipes preparable in 30 minutes or less, and recipes suitable for entertaining, buffets and pot-lucks. What I like most about this book - besides the overall outstanding quality of the recipes and the fact that most of them are very quick and easy to prepare - are the countless little insider tips regarding the shopping for as well as preparation and storage of individual dishes and their combination with other dishes or ingredients, in addition to the background information on the names, provenance and cultural context of the many Non-Western recipes (not to mention that so many of those recipes are included in the first place).

It's hard for me to pick a personal favorite; there are so many ... for soups, I guess I'd pick the Mexican tomato lime soup, for dips the spicy peanut dip, for sides the mushrooms in lemon marinade, for dressings either the creamy pine nut vinaigrette or the lemon sesame dressing, for sauces the hazelnut and red peppers sauce, for main dish salads the sweet potato salad, for grains the herbed lemon pilaf with almonds ... and for salsas, pastas, stews, tortillas, pizzas, eggs, pancakes and desserts, every single one! (Sorry, really can't make up my mind there; it's more a question of mood and, of course, what ingredients I happen to have handy.) But whether you're just cooking for yourself or for family and friends, there should be something for everyone in this book; regardless whether you are vegetarian/vegan or not. Highly recommended!

Also recommended:
Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant: Ethnic and Regional Recipes from the Cooks at the Legendary Restaurant (Cookery)
Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian: More Than 650 Meatless Recipes from Around the World

This is the best, my copy is falling apart, July 22, 1997
I'm a personal Chef. I work part time cooking privately for a Jesuit Community as well as teach Vegetarian Cooking at the New School in NYC. This cookbook, is the wonderful! I literaly have to buy a new copy cause mine is falling apart. The recipes are easy, versatile, well written and varied. The suggestions for menus are helpful. And you dont have to be vegetarian to enjoy this book. The fish recipes are excellent and all the dishes can be used with other meals. I have an extensive library of Vegetarian cookbooks and this one is the one I use. Thanks Moosewood :) Merrick Dean

Fast easy delicious, December 1, 1999
I have three requirements for recipes to enter my frequent rotation: that they be healthy, yummy, and, above all, fast and easy. (Is that 4 requirements?) Almost all of the recipes in this book meet those.

This is the cookbook that I use the most. The pages are covered with spills, tearing, falling out. That's the mark of a fine cookbook. Maybe it's time for me to buy another copy.

Only for the adventurous!, October 23, 2002
Although I love this book I didn't give it a full five stars because A) there are no pictures and B) I felt that the recipes would probably not appeal to everyone.

It is a personal favorite precisely because it is unusual. My family especially loves the African Pineapple Peanut Stew and Chick Pea and Artichoke Heart Stew, but we've enjoyed all of the dishes I've tried so far. There are some recipes that might be more familiar such as Mushroom and Smoked-Cheese Pizza and Curried Fried Rice.

Most of the recipes would fit a vegan diet, but some do include fish, eggs and dairy products. At the back of the book there is a list of nondiary and vegan recipes as well as lists of special dishes for entertaining, kid-pleasers, dishes that sit well and are suitable for a buffet, and 30-minute dishes.

Most of the recipes are fairly quick and easy to prepare. There are a lot of fresh ingredients used, so that could take more time. Be aware that many of the ingredient lists contain things like finely chopped onion, chopped fresh thyme, fresh grated cheese. Unless you are a very quick chopper you will need to buy prepared ingredients or elicit some help in the kitchen to get dinner on the table in less than 45 minutes.

I bought this book with the intention of including more vegetables, fruits and legumes in my diet. I have accomplished that and becuase the recipes are so flavorful we don't miss the meat at all.

Genuinely fast and easy. Tasty, too!, December 16, 2003
I bought the "Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant" cookbook a number of years ago and was disappointed with it because the recipes were not consistently good and were often time-consuming or complicated. So I came to this cookbook with a good deal of skepticism. Thus far, however, I've been extremely pleased with it. The recipes are genuinely fast and easy, most of the ingredients are readily available, and the resulting food has been delicious. I've gotten quite a few good ideas from this cookbook and use it often at home. With this cookbook I can make tasty, healthy meals for my family on busy weeknights. Highly recommended!

well worn favorite, November 4, 2001
a cornerstone of
any modern veg faux-chef
my favorite tool

it's well edited
no surprize ingredients
buried in the text

layout is A+
Time and Servings on margins
easy on the eyes

pantry list, herbs, grains,
legumes and bouillon options,
where catsup comes from;

point blank instructions,
oneness with your kitchen blade,
basic vege-stock,

a plethora of
pleasing pesto recipes:
equivalencies!

holiday menus,
culinary strategies,
how to cook pasta.

doggearred favorites:
greek diced vegetable salad
muffin madness, dilly beans.

written for today's
vegetarian with no
time to hand grind wheat. ... Read more

Editorial Review

In this timely new book, Darina reconnects you with the cooking skills that missed a generation or two. The book is divided into chapters such as "Dairy," "Poultry and Eggs," "Bread," and "Preserving," and forgotten processes such as smoking mackerel, curing bacon, and making yogurt and butter are explained in the simplest terms. The delicious recipes show you how to use your homemade bounty to its best, and include ideas for using forgotten cuts of meat, baking bread and cakes, and even eating food from the wild. The "Vegetables and Herbs" chapter is stuffed with growing tips to satisfy even those with the smallest garden plot or window box, and there are plenty of suggestions for using gluts of vegetables. You'll even discover how to keep a few chickens in your backyard. With over 700 recipes, this is the definitive modern guide to traditional cooking skills. ... Read more

Reviews

A Treasure Trove of Recipes and Inspiration, April 5, 2010
This book is an amazing tome of culinary secrets that I've been in love with ever since it arrived. First of all, the quality of the book itself is top notch. It's a rough textured hardback sans paper flap cover. Darina Allen is drawing comparisons to Julia Child, and that marketing pitch seems to have translated into the layout of the pages. They are glossy and in the exact style of every cookbook of Julia's that I own. It reminds me in particular of The Way to Cook, Julia's master class, which was uncustomarily accompanied with ample photos.

Admittedly, there are things in Forgotten Skills that I'll never venture to try, such as the tripe on page 184, or the brawn on page 320. I'm not exactly tempted by the recipe for beef dripping on toast on page 177. But there are plenty of examples of recipes that are staples in many of our kitchens, reimagined from a fresh, farmy (to invent an adjective) perspective, such as beef stew (pp. 163), quiche Lorraine (pp. 250), and a delicious bacon and cheddar cheese strata that you absolutely must try (pp. 579). It seems like we've skipped spring altogether this year and headed straight into summer. In this current heat, I can't wait to try the recipe for Ballymaloe vanilla ice cream (no ice cream maker required!) on page 207. The simplicity reminds me of how my grandmother used to wait for a second snow, and then set out a large metal bowl to collect enough flakes to add in condensed milk, and, voila!, delicious ice cream.

Don't be discouraged by the opening chapter, which addresses various edible flowers, herbs, and weeds that you can scavenge and prepare in various dishes. Those recipes set the tone for the rest of the book, but in no way define it. In fact, if I had to try to sum up the essence of this book, I'd go back to the comparison to Julia Child's The Way to Cook. Julia's book was meant as a step-by-step class for the uninitiated to the steps of traditional French cooking. Ms. Allen's book is rather a guide to the traditional country cooking of Ireland, often with hints of the global culinary influence of France, Italy, and even the United States (she has a delectable recipe for American-style short ribs on page 165). And then there are the traditional recipes like calves' liver with caramelized onions on page 183 that put me in mind of my grandmother's kitchen.

A great deal of these recipes and skills are indeed forgotten legacies of the Old World, but the majority are at least relatively current and adapted for modern kitchens. Scattered throughout are notes on farming, slaughtering livestock (a note from Ms. Allen: don't bend the chicken's neck back too far, lest you pull off the head!), instructions for making everything from homemade butter to sausage, and natural cleaning agents for around the house. Ms. Allen's book will no doubt be an indispensable source of inspiration and reference for my culinary adventures. Also, the Amazon price is a steal. Highly recommended!

A Wealth of Information, May 2, 2010
I've had a ball reading this book. I love the history. I love the simple cooking skills taught in it. I love the recipes. I love reading about the Irish culture. There are exotic ingredients from the shores of the sea that I would never think of as cooking ingredients. But there they are, as exotic as anything in a Japanese restaurant. There are techniques for using over the hill ingredients. There are recipes for all sorts of leftover things you might throw away. I've made all the quick breads now - they are simple and excellent. I've made a few of the desserts, simple and excellent. Seafood recipes teach you cooking techniques and how to treat fresh ingredients. You can make your butter from scratch! If you are interested in the world and traditions of cooking, not just the recipes, this is a valuable addition to your culinary library.

Everything you wanted to know about cooking but were afraid to ask!, April 26, 2010
This is a great book... great (as in it practically weighs a ton) and great ... (as in it has loads of interesting and entertaining information). My expert son-in-law chef discovered lots about preparing wild game (and he's a former forest ranger). I loved learning basic Irish cooking since my family hails from Connemara. Finally, because of "Forgotten Skills of Cooking," I can devour a perfect Spotted Dog (with no animal cruelty involved).

Not to be missed - must have!, April 2, 2010
Darina Allen is perhaps not as well known on this side of the pond as Gordon Ramsey (pushing for the use of more fresh, local ingredients in restaurants), Jaime Oliver (great success in moving British schools towards a more healthful school lunch menu, now here in the US working towards the same goal) or Prince Charles (highly involved in the organic/slow food movement in the UK) but she should be.

Darina, called by some "The Irish Julia Child", has been running a cooking school in Ireland for some twenty five years. This book is the product of those lessons, imparting kitchen wisdom and food lore that our generation imbibed with our mother's milk along with the oft-repeated "Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without!" - wisdom that has disappeared under the onslaught of prepackaged, pre-prepared "food."

Darina and I are of an age. About the time that she started her cooking school I stood in my kitchen one day baking a cake. A young mother from the neighborhood dropped by as I mixed and asked what I was doing. "Baking a cake," I replied. My neighbor looked all around the kitchen, then asked again "What are you doing?" - and again I replied "Baking a cake." This time the young woman examined every nook and cranny, even looking into the trash bin, and then in great frustration practically shouted at me "Tell me what you are doing!" When I again replied that I was baking a cake this young woman said to me "You can't be baking a cake. There is no box!"

Darina's inspiration for her Forgotten Skills classes, which have resulted in this book, was a bit different. She recounts the time she caught a student preparing to dump overbeaten cream into the pig slops instead of simply turning it into butter. In Forgotten Skills of Cooking: The Time-Honored Ways are the Best - Over 700 Recipes Show You Why Darina teaches us how to make numerous dairy products (yogurt, simple cheese & more), corn a beef, smoke fish, raise chickens and much, much more.

While not everything translates to North America - they have some wild edibles we do not and vice versa - this is a gorgeous book, well laid out, and just delightful to read. Whether you live on a mountain in the wilds of northern Vermont or a Manhattan apartment, you'll find treasure between these covers. Highly recommended, this is a book that will have a prominent place on my bookshelf for years to come.

Awesome!, June 24, 2010
My husband loves to cook for us and anyone who visits. When I saw this book on Amazon I knew it was perfect for him for father's day. Well, when I tell you he LOVED it - I am not exaggerating. He's reading it all the time and planning something special for dinner! Can't wait!

Wonderful!!, April 22, 2010
What can I say about this book only I think it is fantastic. Having grown up in Ireland it brings back great memories of me and my mom collecting blackberries and making wonderful pies. It is by far my favorite book on my shelf right now, and I have been married 20 years. Its is interesting and full of beautiful pictures and packed full of knowledge. Well thought out and written by Mrs. Allen. This would be a wonderful gift for anyone.

Slight luddism aside, this is an awesome hands-on book about food traditions, May 28, 2010
Knowledge of the ways of past kitchens is not (as this book would have you believe) necessarily the *best* way, but it's still very important to preserve, since old techniques are responsible for many classic flavors that would be lost with total modernization. Welcome to the Forgotten Skills of Cooking, one of the best Irish cuisine imports I've seen in years... and yet...

You know you've found something a little more than a cookbook when you find recipes you might never be able to use that you still learn a lot from. This book frankly has a very strong rural bias; much of it won't be of much use to a city dweller, even someone with a garden in the back of their triple-decker; such is life. Be that as it may, I remember a few years ago a group of chefs in France trying to get French food declared an endangered cultural treasure (or whatever it is UNESCO's category is called), and I pointed out the absurdity in a blog entry by taking a picture of every French cookbook I had at the time; this book takes the same attitude I had, and commits a lot of this material to paper, in one fairly large book that brings together techniques and ingredients that are traditionally very scattered. Of course, it isn't just the recipes -- there is information on numerous varieties of preservation, including plans for hot and cold smokers. The very first chapter is about foraging for wild greens. There's plenty of data on game, fish, herbs, and cuts of meat, and everything from bread to milk.

On the other hand, there's one majorly bothersome aspect -- in common with many other books that seem to be coming from Ireland and the UK, there's a bit of a luddite streak to the book -- among other things, she prefers raw milk (although she isn't dogmatic about it, raw milk is too dangerous to trust even from the cleanest of dairy farms) and speaks approvingly of Andrew Whitley's knee-jerk, painfully ignorant antimodernist approach to breadmaking. Because of that mentality, I can't give this book the five stars it otherwise deserves; preserving this knowledge is very important, but excessive crunchiness is a slap in the face to people who understand the value of scientific cooking and combining the traditional and modern.

Upshot is, this is a great book, highly to be recommended. I just wish that the book didn't fall so much into the "old is better" and "all-natural" traps; preserving the past and living in it are very, very different activities. You still won't be disappointed.

Comprhensive, August 1, 2010
A long awaited acquisiton and well worth the wait. As a country woman and a lover of cookbooks and how to books this one did not disappointment me. I do recommend it to anyone who loves digging into the 'time-honored' country ways.Cherie Cook ... Read more

Editorial Review

The newest and ninth edition to the Bartenders Black Book franchise adds 143 brand-new recipes that were created by bartenders, professional and laymen, around the world in the last two years. That brings the total beverage count to 3,000, more than double that of any other drink guide. All the sections have been expanded and updated, including Robert M. Parker, Jr. s Vintage Guide and Mr. Cunningham s already vast Martini section. Of course this book still has all its classic features: an index by ingredients, in-depth mixing instructions, metric conversion tables, a list of every possible garnish, sections on hot drinks, frozen drinks, beers, ales, lagers, and malternatives. ... Read more

Reviews

Recommended from Behind the Bar, March 16, 2003
I'm a bartender and there is always one customer who comes along and orders a drink you dont know how to make. Behind the bar we keep several drink books, but this is the only one that actually gets used. Easy to read recipies, non-coded names for liquors, short, sweet, and to the point. Spiral binded so the book will not close while you are mixing. Contains the most variety of drinks I've seen from Vodka Collins for beginners (which most books don't have) through Long Islands all the way to a Mongolian Mother for the more adverse. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to shake, stir, or blend.

Newest Edition Has Recipes, Convenience--and a Wine Guide, December 20, 2004

Tons of Lore and Just as Much Convenience


By Bill Marsano. There are more than enough bar guides around to satisfy even the thirstiest soul, so the question becomes which one is the most helpful, the easiest to use. Well, this one has a pretty fair claim to the title.

At about 4.5 inches by 9, it is of convenient, under-bar size (no bartender wants the customer to know he has to look anything up). It has some 2,700 recipes, and it takes them all with a straight face, from the utterly genteel to the impossibly vulgar (in my view, anyone who orders a German Leg-Spreader or a Duck Fart is a lout who should be flung into the street at the earliest opportunity, but that's the bouncer's job). There's an enlarged section on the martini, that greatest of cocktails, that Fred Astaire of drinks; and sections on flavored vodkas, shooters, floaters and wines. The wine section is especially worthy of note. Bartenders used to take the approach of Tim Costello's old Manhattan saloon, which had its wine list painted on the wall. It said: "Red, $2.50. White, $2.50. No substitutions." But times are changing and with any number of places offering wine by the glass, the able bartender has to know more than how to use a corkscrew. In this book, the wine advice comes from that demigod, Robert Parker Jr. himself. Nuff said.

But the best thing about this book is that it has a comb binding--something like a spiral-wire binding, but made of plastic. It means this book, unlike all the others I've see lately, lies FLAT. No more bending the book open, flexing it until the binding cracks, and then weighting it with a beer bottle to keep the thing from flapping closed. Sometimes strokes of genius are as easy as they are rare.--Bill Marsano is an award-winning writer and editor.

Buy this Book, April 10, 2003
I had to write a review after reading the prior one of a man in search of a picture book. There are a plethora of [bad] picture drink books on the market. It is funny, he was looking for a common thing (a [bad] picture drink book) and he got the finest drink recipe book ever written. The author painstakingly alphabetized and reworked thousands of drinks. He threw out all the [bad stuff] and made a No [fooling] essential tool, that restaurants, bars, and liquor stores must carry (they all seem to). The book is unbiased (no liquor companies pushing their product) It lays flat so I can work and read at the same time. I own a 4th, 5th and a 6th edition and I await new editions. I have learned from them all....THE BARTENDER'S BLACK BOOK IS A 5 STAR BOOK.

The Bartender's Black Book: The Drink Recipe Collection, September 13, 2002
This book is excellent. My husband works part-time at a liquor store and they have a copy there to help the customer's know what goes into their drinks at a bar. That way if they want they can purchase what they need to make them at home. The book is awesome. I'm always referring to it at the store so I decided I'd like a copy for at home. So I ordered it online from Amazon.com.

Best of what I have found, March 30, 2000
I have used several bartender books, and have found more of the popular drinks I see at various bars in this book. Most of these popular drinks are missing from other books. Long Island Ice Tea (several variations), Sex On The Beach, Purple Hooter, Buttery Nipple, they all are in there. I am an amateur bartender with a reasonably extensive liquor cabinet (40 bottles or so). My girlfriend left and took my copy, so here I am at Amazon getting one to replace it!

The most complete of all the drink guides., June 3, 2005
Don't know which kind of Orgasm is right for you? The Bartender's Black Book, by Stephen Kittredge Cunningham, offers no fewer than three choices. The original Orgasm (aka Burnt Almond or Roasted Toasted Almond) combines vodka, coffee liqueur and amaretto. Orgasm 2 uses triple sec and white cr�me de cacao instead of the coffee liqueur; Orgasm 3 uses Irish cream instead of the vodka. If Sex On The Beach is more your motivator, you'll be pleased to discover four varieties as you leaf through this handy, spiral-bound volume.

If The Bartender's Black Book were a simple compendium of titillating or even interesting mixed drink recipes (Sex on the Sidewalk, Atomic Waste, Quaalude, Dying Nazi From Hell, Rigor Mortis, Wharf Rat, International Incident, Root of All Evil, Tongue Stroke, Wombat) it would join the ranks of dozens of other stimulating compendia; good reads perhaps, but incomplete references. The Black Book, published by the Wine Appreciation Guild, is instead a definitive professional guide, featuring over 2600 recipes for every variety of mixed drink (or drink mix), with special sections on garnishes, bar tools, a wine guide by Robert M. Parker, Jr., and anything else you need to know about drink preparation. Cunningham is a professional bartender whose penchant for detail turned him into a drink recipe collector, then into a careful professional compiler. He revises the book each year, adding dozens of new recipes, many of which continue to expand the art of nomenclature: Leg Spreader, Hot Tub, Dirty Ashtray, Creature from the Black Lagoon, Prison Bitch, Brain Tumor, Boston Massacre, Jumper Cable, Stuffed Toilet, Long Sloe Comfortable Fuzzy Screw Against the Wall with Satin Pillows the Hard Way, and whatever else the mind of man can think to drink.

Cunningham covers the novelties, certainly, but he also gives us the ammunition we need to handle the basics. As an example of the care with which the Black Book has been produced, in the case of Martinis, Manhattans, Rob Roys and related spirit/vermouth mixtures, Cunningham provides bold-faced cautions: "DRY can mean either make drink with Dry Vermouth or less Sweet Vermouth than usual; PERFECT means use equal amounts of Sweet and Dry Vermouth; SWEET means use more Sweet Vermouth than usual; NAKED means no Vermouth at all." Speaking of Martinis, Cunningham adds a useful section that cross references more than 100 Martini variants: classics like the Gimlet and the Negroni, more unusual varieties like the Maiden's Prayer and the Purple Russian. A 30-page index cross-lists every drink in the book by constituent ingredient; Amaretto, for example, is used in several hundred drinks from the Abby Road to the Zonker; Dark Rum's applications range from the American Graffiti to the infamous Zombie. There are sections explaining beer and cognac varieties, all spirits, mixers and liqueurs, and an interesting monograph on "Being a Good Tipper" (think, 20%). The beverage references are generic (i.e., "Coffee Liqueur," rather than Kahlua or Tia Maria, "Orange Liqueur" rather than Cointreau or Grand Marnier). The result is a true resource, prized by professionals, supremely useful to amateurs with standards.

By the way, I know you're wondering, but, no, I have never actually had an Orgasm, of any variety, nor do I expect to have any Orgasms in the near future. You ask why not? I'm still working through the hundred or so drinks that begin with the letter "A." Atomic Bodyslam, anyone?

(...)

This is by far the best recipe guide available..., August 16, 1999
I've bartended for 7 years and I've gotta say that this book has the most current and creative recipes in the market today. It also has many alternate recipes for drinks that may vary by region. I've bought alot of bartending books over the years, but nothing beats this one. I have not been paid for this endorsement. ;)

Best book on market! Most up to date!, November 9, 2004
You will probably discard any other books you have previously purchased. The author/bartender obviously knows his stuff.
This book is not by a wannabe or a corporate monkey. It's great that this book does not push brands and is unbiased. The book lays open flat, and the recipes are easy to follow.

I once had a book with twice the recipes but they were 98% bad recipes. I threw that book out.

There is a wine section written by Robert Parker, that has helped me immensely picking out bottles of wine. Other things that make this book stand out are the Martini instructions, Dessert Drink Section, Hot Drink Section, Frozen Drink Section. Glossary of Bartending Lingo.

7th Ed. Bartenders black book, March 1, 2006
A ton of drinks but the only problem is that it doesn't list the glassware that will be used for the drink. Other than that, all the information that anyone would ever need for bartending.

Another bartender who loves this book., June 9, 2006
I own four or five drink recipe books. This is the one that travels with me when I tend bar. I've bought several copies of it over the years -- the single downside of this book is that, if you turn your back on it, one of your fellow bartenders will steal it from you. It's just that good.

It's the most complete drink book I've ever seen. It's easy to use, with drink recipies in a clear, sans-serif font -- in a darkened bar, it can sometimes be a little tricky to read if you're a geezer like me, but I think they did the best possible job of designing the book for use -- a larger font size, and the book would be too bulky to stick in your hip pocket, a smaller one, and even young guys would have trouble reading it.

The cover is water-resistant -- hell, I recently used the sucker as a cutting board to chop up limes. I don't recommend that use, but it survived the treatment. This book takes a beating -- it's been in puddles of beer and vodka, it's had orange juice poured on it, and it lives at the bottom of my bag at all times. I don't treat it nicely, and it treats me great.

There is no better book for a professional. None.

Another user mentioned that it has no pretty pictures. That's true. Because pretty pictures would distract from its primary use -- for a professional bartender to look up an obscure drink while working in a busy bar, in order to find the recipe, make it, and move on to the next customer. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Reviews

Fab for Foodies as well as the Culinarily Challenged, November 26, 2010
This book is on my Hannukah Hot List this year. I bought it for my brother in law who is an adventurous cook and ended up buying one for myself and a few others on my list. Love this book for a few reasons - 1) it's an immensely practical source of kitchen inspiration - it's organized around the flavor wheel by simple food pairings. Start by whatever food you have in the house and you will be connected to a range of unexpected flavor partners for it and often some great starting recipes 2) Important to the time-starved and culinarily challenged like myself - many of these ideas are not complicated recipes or even cooked, just food/spice combinations. It gets you back to the intensity and simplicity of good quality ingredients and flavors (if only we had the intensity the basic ingredients like tomatoes and basil that the author must experience in Europe, but Wholefoods or farmers markets are a good start). Some of these flavor pairings will push you out of your palate's comfort zone and are worth trying out of curiosity - eg Juniper and Hard Cheese, Watermelon and Oysters, Lobster in Vanilla Butter etc. You can see why Heston Blumenthal the experimental chef behind egg and bacon ice cream gave this book a rave review. Lastly, it's full of interesting food history and food trivia (eg rhubarb leaves are poisonous, artichokes contain a chemical that inhibits the palate from tasting sweet flavors etc) and I love these kind of books - my other faves include 'Salt' and 'Cod' by Mark Kurlansky and 'Wicked Plants' by Amy Stewart). It doesn't have any pretty pictures or photos, but I think it will be a kitchen staple. Mine's already covered in stains which is a good sign..

A Kitchen Classic: There's no other reference like it., November 19, 2010
The Flavor Thesaurus is just excellent. There's a reason it was nominated alongside Jamie Oliver, Nigella Lawson, Nigel Slater et al for the prestigious Galaxy National Book Awards in the UK: it is classy, original, entertaining and extremely useful.
To be honest, I'm not much of a cook - but my wife is very much so. I read the book and merely find it extremely funny, engaging and entertaining.
For my wife, a trained chef no less, it is a godsend. Open the refrigerator. A couple of leftover ingredients with no time to shop... in minutes we've got something delicious on the table, or at least on the way... or we're out at the local restaurant without the guilt that we could have done something with what we had at home (the book tells you when flavors don't go well together as well as when they do.)
I bought a copy back from the UK after a trip this summer and now have the US version too. I've given it as a gift several times and the recipients love it.

Funny AND informative!, November 29, 2010
I have been trying to get away from recipes and just cook naturally but often don't know what 'goes' with what. The Flavor Thesaurus is a great tool for this, and what saves it from being a dry, boring, endless read is the author's little witticisms.

must-have for foodies!, November 27, 2010
This book is a kitchen essential for anyone who likes to make or eat food! Well written, accessible and entertaining. The author delightfully opened my eyes to why I am drawn to certain flavor combinations and introduced me to so many more. I can't wait to start exploring these ideas. This book will definitely be on my list of gifts for friends and family!

Interesting and Innovative!, November 27, 2010
An excellent addition to the cookbook collection! Interesting and innovative to focus on pairings rather than on recipes. Really got me thinking and stimulated my appetite and creativity. The generally superb writing and wry asides put me in mind of Pellegrino Artusi--highly enjoyable as well as informative. brava!

Highly Disappointed, December 27, 2010
I was looking for something a little more sophisticated, I think. The flavor combinations in this book use every day ingredients but is not very comprehensive (doesn't include foods as common as raisins and honey). I was hoping to find out what foods go with more exotic items like tamarind paste and macadamia nut butter.

Highly Overated, November 18, 2010
Epic disappointment. Suggested flavor pairings with abbreviated recipes. The flavor wheel, which is the basis of the book, is printed in a minuscule font and isn't a functional tool for developing a gustative/olfactive vocabulary (should have been detachable with the needs of the reader in mind). The author inserts her predilections more than necessary which makes one feel as if she wrote the book for self promotion with the reader as an afterthought. "The Flavor Bible" is a much better choice, but you have to know how to cook as it is strictly a reference for flavor matches.

A Must-buy for all Foodies on your list!, December 7, 2010
The Flavor Thesaurus is an absolute treat, a delightful read, and astonishingly helpful to have in your kitchen! I learned about all sorts of flavor pairings I'd never thought to try - which alone is worth the price of admission. But here's the thing. Rarely do you get the chance to be so entertained whilst educating your brain and palate in an ordinary cookbook. But The Flavor Thesaurus does that and more. Right now, my favorite passage is the one where Ms. Segnit likens butter to the push-up bra of the culinary world, because it makes everything bigger, rounder, and in your face. Brilliant!

This is strongly recommended for lovers of good food, lovely stories, and delightful wit! ... Read more

Editorial Review

Everything a griller wants to know in the most complete grilling technique book ever:
Five keys to grilling great steak
The right way with baby back ribs
What to do when flare-ups happen
The way to smoke a turkey
Five secrets for perfect fish every time
Simple ways to check for doneness
Getting great results with your smoker
The way to handle foods that stick
Working burger magic every time
Over 1,000 step-by-step photos
More than 160 delicious new recipes
Dozens of rubs, sauces, marinades, and more

What is Weber's Way to Grill? Well, first of all, it is not just one way to grill. It is not about absolute right and wrong when it comes to issues like gas versus charcoal, direct versus indirect heat, or grilling with the lid on or off. Webers Way to Grill includes and embraces any way to grill so long as it works. And what works best is paying attention to culinary details. There is a big difference between winging it and paying attention.

Thats the point of Weber's Way to Grill. That's why this book includes so many how-to photographs and explanatory captions and detailed recipes. The emphasis here is on paying close attention. Its about learning how and why certain ways work well, so that you can move beyond the limits of winging it. Great taste lies in the details. Just pay attention and enjoy a new level of grilling success.

... Read more

Reviews

You will love this cookbook!, January 22, 2009

Who would have thought the Big Book could be replaced?, January 26, 2009

Best Book Yet From Purviance & Weber!!, March 7, 2009
As all true grilling afficiandos know, this is the fifth book that Jamie Purviance and the Weber folks have produced that is chock full of recipies and grilling tips to maximize the quality of what we cook on the grill. The first four, "Weber's Art of the Grill", , "Weber's Big Book of Grilling", "Real Grilling" and "Charcoal Grilling are all in print, are reasonably priced and are avalable here at Amazon.com. IMHO, all belong on the cookbook shelf because of the quality of the recipies, as well as the simplicity of preparing them.

So, why buy this book? There are several reasons:

RECIPIES
Nomatter what else is in a cookbook, if the recipies aren't capable of producing goodies that excite the palate, are overly complex or overly time consuming, the book is of questionable value. "Way to Grill" is full of flavorful, simple recipies which address nearly every conceivable type of food, including veggies and desserts. There are also recipies for rubs and sauces which experienced grillers know lie at the heart of flavorful foods.

DETAILED "HOW TO DO ITS"

Want to know how to butterfly a flank steak or a boneless leg of lamb? Want to know how to do various meat rollups just bursting with flavorful fillings? Under the heading of "Way to ...", there are over 300 examples of techniques such as "Way to Rotisserie a Chicken", "Way to Bone a Prime Rib Roast", "Way to Pickle Onions", "Way to Dry Brine a Turkey", etc. The detailed photos and texts accompanying these "Way to ..." entries are hugely informative, and, IMHO, are worth the purchase of the book for themselves alone. But, as noted, there are all those fantastic recipies.

MANAGING FIRES

Grilling is different from indoor cooking, because the griller is working with live fire. Jamie has covered every detail of managing the fire from start to finish, with necessary focus on the safety aspects of fire, fuels, etc.

ORGANIZATION

It is obvious that a lot of thought and effort went into the organization and layout of this book. Recipies and other information are easy to find and clearly expressed.

It should be noted that all of the previous Purviance/Weber books have played to rave reviews. if you check the reviews here on Amazon.com, you will see that all have gotten consistant five star ratings, and for good reason. Anyone, from a novice to the most experienced grillers, can produce consistantly excellent meals from the recipies contained in this book, and the others in the series as well.

In his preface, Jamie notes how his grilling techniques have evolved over time. I suspect that is true for many of us who "fire up" year round. But some prospective buyers of this book may be considering a first foray into grilling or barbecueing. For those folks, my advice is to take the plunge; start with something simple, like a burger. One bite and self confidence soars.

For more experienced folks, get the book for the "Way to ..." stuff, as well as the recipies.

Because I grill year round, even in our harsh Northern Michigan winters (I did ribs for my visiting sons a couple of weeks ago when the temp was in low single digits and snow was heavy), our home tends to be a popular gathering place. Folks just plain like good food with that just off the grill flavor. I know this from experience, and I am just as confident that folks who buy and use "Way to Grill" will experience the deep personal satisfaction of placing flavorful food in front of friends and family.

They keep getting better, January 27, 2009

A "must-have" for anyone new to grilling, March 10, 2009
Chef, journalist, and nationally acclaimed grilling expert Jamie Purviance presents Weber's Way to Grill: The Step-by-Step Guide to Expert Grilling, an all-around how-to cookbook jam-packed with more than 160 recipes, dozens of marinades and sauces, and an immense amount of tips, tricks, and techniques for grilling everything from steak to baby back ribs, turkey, fish, and more. Over 1,100 photos illustrate every stage of the techniques, making Weber's Way to Grill easy to follow and use, regardless of personal grilling experience. Weber's Way to Grill is a "must-have" for anyone new to grilling, and even veteran grillers are sure to acquire new, useful and delicious ideas!

Best cooking book currently available - period!, March 21, 2009
I have a great collection of cooking books, from Ramsay to Flay. But I have got to tell you this is the best. It is thick and absolutely full of pictures and step by step guides.

I recently replaced my gas grill with a charcoal one. This book has invaluable information about grilling techniques and ways of arranging the coals etc. However this is not just a book for charcoal grill owners. Everyone with an outside grill should own this book. The recipe's are varied and there are plenty of them too.

The pork tenderloin with cherry chipolte glaze is really tasty! I can't wait to try the Argentine beef skewer recipe tomorrow night.

Like None Other. Outstanding!, March 5, 2009
Jamie Purviance's new contribution to intelligent grilling and barbecuing arrived yesterday and it is stunning. Absolutely stunning. There are over 1100 full color photographs, many arranged in storyboard format to demonstrate technique instead of the usual practice of explanation, in sometimes lengthy language but always in vague sketches or unfocused snapshots. I always hate reading about a dish in a grilling book but never seeing what it looks like; that's okay for menus but not cookbooks. Thankfully, that's not the case here. I was amazed to see Purviance captured in many of the photographs that illustrate how to prep foods, arrange the charcoal, position the meat, and the like. Clearly this important task wasn't neglected; it wasn't assigned to a model to imitate what a chef does--Chef Purviance actually performs these tasks! That kind of honesty we all need from a cookbook.

Like the visual style of the book, the writing is clear and uncluttered with jargon. I would say that Purviance has done it again-this is his fifth book on grilling, I believe, and they all have been marvelous-except that this one elevates the whole genre of grilling and barbecue books. It is a genre-buster. Hardly a secret, grilling and barbecue books are notoriously weak on preparing their readers for, ironically, their preparing to grill. Sure, many grilling books explain temperatures and methods, but never the prep work necessary for successful grilling. If they make the attempt, it's uneven and selective. No doubt the reason for that absence is the enormous time and expense such a commitment would require. Well, Purviance and his team of mighty food stylists and photographers have pulled together a production that no other has: a readable, sensuous account of how to grill and smoke the foods we most want to tackle--preparation, production, presentation--but simply don't know how. Do you know how to grill pineapple upside-down cake? What about grilling broccoli? What's the secret for keeping pork tenderloin moist on a rotisserie? Purviance removes the guesswork with a playful, energetic conversation with grillers, both seasoned and novice.

It's another freezing day here, with furnaces blazing and windshields being scraped. Nevertheless, Purviance's WEBER'S WAY TO GRILL: THE STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO EXPERT GRILLING has given me the moral courage to conquer the cold and start the grill with that new recipe I circled on page 101. I will be following his step-by-step prep work, however, from my warm indoor kitchen!

Decent BBQ Cookbook, March 8, 2010
Weber's Way To Grill Cookbook by Jamie Purveyance is a decent BBQ cookbook. The book focuses on more on grilling than BBQ. There are far more hot and fast recipes than there is slow and low recipes. My favorite sections of the book are the few that are focused on the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker.

I have cooked a few of the recipes so far, all of them Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker focused. My favorites are the rib recipes. I have cooked both baby back and pork spare ribs they both turned out very good. I have attempted the recipe for pulled pork sandwiches twice and have not ben impressed either time. Part of my failure on the pulled pork, pork shoulder, recipes my be my rookie BBQ skills or my meat selection. The rubs outlined in Way To Grill taste very good.

Many of the recipes in Way To Grill are Grill focused and they all look very appetizing, but I have only tried one, a hamburger recipe that turned out to be amazing.

Weber's Way To Grill includes many BBQ techniques that are very helpful. Purveyance discusses lighting charcoal, controlling heat, types of cookers, and more. I have found the barbecue techniques very helpful.

Overall Weber's Way To Grill is a good reference BBQ Book that will be more useful to the novice than the experienced BBQ Pitmaster.

I give Weber's Way To Grill 7 out of 10 ribs.

CQ

[...]

Super Grill Book, April 27, 2009
I've managed to purchase almost all of the Weber Grill books and find this one to be a compilation of many great recipes and provides great tips for grilling meats and vegetables. A handy book to plan your meals by.

YOU WOULD BE HARD PRESSED TO FIND A BETTER BOOK ON GRILLING., June 27, 2010
After years of turning out some of the best meals imaginable and creating meal after delectable meal, I figured that my wife had more or less paid her dues. I have always cooked; love to cook, but to be fare and honest, the burden of planning, preparation and serving had always fallen on her shoulders. After so long, did you realize that simply planning meals, day after day after day can become quite a burdensome chore? Anyway, a few of years ago I began taking over more and more of the cooking chores. We have reached a point now that I am the primary cook and more importantly, the primary planner of our meals. At least 60 percent of all the cooking that I do is done on one grill or another.

This review is on Weber's Way to Grill but in reality it is also on two other grill cookbooks, Weber's Big Book of Grilling and Weber's Art of the Grill: Recipes for Outdoor Living.

Now I have quite a number of cookbooks and a goodly number of them deal with grilling. I want to state right now that I have seldom met a cookbook that I did not like or learn something from. As an example, I love all of Bobby Flay's books covering this subject. I have learned much from them and have added many recipes to my arsenal. Flay though often times includes ingredients such as spices, herbs, cuts of meat, etc., which are not only difficult to find in our area, but are rather expensive. I am one of those people that is more than willing to fork out money for spices and such that are necessary and enhance dishes, but some of his stuff is simply not what I use with my everyday cooking.

Anyway, as far as the work being reviewed here, this is by far one of the best I have used, and one of the volumes I put into constant use. Now I will tell you that I do use it in conjunction with Weber's Big Book of Grilling. Between the two I have yet to come across a situation that I could not handle. I would be hard put to tell you which one of these books to purchase first.

This book, the actually one being reviewed here, gives you a concise step-by-step guide to your grilling needs. (Just as the subtitle tells you). It contains over 1,000 step by step photographs and well over 160 different recipes, many to most of which I have tried and have yet to have a failure. One of the sections I found most valuable is the one on sauces and rubs. My wife and I are big on sauces and this work was loaded with good and tasty ideas.

The book is broken down into various sections which include:

Grilling Basics (Many of these comments are indeed basic, but I find a review from time to time is helpful).

Red Meat (Plenty on preparation, rubs and sauces)

Pork

Poultry (one of our favorite sections)

Seafood (The techniques here are worth the price of the book alone)

Vegetables (A section is constant use in our household)

Fruit

Resources (cooking guides for just about everything are found here)

The question always comes up as to which of the two books to purchase first; Webers's Way to Grill or Weber's Big Book of grilling. I will reluctantly stick my neck out here and recommend the one being reviewed here. I think perhaps it is just a bit more instructive that the Big Book. Really though, I would hate to be without either of them. The third book mentioned at the beginning of this review, Weber's Art of the Grill, is a great book, but mainly filled with recipes and not technique. I would hate to be without it too, but if I had to give up one, it would be this one.

Another consideration that should be made is that the book being reviewed here, Way to Grill, leans more toward the charcoal grill and less toward the gas. Techniques can be easily adapted for both but the Big Book tends to address both methods more than this one. As I use both charcoal and gas I have the best of both worlds here.

Anyway, if you are a beginning griller, an expert at the art, or as many of us, somewhere between these two extremes, this is most certainly a book you need to have on your kitchen shelf.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks
... Read more

Editorial Review

A brand new restaurant recipe treasury from the wizard of culinary carbon copies.

For more than twenty years, Todd Wilbur has been translating his obsession with recreating restaurant favorites at home into a blockbuster bestselling cookbook series. Using everyday ingredients, each of Wilbur's recipes provides step-by-step instructions that even the novice cook can follow-and the delicious results cost just a fraction of what the restaurants charge.

With over 100 sensational new recipes, Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 3 unlocks the secrets to:

•Outback Steakhouse Outback Rack

•Chili's Quesadilla Explosion Salad

•Olive Garden Breadsticks

•TGI Friday's Fried Mac & Cheese

•Chili's Firecracker Tilapia

•On the Border Mexican Mojito

•Cracker Barrel Double Chocolate Fudge Coca-Cola Cake

And much, much more... ... Read more

Reviews

Good book! Read the table of contents before you purchase!, September 29, 2010
I'm a big fan of Todd Wilbur and love all of his books, including this one. I have tried the BJ's restuartant white cheddar mashed potatoes, and their avocado egg rolls. Both of the recipes came out really good. I have also tried the T.G.I. Friday's tuscan spinach dip and the crispy green bean fries. Once again those recipes were just as good as the restaurants....if not better!
My only suggestion is to visit [...] and view the table of contents before you purchase this book. A lot of recipes in here maybe a repeat if you own other books. If you purchased his recent book off of QVC then you'll see that a lot of the recipes in that book are in here. His website is: [...]. Besides that the book is a gem and for only $10 it will pay for itself with in two meals.

Todd's best book, September 28, 2010
If you've enjoyed Todd Wilbur's other books then getting this is a no-brainer.

I've tried 9 recipes so far:
Olive Garden Breadsticks
Olive Garden Dipping sauces for Breadsticks
Buca Di Beppo Garlic Bread
Chili's Honey-Chipotle Chicken Crispers
Denny's Cherry Limeade
Famous Dave's Wilbur Beans
Fleming's Prime Steakhouse Chipotle Cheddar Mac & Cheese
On the Border Guacamole Live
Serendipty 3 Frrrozen Hot Chocolate

These are either really close or better so I feel like this is a pretty fair assessment considering I can't possibly try every recipe anytime soon. If you like the original restaurant dish, chances are you'll like his clone since they're usually pretty spot on. I'll update this if I try more recipes and they're not good clones, but given his track record I'm sure they'll be accurate.

There are about 150 recipes in the book. The complete list is available on his website so no surprises here.

Top Secret Recipes is spot on perfect, September 29, 2010
This book gives me the way to make some of my favorite commercial dishes and have them come out as close to the real thing as is possible.

I have a food allergy and LOVE Todd Wilbur! Great book!, September 30, 2010
Great book! I have quite a few of Todd's books and they all have items in there that I make quite frequently! As for reviewers saying that these recipes are high in fat- well then learn how to cook! Most people who are watching their weight use recipes as a guide. Opt for a lower fat cheese, or bake an item instead of frying. This isn't rocket science! Also on another note- Todd faking food allergies to get ingredients... Apparently it is true, I did Google it, and I don't think that was too smart of him to do or publicly announce on Oprah, BUT with these clones of restaurant recipes he has in his books, those of us with real food allergies (I have Celiacs) I can still enjoy these recipes but substitute ingredients I can have. Soooooooo really, however Todd does it, I am glad he does, because I rarely get to enjoy restaurant food at a restaurant because of my allergy- now I can in my own home and, most importantly, rest assure the food is prepared in a allergy safe environment and gluten (or whatever you allergy may be) free! So think about that! Thank you Todd! Keep the recipes coming!

Todd has done it again!, December 4, 2010
I ordered this cookbook for just one recipe which was Max and Erma's Tortilla Soup. I have searched for a copy cat recipe for years. Thanks to Todd, I now have one plus a lot of other great recipes. I have several of his books and like them all. Found the great price and service here at Amazon.

Yummy!, October 15, 2010
I bought this book for the Margaritaville Jerk Salmon recipe. I made it today and it was so good! And 1/3 of the cost of going to restaurant! Thank you Todd Wilbur for making these excellent books!

Another hit from Wilbur, October 9, 2010

I own 3 other food books by Todd Wilbur and they are all great if you love to cook, and want to cook items that taste like the ones you go-out to get, for WAY less money. This book continues the journey of how to imitate the restaurant dishes you love, at home.

Disappointed, September 28, 2010
I have all of the Top Secret Recipe books and I had to return this one for a refund. There is nothing special about the list of recipes. Just a bunch of junk food and high calorie, fattening common restaurant knockoffs that I don't even eat when I'm at the restaurants. I already had most of these recipes for free on the Internet. They're all available for free if you just look them up on Google.

It seems like Wilbur just slapped this book together really quick in an effort to turn a fast profit with no concern about quality. This is the second book he's put out in a year and by far the worst of his collection.

Plus I was turned off by the video of him saying he got these ingredients using "food analysis techniques." It's a known fact that Wilbur just fakes food allergies to get ingredients from the restaurants. He admitted it himself. Just do a search on Google for "Wilbur Fake Food Allergy" and you'll see it on the ChildFoodAllergy site.

Wilbur just lost a fan. If you do decide to get this one, do yourself a favor and wait for it to show up on Ebay for half price.
... Read more