These are Books You Just Gotta Have
I am not usually one to recommend cookbooks, at least not as a way to learn to cook. That said, there are a few cooking books that I recommend, not because of the recipes but rather the techniques and science you can learn from them. (Okay…. there will also be some cookbooks listed here… and food novels… and coffee table books… and biographies… but really that’s it).
The books listed here in the “Books You Just Gotta Have” section are my recommendations for books that you will refer to constantly whether you are a novice or an accomplished cook.
Yes I know, books are so well… physical. Why would I want to own an actual book? Can’t I just have it on my device… or get what I want from Google? In most cases I agree with you, except for these books. These are books that you will refer to all the time, books that will teach you… and save you… when you are in a cooking dilemma. These are the books that get post it markers, dog ears, and food stains. They need to be a part of your kitchen.
(Oh,yah, if you would like to buy these books or would like to read more reviews click on the book cover or follow the text links below)
Julia Child: The Way to Cook
Julia… what else is there to say? As you can imagine I own every book she ever published. But this one is the one I look at all the time. If you have poked around at this site you know that I like to write recipes that are really just a big hint, exposing techniques and taste combinations that can be tweaked and played with.
The Way to Cook is the book that inspired how I think about cooking. Yes, it has recipes, but the recipes are chosen so that you can build on them as your culinary skills mature. As an example, page 270 starts with a master recipe for steamed cauliflower, simple enough right? But the beauty comes as she expands to Buttered Cauliflower or Broccoli, then Broccoli Sauteed in Olive Oil and Garlic, Cauliflower with Browned Breadcrumbs, Hashed Broccoli then Hashed Broccoli with Cream.
Sure everyone wants to be able to cook end to end from Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Another book Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously is about a “juliaphile” (is that a word?) who does just that. They even made a movie from the book with none other than Meryl Streep as Julia.
However in my opinion if you only own one book from the legend that is Ms. Child, The Way to Cook is the one.
Jacques Pepin: Complete Techniques
Jacques Pepin yelled at me… and I have the scar to prove it. I was lucky enough to be taking a hands-on class at Boston University School of Culinary Arts. We are in the kitchen cooking polenta and roast chicken (and a vegetable that escapes me). The ovens are on 450 degrees F. At one point I am sticking my arms in the oven to check on the chicken. Jacques comes up behind me and yells “shut the door on that oven, you are losing all the heat”. Surprised I jump up and my arm hits the top of the oven, instant burn. Am I mad about this? Heck no, I even had a drink with a chef friend later that night and bragged about it. (BTW, never get into a scar contest with a professional chef, lost that one big time.)
Why do I love this book? Well like Julia’s book there are recipes but the beauty of this book is the technique. There are thousands of techniques shown with text and pictures to walk you through step by step. It starts with Holding a Knife (and if there is one thing you should learn to do correctly it is this) and it ends with Cake Glazed with Fondant.
In between there are techniques for scrambled eggs, carving a watermelon, trussing a chicken, carving a steak. In short, if you need to learn the basics or advanced French techniques Jacques Pepin: Complete Techniques has it covered.
And oh yea, I never leave the oven door open longer than I have too. Thanks Jacques, lesson learned.
Harold McGee: On Food and Cooking
On Food and Cooking is the very best way to get your food geek on. This is not a book that you “read” (although I have read most of it). It is a book that you can refer to as you learn to ask WHY food and cooking works the way it does. And as I have said before, learning “why” will change the way you think about food on the most fundamental level.
From the Amazon synopsis:
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
Even if you are not a cook but just a “foodie” you will enjoy having this in your library. Right from chapter 1, Milk and Dairy Products you learn the history of milk and its evolution, dairy animals around the world, milk and health, etc.
What I like in particular are the sections that bring science to the understanding of how ingredients change given certain processes (cooking techniques) and how those methods give us specific tastes and textures. For instance, eggs are explained by looking at proteins and how the proteins react to physical manipulation (beating) and temperature (cooking). Ever wonder why a recipe says to temper the eggs with a hot ingredient to prevent curdling? McGee tells you why. Knowledge like this helps you select the right method, or prevents you from making a mistake that ruins a recipe.
As I said earlier, this book is all about putting your food geek on. While it is not really a book to be read like a novel or even a good cookbook, if you like science and food… and you are reading to learn why cooking works… there is a good chance that you will want to turn every page, just like I did.