Reading Cookbooks | Imamother

thekosherchannel

Tue, Feb 22 2011, 11:10 pm

I like to read cookbooks in my spurts of downtime. I learn something and it doesn't matter where I left off, or never finish. And I don't have to worry about inappropriate content. Does anyone else do this? (I know your'e out there) I'm curious, what do you enjoy about it?

Learning basic cooking techniques
Getting tips and ideas
Good writing style
Stories, anecdotes
History
Cuisines and cultures

And what have been some of your favorite cookbooks for reading?

Thanks, I'm looking forward to getting some good reading material Study

bigsis144

Tue, Feb 22 2011, 11:52 pm

The Kosher by Design ones have beautiful photography, and there's no need to adjust for non-kosher ingredients.

I love the old Moosewood cookbook, the one with all the recipes printed in Mollie Katzen's handwriting with little hand-drawn comic strips about proofing yeast and kneading dough, and little doodley decorations in the margins.

My aunt works for Food & Wine magazine and sends us old issues every once in a while, so do those count? Most of the recipes are too expensive/odd to try, but I found one amazing Italian meatball recipe that I probably make once a month or so because DH loves it. Half the magazine is ads for wineries, gourmet chocolate, or exotic food-tourism trips, but again, the photography is completely drool-worthy.

I don't have many "frum" cookbooks (ie cookbooks put out by Chassidish groups, or as school fundraisers, etc.), but when I go to people who have them, I love reading them as a cultural thing. Older cookbooks (or very Chassidish) tend to be much more "patchke"-full, with separating a dozen eggs, rolling doughs out thinly enough to see the pattern of the tablecloth through them, etc. They also tend to be less health-conscious, with tons of margarine and Rich whip, and more European-centric. You may find a recipe with soy sauce in it, but it's more likely to be accompanied by onion soup mix than fresh ginger, rice vinegar or bok choy.

Smile

How's THAT?

myself

Thu, Feb 24 2011, 4:33 am

thekosherchannel wrote:

I'm one of those... Wave

imamama

Thu, Feb 24 2011, 4:46 am

My brother went to culinary school, and then gave me his cooking textbook when he was finished. It is amazing. It's my cooking bible. And yes, I read it for fun. The two things I've learned from it that I use the most are 1) the most incredible chocolate chip cookie recipe in the world and 2) how to cut a whole chicken into pieces.

Blueberry Muffin

Sat, Feb 26 2011, 9:57 pm

I love reading them too!
I like to read the more modern cookbooks - not the older ones -
and especially if they have a healthy view on things -
I love reading the ones that talk about specific foods and their health benifits.. and then they gove u a binch of recipes that have that food -
and I also like reading food that talk about food science - like WHY you need to carmalie your onions on a low heat source to break down the sugars and get a delicous looking carmel color on the onions - as opposed to doing it on a higher heat that will just cause them to burn...
or what more brown sugar or less baking soda will do to desired outcome of a blondie....

manyhats

Sat, Feb 26 2011, 11:03 pm

Great thread!

Blueberry Muffin, Would you please specify your soures @ food science ?

The Julia Child cookbooks make good readings. She writes as if she is talking to you in person. she comes across as friendly, folksy, and informative,

Her books include step by step pictures , alternative suggestions, and helpful hints. She specifies what equipment to use.

She has a way with words. My favorite is her word for " leftovers " ; Remains of the Feast.

The Cake Bible by ( I think ) Rose Birnbaum Levy ( #1 ) is another interesting read. It won a prestigious award. Fancy cakes with scientific explanations.

Joy of Cooking. The sheer # of recipes are amazing. A culinary mainstay for generations which went through many printings.

Light Basicss Cookbook by Martha Rose Shulman ( # 2 )
How to Cook W/O Book by Pam Anderson ( # 3 )\

All these cookbooks are geared to a general audience. Although not specifically kosher they have many recipes that are usable /adaptable.

Books #1 and #3 were written up in the NY Times. Book #3 I find in the library. I bought all 3 of them.

Joy of cooking was in the sales section of Barnes and Nobles.

I love browsing libraries and Jewish book stores. I look for and buy well written detailed books which offer new and interesting recipes for a current food interest. I appreciate those recipes whose ingredients are easily obtainable and not overly fussy.

I also enjoy reading recipes online . I find comments interesting.

Bracha

Blueberry Muffin

Sun, Feb 27 2011, 8:46 pm

manyhats wrote:

Great thread!

Blueberry Muffin, Would you please specify your soures @ food science ?

I dont remember the name specifically - I borrowed it from the library - in ny - I prob. should have bought it - it showed beautiful picytures of fresh fruit and vegetables and nuts and fish and wrote about the health benifits of each and what benifits you get when you eat it raw vs eating it cooked - and then gave some recipes - it made you want to eat every vegetable there is out there.....

I just borrowed a very interesting book from my frien d- called "the dessert bible" by christopher kimball (he also wrote the cook's bible -
pretty interesting stuff - he basically plays around with the ingredients in recipes and tells you what will happen if you add an extra egg yolk, or decrease the amount of baking soda or increase the amount of choclate... its pretty cool - he explains how to get a denser or chewier browny or a more cake like one if you just alter the ingredients a bit... I find that part of food science fascinating - about the chemical changes/effects that each ingredient has of food.....

Blueberry Muffin

Sun, Feb 27 2011, 8:52 pm

I like reading Norene Giletz cookbook - esecially "norene's healthy kitchen" very very informative, gives info about healty swaps and low carb info and which foods take longer for the boy to digest and makes you feel fuller longer, along with a cute sence of humor throughout the book.
I dont lie the format of her book - but there is alot of recipes in it... it is not as eye catching as susie fishbeins - a bunch of recipes are on one page - in a column format.
I prefer just 1 or 2 recipes on a pagee.....

PinkFridge

Mon, Feb 28 2011, 10:13 am

Blueberry Muffin wrote:

manyhats wrote:

Great thread!

Blueberry Muffin, Would you please specify your soures @ food science ?

Was Kimball with America's Test Kitchen? I like those too, and found some great recipes there.
More fun: Back of the Box Gourmet (a few in the series, smaller than Back of the Box Recipes or whatever the big book is called). Mildly amused by Todd Wilbur's books.

BTW, if anyone wants to read about someone reading cookbooks, there's a sweet novel called The Cookbook Collector by Allegra Goodman.

Blueberry Muffin

Mon, Feb 28 2011, 10:21 am

PinkFridge wrote:

Blueberry Muffin wrote:

manyhats wrote:

Great thread!

Blueberry Muffin, Would you please specify your soures @ food science ?

Was Kimball with America's Test Kitchen?I like those too, and found some great recipes there.

I dont know....

PinkFridge wrote:

More fun: Back of the Box Gourmet (a few in the series, smaller than Back of the Box Recipes or whatever the big book is called). Mildly amused by Todd Wilbur's books.

BTW, if anyone wants to read about someone reading cookbooks, there's a sweet novel called The Cookbook Collector by Allegra Goodman.

where have u found these series?
they sound interesting.... I dont get great cookbooks from my local libraries....

PinkFridge

Mon, Feb 28 2011, 10:26 am

Blueberry Muffin wrote:

BTW, if anyone wants to read about someone reading cookbooks, there's a sweet novel called The Cookbook Collector by Allegra Goodman.

where have u found these series?
they sound interesting.... I dont get great cookbooks from my local libraries....[/quote]

Do you have access to a wider library network? I can check a database of several dozen libraries my city belongs to, a few local libraries out of this network, and then put in requests to a broader network including a good part of the state. And holds are now free, so I use these features a lot.

Blueberry Muffin

Mon, Feb 28 2011, 11:17 am

PinkFridge wrote:

Blueberry Muffin wrote:

BTW, if anyone wants to read about someone reading cookbooks, there's a sweet novel called The Cookbook Collector by Allegra Goodman.

where have u found these series?
they sound interesting.... I dont get great cookbooks from my local libraries....

Do you have access to a wider library network? I can check a database of several dozen libraries my city belongs to, a few local libraries out of this network, and then put in requests to a broader network including a good part of the state. And holds are now free, so I use these features a lot.[/quote]
I dont know... how do I find out?
I live oot - in atlanta....

PinkFridge

Mon, Feb 28 2011, 1:37 pm

[quote="Blueberry Muffin"]

PinkFridge wrote:

Blueberry Muffin wrote:

I dont know... how do I find out?
I live oot - in atlanta....

Do you have a mechanism to renew books online? Go to the homepage and see what they offer you. Or, call and ask the librarian. I can't imagine that Atlanta doesn't have sort of broader access.