Books on Cooking

The Soul of a Chef - The Journey Toward Perfection by Michael Ruhlman ($10.50) - Ruhlman, who is a CIA (Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY and St Helena, CA) graduate, observed seven chefs taking the CMC (Certified Master Chef) exam at the Hyde Park campus. About 170 chefs have taken the exam since 1981 and only 53 have passed. It is ten grueling days of lectures, menu design, and cooking. Many of the most well-known chefs don't even have a CIA degree, much less CMC accredidation. With only 53 such chefs in the world, one can imagine that the million or so others feel that they are managing well-enough without such silliness. Ruhlman goes through the test and then explores the workings of one of the hottest new restaurants in, of all places, Cleveland. He then goes on to The French Laundry in Napa Valley to observe and work with Thomas Keller at what some critics call the best restaurant in the world.

On Food and Cooking : The Science and Lore of the Kitchen by Harold McGee - I used to have this next to my bed. MIT-trained chemical engineers are interested in wierd things and this answered many questions or as Arthur Boehm says: "What makes white meat white? Does searing really seal in flavor? Why is it that fruits ripen but vegetables don't? These and other food mysteries are conclusively solved in Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen. A unique mix of culinary lore, food history, and scientific investigation, McGee's compellingly readable book explores every aspect of the food we eat: where it comes from, what it's made of, and how and why it behaves as it does when we bake, broil, steam, or otherwise ready it for the table. In addition to chapters on foods such as eggs, fruit, meat, and dairy products, McGee investigates wine, beer, and distilled liquors (the first alcoholic beverage was probably produced 10,000 years ago when some honey was forgotten); food additives (adulterated food has always been with us); and digestion and sensation (most of our food aversions are learned by taste-testing in childhood), among other topics. A section on nutrition reveals, among much else, that Americans have always been prey to food faddism. The book concludes with an easy-to-understand investigation of the basic food molecules--water, carbohydrates, proteins, and fats and oils--and a discussion of cooking methods and utensil materials. There's a lively chemistry primer guaranteed to make clear and enjoyable what was probably less so in the classroom. With more than 200 illustrations, including extraordinary photos of cellular food anatomy, the book will delight anyone who cooks or enjoys food."

The Curious Cook : More Kitchen Science and Lore by Harold McGee - A follow-up to the previous book. It explains that cooking with aluminum pots and pans doesn't cause Alzheimer's disease. This is only one of the curious facts that fill The Curious Cook--a book that persuasively demonstrates that science can enrich everyday experiences like cooking, eating, and living.

Cookwise : The Hows and Whys of Successful Cooking by Shirley O. Corriher - Cooking Editor's Recommended Book
Is it safe to let a biochemist into your kitchen? If it's Shirley Corriher, extend an open invitation. Her long-awaited book, Cookwise, is a unique combination of basic cooking know-how, excellent recipes--from apple pie to beurre blanc--and reference source. She makes the science of cooking entirely comprehensible, then livens it up with stories, such as when her first roast duck blew up because she overstuffed it and the fat from the bird caused it to expand beyond capacity. Food companies pay Corriher fancy fees to troubleshoot their recipes, and Cookwise puts her encyclopedic knowledge ever at your fingertips. If you want to know how to make the flakiest pastry, best-textured breads, delicious fruit desserts from fruit that's not fully ripe, impeccable sauces, and attractively bright cooked vegetables, this book contains the answers. "What this recipe shows" tells you up front what's useful in each of the book's 230-plus recipes. "At-a-glance," "What to do," and "Why" help you learn or troubleshoot in minutes. If eight steps to a perfect Juicy Roast Chicken are daunting, think of the delight of Rich Cappuccino Ice Cream in three steps or the seductive Secret Marquise in five.

The New Food Lover's Companion : Comprehensive Definitions of over 4,000 Food, Wine, and Culinary Terms (Barron's Cooking Guide) by Sharon Tyler Herbst - ($11.16) Packed with more than 4,000 terms, including 500 new ones, this newly expanded, A-to-Z guide defines and describes preparation and cooking methods, kitchen utensils, herbs and spices, cuts of meat, types of cheese and sausage, seafood, sauces, foreign food terms, unusual tropical fruits, and even gives basic descriptions of beers, wines, and cocktails. We use it all the time.

The Pocket Guide to French Food and Wine by Tessa Youell and George Kimball - This is a great addition to the volume above. Unfortunately it is out of print, but Amazon will query their network of used bookstores for you and send an update within one to two weeks.

Cheese Primer by Steven Jenkins - About $13.50. From Amazon: If you want a fascinating food book, say Cheese Primer. For 20 years, Steve Jenkins has lead the way in upgrading the quality of cheese sold at fine food stores in the U.S. Finally, in this volume, he shares his encyclopedic knowledge. Jenkins tells all about cheesemaking at the commercial as well as the artistic level. Generously punctuated with maps and photos, the book includes all kinds of historical and other relevant information. Jenkins seems to describe every kind of cheese made in the U.S. and Europe, including when to eat them, how and with what. His passion and blunt opinions make it easy to travel the 548 pages of this book if you have even the smallest interest in cheese. The guide to pronunciation is particularly helpful.

After years of importing cheeses, exploring cheese-producing areas of the world, and setting up cheese counters at gourmet food shops, Steven Jenkins, our foremost cheese authority, decided to write it all down. CHEESE PRIMER tells you every thing you need to know about the hundreds of cheeses that have become available in this country. Region-by-region, Jenkins covers all the major cheeses from France, Italy, Switzerland, Canada, and the United States.

We say: It's a great book and they even have it used for a bit less.