About Basic Cookbooks
(You should already have read the general notes on our selection of cookbooks and on interpreting our book listings, as found on our Good Cookbooks main cookbooks page.)
These are cookbooks that can be--or are mainly intended to be--used by those still learning the elements of sound cookery. They can also, of course, be continuing references long after one has learned the essentials, and many a master cook can consult them with profit, but we list them here because they are noted for their instructional value.
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The Cook's Companion
Stephanie AlexanderUS $ This item is currently not available. |
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This Australian volume is organized alphabetically by ingredient, and can serve as an introduction to the values, virtues, and uses of each. It's also invaluable if you ever need to know how to cook kangaroo or wallaby--we doubt even the old Joy had those--but it's by no means region-specific (except that measurements are Australian, not necessarily the same as British, and certainly not U.S., but adapting is no major issue). |
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How to Cook Without a Book:
Recipes and Techniques Every Cook Should Know by Heart Pam AndersonUS $17.16 Usually ships in 24 hours |
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The title expresses the idea: don't learn recipes, learn cooking. Anderson sets out to give the reader a sound grasp, to be well and truly memorized, of how to cook, technique by technique (even to little mnemonic rhymes). And, to read the reviews, she succeeds admirably. |
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Cooking One on One:
Private Lessons in Simple, Contemporary Food from a Master Teacher John Ash with Amy MintzerUS $27.38 Usually ships in 24 hours |
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The teaching is divided into three parts: flavorings, techniques, and treatments for familiar main ingredients. The emphasis is on keeping cooking manageable, so that it remains a pleasure, and does not become a tedious chore. An interesting feature is Ash's advocacy of moderate oven-drying of fruits and vegetables, so as to concentrate and enhance their flavors--not to the extreme of "sun-dried" (usually oven-dried) tomatoes, but enough to drive out about half the natural moisture content. |
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The James Beard Cookbook (3rd Edition)
James BeardUS $10.85 Usually ships in 24 hours |
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When a man has an esteemed annual cookbook award named after him, it's a good sign that his own cookbooks are something special. Beard was truly that overworked word, a dean of American cooking. This, his mainstay cookbook, is encyclopedic yet accessible; it can well serve both experienced cooks and those just starting out in the kitchen. |
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How To Cook Everything:
Simple Recipes for Great Food Mark BittmanUS $14.93 Usually ships in 24 hours |
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How To Cook Everything:
Simple Recipes for Great Food Mark BittmanUS $23.10 Usually ships in 24 hours |
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The Kitchen Survival Guide
Lora BrodyUS $15.61 Usually ships in 24 hours |
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Lora Brody wrote this aptly named text for her son when he was going off to college. It presumes that its reader knows nothing about cooking or kitchens, and proceeds to give that reader a solid grounding in the necessaries, from stocking a pantry to actual cooking. |
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Julia's Kitchen Wisdom:
Essential Techniques and Recipes from a Lifetime of Cooking Julia ChildUS $14.28 Usually ships in 24 hours |
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Julia's Kitchen Wisdom:
Essential Techniques and Recipes from a Lifetime of Cooking Julia ChildUS $ This item is currently not available. |
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The Way to Cook
Julia ChildUS $26.37 Usually ships in 24 hours |
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The Way to Cook
Julia ChildUS $40.95 Usually ships in 24 hours |
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The New York Times Cookbook
Craig ClaiborneUS $23.10 Usually ships in 24 hours |
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Modern Classics, Book 1
Donna HayUS $16.47 Usually ships in 24 hours |
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How to Eat:
The Pleasures and Principles of Good Food Nigella LawsonUS $23.10 Usually ships in 24 hours |
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Complete Techniques
Jacques PépinUS $15.61 Usually ships in 24 hours |
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La Methode:
An Illustrated Guide to the Fundamental Techniques of Cooking Jacques Pépin(no longer available new--see below) |
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| (This book is no longer available new.) | |
| But you can look for a used copy of this book on Abebooks. | |
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La Technique:
The Fundamental Techniques of Cooking Jacques Pépin(no longer available new--see below) |
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| (This book is no longer available new.) | |
| But you can look for a used copy of this book on Abebooks. | |
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The Joy of Cooking
Irma S. Rombauer and Marion Rombauer BeckerUS $23.10 Usually ships in 24 hours |
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Complete Illustrated Cookery Course
Delia SmithUS $35.91 Usually ships in 1 to 4 weeks |
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The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook:
America's Bestselling Step-By-Step Cookbook, With More Than 1,400 Recipes US $19.77 Usually ships in 24 hours |
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Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook :
11th Edition US $7.99 Usually ships in 24 hours |
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Betty Crocker Cookbook:
Everything You Need to Know to Cook Today (10th Edition) US $12.21 Usually ships in 24 hours |
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Betty Crocker Cookbook:
Everything You Need to Know to Cook Today (10th Edition): Ring-Bound US $19.77 Usually ships in 24 hours |
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Larousse Gastronomique:
The World's Greatest Culinary Encyclopedia Prosper Montagne, EditorUS $53.55 Usually ships in 24 hours |
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Click here for our Good Cookbooks main cookbooks page.
