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In the last few years I’ve learnt that there really is nothing better than a good cook book. Vibrant colors, techniques, stories - these can all really add to y

In the last few years I’ve learnt that there really is nothing better than a good cook book. Vibrant colors, techniques, stories - these can all really add to your experience if their presence is not solely for the purpose of including additional ads. I’ve also found that the recipe alone is truly not enough - the techniques and background are incredibly important !

scubbo 6y ago
> the techniques and background are incredibly important As someone who admittedly loathes _and_ is bad at cooking - it sounds like you are describing a combination recipe book _and_ cooking-instruction/cooking-history book. I wonder if people are frustrated because the two are getting conflated - they _just_ want the recipe, but they are being given both recipes and background?
- Kalium 6y ago
  Often people are deeply frustrated because they're getting pages and pages of irrelevant SEO-bait and then the recipe. It's rarely meaningful, substantive, informative, educational, or helpful. I don't care how much someone's son/partner/dog loves this gluten-free/low-carb/vegan recipe, and most people seem to also not care.
  - dvtrn 6y ago
    I genuinely truly wouldn’t mind it if all the filler were easy to skip if the reader so desires. Some (and increasingly more) sites offer a “skip to recipe” link but for a long long LONG time that wasn’t the case.
bkjelden 6y ago
Couldn't agree more. A good cookbook is well laid out and organized in a logical manner, rather than organized to optimize search rankings. And while I'm grateful for youtube, blogs, reddit, etc for reducing the barriers for folks to share information about topics like cooking and home improvement, they've also taught me to appreciate a good editor.
tylorr 6y ago
Any suggestions for a good cook book?
- moehm 6y ago
  To learn the techniques, history and scientific background, "On Food and Cooking" [0] is great. His second book, "The Curious Cook" [1] is entertaining and interesting as well. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Food_and_Cooking https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Food_and_Cooking Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/101255.On_Food_and_Cooking https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/101255.On_Food_and_Cooki... [1] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/117144.The_Curious_Cook https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/117144.The_Curious_Cook
- cratermoon 6y ago
  Anything by Mark Bittman, starting with "How to Cook Everything"
- nick__m 6y ago
  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4901819-la-cuisine-raisonnee https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4901819-la-cuisine-raiso... , it's in French and I don't know of a translation but if you can read it, it is one of the best book on cooking. It covers techniques and timeless traditional French and French Canadian recipes. It's a reference as much as it is a cookbook and it's a lot cheaper, and accessible than Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking from Nathan Myhrvold The first edition is over 100year old, my grandmother gave the second edition of that book to my mother who gave it to my sister.
  - moehm 6y ago
    > it's a lot cheaper, and accessible than Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking from Nathan Myhrvold Have you read Modernist Cuisine at Home and can you compare?
    - ghaff 6y ago
      I got mildly obsessed with modernist cooking a few years back and got a copy of Myhrvold's At Home book. It's a beautiful book and is an interesting read. That said, I don't really use it much although I have a few go tos. A lot of the recipes are way more work than I'm going to put in for, say, an omelette.

scubbo 6y ago

> the techniques and background are incredibly important As someone who admittedly loathes _and_ is bad at cooking - it sounds like you are describing a combination recipe book _and_ cooking-instruction/cooking-history book. I wonder if people are frustrated because the two are getting conflated - they _just_ want the recipe, but they are being given both recipes and background?

Kalium 6y ago
Often people are deeply frustrated because they're getting pages and pages of irrelevant SEO-bait and then the recipe. It's rarely meaningful, substantive, informative, educational, or helpful. I don't care how much someone's son/partner/dog loves this gluten-free/low-carb/vegan recipe, and most people seem to also not care.
- dvtrn 6y ago
  I genuinely truly wouldn’t mind it if all the filler were easy to skip if the reader so desires. Some (and increasingly more) sites offer a “skip to recipe” link but for a long long LONG time that wasn’t the case.

bkjelden 6y ago

Couldn't agree more. A good cookbook is well laid out and organized in a logical manner, rather than organized to optimize search rankings. And while I'm grateful for youtube, blogs, reddit, etc for reducing the barriers for folks to share information about topics like cooking and home improvement, they've also taught me to appreciate a good editor.

tylorr 6y ago

Any suggestions for a good cook book?

moehm 6y ago
To learn the techniques, history and scientific background, "On Food and Cooking" [0] is great. His second book, "The Curious Cook" [1] is entertaining and interesting as well. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Food_and_Cooking https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Food_and_Cooking Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/101255.On_Food_and_Cooking https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/101255.On_Food_and_Cooki... [1] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/117144.The_Curious_Cook https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/117144.The_Curious_Cook
cratermoon 6y ago
Anything by Mark Bittman, starting with "How to Cook Everything"
nick__m 6y ago
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4901819-la-cuisine-raisonnee https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4901819-la-cuisine-raiso... , it's in French and I don't know of a translation but if you can read it, it is one of the best book on cooking. It covers techniques and timeless traditional French and French Canadian recipes. It's a reference as much as it is a cookbook and it's a lot cheaper, and accessible than Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking from Nathan Myhrvold The first edition is over 100year old, my grandmother gave the second edition of that book to my mother who gave it to my sister.
- moehm 6y ago
  > it's a lot cheaper, and accessible than Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking from Nathan Myhrvold Have you read Modernist Cuisine at Home and can you compare?
  - ghaff 6y ago
    I got mildly obsessed with modernist cooking a few years back and got a copy of Myhrvold's At Home book. It's a beautiful book and is an interesting read. That said, I don't really use it much although I have a few go tos. A lot of the recipes are way more work than I'm going to put in for, say, an omelette.