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Could you recommend such a "proper" cookbook

xupybd 3y ago
https://www.mightyape.co.nz/product/edmonds-cookery-book-fully-revised/25457229?gclid=Cj0KCQjwyLGjBhDKARIsAFRNgW-0KFNoR7o6LR72Do4XQNZ59bGZWQ4ufnvtAQwe7kyF9yHOR_fZM3waAmnZEALw_wcB https://www.mightyape.co.nz/product/edmonds-cookery-book-ful...
misja111 3y ago
I really enjoyed Cooking for Geeks: https://www.amazon.com/Cooking-Geeks-Science-Great-Hacks/dp/0596805888 https://www.amazon.com/Cooking-Geeks-Science-Great-Hacks/dp/...
- BlackLotus89 3y ago
  This was one of the worst cookbooks I ever bought and some things were borderline wrong. I should have taken notes of what irked me so much about it, but there were multiple things about it that weren't for geeks. Any interview in it filled liked pure filler and because the book is black and white illustrating pictures loose nearly all meaning. Most "illustrations" are more than unnecessary anyway and seem to be only there as a space filler. Don't get me wrong with 400 pages it is not a pamphlet or something and there ARE useful information in there, but most of the information wasn't useful, scattered through the book, interrupted by interviews with 0 value and littered with recipes I would never cook. I personally rate "The Food Lab" from Kenji Lopez-Alt much higher than this and more helpful.
  - misja111 3y ago
    I didn't care about the pictures, I was more interested in the explanation about the science behind cooking. > .. littered with recipes I would never cook. Me neither but that's exactly what I liked about it. I would have normally never tried them out, but because of this book I decided to try a few and was amazed how good they were.
avvt4avaw 3y ago
- Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat - Ruhlman's 20 by Michael Ruhlman - How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman
- kieckerjan 3y ago
  Ratio by Michael Ruhlman as well.
  - klondike_klive 3y ago
    Such a useful book. Algorithms for cooking! I still use this every time I make pancakes, fritters, any type of dough.
Millsen1 3y ago
[dead]
ashergill 3y ago
Delia Smith’s Complete Cookery Course is an absolute classic and I can also recommend Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan
- 6LLvveMx2koXfwn 3y ago
  12 minutes for rice. Don't lift the lid. Only lesson I ever needed.
  - matwood 3y ago
    I remember when I reached a point where I could just look at the rice through a glass lid and know it was done together with the timer in my head. Silly, but a big moment for me. Growing up, my parents always butchered the rice so I had this weird fear it was really hard. It’s not, as you said, timer and how much water.
bearmode 3y ago
The Joy of Cooking.
- bregma 3y ago
  Secomd edition. Before they took out the illustrated section on how to skin a squirrel. Essential knowledge, after all.
alexhornby 3y ago
my sister tests all her recipes, takes her ages! https://www.amazon.co.uk/What-Cook-How-Jane-Hornby/dp/071485901X https://www.amazon.co.uk/What-Cook-How-Jane-Hornby/dp/071485...
- stormdennis 3y ago
  I just bought it. It better be good or I will find you.
  - yurishimo 3y ago
    You've potentially narrowed down the country!
- Woansdei 3y ago
  my wife does as well https://www.amazon.co.uk/Books-Mary-Anne-Boermans/s?rh=n%3A266239%2Cp_27%3AMary-Anne+Boermans https://www.amazon.co.uk/Books-Mary-Anne-Boermans/s?rh=n%3A2...
btgeekboy 3y ago
It's not quite what OP suggested, Joshua Weissman's Unapologetic Cookbook does something similar. The first section is literally, "A Little Cooking Foundation" and the first subsection is "Staples From Scratch." It's not comprehensive, but it is cohesive - by the end, you're using recipes from the beginning. He's also got a YouTube channel that's pretty fun to watch. That said, be careful what you wish for. My partner and I joke that he's pretty over the top sometimes. For example, the first part of that book includes recipes for butter and Ranch dressing. I'm sure they'll taste amazing, but if you're trying to make dinner after work, it'll be late by the time you get to eat, vs. just using stuff off the supermarket shelf. Really depends on what you're trying to get out of a cookbook.
- yurishimo 3y ago
  Yea, Weissman is certainly a talented blend of home and pro cook but jeez do I not have time to make literally everything from scratch. But making those recipes every once in a while can teach you a lot of techniques that you can carry over into other off-the-cuff recipes. One of my favorite things to do is add extra spices to mayo/ranch as a sauce or dressing. Sure, I can buy Siracha mayo at the store, but mixing it myself takes only a few seconds and I have more control. Little things like that can go a long way to making weeknight cooking more interesting and less monotonous.
ivan_gammel 3y ago
HelloFresh does a good job explaining how to cook their recipes. After a year of their subscription you will know the basics.
- rocketbop 3y ago
  Having worked for a rival, I can confirm that all recipes for these mealbox companies do actually get made and tested in the test kitchens.
- eertami 3y ago
  You can also just go online and read the recipes for free, which is quite nice. I moved to a country without HelloFresh but sometimes take a browse through their recipes and buy ingredients in person, when wanting to try something new (but unsure what exactly.)
jxf 3y ago
One way to get some general recommendations is to check out the James Beard awards [0] for "general cooking" cookbooks. You'll get what the industry and expert chefs think are the best for beginning cooks to get started (and they're usually right). [0]: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Beard_Foundation_Award https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Beard_Foundation_Award
alisonatwork 3y ago
Look at what your local culinary schools are using. Practical Cookery by Foskett et al is a popular textbook that covers pretty much everything you could want to know about how to cook and how to use every bit of equipment you can find in a kitchen.
j_french 3y ago
I thought all cookbooks were just recipe collections until I picked up Darina Allen's 'Ballymaloe Cookery Course', a 'proper' cookbook that you could use for life by Ireland's Delia Smith (I guess? not too familiar with Delia)
sumo89 3y ago
I've inherited an 80's Good Housekeeping cookbook. Some recipes are very dated but it goes in to detail on all the techniques needed for each dish including a lot of things people did more of back then like breaking down a whole bird from scratch.

https://www.mightyape.co.nz/product/edmonds-cookery-book-fully-revised/25457229?gclid=Cj0KCQjwyLGjBhDKARIsAFRNgW-0KFNoR7o6LR72Do4XQNZ59bGZWQ4ufnvtAQwe7kyF9yHOR_fZM3waAmnZEALw_wcB https://www.mightyape.co.nz/product/edmonds-cookery-book-ful...

misja111 3y ago

I really enjoyed Cooking for Geeks: https://www.amazon.com/Cooking-Geeks-Science-Great-Hacks/dp/0596805888 https://www.amazon.com/Cooking-Geeks-Science-Great-Hacks/dp/...

BlackLotus89 3y ago
This was one of the worst cookbooks I ever bought and some things were borderline wrong. I should have taken notes of what irked me so much about it, but there were multiple things about it that weren't for geeks. Any interview in it filled liked pure filler and because the book is black and white illustrating pictures loose nearly all meaning. Most "illustrations" are more than unnecessary anyway and seem to be only there as a space filler. Don't get me wrong with 400 pages it is not a pamphlet or something and there ARE useful information in there, but most of the information wasn't useful, scattered through the book, interrupted by interviews with 0 value and littered with recipes I would never cook. I personally rate "The Food Lab" from Kenji Lopez-Alt much higher than this and more helpful.
- misja111 3y ago
  I didn't care about the pictures, I was more interested in the explanation about the science behind cooking. > .. littered with recipes I would never cook. Me neither but that's exactly what I liked about it. I would have normally never tried them out, but because of this book I decided to try a few and was amazed how good they were.

avvt4avaw 3y ago

- Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat - Ruhlman's 20 by Michael Ruhlman - How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman

kieckerjan 3y ago
Ratio by Michael Ruhlman as well.
- klondike_klive 3y ago
  Such a useful book. Algorithms for cooking! I still use this every time I make pancakes, fritters, any type of dough.

Millsen1 3y ago

[dead]

ashergill 3y ago

Delia Smith’s Complete Cookery Course is an absolute classic and I can also recommend Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan

6LLvveMx2koXfwn 3y ago
12 minutes for rice. Don't lift the lid. Only lesson I ever needed.
- matwood 3y ago
  I remember when I reached a point where I could just look at the rice through a glass lid and know it was done together with the timer in my head. Silly, but a big moment for me. Growing up, my parents always butchered the rice so I had this weird fear it was really hard. It’s not, as you said, timer and how much water.

bearmode 3y ago

The Joy of Cooking.

bregma 3y ago
Secomd edition. Before they took out the illustrated section on how to skin a squirrel. Essential knowledge, after all.

alexhornby 3y ago

my sister tests all her recipes, takes her ages! https://www.amazon.co.uk/What-Cook-How-Jane-Hornby/dp/071485901X https://www.amazon.co.uk/What-Cook-How-Jane-Hornby/dp/071485...

stormdennis 3y ago
I just bought it. It better be good or I will find you.
- yurishimo 3y ago
  You've potentially narrowed down the country!
Woansdei 3y ago
my wife does as well https://www.amazon.co.uk/Books-Mary-Anne-Boermans/s?rh=n%3A266239%2Cp_27%3AMary-Anne+Boermans https://www.amazon.co.uk/Books-Mary-Anne-Boermans/s?rh=n%3A2...

btgeekboy 3y ago

It's not quite what OP suggested, Joshua Weissman's Unapologetic Cookbook does something similar. The first section is literally, "A Little Cooking Foundation" and the first subsection is "Staples From Scratch." It's not comprehensive, but it is cohesive - by the end, you're using recipes from the beginning. He's also got a YouTube channel that's pretty fun to watch. That said, be careful what you wish for. My partner and I joke that he's pretty over the top sometimes. For example, the first part of that book includes recipes for butter and Ranch dressing. I'm sure they'll taste amazing, but if you're trying to make dinner after work, it'll be late by the time you get to eat, vs. just using stuff off the supermarket shelf. Really depends on what you're trying to get out of a cookbook.

yurishimo 3y ago
Yea, Weissman is certainly a talented blend of home and pro cook but jeez do I not have time to make literally everything from scratch. But making those recipes every once in a while can teach you a lot of techniques that you can carry over into other off-the-cuff recipes. One of my favorite things to do is add extra spices to mayo/ranch as a sauce or dressing. Sure, I can buy Siracha mayo at the store, but mixing it myself takes only a few seconds and I have more control. Little things like that can go a long way to making weeknight cooking more interesting and less monotonous.

ivan_gammel 3y ago

HelloFresh does a good job explaining how to cook their recipes. After a year of their subscription you will know the basics.

rocketbop 3y ago
Having worked for a rival, I can confirm that all recipes for these mealbox companies do actually get made and tested in the test kitchens.
eertami 3y ago
You can also just go online and read the recipes for free, which is quite nice. I moved to a country without HelloFresh but sometimes take a browse through their recipes and buy ingredients in person, when wanting to try something new (but unsure what exactly.)

jxf 3y ago

One way to get some general recommendations is to check out the James Beard awards [0] for "general cooking" cookbooks. You'll get what the industry and expert chefs think are the best for beginning cooks to get started (and they're usually right). [0]: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Beard_Foundation_Award https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Beard_Foundation_Award

alisonatwork 3y ago

Look at what your local culinary schools are using. Practical Cookery by Foskett et al is a popular textbook that covers pretty much everything you could want to know about how to cook and how to use every bit of equipment you can find in a kitchen.

j_french 3y ago

I thought all cookbooks were just recipe collections until I picked up Darina Allen's 'Ballymaloe Cookery Course', a 'proper' cookbook that you could use for life by Ireland's Delia Smith (I guess? not too familiar with Delia)

sumo89 3y ago

I've inherited an 80's Good Housekeeping cookbook. Some recipes are very dated but it goes in to detail on all the techniques needed for each dish including a lot of things people did more of back then like breaking down a whole bird from scratch.