Need Help With Culinary Magazines, Please

[Afra]

I just picked up a couple of culinary magazines from my library, like I just said in another post. I have gotten magazines like "Cooking Light". This is the only type of culinary magazine I can remember right now that I have gotten, though I do know that I got more than just that. I haven't gotten any for a year now because I can't afford the prescription price. I just got the magazine called "Bon Appetit".

Does anyone have any great culinary magazines they think I should read? Any great ones to recommend? I remember asking this question about culinary books and now I wonder about the magazines. Does anyone have any favorites? Thanks so much in advance for all the responses!

I am ashamed to say that I get too many magazines each month. Sometimes I don't have time to read through all of them. Here are some of them: Chocolatier, Pastry Art and Design, Gourmet, Food Arts, Chef, Chile Pepper.

[Suzanne]

Fine Cooking, which is published by Taunton Press in Connecticut, has a lot of very good information about ingredients and equipment, and the articles/recipes are written by excellent experts -- many very well known in the industry, even if not to the general public. I recently renewed for 3 years at $69.95. Try looking for it on the net:

web page

Cuisine is pretty good and basic; it's more for people who are just starting to get really interested in cooking. Sorry, I don't remember how much it costs. Next time I get an issue, I'll post more info.

[W.DeBord]

I know money is tight for you Afra so I'd like to mention that I get ALOT of wonderful recipes and information on the internet (there's alot of them posted on another thread). Most sites have nice photographs too. I have found many magazines recipes posted right at their site, that I print out and use.

Everything kind of depends upon your skill level as to which magazines are the best value for you. Some professional publications are really not the best starting place non-professionals. Some non-professional magazines wouldn't be interesting for pro.s, etc...

Honestly... I think you'll get the most infomation for learning from some of the good books others have recommended to you on other threads. Sometimes staying with one good book and learning what one great chef can teach you in his book can provide more knowledge then trying a recipe here and a recipe there. The you work thru another good cookbook by another top chef and they'll add onto your knowledge and thats a great way to really learn cooking. Which is far different than just cooking a recipe here and there from a magazine, it's about really learning cooking (the why's and how's and the techniques that will be the backbone of your education).

For instance (I'm a pastry chef) I started learning baking buy making a ton of recipes out of Pillsbury's books (they tend to be very basic but good recipes). I learned how to make a sponge cake, an angel food cake, chocolate cake, lemon cake and so on. Then I worked thru another section on cookies and made some drop cookies then some rolled cookies, then refridgerator cookies... And so I worked thru this book learning about the different types of items with-in each catagory. Then as time progressed I got more and more difficult books. So now I make the more difficult cakes and cookies etc. because I understand the basics and because I know the basics I am ready to learn harder and harder things.

I taught my-self to cook and bake, just like you Afra. You can do it just like I did! That's why I suggest to you that you should start in the beginning with basic items and master those before you reach for recipes in magazines (some of which don't work and aren't well tested), (many of which require more than a basic knowledge of cooking).

This is just how I did it and how I'd recommend any other people to go about it (if you can't go to cooking school). I'm sure others will disagree, but when money is tight I'd suggest saving your money spent on magazines (which aren't cheap and some are half advertisments) and put it into ingredients so you can make recipes out of really good educational cookbooks.

[Afra]

Thanks for your helpful response, Wendy...to tell you the truth, the magazines I pick up at the library are free for the public to pick up and take home. I haven't bought any magazine of any kind for a whole year now because I can't afford it. Magazine companies I have never heard of have recently started sending me their magazines in the mail, hoping to try to get me to subscribe to them (and these are not culinary magazines) but I never do, as I need my hard-earned money for more important things. The reason why I have a lot of culinary magazines right now is because I pick them up for free at my library. That's why I asked about them. I am not a current subscriber to any magazine. I think I shall just continue to look at the ones my library puts out for the public. I'd rather buy culinary books when I can afford them and when I need them.

[kuan]

Funny you mention this. I am in the process of giving away all of this year's magazines. I have left

16 Wine Enthusiast
4 Chef
8 Wine Spectator
15 National Culinary Review
6 Saveur
18 Bon Apetit
11 Gourmet
3 Cucina Italia
3 Foodarts

Anyone who wants them can have them. I'd rather ship them all in one big box at book rate. First person to email me gets them.

Kuan

[Afra]

Hey Kuan, go check your e-mail.

[solanna]

Cook's Illustrated is another good one. They have a website you can visit too.

[Afra]

Thanks for that information, solanna!