What books to read

[m brown]

sisi, sorry to hear you are having health problems.hope this list helps pass the time!

The Physiology of Taste by Brillat-Savarin

Any book written by MFK Fisher

The Cook and the Gardener by Amanda Hesser

Any book written by James Beard

Any book written by Julia Child

Tender to the Bone by Ruth Rykal (check spelling on her last name.)

The Curious Cook

Charlie Trotters cook books, they are beautiful.

Most of these can be found at the local library.

What do you most want to study? pastry? cooking?
please post your favorite subjects so fellow cooks can share their ideas.

feel better!

[lynne]

Get a good solid background with something like Wayne Gisslen's "Professional Cooking." It will give you basic info on purchasing, quality, yields, etc; procedures on how to breakdown and cook various foods and basic recipes. Yes, there are "prettier" books around, but they do not provide the wealth of info.

One of my all time favourite books is "The Soup Bible" -- great info on the families and varieties of soups.

If you get tired of cookbooks but want to be inspired, try reading "Stand Facing the Stove" or Julia Child's biography. I have recently read and enjoyed both.

I hope you are feeling much better soon; it's hard to be down and out when there are things you want to accomplish!

Let us know how you are doing!

[This message has been edited by lynne (edited April 04, 2000).]

Read the Larousse Gastronomique.

[Nicko]

Hi Sisi,

Just wanted to let you know that you can buy the Larousse Gastronomique from the ChefTalk Store which just opened. Just go to www.cheftalkstore.com
The Larousse is in the education and reference category.


[img]../../books/larousse_jpg.jpg[/img]

[lynne]

That is where "Pro Cooking" by Gisslen, The Professional Chef by the CIA come into play. It's the why's and how's, not just recipes. "Food and Mood" is also a neat book--talks some about the psychology of cooking. Colours, etc., why different foods make you crave others, etc.

The Versatile Bean and the Elegant Grain has histories as well as recipes. I really enjoyed that book ...

[layjo]

In my opinion the two books "Becoming a Chef" and "Culinary Artistry" are two well written projects. What a the mixed fillings you have about the second one? When attending culinary school it's helpful to have broad knowledge of the classic dishes of the different cusines. But you are looking for cause and effect descriptive books, right? I like the way James Peterson writes ( he's a why? and how? guy) Another good book in this catagory is the "Professional Pastry Chef" by Bo Friberg. Some more books I like are "The Art of Cooking" by Jacques Pepin(2 volumes)(I only have volume I and looking for vol II but can't find it), "Jasper White's Cooking From New England", "100 Styles of French Cooking" by Karl Wurzer, "Delisciouso" by Penlope Casas. I too, like authors who talk to you with there written words and explain the how? and why? of the dish(es).

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Sisi,
Hey, On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee is fan tastic