Help Is Cooks Illustrated Worth It?!

[gonefishin]

Hi Carl,

I would say that Cooks Illustrated Online is most definitely worth the money (I got a half off deal )

I'm not quite sure what JonK was alluding to referencing the recipe per dollar base and other access that costs an additional subscription. I get the feeling he may have been talking about the free America's test kitchen, which doesn't include everything Cook Illustrated.com does.

I got subscription to CI.com for half price (through a Christmas e-mail offer)...and it grants me access to the entire site (at which I'm surprised at the amount of information). I get all recipes, all tasting lab results, the equipment corner, menu's...every article and how to. But most surprisingly (to me) I also got all the back issued magazines (in web form) from July 2002 to the current March 2007.

I give it a big thumbs up

take care,
dan

[JonK]

Sorry if I was unclear, Gonefishin. All I meant by the "recipe per dollar" ratio was that you'll get a lot more recipes per dollar of subscription cost from, say, Bon Apettit or almost any other cooking magazine, than you will from Cook's Illustrated.

But of course you generally won't get the very interesting and educational discussion on recipe development that is one of Cook's Illustrated's big drawing cards.

I mentioned this only because when I gave a gift subscription to a friend (who I am guessing is less curious about these sorts of things than I am), she remarked that each issue of CI didn't have that many recipes. "Ah, but what recipes!" I replied.

[monk]

Greetings -
I have all bound volumes through 2005, but have stopped purchasing them because they apparently have one woman who handles 'customer service'. She comes across as someone who has no intention to help you, that you are bothering her. She came across as arrogant, duplicitious, and untrustworthy - she has cost me money. Free Rider probably dealt with her. The publication is everything previously mentioned - 'good' and 'bad'. Hopefully an online subscription will mean you never have to deal with her.

[gonefishin]

Thanks for the clarification JonK.

dan