Good magazines?

Sounds like you might enjoy reading Saveur.

V.

gourmet

and

bon appiett

are pretty cheap but im not sure if they have the propoganda you dont want.

americas test kitchen is a ncie publication.

I enjoy cooking illustrated. I believe it's a bi-monthly magazine. Is very informative and has great recipes and lessons. Also cooking light is a good magazine. I get my Cooking Illustrated from the Library archives, booyah.

Would that be "Cook's Illustrated"? The one with no advertising, B&W ink drawings, and a lot of kitchen science?

It's a great magazine, no glossy double page adds of Porsche SUV's or imported $10,000 French stoves, but it does have a lot of well written, well researched articles.

And yet, yet in spite of all of it's kitchen science, it's tested and re-tested recipies, it's clear, concise explanations, it refuses to acknowledge a very simple technique, a technique used in every professional establishment, in every country around the world, and used since before the Egyptian's could do their graffitti thing on pyramid walls.

It, along with almost every other N. American cooking magazine, refuses to acknowledge the use of a scale.

This is a typical N. American cooking mag thingee, and the magazines either have a deep fear of doing the intelligent thing, or a poor understanding of their reader's needs.

[quote=foodpump;225120]

It, along with almost every other N. American cooking magazine, refuses to acknowledge the use of a scale.

[quote]


I dont know why alot of home cooks dont have scales.....

They are cheap enough and a good one is well worth the investiment.

the no weight measurements bother me for pastry recipes I think they dont for the other stuff becuase alot of people jsut eyeball it anyway.

Why?
Because virtually every recipie in N. America is given in volume measurements.

Heck in Canada it's even more screwed up, we went metric back in the 80's, but recipies are still given in volume--metric volume. The media here refuse to shake off a stupid concept

The cooking mags advertise $200 knives, $500 mixers, $X,000 refrigerators and ranges, but never the lowly $25.00 electronic scale. The recipies given inthe mags strongly suggest measuring flour by weight for accuracy, but then go on to give stuff like sugar in cups, butter and corn syrup in tbspns... If it weren't so funny, it'd be pathetic.

The media (including magazines) have the power to bring this technique (of using a scale) to every household, but refuse to do so, refuse to address it, refuse to acknowledge it. It's not a foreign concept, everything you buy at the store (other than liquids) is sold by weight. Many trades and professions work with scales, most households have bathroom scales.

why what?

I agree with you....

weight measurement is the most accurate and provied the most consistancy.

LOL, uh yeah, thats the one. In spite of its obvious conspiracy to keep N. Americans ignorant about proper measuring techniques, it's still a great magazine. and again, check yer local library.

If this is what you're looking for you want Gastronomica.
Take a look! www gastronomica dot org.

I've subscribed to Bon Appetit off and on for many years, Food and Wine on occasion. Still have most issues on the shelf by the end of the sofa. It can be pretty aggravating to be thinking of a recipe I saw once in a magazine, and having to wade through decades of issues to find it. Of course, the search can also be quite entertaining, informative and a much more useful way to pass the time than staring at the television.

I have noticed that the issues from 20 - 25 years ago were clearly divided, one can easily tell which parts and pages are actual content and which parts are advertising, or propaganda, if you will. Remember though, that magazines like this do not stay in business from the subscription fees or the single copies bought at the newstand, they survive from advertising revenue. And as the original poster mentioned, these days it is hard to tell what is the real stuff and what is designed to pry open your wallet in one way or another.

Now, if I remember correctly, there is a Bon Appetit issue from about '89 or so that had this chile pesto recipe, something that would go great on some grilled chicken for sunday's dinner...

mjb.

Food Arts and Gourmet all the way! ! ! ! ! :chef:

LCBO Food & Drink

This is a freebie I used to get when I lived in Ontario, Canada. It's called Food & Drink by the LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario). It does have advertising, but it's also a very informative magazine which touches base on most aspects of cooking.

While it's designed for the home cook, it's sophisticated enough that several of the recipes I've used over the years have translated well for restaurant use.

Besides being a great magazine, the price is right: FREE!

Ciao,

Art Culinaire.

Go for a subscription of both Gourmet & Bon Appetit. By subscribing you will save about 50% vs. buying single issues any retailer.

Cook's Illustrated is in the "Sponsor" section now - I just signed up for a year subscription (the online magazine) for $18, great deal! I think this deal is just available via ChefTalk FYI.

 

Happy cooking!

If you are interested in regional type cooking without tons of ads, then you may want to look at Louisiana Cookin' or Taste of the South. They both give plenty of recipes, but also do spots on restaurants and regional events.  The magazines both have national distribution at Sam's, other discount stores, and major bookstores.  Louisiana Cookin' also produces a CD full of hundreds of recipes you can purchase.

 

D. Clay

Gastronomica is fascinating and intelligent, but it's not very concerned with actually making food. It's a great read, but think of it more like the New Yorker for highly educated food people than like a cooking magazine.

 

I don't actually like Cook's Illustrated at all. I don't like their notion that recipes are where it's at, and I really hate their constant attempts to reinvent the wheel by ignoring well-tried technique and claiming that this is being scientific. In many ways, it's a magazine for -- and apparently by -- people who love recipes but don't really have much of a clue how to actually cook. But I recognize that some very good cooks get a lot out of it, so I guess what I'm saying is that you should really scope this magazine carefully before you shell out money for it.

Great description of Gastronomica, Chris. That's exactly what it's like. Plus, of course, it's rather expensive.

 

Show's you how volitile the magazine industry is. In the two years since this thread started; Gourmet is no more, Saveur has gone from being a great culinary magazine to becoming the next best thing to a catalog, and Food & Wine...well, the less said about its decline the better.

 

The only magazine I read on a regular basis, anymore, is Food Arts. I'll peruse others on the newsstand, and, if a particular article appeals to me, buy that copy only. But there aren't any I'm familiar with worth the price of a subscription anymore.

 

Not to change the subject but I always enjoy your reviews KYHeirloomer 

I appreciate that, Missy Jean. But you might want to post your thoughts on the thread about book review usefullness: http://www.cheftalk.com/forum/thread/60225/book-review-usefullness

 

In fact, I was surprised that you hadn't.

Even though this thread was started a while ago, I am going to speak up for Plate magazine.  It is a free publication you can sign up for on their website.  I have been getting it for years, but recently they have made quite a few changes to their format and I find that I am enjoying it so much now, I am surprised they are not charging for it.

Plate is focused on restaurant food trends and each issue centers around one theme - last month was street food, this month vegetarian, covering everything from vegetables in cocktails and desserts to how chefs are creating vegetarian and vegan offerings that appeal to meat-eaters.

 

Jelly, plate sounds interesting... have a link? I'm currently getting bon appetit which I really like :) 

Sure, here is the link -

http://www.plateonline.com/

 

Even though the subscription is free, friends tell me it takes a good two months before your issues start.  You can browse all of their recipes online to get an idea of the magazine content.  It is strictly geared towards restaurants and does not include recipes I would care to tackle at home.

Cooks is good, as is any Professional Magi like Restaurant/Institutions, Catering,.Restaurant Management etc. These are geared more to what you are going to Culinary School for. They also keep you abreast of the changes going on in the business. They are NOT geared to the housewife. Quantities are large and availability of some products are wholesale only.

The print world is in a massive shakeup. I expect there will soon be some e-subscription model soon for devices like the kindle but the magazine world has seen ever eroding circulation over the last few decades. I don't see it improving any time soon in hard copy.

Waxing a little nostalgic here, but I really enjoy a magazine in print, to peruse while sipping a frozen drink at the lake in the summer. Not taking a $250 Kindle onto a dock surrounded by water.  I've been very disappointed with the direction several of the mainstream (Gourmet, BA, and F&W) have taken in the last few years, with more travel articles and fewer recipes. I have no use for a story about someone's trip to some obscure Greek island, which I will never visit, with no recipes or only those which include ingredients which are unobtainable where I live.

 

Is Fine Cooking still in print? What does everyone think of Cuisine? And does anybody know what Ruth Reichl is doing next?

I like "Gastronomica" which discusses the more intellectual side of food and cooking.  Great reading!

Art Culinaire. Pricey but totally worth it