Good Books for Cooking Technique
Lenn asked me for recommendations for technique-oriented cookbooks. I gave him some ideas and decided to share the list. The following books have given me skills and knowledge that I use every day in the kitchen. I love European food, and these books reflect that.
I've excluded general references such as Culinary Artistry and Vegetables: From Amaranth to Zucchini. Perhaps I'll write about those in another post.
On Food and Cooking - Every cook should own this book. Harold McGee's masterpiece sheds light on the physics, chemistry, and biology that underlie every technique in the kitchen. (See my interview with him for SFist).
Zuni Cafe Cookbook - Judy Rodgers' cookbook from her San Francisco landmark restaurant seems to have three pages of text for every handful of ingredients. Rodgers is picky about quality, and she trains her readers to trust their senses and pay attention to the way ingredients change during the cooking process. I also love her do-it-yourself streak, which results in techniques for pickling and salt-curing. As she says in the book, her motto is "Stop. Think. There must be a harder way."
French Laundry Cookbook and Bouchon - I don't understand why cooks describe the French Laundry Cookbook as an unused coffee table book: My copy is well loved and stain-splattered. The Bouchon cookbook offers a homier style of cuisine, but the Keller eye for detail is still a key element.
Jacques Pepin's Complete Techniques - This photo-heavy book combines two of Pepin's earlier works. Five to 10 photos walk you through any typical kitchen task, from making stock to folding puff pastry dough.
Cooking by Hand - Paul Bertolli's extended love letter to Italian food has flaws—ignore the food and wine pairing section, with its talking bottle and plate—but the plusses outweigh the minuses. He covers everything from the way pasta flours pair with sauces to making your own conserva.
Charcuterie - This recent book from Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn is a good intro to the universe of charcuterie. I don't always follow their advice—I always make duck rillettes from confit meat, and my duck confit technique varies a bit—but I've made a few of their recipes and think they're pretty sound. Ask me again when I've made my way through Jane Grigson's more classic book, however.
Mastering the Art of French Cooking - Hard to argue with Julia Child's pivotal book. I use this for any basic ingredient of French cuisine, from pâte à chôux to pain de mie.
- Williams-sonoma Tools & Techniques
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- The Bookcase In The Pantry
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- Cooking By Hand
So many cookbooks today cater to our hectic lives and offer meals which can be assembled in short periods of time. Or they offer glittering photos of dishes beyond the reach of most home chefs, food porn which is meant to impress rather than satisfy...