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4.6 AVERAGE
4.6 AVERAGE
I’m basically past cookbooks at this point, and this is so much more and better - it’s a cooking class, beautifully illustrated, warmly written, and incredibly approachable. As a vegetarian, a lot of the information on meat wasn’t particularly helpful, but the science of it was still interesting. The chapter on salt has already changed my cooking so much for the better. This and The Vegetarian Flavor Bible are the two mainstays of my kitchen; with them, regular recipe books become almost useless.
funny
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Best advice on cooking I've read.
Everything anyone needs to know about cooking! Or at least this is the place to start. This is a very user-friendly guide to what works and what doesn't when cooking meats or plants. Although it includes some basic recipes, the treasure is in the basic instructions for what makes a delicious meal. This book belongs in every kitchen.
Samin Nosrat is a likeable narrator, and a good teacher. I learned a lot from this book, and I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to improve their cooking abilities.
informative
I maintain that if I had been taught chemistry through practical applications like cooking and baking I would have actually learned stuff worth remembering. I was not, but this book is so delightful in part because Samin is so dedicated to actually learning and teaching, not just regurgitating information.
⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑ for the first part
⭑⭑⭑⭒⭒ for what I managed to read of the second part
The first part is absolutely brilliant, describing the essential elements of cooking and flavor in simple, easy-to-understand terms. Which is to say: the language is elegant and accessible to anyone. HOWEVER (!?!?) it's also extremely dense -- as in: tightly packed. Every sentence is conveying something new and critical to your understanding of the subject. I'll be re-visiting this book (perhaps purchasing a copy?) so that I can re-read those specific passages in a more on-demand fashion and then apply the lessons in-context to help better understand them.
The second part is good in that it's taking the more abstract lessons from part one, and applying them as elements of a concrete recipe. Which is cool! because it's like "remember that stuff about how you might combine acid and salt in these ways? well watch this!" -- unfortunately (!?!?) these parts also read a bit like those notorious recipe blogs out there with their sentimental preambles.
And so with that, let me be the last person in line to recommend this book to you (yes! you!)
---
See also: https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/04/the-why-of-cooking-samin-nosrat/523923/
⭑⭑⭑⭒⭒ for what I managed to read of the second part
The first part is absolutely brilliant, describing the essential elements of cooking and flavor in simple, easy-to-understand terms. Which is to say: the language is elegant and accessible to anyone. HOWEVER (!?!?) it's also extremely dense -- as in: tightly packed. Every sentence is conveying something new and critical to your understanding of the subject. I'll be re-visiting this book (perhaps purchasing a copy?) so that I can re-read those specific passages in a more on-demand fashion and then apply the lessons in-context to help better understand them.
The second part is good in that it's taking the more abstract lessons from part one, and applying them as elements of a concrete recipe. Which is cool! because it's like "remember that stuff about how you might combine acid and salt in these ways? well watch this!" -- unfortunately (!?!?) these parts also read a bit like those notorious recipe blogs out there with their sentimental preambles.
And so with that, let me be the last person in line to recommend this book to you (yes! you!)
---
See also: https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/04/the-why-of-cooking-samin-nosrat/523923/
I knew this book would be delightful and informative, from my experience with the Netflix series of the same name. I was right.
I'm very glad that I have a hardback copy of the book, though, because it's got great artwork, and I'm sure I'm going to want to spot check some tidbit of knowledge.
I'm very glad that I have a hardback copy of the book, though, because it's got great artwork, and I'm sure I'm going to want to spot check some tidbit of knowledge.
I read this AND listened to the audiobook, I can't imagine recommending the audiobook version of any other cookbook but this one was so lovely. I could listen to Samin excitedly read 400 pages of grocery lists and love it, her passion for food is so contagious!
A must read for any cook. At page 50 I bought the book!