wilhelmisscreaming91's review
5.0
This book made me a much more thoughtful and intentional cook. I feel more creative in the kitchen now that I have a way to approach the what and why of adding ingredients. I could say much more but it's probably already been said.
I really get a kick out of some of the negative reviews, especially when two people dislike the book for exactly the opposite reason. Some reviewers have criticized the book for being too basic and for "beginners," while one negative review said the book was far too advanced for the average home cook like her. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I really get a kick out of some of the negative reviews, especially when two people dislike the book for exactly the opposite reason. Some reviewers have criticized the book for being too basic and for "beginners," while one negative review said the book was far too advanced for the average home cook like her. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
jackwwang's review
4.0
An excellent primer on the PRINCIPLES of cooking. Most cookbooks are just dense compilations of recipes, better used as a reference than to read as a narrative. It is I suppose possible to glean the underlying principles of good cooking from recipes, but one has to read between the lines, like deciphering how to play piano by reading sheet music, it's incredibly difficult and tedious. Nosrat writes the cookbook that most of us home cooks have wanted to read, a clearly written narrative introduction of the general principles that allows you to make something tasty NOT from recipe.
The hand-drawn illustrations are very cute and surprisingly helpful to facilitate visualization of concepts difficult to describe in prose. I can read several pages on julienne and not learn as much as a single drawing of julienned carrots.
Nosrat has a gift for storytelling, she could have given us just the concepts and I would have been happy with just the dry facts just because that information has almost never been packaged in such a straightforward way, but she chooses to add some flavor to her exposition, bringing lessons to life from personal anecdotes (often self-deprecating), and the joy she gets from cooking clearly shines through in her prose.
Highly recommended for all but the most seasoned home cooks.
The hand-drawn illustrations are very cute and surprisingly helpful to facilitate visualization of concepts difficult to describe in prose. I can read several pages on julienne and not learn as much as a single drawing of julienned carrots.
Nosrat has a gift for storytelling, she could have given us just the concepts and I would have been happy with just the dry facts just because that information has almost never been packaged in such a straightforward way, but she chooses to add some flavor to her exposition, bringing lessons to life from personal anecdotes (often self-deprecating), and the joy she gets from cooking clearly shines through in her prose.
Highly recommended for all but the most seasoned home cooks.
doesntread's review
Was looking for something more practical for beginner home cooking. I was interested in a guide for kitchen improvisation to get calories and vitamins in my belly, not for making restaurant-quality food at home. The author is very likable and a great story teller, but I'd rather hear more about her stories about food than her insistence that I need to pick the best oil to go with any one dish (and therefore have all of them paid for and available in my pantry?)
bayleestarrlyn's review
4.0
Such a great reference tool for understanding the basic mechanics of how good food is made.
rachelish's review
4.0
Had to return to library unfinished because it was reserved. The parts I read (salt, fat) were excellent and educational in a very accessible way.
linda48's review
5.0
More of a textbook on cooking than a cookbook, this is a well-written, thoroughly researched, and filled with personal anecdotes to help both beginner and experienced cooks to hone their skills and turn out delicious food. Samin Nosrat has been on the talk circuits lately from "Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me!" to "The Splendid Kitchen", discussing her career, her adventures and misadventures and, of course, her cookbook.
This book is detailed and will answer most questions that cooks have or don't know they have. The actual recipes are few - basically, recipes to use as a template to then expand with your own take, or to use as practice for the lessons she sets out. Wendy MacNaughten, the illustrator, looks like she had a wonderful time with watercolor pens to illustrate certain sections of the book. (There are NO photographs of any of the recipes.) Note: If you are looking for baked goods, you would be better served picking up any book by Dorie Greenspan, Rose Levy Beranbaum or Ina Garten. But for main courses, salads or sauces, especially sauces, this is a wonderful book to own.
This book is detailed and will answer most questions that cooks have or don't know they have. The actual recipes are few - basically, recipes to use as a template to then expand with your own take, or to use as practice for the lessons she sets out. Wendy MacNaughten, the illustrator, looks like she had a wonderful time with watercolor pens to illustrate certain sections of the book. (There are NO photographs of any of the recipes.) Note: If you are looking for baked goods, you would be better served picking up any book by Dorie Greenspan, Rose Levy Beranbaum or Ina Garten. But for main courses, salads or sauces, especially sauces, this is a wonderful book to own.