Kitchen Collection
Cookbooks You Need
• • •
On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen
By Harold McGee
Originally published in 1984, revised printing 2004
Before Heston Blumenthal, Grant Achatz, Wylie Dufresne and all the other modern day molecular gastronomists made science popular in the kitchen, there was Harold McGee. This book doesn’t have any flash to it. There are no pretty pictures or inspiring stories. That is actually why I ignored it for the longest time. When I actually took the time to open McGee’s classic, it blew my mind. There is such a vast grey area and so many confusing terms in the cooking world that to have a reference like this at their fingertips is a huge relief for any chef. Even the opening chapter about milk is inspiring. Do you know at which percent milk is full cream? Or what factors cause a cream sauce to split? Everything you need to know about milk (and a lot of other ingredients) is right there in the opening pages of this 896 page food bible. The only pictures in the book are simple, black and white drawings meant to help readers understand the science of cooking. While definitely not a light summer read, this is definitely the book for serious cooks that want to learn and gain an appreciation for the best methods to cook pretty much anything.
• • •
Momofuku
By David Chang and Peter Meehan
Published in 2009
If you follow the food world at all, then you know about David Chang and his Momofuku empire. Chang made a big splash when he released his cookbook. Filled with stunning photos, recipes and long stories, it was an instant success. That being said, while the stories tell some interesting tales, a lot of them are quite long and lose momentum for me. The recipes from Ko, Chang’s flagship restaurant, take up the final third of book and, while intriguing, did not inspire me to try to recreate in any way. In truth, it was the dozen or so pages near the beginning of the book that really hit me hard. Pickling. Yup, pickling; the archaic practice that I thought only grandmas would care about is supposedly very complex process that involves putting in hours upon hours of hard work to ensure the that your beautiful harvest of produce does not become tainted by bacteria. That being said, pickling is in actual fact not that scary. It is quite easy and fun to do. In his book, Chang shares everything from super simple pickling and curing techniques and recipes to secrets behind what is in my opinion the most complicated pickle out there: Kimchi.
• • •
Plenty
By Yotam Ottolenghi
Published in 2011
When this book first came out it was a huge success; it made a bunch of top ten lists and created a huge amount of buzz. And I completely ignored it. I hadn’t heard of Yotam Ottolenghi yet, and worst of all this was a vegetarian cookbook. I didn’t need a book preaching to me about the virtues of eating vegetables and why vegetarians are superior to us carnivorous cavemen. A couple of years later, when Ottolenghi’s name finally sailed across the ocean from England and I started hearing about a little bit more about him I once again came across the book and decided to give it a whirl. From the moment I cracked it open I couldn’t put it down. It presented vegetables in such a new and exciting way to me. Using bright and fresh ingredients, Ottolenghi adopts Middle Eastern and Mediterranean techniques that make vegetables sing. Each recipe comes with a vibrant photo which epitomizes elegance in family style plating, while the thin lines and dramatic swooshes of a fine dining plating make for great Instagrams. It’s the family style dishes in this book that will make you salivate and want to dive right in.
These are the cookbooks that might have been put on the shelves and forgotten about, yet I continue to use as I progress in the culinary world. Some of these you may have heard of, others may be new to you, but all of them have greatly influenced my cooking.
• • •
On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen
By Harold McGee
Originally published in 1984, revised printing 2004
Before Heston Blumenthal, Grant Achatz, Wylie Dufresne and all the other modern day molecular gastronomists made science popular in the kitchen, there was Harold McGee. This book doesn’t have any flash to it. There are no pretty pictures or inspiring stories. That is actually why I ignored it for the longest time. When I actually took the time to open McGee’s classic, it blew my mind. There is such a vast grey area and so many confusing terms in the cooking world that to have a reference like this at their fingertips is a huge relief for any chef. Even the opening chapter about milk is inspiring. Do you know at which percent milk is full cream? Or what factors cause a cream sauce to split? Everything you need to know about milk (and a lot of other ingredients) is right there in the opening pages of this 896 page food bible. The only pictures in the book are simple, black and white drawings meant to help readers understand the science of cooking. While definitely not a light summer read, this is definitely the book for serious cooks that want to learn and gain an appreciation for the best methods to cook pretty much anything.
• • •
Momofuku
By David Chang and Peter Meehan
Published in 2009
If you follow the food world at all, then you know about David Chang and his Momofuku empire. Chang made a big splash when he released his cookbook. Filled with stunning photos, recipes and long stories, it was an instant success. That being said, while the stories tell some interesting tales, a lot of them are quite long and lose momentum for me. The recipes from Ko, Chang’s flagship restaurant, take up the final third of book and, while intriguing, did not inspire me to try to recreate in any way. In truth, it was the dozen or so pages near the beginning of the book that really hit me hard. Pickling. Yup, pickling; the archaic practice that I thought only grandmas would care about is supposedly very complex process that involves putting in hours upon hours of hard work to ensure the that your beautiful harvest of produce does not become tainted by bacteria. That being said, pickling is in actual fact not that scary. It is quite easy and fun to do. In his book, Chang shares everything from super simple pickling and curing techniques and recipes to secrets behind what is in my opinion the most complicated pickle out there: Kimchi.
• • •
Plenty
By Yotam Ottolenghi
Published in 2011
When this book first came out it was a huge success; it made a bunch of top ten lists and created a huge amount of buzz. And I completely ignored it. I hadn’t heard of Yotam Ottolenghi yet, and worst of all this was a vegetarian cookbook. I didn’t need a book preaching to me about the virtues of eating vegetables and why vegetarians are superior to us carnivorous cavemen. A couple of years later, when Ottolenghi’s name finally sailed across the ocean from England and I started hearing about a little bit more about him I once again came across the book and decided to give it a whirl. From the moment I cracked it open I couldn’t put it down. It presented vegetables in such a new and exciting way to me. Using bright and fresh ingredients, Ottolenghi adopts Middle Eastern and Mediterranean techniques that make vegetables sing. Each recipe comes with a vibrant photo which epitomizes elegance in family style plating, while the thin lines and dramatic swooshes of a fine dining plating make for great Instagrams. It’s the family style dishes in this book that will make you salivate and want to dive right in.