What's the best cooking manual or textbook for an intermediate cook/baker?

Question

I'm not looking for a recipe book, although some recipes would be nice. What I'm really after is a book that will teach me how to cook. I want something that covers the basics, like how to julienne a carrot and butterfly a trout, but also goes on to more advanced sauces and preparations. I'm open to professional cooking textbooks, if you can recommend a good one.

Key qualities of the book:
It should be mostly about European cuisine, as that is my primary interest. My girlfriend loves to make Japanese food and has her own books for that purpose. :-)
It should be comprehensive and well-indexed, such that it can be used as a reference.
It should explain the theoretical underpinnings of cooking and baking. I want to know why recipes are the way they are, and how different ingredients and methods contribute to final results.

Finally, please remember that I can search Amazon.com myself. I'm looking for personal recommendations; what have you used that worked for yo

It looks like the end of my question got messed up somehow. It should read "..worked for you?"

Answer 1

Professional Cooking (4th addition) by Gisslen is one of my favorites. It was given to me about a year before I started culinary school and sure enough, it was part of my second semester reading. It's pretty much basic level, but I love it and always refer back to it. It's classic French technique all the way. As far as baking, it has the basics. I'm not much into baking, but when I need buttercream or something I always go back to this book.

Answer 2

Alton Brown's books aren't terrible and do explain the "science" behind what goes wrong in recipes:

I'm Just Here for the Food: Food + Heat = Cooking
I'm Just Here for More Food: Food x Mixing + Heat = Baking

Or other baking/cooking science books:

How Baking Works: Exploring the Fundamentals of Baking Science by Paula I. Figoni

The Secrets of Baking: Simple Techniques for Sophisticated Desserts by Sherry Yard

On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen by Harold McGee

The Old World Kitchen: The Rich Tradition of European Peasant Cooking by Elisabeth Luard

You may also want to consider either a print or online subscription to Cook's Illustrated, although it isn't dedicated to European cuisine. http://www.cooksillustrated.com/

Answer 3

one of my favourite books was my mom's old McCalls' cookbook (circa 1950's-- a cool red book with drawn illustrations and few photos) Though it was filled with a bunch of different recipes, the front of the book was a great glossary of terms and explanation with how to's.

Otherwise, I hate to sound like a woman of the 21'st century but... looking things up online can be a hundred times better than any book can do for you.

Answer 4

as liquid ca mentioned, Professional Cooking and Professional Baking both by Wayne Gisslen are excellent text books . When I attended culinary school I used them both extensively and recommend them highly
Petersen's book on sauces is excellent as are Rick Bayless's books on Mexican cooking.
Wiley is the largest puplisher of cookbooks and other reference materials for food service professionals.
It would be worth your time to examine their catalog.

Answer 5

The absolute bible for any cook, especially if you are interested in European cuisine, is the

Larousse de gastonomie (Don't worry, this is also available in English)

or, my favourite, as it spends time talking about buying food, preparing it, kitchen skills, hygiene, wine matching and so on is

Leith's cookery bible, by Prue Leith.

Answer 6

I found this to be a very good book:

Le Cordon Bleu's Complete Cooking Techniques

Amazon carries it and has it on sale now. I probably ought to get a new version mine is probably 25 years old.

here is their link:

Answer 7

Your best bet is school or a friend that knows what she is doing. You can also try a retirement living place, they are lonely and who do you think wrote the books or at least taught them how to cook. Trust me I know and Im 48 years old and I know a lot of people my age that dont know how to cook.

Answer 8

Your mom's experience and your fantasy...!!!!It's all in your hand..when i first moved to the city I'm studying i didn't know many things..now i can make everything and create my own recipes...if you're willing to create..YOU CAN DO IT!

Answer 9

Yea i actually am one heck of a cook sure ill bake you a chocolate chip cheesecake

Answer 10

Joy of Cooking

Today, nine revisions later, the Joy of Cooking -- selected by The New York Public Library as one of the 150 most important and influential books of the twentieth century -- has taught tens of millions of people to cook, helped feed and delight millions beyond that, answered countless kitchen and food questions, and averted many a cooking crisis.
OY remains the greatest teaching cookbook ever written. Reference material gives cooks the precise information they need for success. New illustrations focus on techniques, including everything from knife skills to splitting cake layers, setting a table, and making tamales.

This edition also brings back the encyclopedic chapter Know Your Ingredients. The chapter that novices and pros alike have consulted for over thirty years has been revised, expanded, and banded, making it a book within a book. Cooking Methods shows cooks how to braise, steam, roast, sauté, and deep-fry effortlessly, while an all-new Nutrition chapter has the latest thinking on healthy eating -- as well as a large dose of common sense.

This edition restores the personality of the book, reinstating popular elements such as the grab-bag Brunch, Lunch, and Supper chapter and chapters on frozen desserts, cocktails, beer and wine, canning, salting, smoking, jellies and preserves, pickles and relishes, and freezing foods. Fruit recipes bring these favorite ingredients into all courses of the meal, and there is a new grains chart. There are even recipes kids will enjoy making and eating, such as Chocolate Dipped Bananas, Dyed Easter Eggs, and the ever-popular Pizza.

In addition to hundreds of brand-new recipes, this JOY is filled with many recipes from all previous editions, retested and reinvented for today's tastes.

This is the JOY for how we live now. Knowing that most cooks are sometimes in a hurry to make a meal, the JOY now has many new dishes ready in 30 minutes or less. Slow cooker recipes have been added for the first time, and Tuna Casserole made with canned cream of mushroom soup is back. This JOY shares how to save time without losing flavor by using quality convenience foods such as canned stocks and broths, beans, tomatoes, and soups, as well as a wide array of frozen ingredients. Cooking creatively with leftovers emphasizes ease and economy, and casseroles -- those simple, satisfying, make-ahead, no-fuss dishes -- abound. Especially important to busy households is a new section that teaches how to cook and freeze for a day and eat for a week, in an effort to eat more home-cooked meals, save money, and dine well.

As always, JOY grows with the times: this edition boasts an expanded Vegetables chapter, including instructions on how to cook vegetables in the microwave, and an expanded baking section, Irma's passion -- always considered a stand-alone bible within the JOY.

This all-new, all-purpose anniversary edition of the Joy of Cooking offers endless choice for virtually every occasion, situation, and need, from a 10-minute stir-fry on a weekday night to Baby Back Ribs and Grilled Corn in the backyard, or a towering Chocolate Layer Cake with Chocolate Fudge Frosting and Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream. JOY will show you the delicious way just as it has done for countless cooks before you.

Even after 75 years, the span of culinary information is breathtaking and covers everything from boiling eggs (there are two schools of thought) to showstopping, celebratory dishes such as Beef Wellington, Roast Turkey and Bread Stuffing, and Crown Roast of Pork.

A must in every Kitchen!