What do culinary students learn from, what books?
Every basic book i find, is just a bunch of recipies, Id like to know the fundamentals of cooking, whats happening and why etc.
Any ideas?
2007-01-21 17:51:00 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Food & Drink ➔ Cooking & Recipes
You're looking for a food science/culinary arts text book... most cook books just give recipes.
Have you looked into any of the books published by the Culinary Institute of America? For example, "The Professional Chef"
A bread making book I like is "The Bread Baker's Apprentice" by Peter Reinhart. The first half of the book is very geeky technical and the second half contains recipes.
A book I just found on Amazon looks pretty good is "On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen by Harold McGee" I might even order a copy for myself.
2007-01-21 18:19:38 · answer #1 · answered by Dave C 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Many culinary schools use Professional Cooking by Wayne Gisslen . There is also a companion book Professional Baking by Wayne Gisslen. You don't need to buy the latest edition but as a rule culinary students tend to keep these books and add them to their own personal collections so used books can be a little difficult to find.
Wiley is a publisher of books for the food service professional and you should definitely check them out. www.wiley.com
2007-01-22 01:40:17 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have quite a few cookbooks which discuss that kind of thing. My copy of the latest Joy of Cooking, for instance, discusses eggs for 5 pages, vegetables for 7 pages, cakes for 8 pages, before it gets to the actual recipes. And it doesn't stop there. On almost every page there are sections "about" different specific foods. There are sections on cooking methods. There's a whole chapter on sauces and stocks. It's almost 1100 pages, and it isn't all just recipes.
2016-03-29 08:32:54 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you wnat to know the fundamentals without taking culinary courses, start with "The Joy of Cooking". Then, start adapting recipes. When you get to the point that you can work without a recipe, either in writing or in your head, you've started to really learn to cook.
2007-01-21 17:56:26 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I prefer the Sunset "Easy Basics for Good Cooking" cook book to the Joy of Cooking, because there are photos of the more complex steps in the recipes.
2007-01-21 18:12:12 · answer #5 · answered by Carmen S 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm the same way. Here are a few things that I do:
I subcribe to Cook's Illustrated Magazine. This tells the WHY of cooking. Really, really informative. They test all of their recipes and tell you the ones that work and the ones that don't. You can actually get an affordable web membership fpr only 3 or 4 dollars a month.
www.cooksillustrated.com
Alton Brown is really good at this as well. He has two books out. Very Informative
http://www.amazon.com/Im-Just-Here-Food-Version/dp/158479559X/sr=1-1/qid=1169470221/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-6188029-9002304?ie=UTF8&s=books
Check out James Beard. He has many books out and goes over ingiedients as well as techniques. Some say he is the father of the WHY of cooking.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/0316085669/ref=cm_cr_dp_pt/104-6188029-9002304?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books
For sauces, the best book is by James Peterson. In detail, he goes over nearly every sauce there is.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/0471292753/ref=cm_cr_dp_pt/104-6188029-9002304?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books
Another one to definitely add to your library is On Food And Cooking, by Harold McGee. Really starts to go into the why of things as well.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/0684800012/ref=cm_cr_dp_pt/104-6188029-9002304?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books
2007-01-21 23:51:00 · answer #6 · answered by hulahoops 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I found "Delia Smiths Complete Cookery Course" helpful.
I have been cooking from a very early age so I am not sure how it will work for a complete beginner. The advice is sound and basic.
It is English based
2007-01-21 18:02:01 · answer #7 · answered by peter w 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Take a look at America's Test Kitchen cookbook. They have easy to understand explainations of why things happen. This book also explains kitchen equipment and tests all equipment and recipes and tells you their findings. It's a great book for beginners and experts!
2007-01-21 19:07:00 · answer #8 · answered by katie1nel 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Professional Cooking is what i used in culinary school.
2007-01-21 18:11:27 · answer #9 · answered by mfstick24 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Get a Betty Crocker's for elementals, Joy of Cooking for more details.
2007-01-21 17:58:42 · answer #10 · answered by soxrcat 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋