Is it possible to learn how to cook from a cookbook?

Question

I really want to become a good cook, but I don't want to go to school for it. I've been learning how to cook from a Betty Crocker cookbook and a Japanese Cuisine cookbook. They are good books in my opinion. I only want to learn how to become a good cook so that I can feed myself and impress my dates. Am I doing the right thing? Learning from a cook book? What else can I do?

Answer 1

first off, practice makes perfect. if you cook and experiment and have fun you'll be good to go. even a meal that goes badly is adorable in its attempt. But I gotta say, I've been a fan of the food network for years and it's seriously turned me into a really schooled and pretty darn impressive self taught cook.

I particularly love Alton Brown, Nigella Lawson, Tyler Florence, Bobby Flay, Paula Dean and Giada DeLaurentis. you can also buy some shows on DVD. Julia Childs is a God. They all have cookbooks too I think, but try it out. cooking shows are great b/c seeing the techniques really helps.

but cookbooks with lots of pictures will help too.

and there are some reasturants that offer small one time classes if you ever wanted a short lesson.

there are shows on DVD too, for example:
http://www.amazon.com/Julia-Jacques-Cooking-At-Home/dp/B00009WO95

Answer 2

Absolutely! When my wife passed away 10 years ago I had no idea how to cook anything. I got the cookbooks and the recipe cards she used and went at it. I think I have become a pretty good cook. I continue to use cookbooks but have become so confident that I don't measure anything, I just do what I think is right. Joy of Cooking is a great book.

Answer 3

Yes it is if your cookbook is for beginners, you could also look on the net for beginners recipies i.e. allrecipies or bellaonline

I think I became a good cook by loving food [much to my weight dismay] but if you can taste a great dish in a restaurant and then go home and try to copy it and keep trying till you get it right, then you will be half way there [my first effort was satay chicken] , I feel that this is the best way to learn to cook [i did this] - of course with the assistance of good instructions, as above

if you want to impress your date then always ensure that the menu is simple, you don't need to be serving a dish that will keep you in the kitchen all night

good luck

Answer 4

Buy older cookbooks from the 1950's. Newer books are often full of modified recipies that are changed many times. The key is to go back and find the original versions. You will need to start a collection . Ruth Berolzheimer: The American Woman's cookbook , edition before 1959. Chef Mario's Playboy Cookbook (1960-70 era)
Uncle John's Bread book by John Braue, The Modern Family Cookbook Meta Given, La Rousse gastronomique old editions , The Chefs Reminder, The Peasant Cookbook, Marian Tracy, A Matter of Taste, to name a few oldies I am fond of.
Oh yeah --you can learn to cook out of cookbooks. Old Sunset books have great stuff in them- like Mexican Food! Round all that up at used book stores and yard sales. Good cookbooks are harder to find and expensive . They get top dollar for Berolzheimer's books and Given's too.
My method is to collect as many versions of a particular recipie as I can find . I then can tell which is the best. It will be the one which is "worked out" meaning no small ingredient was left out. Usually that is an important seasoning ingredient , like a bit of orange rind in Beef Burgundy. The majority of cookbooks today are ripped off about 5 times removed from the original recipie. For example honey mustard sald dressings or sauce. A lot of versions out there so collect a few of them and compare. What do they all have in common? Often I just list all the ingredients among them and go from there. List All the herbs found in chicken recipies. Types of spices found in cakes. A list of things you can put in Catsup based Bar B Que sauce. All that goes on 3X5 cards . 2 plastic shoe boxes with index tabs to keep it all strait. As you write it down you will remember it. After a while you will be a great cook who can o anything nearly without any recipie. But if the cooking gets boring, sloppy, bad --go back to the books. Use them to improve your skill. Learn the right way to do things . Work constantly to improve your skills.
Clean as you go so you can relax and enjoy the meal and be leisurely eating .
Take care of your nose . Don't expose yourself to VOC's , tar, bleach, gasoline, smokeing, anything like that --it destroys your sense of smell and that is your main tool for cooking. Way more important than books ultimately.

Answer 5

Get cookbooks that come with video cds so you would really see the techniques. Plus, don't just learn from cookbooks. Watch cooking shows, which are of course free. Then ask your female friends for tips. Ask your mom, why not? :)

Answer 6

An excellent place to start.
I'd also recommend Alton Brown's books "I'm Just here for the Food" and "I'm just here for more food" They aren't cookbooks but how-cooking-works books. Invaluable.

Answer 7

Yes, you can learn from i cook book. That's how i learned and i cook, German food, Italian, Greek, Chinese, french, Caribbean to name but a few.

Just make sure you learn to cook food from around the world.

Answer 8

If you can follow instructions it will be very possible. Over time you can adjust the ingredients to your liking once you get the hang of each particular dish. There are also some very good cooking shows on tv if you can find them.

Answer 9

www.cooks.com
has great recipes, and so does
www.backofthebox.com

I, always, heard practice makes perfect. Some of the greatest cooks never went to school to learn how.

Answer 10

yes you can learn to cook from a cookbook
then, as you get better you can improvise & add different things to your recipes
you can also get loads of information how to cook from internet sites & loads of recipes

http://www.howtocookeverything.tv/htce/Home/index.html
http://www.passionateaboutfood.net/how_to.htm
try these sites