im a beginner when it comes to cooking....?

Question

im looking for a good cookbook which explains everything like vocabulary to cooking, what dishes certain spices are for, and how to cook basic meals

i went on Amazon.com and found three books that may help me....let me know if you like them or not or else if you have seen any better book to teach you

im brand new to cooking!

Answer 1

>>.My mom gave me a Better Homes and Gardens when I first started. It has many of the things you reference. Cooking is really pretty easy. You can start by following the recipes but then you will start to know when you can add something or alter recipes. Also, there is no limit the the recipes you can fine online. Good Luck.

Answer 2

Well, you don't say what the cookbooks are, so it's hard to tell.

There are really two kinds of cooks - recipe cooks and improvisational cooks. Personally, I'm an improvisational cook. I prefer to know the general theory of how to cook something, and then I can work from there.

If you're a recipe cook, and like to follow recipes, just find a cookbook for the kinds of food you want to do.

If you want to learn general techniques, though, I would recommend Tom Collichio's "Think Like a Chef" and Shirley Corither's "Cookwise". There are many others, from "How to read a french fry" (science of cooking), to Julia Child's "The Way to Cook", but start with Tom's book and see how it goes. I like it because he gives general techniques you can apply to a number of things. I've tried quite a few, and they're all simple and great.

Answer 3

The best one I've seen just lately is Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything". It's got that encyclopdia-like approach that a cook without much experience needs (example: I came home from the market with 2 pounds of asparagus, what am I going to do with it? What's a fava bean? How can I cook polenta so it's not lumpy?) but his style is very friendly to people who are new to cooking. His approach to the recipes works both for beginning and experienced cooks; he includes plenty of detail for newbies, but he also assumes you want to cook something good. You might give it a look--I really like it. So does my husband (I've been cooking for at least 20 years, he can barely boil water, but he cooked "chicken under a brick" this past Saturday that would melt in your mouth.)

Answer 4

The Food Lover's Companion. It's the only thing you *need* to have. It's essentially a dictionary of culinary stuff.

*IF* cooking interests you to the point of making it a career, then check out Julia Childs "The Way too Cook."

And, you should read "Kitchen Confidential" by Tony Bourdain, if you want an idea of what it's like to work in a real kitchen...

Answer 5

The Best Recipe by Cook's Illustrated.

They find the best cooking methods and ingredients and explain what works and what doesn't. The recipes are easy to follow. They have a number of books in the Best Recipe series.

Check out their web site, http://www.cooksillustrated.com

Answer 6

I like the Better Homes and Gardens cook book!

Answer 7

Betty Crocker cookbooks have been around forever. They are good basic cookbooks with lots of reference information to explain things.

I know what you are going through, I'm a single man who likes to eat. Going out costs too much, learning to cook is a savior.

Good luck!

Answer 8

There are a number of questions just like that have been asked before in this category.

Here's one of the recent ones, that I responded to with a long answer, including I think some books and websites:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070306102835AA1Y29H&pa=FZB6NXXtFWMW0cLWwu0Z81khQBtSQya1gFJNpORyrGsvZnEgdmV7kqeRdcOTyIvRF60kDivqQ47T_9QdGnU-&paid=add_watch


You also might try doing a search in the search window here to see many more of them, using words like:

beginner cooking

(here, I did it for you:)
http://answers.yahoo.com/search/search_result;_ylt=AojtpTSli4Xnc1ltQnmpOqN36xR.?p=beginner+cooking


HTH, and have a great lifelong adventure!

Diane B.

Answer 9

when i was first married, my best friend gave me a copy of "the joy of cooking". it is truly a fantastic book for the beginner.

i used that book, until it was in pieces, and i outgrew it. however, i find that i miss it, since it gives great explanations of HOW and WHY certain recipes work. i will probably get myself another copy sometime soon, as well as some others which deal with specialties i'm interested in.

Answer 10

Can't go wrong with baked patatos! Rinse them in cold water and put them in the microwave for 9 minutes. Take hem out and let them cool for 1 min. Then slice them in half and put whatever toppings you want on them. I personally like putting on butter and colored sprinkles, I know it sounds wierd but it's really good!
Nat ;-)