/ck/ - Food & Cooking

>>5716215
most of the books are the same thing as a regular textbook. they do go over some modernist techniques but 90% of the six volume set is culinary basics. I read through it and felt like I was taken back to intro to cooking with the On Cooking text book.

>>5716215
MC is obviously god tier, but I only have the money to be really serious about bread. Once I get a pressure cooker and build a circulator + heater/controller I'll hope to do some modernist stuff. Sous vide standing rib roast is my mid-term goal.

Also
>tfw no glorious combi oven

Damn, OP, I literally came here to make this exact thread and it's thew first thing in the catalog.

>>5716302
I still need to get a copy, though I suppose I have plenty of content left in Hamelman.

This is the best book I've ever bought in terms of being a kitchen resource.

>>5716215
This is just part of my collection from the last fifteen years. Mostly garage sale finds.....but

>>5716813
....this is the book that awoke my culinary spirit. My mom gave it to me when I got my first apartment and it taught me a lot about different flavor combinations. Plus, like it says, all the recipes are made in one dish. This is the perfect cookbook for someone just starting out.

>>5716309
i picked up a copy at half price books + 50% off


was even signed by the author lol

I have a complete 1958 set of all twelve volumes of Mary Margaret McBride's Encyclopedia of Cooking. I really love the whole set and use them several times a week.

>>5716839
Why does it seems so lewd?

Can anyone vouch for this book?

>>5716215

Mark my words: The Modernist Cuisine series is going to age about as well as sliced bread. The recipes, the plating, the recipes, the photography: they're all going to look very, very dated in fifteen years.

>>5716215
This set is fucking FOUR HUNDRED AND SIXTY NINE DOLLARS. Who actually buys this shit?

>>5716894

Sure. But none of that shit you listed really matters anyway. If someone buys MC for the pictures they're missing the point entirely. The real value in MC has nothing to do with the pretty pictures or the recipes. It's the background information: the explanation of the how and why, the chemistry and the heat transfer, and so on. And that will never be dated. Improved upon? Sure. But the underlying science behind the food will never be irrelevant.

>>5716901
one person to scan it

>>5716908

Right, which is why On Food and Cooking is a better book, and will be treated by the march of time as a classic book. It dispenses with all of the frivolity that makes up 95% of MC's bulk (and price tag) and just has pure, beautiful information.

still the ultimate

>>5716253
>>tfw no glorious combi oven

How bout it, those things sound fucking awesome.

>>5716307
This was going to be my second choice after the one I put in OP but I didn't wanna steal someone else's glory. Cool that some of her full shows are up on Youtube now too. A lot of Jacques Pepin stuff too.

>>5716901
DYETorrent bro? The copy I found is stellar quality.

I couldn't really find a good copy of their follow up (pic related), which is significantly cheaper and has a companion book that is literally the same content but spiral bound (w/o full page color pics) so you can keep it in the kitchen as you follow along with it

Found that spiral bound book in my local library

>>5716894
Yeah but who really cares. The sous vide techniques alone make it interesting enough for me to get into. Also the info on figuring out the nuances/flaws of your home equipment (hot/cold spots in your particular stove for example)

Hell if you look at a Julia Child's omlete vid online it looks fucking retarded the way she drowns it in parsley compared to how you see them made now

>>5716852
It might be

>>5716215
Outdated pretentious garbage. The food for the present is postmodern.

>>5716852
Makeup & not Asian / 10 would not eat off

>>5717399
Cool, mind suggesting something better?

>>5717060

What, you mean with all of the fucking fiberglass fibers in them?

>>5717649
Post modern cuisine:
-Science is a white male hegemony wherein women and minorities are sold consumerist ideals of white maleness
-hamburgers are the epitome of aggressive, rapist white male cuisine
-vegans are freedom fighters
-soul food is the food of liberation so make kraft mac and cheese at home or microwave Any's Organic frozen kraft mac and cheese
-bbq is cool but kinda complex so buy it from a hipster in Austin so you feel good about it but don't have to go to a black neighborhood
-KALE and SMOOTHIES

>>5717666
Cook with menstruation for maximum libeartion

>>5717658
Huh? Could you please be more specific? I'm lost.

>>5717666
Devil confirms while male hegemony

>>5717677

MC@home has a notoriously bad recipe for an omelette that involves cutting a silpat to fit the bottom of a frying pan. You know the one, with the fucking mushroom stripes. It looks amazing, no doubt, but there's one major fucking problem: you aren't supposed to cut silpats. In fact, you're supposed to throw it away if you even nick one. They're crisscrossed with fiberglass fibers that, if ingested, could cause some serious problems.

Really, that omelette is symbolic of MC as a whole for me. None of those guys were legendary chefs before they wrote the cookbook, but they're treated like the foremost authority on it because they rushed a glossy book to market with beautiful photographs and an eyecatching premise. It reminds me of Goldblum's speech in Jurassic Park.

"You read what others had done and you took the next step. You didn't earn the knowledge for yourselves, so you don't take any responsibility for it. You stood on the shoulders of geniuses to accomplish something as fast as you could, and before you even knew what you had, you patented it, and packaged it, and slapped it on a plastic lunchbox."

>>5717714
Oh yeah I've seen that one. End result looks cool, so probably worth the fiberglass ingestion

Honestly I just think it has good overviews of various kitchen tools and the science/tips/tricks of various machinery and new(ish) techniques

I'm not gonna treat it all as verboten

>>5717714
P.S. It says this right in the section on silicone mats

>We love silicone mats: baking sheet liners that are flexible, durable, heatproof, and nonstick. They come in three varieties: Silpat-style mats made of heavy-weave fiberglass mesh coated with food-grade silicone, silicone-coated parchment paper, and pure silicone mats. All three are useful for lining oven trays, setting into pans on the stove, and making thin sheets of food, such as crackers, crisps, and fruit leather. We often cut pure silicone sheets such as Wilton mats, into custom shapes and sizes,as for our Striped Mushroom Omelet recipe on page

>(Don't cut Silpats, or you will expose the fiberglass core.) Silicone mats replace waxed paper, aluminum, and parchment paper with one reusable item. And, unlike nonstick coatings, the silicone can't be scratched off.

>>5717399
>post-modernism is relevant

>>5717666
>post-modernism = sjw tumblr vomit

the pleb in here is unbearable

>>5717755
>implying post modern cuisine isn't just eating pure elements like carbon and hyrodgen

>>5717755
Are you working on your PhD in an Anthro department?
I am and I know pomo food habits.

>>5717762
>thinking that pomo cuisine recognizes hegemonic concepts like 'elements' and 'eating'

>>5717762
post modernism is a reaction against modernism, so instead of atomizing and abstracting food post-modernist food would be leaving whole foods intact. or else if you want it to be like post-modernist writing it would be like combining eight cultures into one dish. or if you want it to be like post-modern visual art it'd be a hamburger with a slider as a topping

>>5717768
anthro is probably the worst place to learn about postmodernism. its so much more relevant in literature and fine arts. i dont know what kind of simpleton you are but postmodernism has been dead for at least 20 years. the peak of postmodernist literature for example is pynchon's gravity's rainbow, 1973. rauschenberg, the quintessential american pomo visual artist, peaked in the 1960s and 70s. pomo has been long dead.

>>5717794
Which is exactly why it has been the dominant theoretical force in American anthropology for much of the last 30 years.
Anthropology is nothing if it is not 20+ years behind the 'liberal arts' and 50 to 100 years behind actual sciences.

Anyway, many anthro departments are still havens of 90s 'vegan-punk' wannabes and old hippie faculty. Try to pry the pomo out of their asses and you'll get a ripe mess of Foucault, Derrida and the inane Marxism of Shanks and Tilley.

>>5717805
then your mistake is conflating postmodernist food with what kind of food people who claim to use postmodernist thinking eat. for all you know the utmost postmodernist philosophers, lets say derrida, ate potato chips ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mukx6kDRsQw ). that doesnt make potato chips pomo cuisine.

also, out of your list you reveal your own plebeian understanding of academics. foucault himself claimed to be an heir of an enlightenment tradition. this is an antithesis to postmodernist philosophy, which claims to reject enlightenment notions of 'progress,' 'truth,' hegelian synthesis, historically rooted analysis, and so on

>>5717819
potato chips are definitely pomo, everyone has them out of the vending machine or from the cafeteria '$5 lunch special' at least three times a week.
only the weird hippies eat sun chips.

In any case, what Foucault claimed is irrelevant. I could claim to be the heir to Napoleon's France or Spencer's 'organic evolutionism' but my claim is only as strong as the evidence.

Considering that the legacy of Foucault's work is as basically as anti-enlightenment as George W Bush's presidency or the current work of the Islamic State in the Levant I'm unconcerned by your claims about his claims.

>>5717755
>>5717762
>>5717794
>>5717805
>>5717819

Guys ... can we talk about good cookbooks or cooking resources you've used instead of discussing (shit)postmodernism?

>>5716215
Part of my collection.

>>5718139
What do you think of White Heat in particular?

>>5718160
Its not bad, The Devil in the Kitchen is better IMO. If you like nonrecipe cookbooks both Knives of Dawn and Life on the Line are really good.

>>5718160
>>5718249
Also The Food of France and Food in History are also really good nonrecipe food books So is Beard on Food but its a little different.

>>5718289

Beard on Food might be the worst title for a food book ever.

>2014
>owning recipe books

>>5718293
Yeah, well, when you are James Beard you can pretty much name it whatever the fuck you want.

>>5717794
>postmodernism has been dead for at least 20 years
heh

>>5718312
>2014
>Using anything but the internet

I still use recipe books... to store handwritten recopies as bookmarks.

>>5716914
Also libraries

>>5717060
The pdfs are crazy slow because of the pictures.

>>5716215

The Bible, natch

>>5716302
How is this bitch sad.

She is hugging bread.

>>5718954
she's sad because icky white guys keep hitting on her

she's not their china doll

>>5718918
I bet you get all your recipes from allrecipes

>>5718961

What's wrong with AllRecipes? Genuine question by the way.

I have made many things i got off that site and have been very tasty.

Do you have better sites to recommend? I sometimes get recipes from food blogs.

>>5719022
May as well take lessons from Sandra Lee.

>>5718289
Searched food of France found several with same name who is the author?

>>5719022
I've never made anything on that site where when I followed the recipe exactly it tasted good. Theres plenty of recipes on there that serve as good base but the food is usually bad if you don't modify it based on experience

>>5719080

Well yeah I modify just about everything but who doesn't?

I kinda took for granted everyone added their own twist on stuff.

>>5719062

I really don't know anything about her to be honest.


Also I asked for better alternatives but noone has said anything.

>>5719088
>I really don't know anything about her to be honest.
This is the internet. If someone mentions something you don't know about, you fucking look it up.

>>5719090

No fucking shit Sherlock. Just did, and can't be arsed to actually read about her.

>>5716901
>This set is fucking FOUR HUNDRED AND SIXTY NINE DOLLARS. Who actually buys this shit?

What's your point? I've spent a lot more money on college classes that taught me a lot less.

If you're spending that kind of money to look at pretty pictures, yeah, that's silly as hell. On the other hand $500 is a fucking bargain if you learn even 10% of what that set can teach you.

>>5719077
Waverly Root is the author

>>5718312
>>5718918

I was going to open the thread up to any "resources" you frequently use in OP but decided against it

Totally open to hearing what Youtube channels or other websites you use as references/resources though.

I know Heston Blumenthal has full episodes of his shows on Youtube - each episode based on a specific topic/food item (like "beef")

Some of my gfs books mixed in, I have Larousse on a shelf above

>>5719746
>Vegetarian
Just commit double suicide already.

>>5719746
>taking the presence of a single vegetarian title as evidence that Anon is vegetarian despite the presence of a dozen other non-vegetarian texts

>>5720008
I feel a fool, meant to link to >>5719999

>>5716215
pic related

>>5719999
>asshurt about people not sharing his eating habits
>motioning people to suicide over something so simple
considering you most likely either have autism or severe depression, telling you to stab yourself repeatedly is redudant, since you're a tumblr-tier retard and you will eventually kill yourself once you find something "triggering" enough

>>5719999
Lol, like I said that and the Jaime Oliver book are my gfs

Sorry for unintentional bait.

>>5720090
Also here's my alleged copy of Larousse
Not as nice as >>5720061

>>5717017
fuck yeah, this some patrician tier

>I'm sorry but we don't have medium. Do you want tall, grande or venti?

>>5719999
>>5720008

The carnist agenda at work

>>5720061
>>5720094

Good look, will check it out.

>>5720084
#rekt

>>5719746
>>5720061
>>5720094

FYI for any poorfags there's a gr8 torrent of this on TPB with working bookmarks and everything.

Heck might even be useful even if you own it to throw on a tablet or something.

Copyright says 2004 so looks like one of the later editions

my family got me a gigantic indian cookbook for my last birthday. came kind of surprising but as someone that enjoys indian/asian food a lot i'm very glad to have it
its basically a huge collection of recipes for authentic indian meals that mostly are quite easy to make at a rather standard home kitchen with spices you can find in a good supermarket
i appreciate something like modernist cousine that delves into the science behind cooking and while i love reading that type of stuff, good recipes are neccessary as well

>>5720664
Is that cookbook available on Amazon or anything? Got a title?

>I don't eat meat.

>>5720688
http://www.amazon.com/India-The-Cookbook-Pushpesh-Pant/dp/0714859028
there you go
as the top rated amazon review points out, you'll need to apply logic and cooking knowledge at some points as it is somewhat lazily written
that aside its a great cookbook and the ~5 meals i made so far tasted really good and impressively similar to the indian takeout places and restaurants i've been to
as a side effect you also learn about the rather exotic spices such as kurkuma, kardamon, cumin (the yellowish one) and a bunch of others that are very different from the ones common in european cuisine

>>5720724
Shamelessly bumping with nothing of value in the hopes this thread survives till after I wake up. Was getting pretty low on the catalog

>>5718139
nice pig

someone post that link for the vincent price book

It's surprising how cool and simple the recipes are in here. There's even one for squirrel!

>>5716309
remember heartsonfire? i think this book was in one of her distributions

>>5722369
This one?

http://www.amazon.com/Treasury-Recipes-Famous-Specialities-Foremost-Resturants/dp/B0011ECV1A/

Out of all these books, which one/ones would be good for a beginner to learn some basics?

>>5723178
Joy of Cooking, if you're really willing to learn.

>>5716215
The Art of French Pastry.

Taught me all the French Classics and I will go to my grave not contradicting a single thing in this book.

>>5723192
lel french cuisine

>>5723189
My grandma gave me her copy she got sometime in the late 70's. Use it all the time.

>CTRL+F Cook's Illustrated
>0 results

You're missing out. Each recipe has an explanation for why the ingredients are used and how they work together. Only cookbook I've seen with experimental methodology.

>>5723256
French desserts and pastries. Goes over croissants, ice creams, cakes, anything involving choux paste, pastry creams...

It's a fucking awesome book

>>5716930
McGee is so fucking based. If you don't have this book get it, it's one of the best books on food to ever exist. Any chef will tell you so, they rely on that shit at the CIA.

>>5723314
COOKS IS SO FUCKING GOOOOOOOD

WHERE MY CLASSIC NIGGERS AT?
Where's Escoffier? Where's Careme? Where's the old as fuck La Rousse Gastronomic?

Anybody have anything in the River Cottage series? Hugh is the fucking man, and I read a lot of his first book at one of my old cook jobs. It really changed the way I think about food, and eating, and it started a huge obsession with local, fresh goodness. I also started a garden, and am a wanna-be farmer now. Thanks, Hugh.

anyone have these in epub?

>>5723358
all i have is this, because i'm a fagatarian. how're the meat+fish books?

>>5723166
I have the PDF. This book is amazing.
I feel woefully inadequate for it, though

>buy cookbooks
>only ever cook about a fraction of the recipes written in the cookbooks

Has anyone tried anything out of the Futurist Cookbook by Marinetti? It's mostly in the presentation, but some of the recipes are bizarre. Pretty interesting though.

>>5724257

I helped make food/ate at a dinner party that I'm pretty sure was all based off that book.

It was a few years ago, so I don't remember too much. I'm also drunk, but I do remember making some boob shaped things with strawberries, and some mediocre raw fennel dish.

Wish I could remember more; it's random as fuck seeing that posted.

On a slightly related not, I remember that my parents have Dali's cookbook, and next time I'm at their place (it's been a few years) I really need to remember to swipe it.

>>5723178
Complete techniques by Jacques Pepin. Pictures and steps for everything plus knife techniques from beginner to difficult.

Bourdain approved.

>>5716215
Cooking school by America's test kitchen.

Milk bar by Christina tosi.

Cooks illustrated website subscription.

Some Gordon Ramsay quick and easy books along with the one that goes with his cookery course.

Momofuku.

>>5724443
Fuck off fag.

I could spend my whole life cooking only what's in that book.

>>5716215
The Holy Bible....

>>5716762

mah nigga, love my flavor bibile

>>5717017

I have a slightly newer version but yes. Great book

>>5723462
Goddamnit there is a veg book too? Of course there is. Take my money! Yeah the other books are great, especially the fish book.

Here's one of my bibles...

Really? Gastronomique?

I found it was a waste of time. On Food and Cooking is a superior food encyclopedia.

>>5725740
And another is my English translation of this.

Picked up

>The Professional Chef

and

>Professional Baking

from this thread:

>>5724495

Have more at work, but I have found each of these quite useful, though a few are more of an enjoyable read than particularly useful.

>>5716302

>>5724725
What recipes do you like from there?

>>5716302
>>5725851
Why do these bread books have unappetizing looking bread on them? Would not read.

>>5725965

MC is not about recipes. It's more like a textbook. It's about understanding the how and why things work the way that they do. It helps you perfect existing dishes, understand what does what in your food so you will never have to ask about substitutions again, and so on. Trying to duplicate its recipes is going to be expensive and call for equipment you don't have.

Think of it like a book on DIY home improvement or construction. The goal isn't to duplicate exactly the pretty houses photographed in the book. The goal is to teach you all the different techniques and tools so you can put your ideas into practice.

>>5726261
MC is pretentious quackery.

>>5726678

then you're missing the point entirely.

I agree 100% that the fancypants recipes are indeed silly. But focusing on them is the very essence of missing the point. What's more important is the fundamentals. In fact, I wish I could force everyone on this board to read it because the following often-asked questions would simply disappear overnight:
-how to get the best sear on my steak
-how long can I keep X in the fridge?
-what's the fastest way to thaw X?
-how long should I cook X for?
-I ran out of an ingredient. what can I sub?
...and so on.

THAT is the goldmine of MC, not a bunch of pretentious presentations. Those are just eye candy that shows off how to apply the above.

The woman who wrote this and owns the restaurant is a family friend and we all shed a tear of pride as she published her cookbook. It's decent, a bit lacking in some areas, but a pretty good intro to cooking Asian cuisine imo.

>>5716762
I have used this book more than any other book... ever. It's kind of hard to use at first, but it helps to open your eyes to new flavor combinations and thinking about completed dishes instead of individual components of a dish. Also, it's very informative to find chefs who use this book and see their notes/dogtagged pages inside of their own bible.

Holy crap, somebody else owns this? Butter-filled, excellent recipes.

>>5726881
>>5726240

>>5716215
Bittman, Joy of Cooking, and Beard on Bread.

>>5720084
>All these baseless accusations
Why do you take the time to do that? Do you think it's ever had an effect?

>>5718139
Wow I remember my mom had that Doubleday Cookbook in the center, and it was the first real cookbook I learned from. Made rice pudding a lot.
>remember the memories

>>5716852
Because that neon lighting. I want to start singing "Roxanne" right now.

I have a bunch of little books, along with some books from restaurants (Alinea, ad hoc/French Laundry, etc.) Cooking is possibly the only thing I'll study without getting bored, so I collect a lot.
If you want a nerdy read, there's Cooking for Geeks by Jeff Potter.

>>5726693
not the one you responded to.
You can get that from many other books, as well. I haven't read MC, as I don't like most of the way the stuff I have seen by those associated with it is presented, and I doubt I would learn anything useful from it that I have not learned from other sources based upon the sorts of things I have seen. For me, it's not just a matter of pretentious presentation of food, as that exists in most in-depth sources - at least according to what I gather most here mean when they say pretentious - but how they present the information as a whole. They attempt to sell people on "we reinvented the wheel" and they do not seem to have done any such thing.
Just my take on it without having read through the 7 or so volumes. Not trying to convince anyone of anything other than I think the presentation of the information itself is a sales pitch at every other turn, and I don't like that style.
I'm glad people have learned from it and, hey, if it has garnered interest in people, that's cool.

>>5724107
Damn, I fell in love with polish cooking this summer.

>>5727658
because of that book, or something else?

>>5716215
google

Betty Crocker big 3 ring orange covered book from the 80's.

>>5718957
That's a guy

>>5727664
Because of epic holidays in Poland this summer. I'm considering buying "Polish Cookery" and try to recreate some astounding dishes I had there.

As for this thread, I think the following kinds of cookbooks are mandatory:
- extensive information on ingredients and techniques (like learned in cooking schools)
- some abstract information on flavor pairing and balance, spices, dressing, etc...
- lots of cookbooks about any regional cookeries of taste

>>5727584
>>5727584
I don't think there there are too many up-to-date books that cover sous vide techniques like MC. I'm not 100% on its nuts but I think it's a pretty good reference books for the new tools and techniques going on in kitchnes - combi-ovens, sous vide on more than just steak, stuff like that

this!

>>5727699

>the fat duck cookbook
>alinea
>under pressure
>el bulli cookbooks
>cooking for geeks
>momofuku
>etc etc etc

Very good non recipe book. Really inspired me in the kitchen.

>>5727755
Gonna look into this.

Also shameless bump as I'd like to selfishly keep this on the catalog

Behold!

>>5727584
>You can get that from many other books, as well

Yeah, you can. But not all in one place. MC covers background topics like microbiology, thermodynamics, heat transfer, and chemistry very extensively. It covers all of these topics and more before it even starts to even mention a single recipe. Of course they didn't invent any of that stuff, but it's nice to have all of the relevant details all in one place, and explained to such a fundamental level.

>>They attempt to sell people on "we reinvented the wheel" and they do not seem to have done any such thing.

What makes you think that, especially if you haven't read it? I agree that could be annoying but I don't get that vibe from it at all. And for each and every recipe they give credit to the chef(s) who first did it. Like any "cookbook" it's based on the work of countless cooks and chefs before them. I mean people go nuts over Julia Child's cookbooks (and I love them too) but it's not as if she invented those recipes. It's all classic French with her name on the cover.

>>5726693
what page does it tell me how much butter to substitute for vegetable oil?

>>5729063
>>/ck/thread/S5716215

>>5729136
>what page does it tell me how much butter to substitute for vegetable oil?

For what application?

I doubt it would have a direct substitution chart. But it will tell you what the makeup of different oils are. Armed with that information you can answer the question yourself.

So for example if you just wanted some fat to pan-fry in then the specific makeup doesn't really matter.

On the other hand if you want it for a different application, like baking, then it would tell you that butter is a combination of fat, water, and milk solids whereas veggie oil is just pure fat. Therefore you would know that if you wanted an exact substitution you'd have to take the butter, cook out the water and clarify it. Or in other words, make ghee.

First cookbooks I used as a kid. Not god tier, but I'll still poke through them when I'm at my mom's.

>>5729149
Have you cooked with ghee much? I used it for eggs once and felt it imparted a noticeably odd taste to the finished product (sunny side up)

But being clarified butter I thought it would just taste like butter, so I don't know

This is the brand I had
http://www.amazon.com/Purity-Farm-Organic-Clarified-13-Ounce/dp/B0046IIPMW

Anybody got a suggestion for a book about baking stuff like cakes?

>>5729149
yeah it took me 30s longer than I thought it would take on the internet.
I'm making sweet and sour chicken helper and I have too much butter and no vegetable oil.
It says to add the breaded chicken to the molten oil in a skillet and knew enough that there's conversion rates between oils and too little to know that they don't matter for 2 tbsp of oil for frying.

>>5729329
I picked up "Professional Baking" PDF from another thread on here.

Google it and you can find the PDF pretty easy. Should be ~62mb. Has bookmarks and everything, seems like a great resource

Big sections on pies, cakes, cookies, all that stuff

>>5729270
>Have you cooked with ghee much? I used it for eggs once and felt it imparted a noticeably odd taste to the finished product (sunny side up)

ghee tastes different because the butter is browned before being strained, it's not just clarified

This is THE cookbook for Bavarian/German cuisine.
Has over 1500 recipes for all types of dishes (But only comes in German).

>none of you niggers posting links

Modernist cuisine at home and the other 6 vol set are all over including TPB. A treasury of great recipes was scanned and uploaded by a fellow co/ck/ someone should know the mediafire link? Otherwise I can upload it later.

>>5729128
>not in all one place.
As a 5 volume and 2 supplemental series, you can easily get it covered, and in better detail, with 7 books. And who the fuck needs to know all the science involved? People are not trying to get a PhD, they're trying to learn how to cook. Relevance my ass, only to those who want to sell it to you as "essential, science says so!". Unless it truly is fundamental, which it will then be found in any decent current professional cooking textbook geared towards fundamentals.
>What makes you think that, especially if you haven't read it?
I said I haven't read through the whole series. I have read excerpts, and you don't have to read through the entire set to get an idea of what it contains, especially with all the media they put out to promote it. Besides, just look at the image of those books. They're almost as douchey as Guy Fieri knives. Accrylic cases, special slots for spiral bound item. such modern so wow
Then there's chefsteps website. Have you glanced at the front page? The entire thing is a sales pitch, same goes for the MC front page.
On top of just the marketing of the cookbooks and sites, the whole trend within MC of renaming old things to make them sound more scientific and new is really annoying to me.
Again, I'm glad some are learning from them, and, if it garnishes interest in some who would not have developed it otherwise, I like that. I don't intend to seem like I'm trying to tear it down, I'm not, but you asked me to elaborate. To sum it up: I just don't like the style and general attitude that appears to go along with it, and I think people in general would be better served via other sources.

>>5729470
>As a 5 volume and 2 supplemental series, you can easily get it covered, and in better detail, with 7 books

I'm not so certain. There's only 5 books in the main set. the other two--MC at home and the Photography book are subsets of the main set. If you have the main set the other two are useless duplication. I don't know of any 5 books that would cover the rest...and I own a lot of cookbooks and science related books as well (engineer by trade). Perhaps a solid fundamentals-rich cookbook or two, a college textbook on microbiology, another on thermo/heat transfer, and another on food chemistry? that would probably do it, but would also be weighed down with a lot of stuff of no value to a cook.

>>People are not trying to get a PhD, they're trying to learn how to cook.

That's sort of my point. MC can indeed get you the equivalent of a PhD in cooking. That's the point, really. That's why it's special. If you just want to follow recipes then I agree there are way better choices out there, no doubt about that at all.

>>Accrylic cases, special slots for spiral bound item. such modern so wow...chefsteps website. Have you glanced at the front page? The entire thing is a sales pitch

who gives a shit about all that crap? It's the contents that are important, not the cover.

>>I just don't like the style and general attitude that appears to go along with it

OK, fair enough. I don't like the style either. But I think that's a stupid thing to judge a book on. Judging a book by it's "style" is like judging a car based on the seat covers That's why I said that a lot of criticism of MC is missing the point. The pretentious presentation is just silly style. The core it is built on, however, is a goldmine.

>>5729542
The spiral bound book that comes with the MC "At Home" edition is actually quite handy.

It's the exact same content as the book but minus the pictures and in 8.5 x 11 format spiral bound, making it really nice to use while in the kitchen, compared to a normal book

>>5729545

the normal set includes that spiral bound book as well. I was just pointing out that MC At home and the photography book are both subsets of the main set.

>>5729424
I know it depends on taste
but German/Bavarian cuisine is objectively not that good

>>5729542
>I'm not so certain
I am
the point is you don't need in depth science, and any decent professional cooking text will cover the fundamentals
the other parts you mention are fluff to make people feel it's new and special
it isn't, at all
>MC can indeed get you the equivalent of a PhD in cooking
that is not at all what was inferred
There is no "PhD in cooking", and to look at it that way is fucking idiotic.
which leads into the next point
>I don't like the style either
that was not the only criticism
and style can have consequences
accenting that which is not of necessary import to stylize presentation, particularly if under the guise of being informative, can be misleading, and I think the style they present in does the information a disservice.
I didn't intend to get into an argument, but don't twist people's words. That's something a shill would do. Anyway, I'm out, though I'm sure you'll find other ways to try to argue things that were not said.

>>5729595
I suppose we'll have to agree to disagree then.

IMHO the only reason why MC is worthwhile is BECAUSE it has in-depth science. That's what sets it apart from a simple list of recipes.

I look at it this way. Most cookbooks list recipes. "Learning" in them is just memorize the recipe and repeat it on command. That's all well and good, but it's limited. The scientific background is important because that takes you beyond simple memorize-repeat. Instead you understand the how and why, which you can then apply to anything you cook.

>>There is no "PhD in cooking"
Yes, I know. You used the term, I was simply replying.

Your claim is that in-depth science isn't needed. And I agree. It's not "needed" at all. But if you have an interest in cooking because it's your hobby or your profession, who wouldn't want to be better informed? Of course if you don't care about improvements or trying something new then by all means just follow a recipe and be done with it.

>>but don't twist people's words.
I didn't mean to. What do you think that I "twisted"? If I misunderstood you then I apologize. I thought we were having a rare level-headed discussion here, even though we disagree. I'm honestly curious what you think I misinterpreted so that I can make sure I don't do it again.

>>5720136
>carnist

It's called carnivore, learn2english

>>5727690
absolutley fucking no!
for mexican cooking there's nothing better in english than diana kennedy

>>5729542
I'm a ChE and I already knew most of the stuff on fundamentals, what I do like are the colloids and emulsions, some indepth articles on the muscle fibers and many of the recipes
If you think about it making a sousvide immersion circulator is really simple, as is making an icecream machine and many other things
I liked the idea of the centrifugal separator and the ultrasonic suspensions, meat curing and food fermentation had always been a little scary to me so reading about them in there really gave me confidence, they speak my lenguage
I also adore the edible soil and rocks! very interesting concept.
other than that, meat glue is interesting
their recipes are not really my style but it's good to have them as an inspiration

the falvour bible is good if you don't know anything about cooking because if you read a couple of cookbooks you will find all the combinations and more, any decent cook should know most of it by heart although I can understand it's usefulness.

>>5730636
You see this vid on cryo-steak and the french fries treated with the ultrasonic shit?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_tgxzXmpKQ

>>5730676
I hadn't seen t but I had read it, I also like the idea of cooking meat, freezing it with nitrogen and smashing it to break the fibers apart
I also think that their "mock" things, like "mock blood" etc. is just a modernization of ancient styles of making fun food, mock chestnuts and mock tripe sweets come to mind.
I also noticed the aeration working, for example a good salsa in a molcajete mortar is waaayyy better than in a blender, aeration is rippong the flavour from the fresh ingredients. I would guess a grind mill would work better for large batches, maybe a bell mill.
The spinach butter is a pretty good idea.

Joy of cooking, mastering the art of french cooking.

>>5723314
Hell yeah, cook's illustrated. I have mine The Science of Good Cooking, shit is great.

>>5717714
smh at this crank

>>5716762
Is there some kind of french version of this one?

>>5716215

This is the most useful cookbook I have. Mainly because it holds up my monitor.

Why are there still so many cookbooks being published, when I'd imagine most people look up their recipes online?

>>5726920
I have that book! Got it as a gift, and it's been fascinating to learn the science behind cooking.

>>5731100

I do a lot of research for recipes online, sure. The net is a fantastic resource.

But honestly I prefer a cookbook. I can browse a book faster than using an electronic reader. A book requires no batteries or charging, no wifi or cell signal, is more easily read from odd angles, and if I've got it in the kitchen I'd much rather spill something on a relatively cheap book as opposed to a several hundred dollar tablet or reader.

When I come across a recipe online that I want to use and it's complex enough that memorizing it is impractical then I print it out and then take the printout to the kitchen.

>>5731113
This is first one I was given by my mom when I got my first apartment, the 11th edition is spiral bound so it'll sit easily without closing. Some book closing on me when I'm reading it and my hands are occupied with food can be seriously annoying.

>>5730975
Come on, you're here already: learn the vocabulary, it's not that difficult. After a month or so, no need for the dictionnary anymore.

I dream of a database flavor bible to cross query, though.

>>5716215
Where is the best place to download cookbooks like these?

>>5731282
Pirate Bay, or just Googling for the cookbook name in quotes + PDF

>>5731282
https://www.google.com/cse/home?cx=000661023013169144559:a1-kkiboeco

I have an emotional attachment to this one because it was the book that started me experimenting with asian cooking.

>>5731158
it's for a gift for my father who's really into cooking though. He has almost everything in his kitchen, loads of good wines and all kinds of different ingredients, so I have no idea what to actually buy for him apart from books.

>>5731282
Yeah, TPB and KAT

Demonoid was awesome back in the day but it's vanished

>>5729568
>I know it depends
>objectively

>>5732180
I really wanna try the pretzels with lye recipe now after doing some research

Recipe seems pretty easy just requires some extra safety precautions I guess

Copped picrelated after seeing it on a best-of list.

Skimmed through it and already picked out a few recipes I wanna try, namely the kung pao

Really spicy Sichuan is my favorite style of Chinese food and this looks like the definitive resource

Gotta pick up some oddball ingredients though to keep around

>>5731896
This is awesome. TYBAnon

>>5732080
Then offer him the flavor bible along with english lessons ;)

>>5731862
>>5731896
>>5732113

Ad Hoc at Home by Thomas Keller:
http://www.mediafire.com/download/lsk9824bydd24d9/Ad+Hoc+at+Home+-+Thomas+Keller.pdf
Heston Blumenthal at Home by Heston Blumenthal:
http://www.mediafire.com/download/lke92p302dm54ri/Heston+Blumenthal+at+Home+-+Heston+Blumenthal.pdf
I Love New York Ingredients and Recipes by Daniel Humm:
http://www.mediafire.com/download/z37o644v9sfmo8k/I+Love+New+York_Ingredients+and+Recipes+-+Daniel+Humm.epub
http://www.mediafire.com/download/h0xqa5nzvdg9d45/Ivan+Ramen+-+Ivan+Ramen.epub

Thanks I was looking for I love NY along with some others I've yet to find, sharing what I've found so far.

>>5734699
Smoke and Pickles Edward Lee
http://www25.zippyshare.com/v/4255798/file.html
thanks again

>>5734699
Downloading the New York one as we speak. Thanks for the recommendation.

Pic related is the nice little virtual bookshelf I'm putting together for myself

Lots to learn

some of my most used books
i need to go back to the folks place and grab the rest

>>5716215
>>5716302

http://24.213.23.61:8080/bread%20bakers%20apprentice.zip

have fun co/ck/suckers

"Le Larousse Gastronomique". Fuckin'-A dude, shit's great.

What is /ck/'s opinion on this set of cookbooks?

>>5737873
Muchos gracias.

That said, please add SSL (just self-sign it or some shit) to that. I'm finding a lot of interesting PDFs there that I'm afraid to download on an unencrypted connection.

Also, is there any reason why this isn't a FTP?

>>5737622

> EMP on top of the pile

Good man. Best money I've ever spent.

>>5729568
juden plz

two weeks and this thread is still alive

OP good on you

>>5732080

The people that did the Flavour Bible also did a book called the Food Lover's Guide to Wine, and it is a pretty excellent source for pairing wine and food based on ingredients/flavour profiles/cuisine type.

>>5738960
Im >>5718139 as you can see I only have volume 1, whats in volume 2? is it good?

>>5739362
Yeah I tried to keep from spamming it too much but would bump when it got precariously low on the ol' catalog

>>5739628
I don't own either of them. I'm asking /ck/ what their thought on them are.

>>5739917
oh I love mine vol 1. similar to double day with pictures. its a bit dated but still lots of great stuff.

>>5716215
With chapters on:
Planning groceries
Essential Kitchen Hardware
Kitchen Hygine
Conserving power and water
Nutrition

And then comes the recipes

Another shameless bump to keep this on the catalog cuz I'm selfish like that.

Picked up picrelated based on some good reviews

>Fish Market provides readers with everything they need to know about selecting, cleaning, preparing, and cooking healthful fish and shellfish. Featuring 120 creative yet manageable recipes, flavor affinities, and a bit of history for each dish, Fish Market takes the mystery out of seafood. Complete with an array of helpful detailed illustrations on how to select, clean, skin, bone, cut, and cook all types of fish and shellfish, this approachable cookbook shows the reader how to create luxurious specialty seafood dishes with confidence.

>>5742777
bump all you want- I'm reading modernist cuisine because of this thread and it's god damned interesting

>>5742778
>shills

>>5719022
Nothing, it's a great recipe database.

>>5724107
I've always seen Polish cooking as the closest to the definition of "true home cooking". Many classic dinner dishes can be found in polish cooking that stick to flavorful base ingredients

>>5723358
my parents have a couple
i seem to recall the three good things book being good

Silver Palate Cookbook

>>5723358
Here's a link for the Fish Book:
http://forum.mobilism.org/viewtopic.php?p=1439132

Here's one for "River Cottage Every Day" ... not sure if that's comparable to the first book in your pic or not:
http://forum.mobilism.org/viewtopic.php?t=728477

Can't find the meat book

I like this book

>>5723614
wut where. when to use the powers of the googs but no results

>>5746239
id like this as well

>>5744504
thats a good one.

>>5744434
second link doesnt work

Latest one I picked up

Figure we're well past the "God-tier" designation so just bumping with new shit I find to see if anyone else out there has some gems that haven't been mentioned yet

Here's an interesting site that aggregates cookbooks by various categories.

Probably gonna use it for ideas to grab stuff that hasn't been listed in this thread so far:

http://cookbookslist.com/sorted_by/highest_rated

>>5729097
MAH NIGGA

this book is pure gold

>>5717017
This

Is there a Mexican equivalent to Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking?

>>5748991
Available in English, I mean.

My family's had these two books for about 40 years as well as a few recipe books my mother has written over the years. The pages are really worn and have a lot of notes written in them.

>>5744434
http://k2s.cc/file/f69550b8d2400/1607740982.epub

active link for river cottage everyday

>>5744434

http://www.ebook3000.com/The-River-Cottage-Bread-Handbook_219615.html

Mexican Cookbook by Erna Fergusson

Originally copyright 1934. Still in print.

>>5726240

Holy shit I have that cookbook. It is pretty dope, though some of the recipes are complete nonsense. Neat as a historical reference if you can figure out how a recipe got bastardized to a particular way in Louisiana, like with some of the punch recipes.

>>5748991

You can get How to Cook Italian by her son: http://www.amazon.com/How-Cook-Italian-Giuliano-Hazan/dp/0743244362

Damn good introduction to Middle Eastern Food.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Book-Middle-Eastern-Food/dp/0375405062

pic related america's first cook book

you have to do research on the ingredients so in the end you have a history lesson and food

>>5744399
There sure is a lot of dust on top of those books you've got there.

>>5752456

keeping this the longest continuous thread ever in 4chan

Holy crap, this is still up.

David Thompson's Thai Food. Some of the recipes seem very cluttered with ingredients at first glance but somehow they still taste amazing. Got it for my brother, its the first time he's ever taken an interest in cooking anything other than plain rice.

>>5755181
Slow board is slow.

>>5754004
What is airport general on /n/

>>5739017
>crypto solves all my paranoia

Doing it wrong

Could someone give me a list of essential cook books everyone should own? I am moving out of home soon.

Since someone else bumped for me before figure I'll keep it from falling off the page again

Picked up this book but havent checked it out yet

>>5755229
Is it? There was that thread a couple years ago about some guy who went up to Alaska to work as a waiter. That thread hung around for 6 months.

It would seem to me that any cookbook collection is ill-equipped without a copy of this.
Not as a standard to go by, but a contingency plan.
The copy I have is older. though.

>printed media in 2014

>>5757663
Cook books are about the only printed media still worth buying.

>>5723614
>>5723166
If anyone knows a source for a PDF of this please post.

A Marijuana edible book from 1966. Has traditional recipes and methods from around the world and then some hippie recipes.

You can read and download it here
eddiewoods.nl/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Hashish_Cookbook.pdf

>>5758300
The art and science of cooking with cannabis is good too. Lots of PDF available

>>5757990
thats a really intelligent opinion if you're totally illiterate

>>5758300
>>5758304
Good contributions since we're winding down on traditional cookbooks that fit the bill

>>5758412
Plz dont fight in my master cookbook thread. There are perfectly cromulent reasons to use both printed and electronic versions of cookbooks.

>>5723614
I...don't believe you.

I've been scanning the web non stop looking for it and am convinced it doesn't exist in PDF.

Apparently it's also one of the most expensive books for resale as well ... basically a collector's item that goes for hundreds of bucks on ebay

>>5758147
including you just to let you know

>>5755189
Anyone got any other Asian cookbooks? Mainly looking for Chinese (any style) and general curry cookbooks. Would be great if they delve into techniques. too.

>>5758457
Not that expensive. I just bought a "Like New" first edition for $58 from a seller. Thanks for the heads up friends, excited about this one.

Get on my level.

>>5723314
this cannot be stressed enough.

>>5723614
pls share anon

I am seeding 4,7GB worth of cookbook collection. Go to Kickass Torrents an search for "Huge Collection of Cookbooks"

>>5758857
Agreed. I have that book and it's excellent.

>>5758894
Have you made the egg curries? I've done the boiled egg one but keep putting off the omlette one for some reason.

And watermelon curry...wtf?

dat prawn patia doe

Fucking pasta bible.

>>5759125
No; I mostly do recipes that I can halve and that reheat well because I have nobody to cook for and I'm horrible about eating leftovers that can't be used as an ingredient in something else; I might eat them once or twice and then they'll just sit in the fridge until they rot. I'm making the lamb biryani (albeit with chicken) tomorrow, though.

>>5758682
I think it's proper first edition prints that are expensive.

I'm half tempted to get it from the library here and do a PDF scan myself

>>5724067
Whatever. I'll cook those I find attractive and read the others to fuel inspiration to cook whatever I have at hand.
>tfw giving gf mouthgasms with minimalist improvisations

>>5760678
do it

OP here. Last official bump from me so any late editions let me know, otherwise this is sliding off the catalog for good in a day or two

Thanks for the already-mentioned stuff, got a library of things I'll probably never use but who knows

>>5726920
Is it good for a beginner? I'm pretty shitty at cooking but I enjoy it.

>>5754004
I'm pretty sure there was one on /t/ that was there over a year.

16 day thread.

>>5754004
There's a thread on /po/ that's 475 days old and until last year there were threads on there from 2008.

>>5720094
Where did you get that carafe?

>>5737873
Thanks, though I didn't need Calibre... or the badly formatted pdf

>>5716215
Fuck paying $500 dollars for that book I downloaded it for free. Half that stuff you need a damn breaking bad lab for anyway.

>>5767438
Yeah most of the recipes are:

Get ingredients
Put them in a sous vide bag for 12 hours

It sucks because there is a lot of good information on all kinds of techniques but the only one they use is sous vide and dehydrating.

>>5767606
>confirmed for not knowing shit about the book.

>>5765629
I would say so, particularly if you're more "left-brained" and love to know the how's and why's.
I consider it to be more of an encyclopedia with starter recipes that you can change up and expand as you gain experience.

>>5744504
Love that one.

>>5767625
I've been skimming through it for a while and yeah most of the recipes use expensive machinery.

>>5718312
Oh yeah, well, some of us have better things to do than memorize recipes, grandma.
Maybe if you'd wrote your recipes down instead of trying to recall them from the back of your mushy mind, Grandpa'd still be alive.

>>5768775
yeah but they are all sous vide or dehydrating like you claimed

Don't own it, nor do I often make desserts.

BUT

I bought this for my sister who does this last Christmas.

Nonstop silence as she perused, with occasional "Listen to this..." moments.

>>5768775
>>5769481

Sous vide aint that expensive anymore. If you're /STEM/ inclined you can rig something up with a slow-cooker for like $60

I just bought the first gen Anova unit instead with a $50 off coupon, so $150 pricetag

They even mention in Modernist Cuisine book (maybe the "At Home" version) how you can do sous vide steaks for a tailgate with nothing but a larger cooler.

Basically put all your shit in there with water a few degrees higher than what you want the steaks at, keep it shut (coolers make good insulators).

Then in like 1.5-2hrs when you wanna bust it out for the tailgate just open the bags and finish on the grill

I love this thread. Thanks for the links, info and inspiration. Will be posting some of mine when I back from work

Someone in another thread recommended this for a lot of interesting kitchen tips/tricks

http://www.amazon.com/Happy-Kitchen-Michel-Richard/dp/1579652999

Couldn't find a PDF anywhere, so I might just grab a used copy for a couple bucks

>>5717045
Julia Child was a goddess and a scholar

>>5767298
no more calibre

>>5744434
http://avaxhm.com/ebooks/cooking_diets/the_chicken_and_poultry_bible.html and click keep to share

>>5768799
#rekt

>>5723314

Yo, this book is legitimately one of the best ever. It has a ton of no-bullshit, really good recipes.

joy of cooking
julia child
moosewood
tasahara bread book
the anarchist's cookbook
better homes and garden cookbook, circa 1950
the /ck cookbook
your notebook of old family recipes.

second tier:
any jeff smith book
i havent read the jamie oliver, just watched his shows
i dont know which chinese and indian books to suggest.
something molecular gastronomy or cooking for geeks type.

>>5775922
Thanks for the link anon. I found a bunch of other good stuff to grab just by browsing the "Cookbook/Diet" category page by page

internet archive is wonderful
I've been going through this search lately:
http://archive.org/search.php?query=collection%3Aamericana%20AND%20%28subject%3Acookery%20OR%20subject%3Acooking%29
hope 4chan doesn't hate me for posting it

>>5778246
>http://archive.org/search.php?query=collection%3Aamericana%20AND%20%28subject%3Acookery%20OR%20subject%3Acooking%29

I don't really understand what I'm looking at.

The custom search someone posted earlier has been useful, but almost none of the 4shared results ever work.

https://www.google.com/cse/home?cx=000661023013169144559:a1-kkiboeco


Wish I knew other forums and shit with good ebook libraries

>>5778290
it doesn't take you to the internet archive site with links that you can click on? This search probably isn't relevant to what most people are looking for, but there are some interesting things in there.
You should be able to make your own searches to find things more relevant to what you want. For instance, keyword Escoffier, narrow filter choice to texts, hit enter. Second result is "A Guide to Modern Cookery".
It is also a good way to stumble upon neat stuff that leads to more relevant searches.

Thee bible

>>5778380
Wish I could find a PDF of this.

OMG ARE WE ALMOST AT BUMP LIMIT???

I am sad

Can someone point me in the direction towards some good vegetarian cookbooks? Indian cuisine would be nice. Sorry, I didn't want to read through the whole thread.

>>5778466
> I didn't want to read through the whole thread

Fucking lazy vegetarian. Not enough energy to read or use CTRL+F?