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The Ten
10 Beginner Cookbooks
Helpful titles for the novice cook
By Aida Mollenkamp
1. The Santa Monica Farmers’ Market Cookbook by Amelia Saltsman. If you’re eager to learn how to cook but want to do so with a conscience, turn to this book. It breaks down the etiquette of shopping at a farmers’ market, provides basic cooking tips, and makes eating seasonally a realistic endeavor with tasty recipes that are straightforward enough for the neophyte chef.
2. Starting with Ingredients by Aliza Green. While the strength of The Santa Monica Farmers’ Market Cookbook is its narrow scope, this book works for the opposite reason. It provides broad yet in-depth information on nearly every produce item you’re likely to come across, then covers all the hows: how to choose, store, and cook with said items.
3. Cooking by James Peterson. Peterson’s years of teaching cooking classes have surely qualified him to write a beginner cookbook, but you’d better be in good shape to lift this hefty digest. Organized in a pragmatic if academic manner, Cooking is a bit dry at times, but it has you covered on essential methods, plus there are about 600 recipes with flavors and ingredients from all over the world.
4. Joy of Cooking by Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker, and Ethan Becker. There’s a reason this book has been around for more than seven decades and is usually one of the most dog-eared and tattered tomes in any home cook’s collection. This latest, 75th-anniversary edition restores previously redacted sections that make Joy so indispensable. Must-reads for trainee chefs are the “Cooking Methods” and “Know Your Ingredients” chapters.
5. Cook with Jamie by Jamie Oliver. Oliver has been enticing home chefs with his approachable and cosmopolitan cooking for more than 10 years, and he has always delivered straightforward, classy food. Within his surprisingly deep library, our favorite for newbies is this edition, which covers everything from the simple (how to dress a salad) to the challenging (how to make your own pasta). While some recipes—such as Lovely Lamb Shank Pie—are decidedly English, most are universally delicious.
6. How to Boil Water by Food Network Kitchens. There are some people for whom the kitchen is such foreign territory they don’t know where to start. If that’s you, pick up this book, which features fundamental tips demonstrated through everyday recipes, presented in straightforward language that anyone can appreciate.
7. The America’s Test Kitchen Cookbook by the Editors of Cook’s Illustrated Magazine. Because we work in a test kitchen, we can appreciate the diligence and dedication that go into making recipes as perfect as possible. For this reason, we know that the basic recipes in The America’s Test Kitchen Cookbook have been extensively road-tested. They’re also backed up with explanations of the whys, hows, and whats—such as why bread knives with a curved edge are better than those with a straight edge, how to judge the heat level of a grill, and what makes pastry flaky.
8. How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. Bittman’s experience as a recipe tester and writer of the Minimalist column for the New York Times has made him the perfect candidate to pen a book with this title. Featuring more than 1,500 recipes, loads of definitions, and practical cooking advice covered in nearly 950 pages, it’s certainly deserving of its name, and its many awards.
9. The King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion. For most, conquering the kitchen starts with attempts at savory fare and then moves on to more advanced efforts like baking. But though baking is surely more precise work, it can be just as fun and experimental as cooking any main dish. If you don’t believe us, try nearly any recipe from this book; after a few bake-a-thons, you’ll have enough confidence to try your hand at homemade bread.
10. The Joy of Mixology by Gary Regan. The photo of the author, with his Santa Claus–like beard, is reason enough to purchase this book. Seriously, though, when it comes to drinks, this is the title to have on hand. Covering everything from the history of the cocktail to Regan’s philosophy on mixology to recipes for nearly every well-known libation out there, Mixology is a requirement for any aspiring home bartender.
I've given Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything book as a gift numerous times. We've had our own copy for years, and still reach for it at least once a week. It's a tremendous resource. I've been thinking about purchasing his How to Cook Everything Vegetarian book -- anyone have any experience with it?
The book I usually give as a gift to people who want to learn to cook is James Beard's _Theory and Practice of Good Cooking_. It's all about techniques instead of recipes (it has those as well, but it's not a compendium of recipes), and the drawings are classics.
This is a terrific list (I frequently use books by America's Test Kitchen and Mark Bittman), but if there's anything I would add, it would be Alton Brown's books, I'm Just Here for the Food and I'm Just Here for More Food. It has the same science-y approach as the Cook's Illustrated books, but with more pictures! And the brainy humor of everyone's favorite Food Network host!
Plus in the updated edition of his first book, there's some very handy refrigerator magnets that show you where different cuts of meat come from on different animals.
I too have How to Cook Everything and America's Test Kitchen Best Recipes. Both are massive books with recipes for just about everything. They also have a lot of great instructions and illustrations.
BurntEdges, I have How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. It's just as handy as its meat-inclusive cousin. I just adore Bittman's no nonsense style. Also, he includes a lot of tips for adjustments to makes recipes vegan.
For extreme beginners, I really like The River Cottage Family Cookbook. However, some people might find it to be too kid-centric.
I also like the Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters for beginers. It had a great section for what to keep in your pantry and scads of things you can make with just a few simple ingredients.
I like The Student's Vegetarian Cookbook by Carole Raymond. The recipes are easy, the dishes are tasty, and the ingredients are simple. It's my favorite gift for graduation.
I grew up cooking from the Fannie Farmer cookbook, and while I'm now devoted to Joy of Cooking, it definitely served me well.
If beginer means how to boil water, these may be above that, but Italian is one of the most popular cuisines and Hazan's books are great! Not hard to follow, food comes out great.
My favorite basic book full of easy preparations:
What To Cook When You Think There's Nothing in the House To Eat -- by Arthur Schwartz
Big hearty YES to Arthur Schwartz's book, I wouldn't be without it. For anyone, regardless of level, to jog you into creating from your larder. Also, Pam Anderson's How to Cook Without a Book. Themes and variations for every night cooking. Both highest recommendation I can give over a long lifetime of cooking.
I like to give books that do more than teach the nuts and bolts of cooking. I figure they can walk into pretty much any half-decent bookstore and ask for a general cookbook. I like to give Elizabeth David's "An Omelet and a Glass of Wine", MFK Fisher's "The Art of Eating" or John Thorne's "Outlaw Cook". I like giving books that help people think about food and cooking. Maybe it's condescending. It's a little like giving a thirsty man a subscription to Wine Spectator - but more than one friend has seemed to appreciate it just the same.
I second the Alton Brown suggestion. The food science approach tells people how to do things, and, importantly, why it's done that way. Knowing why something done the way its done helps advance the beginning cook from recipe dependency to cooking autonomy by giving an underlying set of skills and knowledge.
I grew up on my Mom's hard-bound edition of Joy of Cooking, and took my paperback edition to Ecuador and read it multiple times (anyone up for food trivia?).
That started my habit of buying cookbooks and reading them like novels. I have tons, and occasionally refer to them for known recipes, but usually look recipes up here or elsewhere on the web.
There is nothing to compare to the Fannie Farmer, edited by Marion Cunningham. Comprehensive, easy to read, recipes that work. Bittman and (although it is heresy to say it) Joy aren't even in the same league.
The Way To Cook belongs on this list too. The fact that it and Fannie Farmer aren't mentioned on this list, and Jamie Oliver, Santa Monica, and America's Test Kitchen are does not speak well of the thought that went into this piece. And there are far better cookbooks for baking than the King Arthur.
I have "Starting With Ingredients" - wasn't a big fan. Found it clunky and not very fun to use. Love the Bittman book - have the original and the new edition. Can I hear a holla for Nigella Lawson's "How To Eat." Love the recipes and the stories.
I agree with jmckee- The Way to Cook is still the book I pull out when making something for the very first time. I also love Julee Rosso/Sheila Lukins classic The New Basics. Along with great recipes and really helpful hand-drawn illustrations, it covers how to purchase, store and use everything from pantry staples to produce to meat.
I love Think Like A Chef by Tom C.
It's true I wrote it, but I love it-- FAYEFOOD, is an easy intro to cooking for the novice. The recipes are inspiring without being too much of a challenge. It is divided into sections of breakfast, lunch and dinner, with loads of humorous, helpful advice. Faye Delicious
The Joy of Cooking, especially if you can get your hands on a really old edition, because it's the kind of book you can read between the recipes and learn so much about any kind of food you care to cook and several that you don't, be it squirrel or elk or sea bass. They had the best cross-reference, especially for an old-edition cookbook, of "foreign" recipes and technique descriptions that I've ever seen anywhere.
Does anybody here remember the "I Hate to Cook Book" by Peg Bracken? She was a 60s-70s era writer along the lines of Erma Bombeck, less successful, but that was a great little book for survival cookers. I only reember her instructions for cooking wild rice- it was awesome and funny. I gave it to my sister, NOT a foodie, many years ago and she used it a lot.
Not that I hate to cook but I'd like to get my hands on a copy of that book. It was pretty funny, and had a bunch of survival cooking helps.
Another enthusiastic nod for "What To Cook When You Think There's Nothing in the House To Eat" by Arthur Schwartz .
http://www.amazon.com/What-Think-Ther...