Currently viewing the tag: "cookbook"

by Buck Reed

If you were not lucky enough to learn the art of cooking from your mother or, even better, your grandmother, all is not lost. It really is never too late to practice and obtain the skills needed to use the most important room in your home.

There are a number of outlets here in Frederick County that offer a glimpse into the culinary world. Frederick Community College offers classes to both professional and novice cooks who are looking to expand their cooking chops. The Department of Parks and Recreation also offers classes for kids, adults, and couples. Both offer a delicious experience in a relaxed professional atmosphere.

But what about learning to cook from a book? Can you gain the finesse needed to become a skilled cook between the pages of a cookbook? I would say no. I do not care what current culinary superstar wrote the book, there is no way you will be able to pick up every single idea they have about cooking. I do believe that if you read a successful, chef’s words you can develop your own philosophy on cooking. You may eventually be able to duplicate their signature dish as well and, given time, you my even be able to make some subtle changes to the dish to make it your own.

If you are working from a book you need to concentrate on the techniques that the chef/writer is working with and duplicate and perfect them. Then, you need to concentrate on getting your flavors down. All this takes time and effort, and there is no shortcut. Nobody is born or wakes up one day with the skills and knowledge it takes to be a great cook. You must practice. You must taste new dishes and try to figure out what ingredients and techniques were used to obtain their results.

Which brings us to the internet. Right now, there is no shortage of videos, blogs, and even websites promising a complete set of cooking courses that promise to make you a culinary icon, if not in your kitchen then in your own mind. As soon as I run out of ideas for this article, I promise I will start working on my own website, promising the same lofty goals. And given my experience, it is very easy for me to say that I can learn something from almost all of these outlets. But, if you do not have the basics down, it might be very difficult for you to gain any benefit from these sources.

Cooking is made up of a great deal of science; you can glimpse that science from a book to some extent, but the rest of it is art. And art is pain and understanding and calls upon us to open our minds to new ideas. Finding the right source of instruction that would suit you is something you will have to seek out yourself.

Buck Reed
Buy the Book

Even though trends indicate that less people are cooking at home these days, cookbook sales are climbing almost every year by 3-6 percent. Who is buying cookbooks? Not surprisingly, over 60 percent are bought by women, of which most are college educated. According to my wife, the other 23 percent are bought by me. And, 76 percent of people who buy two cookbooks a year say they cook at home at least once a week. Cookbooks bought for personal use are clocked in at 70 percent, while the remaining 30 percent are bought as gifts. And what kind of cookbooks are they buying? American cooking tops the list, followed by Italian cuisine, desserts, and seafood.

So, what type of cookbook would best suit you? Well, you must ask yourself if you are looking to cook better or become a better cook. If you just want to cook better, then you are looking for recipes that will actually work and you can easily follow. This is called having faith in the book. However, if you want to become a better cook, you want a book that will explain how the basic techniques work, and how to get the most out of ingredients. The books you are looking for will inspire you to think “outside the recipe.”

How can you tell if a cookbook is not for you? As you thumb through it, look through the ingredients. Are they calling for things like saffron or truffles in every recipe? You have to ask yourself if you are really going to cook with truffles at $1,300 per pound? Is the book trying to get you to Sous Vide everything, which isn’t a bad technique and could elevate your game considerably, but could be difficult for people who are tim- challenged.

Some of my favorite books include authors such as James Peterson. He puts out a book about every two to three years and usually tackles one element of cooking. He explains things very well, in an easy manner that most everyone can understand. Then there is the other side, with Kevin Gillespie and his book, Fire in my Belly. It is easy for me to say that I can get a lot from this book, not just with his inspiring stories about food but his recipes as well. Take his sweet bread recipe. Although I doubt many of us will ever really cook with them or even try this recipe, he tops his fried sweet breads with a celery relish. Looking at this recipe, I cannot help but think this relish would be great in tuna or chicken salad, which most of us make and eat. So, from this one recipe that most would pass by, we can elevate our cooking.

A cookbook shouldn’t just be a collection of recipes. It should inspire you to actually cook something. It should tell you something about the ingredients, the region the recipe comes from, and how the person feels about this dish. You may never cook with geoduck, but maybe a good seafood cookbook will encourage you to pick up those clams at the grocery store.