The 50 Best Cookbooks Ever?
Hungering for a heated debate? The Guardian/Observer newspaper just listed its picks for the "50 Best Cookbooks of All Time," and there are plenty of bones to pick with it. Momofuku made the list, but not The French Laundry Cookbook? Jamie Oliver at #15? The Rice Book by Sri Owen, but nothing from Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid? No Bittman, no Blumenthal, no Michael Ruhlman, no Peter Reinhart...? Yes to Simon Hopkinson, who was also a panelist (#5), but no Jeffrey Steingarten? (Perhaps Steingarten doesn't technically count under "cookbooks," but neither do some of the others.) Delia Smith's "Complete How To Cook," but no "Joy of Cooking"? (It was a British-centric panel, of course, which might explain that one.)
On the other hand, I nodded my head at plenty of listings, like panelist Fuchsia Dunlop's "Land of Plenty" (#9, under its British title of "Sichuan Cookery") and Harold McGee's "On Food and Cooking" (#39).
The #1 spot on the list? It went to The French Menu Cookbook by Richard Olney.
Comments are already spilling over on the Guardian's site, and the paper clearly expected a debate. In the introduction to the list, editors wrote "We can't promise to please all-comers. After all, one person's sauce-stained personal favourite is another's shelf-filling waste of space. That cookbooks arouse such passion is one of the reasons we put together the list in the first place."
All "best-of" lists are shaped by the tastes of the panelists, of course. But this one seems more open to debate than most. Which cookbooks would be on your list?
-- Rebekah Denn
Pursuit on August 18, 2010 at 03:14 PM
Seriously? A best of all-time cookbook list compiled by....Brits? Ok, I guess it is true these people need help with their cooking and all, but does sheer ineptitude qualify them to rate instruction manuals? Would we read a "Best Hockey Players of All-Time" book written by an Ecuadorian? Hardly!
If there is no Bittman, there is no list. While his cookbooks may not provide insights into the highest of cuisine, his importance in introducing new cooks to not only a breadth of recipes, but a safe and instructive way to think about modifications is incalculable. Also, but didn't see Colicchio's "Think Like a Chef", which was excellent.
Seattlejo on August 18, 2010 at 10:58 PM
Isn't the stereotype of bad English food outdated?
It's a British list not American, they clearly value different books then we do. I'd expect an American list might not include Nigella or Jamie Oliver, and to include more of our native chefs.
Miss Ruth on August 19, 2010 at 01:50 AM
If we're going to pander to National stereotypes about food then I'm pretty sure all Americans do is eat take out, mainly in the form of burgers and bbq ribs, and a lot of 'em to boot.
How ridiculous. Don't criticize what you don't know
Mr. Bingley on August 19, 2010 at 04:02 AM
Marcella Hazan is only #8? A scandal!
So much for The Grauniad's mad food skillz...
Jack is Back on August 19, 2010 at 06:08 AM
Need to wait for the top 10 but from the 50-11 list I am not impressed. No James Beard, Julia Child or Patricia Wells or fro that matter no Thomas Keller or Patrick O'Connell??
But then they are classic American chefs with a French-Continental flair - yet I put them up any day against the others on the list and they win.
Beege Welborn on August 19, 2010 at 06:14 AM
(Suckered us all into clicking through though, didn't they?)
A JAMIE OLIVER book made the list before, oh, almost ANYONE else, including my granny? How do you spell "bogus Brit list"?
Exclude "The Way to Cook", for starters.
MB on August 19, 2010 at 06:18 AM
Jamie Oliver... come on. There aren't enough slots left for all the classics, even assuming the top 10 is filled out with them, which I despair of. Joy of Cooking probably won't even make the list, in which case i'll have to flip a table.
brahma on August 19, 2010 at 06:43 AM
As far as 'go-to' books I don't know how you can ignore the 'Fanny Farmer Baking Book'. It was great to see 'Escoffier: The Complete Guide to the Art of Modern Cookery' included.
Dwight on August 19, 2010 at 06:46 AM
I'm always happy to see cookbooks I may not be familiar with, so even though I may not agree I'm happy to explore new things. But if they are going to say "of all time", then The Art of Eating Well by Pellegrino Artusi will have to be included.
Ross on August 19, 2010 at 06:49 AM
Miss Ruth,
It is not that ALL Americans "eat take out, mainly in the form of burgers and bbq ribs, and a lot of 'em to boot.", but there is some truth to the fact that Americans eat a lot of fast food and not do a lot of fine dining. I would trust the opinion of the average Frenchman on the street over the average American. I doubt that many American cookbooks have a lot of meat pies, sausages, or black pudding to name a few. The original comment was made in jest so don't be so thin skinned.
Sarah Rolph on August 19, 2010 at 07:15 AM
My top cookbook--the one I actually use the most--is Marion Cunningham's Fannie Farmer Cookbook. Great recipes, very comprehensive, nice writing. If I had to live with only one cookbook, this would be the one.
In my family of origin, Rombauer was consider the top authority (Joy of Cooking). It's a great reference book, but the recipes don't always turn out. I was fascinated by that little scene in Julie and Julia in which Julia and Simca meet Rombauer and she admits they didn't test any of the recipes. If true, that would explain a lot!
I use different cookbooks for different reasons. I turn to Cunningham when I want an actual recipe, or when I want to see the traditional way of doing something--sometimes I want to know what the basic technique or ingredient list looks like before I start changing it around. The Silver Palate cookbooks are almost the opposite--I look to those to see what a tarted-up recipe looks like, they tend to have a new twist on an old idea, and some of those twists are interesting, or suggest other ideas. I particularly like the Silver Palate Good Times cookbook for inspiration because it is arranged seasonally with emphasis on holidays, so it's good for festive inspiration.
The cookbook I use the most after Cunningham is Pierre Franey's 60-minute Gourmet. Really, really good recipes and they are all quite easy to prepare. Even the recipes that don't sound very exciting turn out to be extremely good. He was a genius at flavor combinations.
Rick Bayless's cookbooks are very nice. A good combination of clear, useful recipes and creative, inspiring dishes. His latest, Fiesta at Rick's, seems particularly good.
Lidia Bastianich's books are also really terrific. Great writing, great recipes, great food. I love her positive attitude and her genuine love of cooking.
For great writing, it's hard to beat The Cafe Beaujolais Cookbook. Margaret Fox has lots of nice anecdotes and is very funny. There's also a whole mini-tutorial in that book about how to run a restaurant. The recipes are truly terrific, and very straightforward. Whenever I make chocolate cake, I use Fox's recipe for Amazon Chocolate Cake. Super easy, turns out perfectly.
I also love Bradley Ogden's Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner. He is also a good writer--I like cookbooks that have a strong personality, where the writing and the food make sense together and you get a feeling for who the person is. Ogden's food is very elegant and so is his prose.
I would also have Bert Greene's Greene on Greens on my list. Lots of interesting things to do with vegetables. Most of which are not low-fat. Which makes this book a nice antidote to the current rash of minimalist veggies, in my view!
Verdura by Viana La Place is another nice vegetable cookbook. Italian style, as the name implies; if you are looking for interesting but still healthful vegetable recipes, this book is a very nice choice.
The Lee Brothers big book is great and their new book is really great too (Simple Fresh Southern).
I also really love the cookbooks of Edna Davis. It was from Davis that I learned a secret to really great soup, and it goes for a lot of other dishes, too: let the vegetables cook for as long as possible in whatever fat you are using before you add any liquid. Seems to bring up the flavors a lot. Her book together with Scott Peacock, The Gift of Southern Cooking, is very nice. (The two of them come from different Southern culinary traditions, and it's interesting to read about the contrasts and similarities. In addition, they had a close relationship (Davis is no longer living) and this book is also a tribute to that.)
Yet another Southern culinary tradition, the Kentucky version, is found in Heritage of Southern Cooking by Camille Glenn. A good all-around cookbook with some great writing and lots of good tips.
As is no doubt apparent, I love cookbooks!
Clint9KC on August 19, 2010 at 07:49 AM
Nothiing by James Beard? Nothing at all? Gee, after the Falklands War, you would think they had regained anough self-respect so as not to be so petty.
Nony Mouse on August 19, 2010 at 07:49 AM
Oh, come on!
If they can't manage to figure out that Joy of Cooking or Mastering the Art of French Cooking belong on their list, it has nothing to do with "All Time" bests. It probably has a lot to do with promoting people who they currently like, but not all time bests.
Slartibartfast on August 19, 2010 at 07:54 AM
One vote each for Magnolias: Authentic Southern Cuisine and Norman's New World Cuisine.
Some astoundingly good food in each, some of it quite difficult to put together, but there are some very good SIMPLE recipes as well.
Walt on August 19, 2010 at 08:01 AM
Has to be the ring bound edition of the Better Homes and Garden cookbook my Mom had because it was my first and where I learned how to make Chocolate No-Bake Cookies.
I can eat a plate of those any day.
wGraves on August 19, 2010 at 08:10 AM
British and, for that matter, French living styles favor cities. Apartments have smaller kitchens than American suburban homes. These kitchens make it more difficult, but by no means impossible to prepare complex dishes. Similarly, modern life favors easily prepared foods. Preparation chains of a day or more take more planning than most families can manage. And although it has changed somewhat today, in recent time French markets were closed when office workers had time to shop for foods. While I lived in Europe, I ate in restaurants most of the time.
I'm more interested in the cookbook which allows the working family to prepare some good food, than the one that allows the three top chefs in London prepare the most expensive food in England.
JimT on August 19, 2010 at 09:36 AM
1955 Good Housekeeping Cookbook. My wife wore out the one we got as a wedding present. I got our current one on Ebay for about $10, Currently they go for $60-$90, depending on condition.
The recipes work. The food tastes good. Traditional fare, without a hint of modern nutritional theory (read: lots of eggs and butter).
colejusmc on August 19, 2010 at 10:05 AM
Someone posted asking provocatively: "Isn't the stereotype of bad English food outdated?" Not anymore outdated than the concept of bad Brit choppers and other congenital effects of being a tradition-bound island nation that allows first cousins to marry - and encourages it among royals. Check out Bonnie Prince Charlie's cranial parasails! Some stereotypes are actually based on centuries of observation and local confirmable traditions still ongoing.
Bangers, kidney pie, jellied eels... Been to Britain lately and eaten what Brits eat at home? That is what cookbooks are for after all. When they eat out, they dine on... Continental fare. Which is why it's called Continental fare. Or, curry for crissake.
No Joy of Cooking? Because they are Brits and have new culinary traditions? Balderdash! Would the NYT exclude Winston Churchill from a listing of the 5 greatest leaders of the twentieth century? Would the current White House? Hmmm...
Bryan on August 19, 2010 at 10:30 AM
I'm a fan of the Christopher Kimball empire o' food (America's Test Kitchen, Cooks Illustrated, etc). The formula is simple: Present a recipe, and explain why you're doing it that way. And as a bonus, explain what you tried that didn't work and explain why. You learn recipes, but you also learn about the science and the art of cooking.
That said, I've got to check out some of the books above. It looks like there's a Whole New World of food for me to discover!
Mike@ on August 19, 2010 at 10:57 AM
"Eat What You Want And Die Like A Man", by Steve H. Graham.
Best. Cookbook. Ever. And hysterically funny too.
Greetings from Argentina
Mike
TripAZ on August 19, 2010 at 01:01 PM
What, no fans of "To Serve Man"? :-)
The Dude on August 19, 2010 at 02:41 PM
My favorite is "to serve man" from the twilight zone series
The Dude on August 19, 2010 at 02:43 PM
Sorry TripAZ. I didn't see your post. Agree though
Dr Alice on August 21, 2010 at 10:29 AM
Laurie Colwin's two cookbooks would be at the top of my list. A lot of what I cook I learned from her. Also, Peg Bracken's "I Hate To Cook Book" belongs up there. (You know you use it too.) Her recipes are tasty and reliable. Nigel Slater - just about any of his; "Joy of Cooking," of course. Bittman, of course. I am also a fan of "Relax! It's Only Dinner," by Cheryl Merser. And any/all of John Thorne's cookbooks are great.
I tend to avoid cookbooks with a lot of pictures. I don't need pictures, I need good, clear writing. That is exactly what the books listed above have.
Chocolate Boots on August 26, 2011 at 11:55 PM
It looks like delicious there's a Whole New World of food for me to discover! http://gray-boots.yolasite.com/