Community And Group Cookbooks

[blackmint]

I have a cookbook collection and all kinds of foods and cooking methods are covered within those books. I've found that I'm quickly finding favorites, though...

Most of my favorite cookbooks are those that were put together by a community or a group. I'm more interested in "homey" cooking like many of us remember from our childhoods. I'll try a complicated or gourmet recipe once in a while, but it's not my favorite. I'd much prefer cooking something that has been tested, tried, and true and that's where the group cookbooks come in. I figure that when recipes are requested for those books, everyone's going to offer their very best, so it's a win-win for the person reading and using the cookbook.

Do you prefer gourmet / niche cookbooks... or the group books with tested and enjoyed recipes?

[exchemist]

I have a cookbook collection and all kinds of foods and cooking methods are covered within those books. I've found that I'm quickly finding favorites, though...

 

Most of my favorite cookbooks are those that were put together by a community or a group. I'm more interested in "homey" cooking like many of us remember from our childhoods. I'll try a complicated or gourmet recipe once in a while, but it's not my favorite. I'd much prefer cooking something that has been tested, tried, and true and that's where the group cookbooks come in. I figure that when recipes are requested for those books, everyone's going to offer their very best, so it's a win-win for the person reading and using the cookbook.

 

Do you prefer gourmet / niche cookbooks... or the group books with tested and enjoyed recipes?

I find I use a fair number of recipes for Italian food. This is because many of them are very simple and reasonably quick to prepare, and both healthy and delicious, so long as you have access to good quality ingredients. (I live in London so this is not too difficult for me.) 

 

But I also swear by "Les Recettes Faciles", by Francoise Bernard, which is a standby of the French bourgeoisie and very practical. The only problem is that it is in French. Useful tips on handy things such as making meringues, real mayonnaise and Hollandaise sauces and so forth. (When my teenage son sees a Hollandaise sauce, he knows raspberry meringues will appear within 48hrs or so.) 

 

I've never tried books put together by communities. I am not sure whether I would trust them, unless I knew a good deal about the taste of the community concerned. Tastes differ, after all and so do people's standards of cooking. 

Edited September 11, 2017 by exchemist

[Maine farmer]

Do you prefer gourmet / niche cookbooks... or the group books with tested and enjoyed recipes?

Hasn't the internet obsoleted cookbooks yet?  

 

I prefer simple foods, myself.  I used to experiment in the kitchen and make a mean pot of Chilly in my single days, but now that I'm married, my wife prefers that I not mess up the kitchen, and I prefer my wife to be happy.

 

A simple favorite of mine is to melt a generous portion of butter into some toast, spread on a layer of peanut butter and your favorite jam or jelly, (mine is low sugar strawberry preserves), and top with at least a one inch layer of whipped cream.

 

It has also been my experience that sharp cheddar cheese improves a great many dishes, and one of my favorite thing to add it to is apple pie.

Edited September 11, 2017 by Farming guy

[exchemist]

Hasn't the internet obsoleted cookbooks yet?  

 

I prefer simple foods, myself.  I used to experiment in the kitchen and make a mean pot of Chilly in my single days, but now that I'm married, my wife prefers that I not mess up the kitchen, and I prefer my wife to be happy.

 

A simple favorite of mine is to melt a generous portion of butter into some toast, spread on a layer of peanut butter and your favorite jam or jelly, (mine is low sugar strawberry preserves), and top with at least a one inch layer of whipped cream.

 

It has also been my experience that sharp cheddar cheese improves a great many dishes, and one of my favorite thing to add it to is apple pie.

AARGH! That is the recipe that made Elvis so fat! He called it Fool's Gold, I think.....or did that version also have bacon in it? Anyway, it sounds absolutely terrible. :)

 

But I suppose if you do a lot of heavy work outside on a farm, you may be attracted to very different things from those that appeal to a city dweller like me. 

[Maine farmer]

AARGH! That is the recipe that made Elvis so fat! He called it Fool's Gold, I think.....or did that version also have bacon in it? Anyway, it sounds absolutely terrible. :)

 

But I suppose if you do a lot of heavy work outside on a farm, you may be attracted to very different things from those that appeal to a city dweller like me. 

When my smartphone was new, I used a fitness app, just out of curiosity, to measure the distance I traveled and approximate calorie usage for a couple of weeks.  On a slow day, I covered 6 miles, and on my busiest day 16, and the calorie count hit a high on that day over 5,000 calories.  The phone, I don't think, knew how many times I was climbing over gates while carrying sacks of grain, although it had me put in my height, weight, and average length of my stride.  My weight never goes above 230 lbs, and right now I weigh 215 lbs at a height of 6 feet and three inches.  When we get really busy getting the hay in, it sometimes feels like I'm hungry all the time.

[exchemist]

When my smartphone was new, I used a fitness app, just out of curiosity, to measure the distance I traveled and approximate calorie usage for a couple of weeks.  On a slow day, I covered 6 miles, and on my busiest day 16, and the calorie count hit a high on that day over 5,000 calories.  The phone, I don't think, knew how many times I was climbing over gates while carrying sacks of grain, although it had me put in my height, weight, and average length of my stride.  My weight never goes above 230 lbs, and right now I weigh 215 lbs at a height of 6 feet and three inches.  When we get really busy getting the hay in, it sometimes feels like I'm hungry all the time.

I vaguely recall the feeling, from my days rowing in the 1st VIII at school. But it was bread I wanted. I used to eat a loaf a day, on its own. But we used to have good bread in those days, which we don't any more. Bakers have become industrial and lazy. Except in France, where the boulanger gets a government subsidy to keep the tradition alive. 

Edited September 11, 2017 by exchemist

[exchemist]

Hasn't the internet obsoleted cookbooks yet?  

 

I prefer simple foods, myself.  I used to experiment in the kitchen and make a mean pot of Chilly in my single days, but now that I'm married, my wife prefers that I not mess up the kitchen, and I prefer my wife to be happy.

 

A simple favorite of mine is to melt a generous portion of butter into some toast, spread on a layer of peanut butter and your favorite jam or jelly, (mine is low sugar strawberry preserves), and top with at least a one inch layer of whipped cream.

 

It has also been my experience that sharp cheddar cheese improves a great many dishes, and one of my favorite thing to add it to is apple pie.

Returning to the question you pose about the internet and cookery books, I don't think the internet will make them obsolete because you need to look at the recipe as you cook. I don't think most people would risk a several hundred dollar piece of electronics when there is flour, egg yolk, boiling water etc around. And don't underestimate the importance of the pictures, when provided, to help you see how the thing is supposed to look.

 

Also, the thing about the internet is the absence of editorial selection. You have to do the work yourself, unless you can find a set of recipes by a cook you can trust. Perhaps that is happening now. But I suppose I am too old and set in my ways. I have found a collection of cookery authors I trust (Francoise Bernard, River Cafe, Jamie Oliver, Delia Smith....), which is important to reduce the stress of trying something new - and they have all written books.