Some cookbooks are great for reading on a rainy afternoon; others are better for browsing and keeping close at hand for reference. This one is the latter.
When I was cooking through Simply in Season, I realized that there are some things cookbooks just assume you know how to do. So when it would instruct me to poach fish or some other thing I had never done, DH and I would search the internet trying to find out the best way to do something. Keys to Good Cooking: A Guide to Making the Best of Foods and Recipes by Harold McGee is a handy reference guide that is easier to use than the internet, even (really!)
The text is written in a straightforward yet not too boring manner, and it does a good job of explaining the science behind certain techniques and provides lots of tips throughout. There are no recipes in here, but it will make any recipes you come across much easier to use.
You can learn more about McGee at the New York Times website as he writes a regular column, and most are in the genre of the intersection of science and cooking.
As you can tell from the chapters (you can preview the table of contents using the link below to Indie), it covers a lot of ground! There are 24 in all, and they include everything from ingredients, techniques, and various types of food such as eggs, meats, fruits, nuts and oil seeds, breads, and more.
Even though I prefer to approach cooking as more of an art than a science, I look forward to using this book frequently to help me improve my cooking in specific areas. I’ve already read the fish and meat chapters as that’s where DH would like me to focus next.
What are your biggest cooking questions/challenges?
What's on your mind?