On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen (Hardcover)
April 30, 2009 by TheChef
Filed under Culinary Cooking Books
Amazon.com Review
A classic tome of gastronomic science and lore, On Food and Cooking delivers an erudite discussion of table ingredients and their interactions with our bodies. Following the historical, literary, scientific and practical treatment of foodstuffs from dairy to meat to vegetables, McGee explains the nature of digestion and hunger before tackling basic ingredient components, cooking methods and utensils. He explains what happens when food spoils, why eggs are so nutritious and how alcohol makes us drunk. As fascinating as it is comprehensive, this is as practical, interesting and necessary for the cook as for the scholar.
–This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Before antioxidants, extra-virgin olive oil and supermarket sushi commanded public obsession, the first edition of this book swept readers and cooks into the everyday magic of the kitchen: it became an overnight classic. Now, 20 years later, McGee has taken his slightly outdated volume and turned it into a stunning masterpiece that combines science, linguistics, history, poetry and, of course, gastronomy. He dances from the spicy flavor of Hawaiian seaweed to the scientific method of creating no-stir peanut butter, quoting Chinese poet Shu Xi and biblical proverbs along the way. McGee’s conversational style—rich with exclamation points and everyday examples—allows him to explain complex chemical reactions, like caramelization, without dumbing them down. His book will also be hailed as groundbreaking in its breakdown of taste and flavor. Though several cookbooks have begun to answer the questions of why certain foods go well together, McGee draws on recent agricultural research, neuroscience reviews and chemical publications to chart the different flavor chemicals in herbs and spices, fruits and vegetables. Odd synergies appear, like the creation of fruity esters in dry-cured ham—the same that occur naturally in melons! McGee also corrects the European bias of the first edition, moving beyond the Mediterranean to discuss the foods of Asia and Mexico. Almost every single page of this edition has been rewritten, but the book retains the same light touch as the original. McGee has successfully revised the bible of food science—and produced a fascinating, charming text.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Joy of Cooking: 75th Anniversary Edition - 2006 (Hardcover)
April 29, 2009 by TheChef
Filed under Culinary Cooking Books
Amazon.com Review
The much anticipated 75th anniversary edition of Irma Rombauer’s kitchen classic Joy of Cooking promises to be as indispensable as past editions of this generational favorite. In addition to hundreds of brand-new recipes, this Joy is filled with many recipes from all previous editions, retested and reinvented for today’s tastes.
Take the new Joy for a test-run in the kitchen with these featured recipes for Roast Brined Turkey and Apple Pie, and watch a video demonstration for their recipe for 10-in-One Cookies. And read on for celebrity chef “Odes to Joy,” Joy timeline, and Joy trivia.
“Great cookbooks are not just collections of interesting recipes. They are, first and foremost, books that tell a story, the story of how people lived and cooked at a particular point in time. They reveal, to borrow an expression from James Beard, their delights and prejudices, their view of the social order, their appetite for serving others food that meets the expectations of their social class. Food can be anything and everything from fuel to an object of intellectual curiosity to full-bore hedonism that transports the mind and body far from the dinner table with just one overwhelming bite.
I started cooking out of an early edition of Joy when I was only 7 years old. I remember making a basic chocolate cake with 7-minute frosting. The cake turned out fine, but the frosting resembled gruel and was my introduction to the importance of following a recipe to the letter. Evidently my lack of patience and precision had led me astray. But after that first brush with culinary failure, Joy led me to many, many successes over the years; more to the point, I became enamored of Ms. Rombauer’s voice, the matter-of-fact charm that led her to suggest “stand facing the stove” as a sensible first step in any recipe.
The amateur but highly evolved enthusiasm that Irma Rombauer brought to the world of home cooking was a breath of fresh air after the slightly earlier era of culinary dowagers Fannie Farmer, Mrs. Beaton, and Marion Harland. To those pillars of culinary wisdom, recipes were shorthand for cooks who had spent a lifetime in the kitchen. A pie pastry recipe might be written as “make a paste.” But Ms. Rombauer was there to hold our hands, to put food in a social context and give it attitude, energy, and meaning in a world where food was leaping past the narrow formality of the Victorian age.
For all of our worldly knowledge about ingredients and culinary custom, few cookbook authors have managed to perfectly capture, without artifice or self-conscious chatter, the vernacular of an age. Irma Rombauer introduced us to a room in our home–the kitchen–that was to become a place of enjoyment, not just one of backbreaking labor. She represented the essence of the new American experience, which suggested that everything in life could be transformed into pleasure with nothing more than the proper attitude. And what better way to celebrate this new age than to have a smashing cocktail party with the perfect hors d?oeuvres?
The original Joy of Cooking was mind over matter, the perfect mix of attitude and function. Even as times have changed, the Joy stands out as a watershed volume, a book that speaks to the very heart of who we want to be in the kitchen: producers of our own story, directors of the good American life.
And, according to Ms. Rombauer, all we have to do is take that first easy step and “stand facing the stove.” –Christopher Kimball, founder and editor of Cook’s Illustrated 
“I’m often asked to pick my favorite cookbook. Considering that there are over 3,000 cookbooks published each year, it’s a daunting task to try to narrow them down. Speaking as a chef who never went to cooking school, I’ve been enthralled by certain cookbooks, immersing myself from cover to cover and learning about exotic cuisines from all over the world. But for just plain basic information, both the original and revised Joy of Cooking are still my bibles. I can’t tell you how many times my wife Jackie and I have thumbed through the stained and broken-backed copy of Joy in our home kitchen, looking for our favorite angel food cake recipe, our favorite skillet corn bread, our favorite fluffy biscuits, and crisp waffles, and on and on. It’s tough to picture my family table–or, in fact, the American table–without a well-worn copy of Joy of Cooking in the background.” ” –Tom Douglas, author of I Love Crab Cakes! 
“I highly recommend this book as a must-have in your kitchen. Chock full of great information, this book takes all of the guess work out and leaves no stone unturned.” –Paula Deen, author of Paula Deen Celebrates! 
“In our kitchen, Joy of Cooking is a tool as indispensable as the chef’s knife, the scale, the whisk. We actually own two copies–a shelf-copy for reading, and one whose sauce-splattered, dog-eared pages bear witness to just how much joy we get from Joy.” ” –Matt Lee and Ted Lee, authors of The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook 
“Joy of Cooking is the ultimate reference guide that I have been using for years. It’s timeless and packed with perfect recipes for the home cook that stands up to the test of time.” –Tyler Florence, author of Tyler’s Ultimate 
“Joy of Cooking is a book I turn to whenever I have a question about food or cooking. The new edition is the combined effort of some of the best cooks writing today; I know I can trust its information. And trust is, to my mind, the essential quality of all great cookbooks.” –Sally Schneider, author of The Improvisational Cook 
“When Andrew first contemplated becoming a chef in the 1980s, he asked two Boston chefs of his acquaintance what books he should read. Each independently recommended Joy of Cooking as THE classic with reliable recipes for just about everything. (The second chef urged him to look for an early copy for the sheer entertainment value of reading how to cook a possum.) A decade later, when we interviewed 60 of America?s leading chefs for our first book Becoming a Chef, we asked them the same question–and again Joy was one of their five most recommended books. In fact, we recommend buying two copies, like we did: we keep our chocolate-smudged copy of Joy in our kitchen, and a reading copy on our bookshelves.” –Andrew Dorenburg and Karen Page, authors of What to Drink with What You Eat 
“Our Joy of Cooking is dog-eared, flour dusted, chocolate smudged, oil spattered, and easily the most used cookbook on the shelf. The staggering amount of information in the book taught us the basics when we were in our teens and has informed our cooking for the decades since. We wish we had written it!” –Johanne Killeen and George Germon, authors of On Top of Spaghetti 
“I received a copy of Joy of Cooking in my late teens. I have treasured the cookbook ever since and still use it frequently as a reference. In the late 80’s I was asked to represent American Cooking in Italy. I cooked all over the country for 2 months. The only book I took was Joy of Cooking. When ingredients that I had ordered did not show up and I had to totally wing it, I used this book to get me out of a few jams–like what the proportions are to make your own baking powder! If I could have only one cookbook–other than my own of course!–it would be Joy of Cooking?-as it is the bible of American cooking” –Kathy Casey, author of Kathy Casey’s Northwest Table 
“I have purchased Joy of Cooking for all my restaurant libraries as well as my own. The recipes always work–always–and the informational chapters are accurate, to the point, and incredibly helpful–couldn?t live with out it!!” –Cindy Pawlcyn, author of Big Small Plates
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? 1930: The United States stock market crashes creating the great depression. |
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? For the 75th anniversary edition, 4,500 recipes were tested that used a total of 400 pounds of butter, 300 quarts of milk, 485 pounds of red meat, and 275 pounds of fish and shellfish. ? The average age of a recipe tester working on the 75th anniversary edition was 46.7 years. ? Recipe testers spend 8,798 hours testing recipes and techniques for the latest edition. ? The knife was the first cutlery invented, followed by the spoon, and, much later, the fork (11th century A.D.). ? Caffeine is the most widely used behavior-changing chemical ingested worldwide. ? Eating cheese slows the decay of teeth. ? A light coating of oil speeds cooking and improves flavor of most grilled foods. ? Some of the most requested recipes from past Joy of Cooking editions include Chicken Marengo, Chocolate Cake (also known as the “Rombauer Special”), and Golden Glow Gelatin Salad. ? Ice is considered one of the most important ingredients in making drinks. ? Popsicles, baby back ribs, smoothies, and power bars are just a few of the recipes making their debut in the 2006 anniversary edition. ? The 2006 Joy of Cooking has instructions on using natural ingredients to color Easter eggs: beets for pink; chopped red cabbage for blue; tumeric for yellow; and the skins of 12 red onions for orange to burnt orange. ? Slow cooker recipes are included in the 2006 Joy for the first time. |
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. They say mother knows best, but in the case of this classic cooking volume, first published 75 years ago, the adage might be more accurately “mother—and grandmother—know best.” For while some previous editions of Joy have embraced passing fads and shunned the earlier versions’ old-school charm, this time, the editors (led by Irma’s grandson and Marion’s son, Ethan) have stayed true to the spirit of the original. Fond of its forebear’s quirky phrases (”There is nothing simple about these uncomplicated-looking fungi” or “a pig resembles a saint, in that he is more honored after death than during his lifetime”), the new narrative of Joy is one of, well, joy. Its recipes will prompt readers to bound into the kitchen; their range and depth is such that there really is something for everyone. Enchiladas, sushi, bagel chips, smoked brisket and corn dogs make their first appearance, while ice cream, nut butters and beef fondue return after some time away. The use of “we” throughout the text will reassure those skeptical of, say, preparing game (a section that, incidentally, has been expanded), and the overall feeling of the kitchen as a place of empowerment and enrichment makes this an essential work for all cooks. (Oct. 31)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Programs for Culinary Arts
April 28, 2009 by TheChef
Filed under Culinary Arts Training
Programs for Culinary arts come in many different forms, each offering its own features and benefits. With so many variations of the Culinary Arts, it may be very difficult to decide which is best for you. While one program may offer the particulars you are looking for, another may not. It is important to read all the guidelines with in the programs.
While programs in Culinary arts are designed for many good reasons, the main reason they are designed and developed are to provide people who share a passion for cooking all the basic skills and technical knowledge needed to succeed in the culinary field. As such it shouldn’t be surprising that most of these programs that are offered today, include laboratory training sessions or for better terms, hands on training to back up the students book knowledge and prepare them for specific careers in the field of professional food service.
As stated earlier, there are many variations when it comes to culinary art programs.
While most programs have certain guidelines, depending on degrees and the areas preferred by students, some offer certificates of completion or certification in a particular area. These type of programs include areas such as professional cooking, baking and pastry chefs, personal chefs, overall culinary arts, professional catering and marketing, and takes as little as a year to complete.
There are other programs in culinary arts that offer associate degrees and include things such as professional cooking, baking and pastry, and management of food, beverage, hotels and inn keeping. These programs usually require at least two years of study.
If you are looking for more in depth study programs for culinary arts, there are some that offer a bachelor’s degree. These four year study plans are geared more towards those students wanting to learn all aspects in the culinary field, from the fundamentals to the most advanced skills or details. Programs like this include the basics of culinary art and management, planning conventions and meetings, hospitality management, food and beverage operations and hotel management.
Determining your overall goal will help you to decide which of the above programs will best suit your needs. While you may be able to obtain the level of education you need for your goal in a short period of time, it is beneficial to remember that the two and four year programs may include the one year study within their program as well as other electives to give you a rounded out education. Most students decide on the two and four programs in the long run.
The Professional Chef (Hardcover)
April 28, 2009 by TheChef
Filed under Culinary Cooking Books
From Booklist
This eighth edition of the standard textbook for professional chefs in the U.S. expands previous editions’ coverage of both the science and the art of cooking. The nation’s most prestigious training school for food careerists concentrates the essence of its course work within a comprehensive volume that competent students must master. Every aspect of the restaurant business is addressed, from nutrition and portion sizing to fiscal and human resource management. Sections on equipment, from major appliances to handheld tools, show the bond between chef and technology. Chapters on world cooking identify the most typical cooking processes and give examples of commonly appearing ingredients in each style. Recipes record classic preparations that form the foundation for myriad elaborations and personalization to move cooking from mere technique to high art. Although beyond the need of most home cooks, this massive tome is a necessary reference-collection purchase for any library whose community includes food-service-training programs. Mark Knoblauch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Product Description
“A serious reference for serious cooks.”
-Thomas Keller, Chef and owner, The French Laundry
Named one of the five favorite culinary books of this decade by Food Arts magazine, The Professional Chef® is the classic resource that many of America’s top chefs have relied on to help learn their cooking skills. Now this comprehensive “bible for all chefs” (Paul Bocuse) has been thoroughly revised and expanded to reflect the way people cook and eat today.
The book includes essential information on nutrition, food and kitchen safety, and tools and ingredients, as well as more than 640 classic and contemporary recipes plus variations. One hundred and thirty-one basic recipe formulas illustrate fundamental techniques and guide cooks clearly through every step, from mise en place to finished dishes.
This edition features nearly 650 all-new four-color photographs of fresh food products, step-by-step techniques, and plated dishes taken by award-winning photographer Ben Fink. It explores culinary traditions of the Americas, Asia, and Europe, and includes four-color photographs of commonly used ingredients and maps of all regions. Written “with extreme vigor and precision” (Eric Ripert, Chef and co-owner, Le Bernardin), The Professional Chef® is an unrivaled reference and source of inspiration for the serious cook.
The Culinary Institute of America (Hyde Park, NY, and St. Helena, CA) was founded in 1946. Known as the Harvard of cooking schools and credited with having “changed the way Americans eat” by The James Beard Foundation, the CIA has trained nearly 50,000 foodservice professionals.
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Healthy Cooking for Two (or Just You): Low-Fat Recipes with Half the Fuss and Double the Taste (Paperback)
April 28, 2009 by TheChef
Filed under Culinary Cooking Books
Review
“An especially good book for beginning cooks, empty-nesters and health-oriented small families. This is the book to buy.”–Colleen Pierre, R.D., Nutrition columnist, Baltimore Sun
“Frances Price’s down-to-earth style makes her one of the best recipe developers I know. I would prepare any recipe the first time for company and be confident it would be a success.”–Ginger Johnston, FOODday Editor, The Oregonian
Product Description
* More than 200 creative, low-fat recipes for today’s smaller households
* Unique two-column recipe format for hassle-free preparation
* Tips on shopping for one or two, and streamlining your kitchen
* Full nutrient analysis with every recipe
* Special chapter of delicious, no-fuss menus
* Plenty of 30-minute recipes– plus meatless meals, divine desserts, tip-packed boxes and more
Cooking (Hardcover)
April 28, 2009 by TheChef
Filed under Culinary Cooking Books
Amazon.com Review
Put simply, Cooking is a revelation. No other cookbook so deftly illustrates as broad a scope of classic culinary methods and flavors as you’ll find here. As a veteran chef and award-winning cookbook author, James Peterson is uniquely qualified to take food lovers into the modern kitchen and turn them into passionate, precise, intuitive cooks. What’s most impressive about a book of this breadth and size (540 pages and 600 recipes, brought to life with 1500 vivid color photographs) is how accessible and fun it is to read. Every recipe in Cooking sings with a deep knowledge of the ingredients at hand, encouraging cooks not just to follow the recipe but to really understand and relish in the process, and the result is a terrific turn-to reference for any cook seeking inspired instruction. –Anne Bartholomew
Luscious Recipes from Cooking
 Braised Short Ribs |
 Classic French Apple Tart |
From Publishers Weekly
Peterson’s masterful survey of kitchen skills is a refreshing dose of tradition for anyone weary of quick-and-simple recipe books. The substantial volume is replete with step-by-step color photos, often 10 to 15 per recipe or process, that show the stages of a steak’s doneness or how to make napoleons. The immense store of recipes to learn by is arranged partly by course and partly by main ingredient, with each section proceeding through many of his 10 basic techniques. Peterson is careful to include a range of dishes for every skill level, and cooks with any amount of experience will appreciate the numerous boxes that highlight preparation tips and tricks. Dominated by recipes like Fish Meunière and Boeuf à la Bourguignonne and with a prodigious chapter on sauces, the book feels like an old-fashioned French culinary education slightly updated with some nominally international dishes (Lamb Korma, Chiles Rellenos with Tomatillo Sauce), an attribute that may turn off some modern-minded cooks, but will reward those keen to absorb Peterson’s deep knowledge of food and well-honed explanations for how best to prepare it. Color photos not seen by PW. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Is A Career In Culinary Arts Right For You?
April 28, 2009 by TheChef
Filed under Culinary Arts Training
If you are a food nerd, or people come to your parties because you always have the best food, then maybe you need to rethink your career. A career in the Culinary Arts maybe a dream come true or maybe its something you should at least consider.
Do you love going to work every day? You may be making a decent living but if your not happy, your desire and passion of food, whether its preparing it or just eating, it may offer something better. The number of people in the culinary profession is growing in numbers every day, but there is always room for another.
You may be one of those people that family and friends have been telling your for years that you need to be a chef or open your own restaurant, if so you might want to think about it. Not sure what area you are most interested in, well no worries, you can get an associates degree in culinary arts. This will introduce you to the basics and may help you decide if a more specialized program like baking is where you want to be. However, once you decide where your interest lie, you can head towards that goal and get a bachelor’s degree in culinary arts.
The schools and institutes offer more than just cooking. They will also provide courses involving business and internships giving you much needed exposure for competing in the field of culinary arts.
Not everyone gets to have a career making a living doing something they love. They struggle from day to day, just to collect a paycheck from a job that doesn’t really interest them or stimulate their brains. However a career as a culinary professional may mean a lot of sacrifices in your life, like not having one. Professionals in this field are usually workaholics, with no weekends, and definitely no holidays to enjoy with the family. It is very physical and demanding work. Not physical in the sense of picking up or lifting heavy boxes all day long, but rolling out dough or mixing barrels of ingredients in preparation of a meal. This is a profession that requires dedication.
But if you are one of those few people who love to cook for others, and preparing food is fun for you, then you would get the satisfaction that only comes from a job you love. A lot of professionals in the field of culinary arts, claim that you must be insane to take on the job, but you will receive something that a lot people don’t - self-fulfillment.
Artistic Fruit Designs Culinary Style
April 28, 2009 by TheChef
Filed under Artistic Culinary Art Styles
Maybe you are a self-confessed artist with a sharp mind for detail and beauty, but do you consider food preparation an art? Culinary art and skills is not just about making wonderful tasting meals, it also includes the service that is provided by restaurants or possibly if the horrible hospital food we never like to eat. Creating chocolate carvings and ice sculptures is all part of culinary arts.
However it doesn’t stop with just those things. Fruit designs are also part of culinary arts. They have been around for a few centuries and have become famous over the past few years. The use of culinary art in fruit design all started in Thailand and the carvings were limited to just the royal family. It was the chef’s responsibility to make sure that all meals prepared were not just pleasing to the palate, but also to the eye. Fruit and vegetable carvings, the art which is known as “kae-sa-lak” has become popular world over today. Thailand still holds the best of the culinary arts when it comes to fruit designs or so it is believed.
Known world over for its rich culture and arts, Thailand boasts many crafts which include the art of fruit and vegetable carvings. Once restricted solely in the preparation of the royal families meals, it is now used for food offerings to the monks, special occasions like weddings and even for ordinary every day people, and impacting the dining scene all over the world.
The culinary art of fruit designs can be broken into two categories. The categories consisted of working with hard fruits and the second is soft fruits. Hard fruits are used for the intricate design of flowers and animal designs and allows for great detail. Soft fruits are used in the culinary art for fruit designs that do not require a lot of detail, and these fruits are the banana, mangoes, and the papaya. Even though these fruits are used to form less detailed designs, they are more difficult to carve due to their consistency. They tend to get soft or mushy and lose their juices before a shape can be formed and they should require less time for carving into culinary arts of design, but because they require more skill, they cannot be done as fast as the harder fruits. So when it comes to the categories of soft and hard fruits, it takes a more skilled carver to form a fruit design from a soft fruit and make an art form of culinary excellence.
Experts in the culinary art of fruit and vegetable design do not just use the inside to create their design for presentation purposes. The whole vegetable and fruit are used including the peeling or skin. It is used to garnish the dishes and can be just as much an artistic design as the fruit or vegetable itself. Culinary professionals and most of the inhabitants of Thailand don’t require a box full of tools. As a matter of fact, most only need a sharp carving knife to create a life like masterpiece made solely from fruit and vegetables. It is amazing how some people are born with the talent for creating true culinary works of art out of simple fruit. Some attend school to learn how to achieve this talent. What about you?
Aspiring Culinary Professionals - Options for Training
April 28, 2009 by TheChef
Filed under Culinary Arts Training
Not everyone enjoys trying and tasting the many different types of foods from around the world, but if you are one of the few who do, than you might want to put that tasty hobby to work in a career as either as a professional chef or by opening your very own restaurant. Whatever you decide to do with your talent, understand that not everyone gets this kind of chance or enjoys this kind of talent, not even those obsessed with cooking.
Obtaining an education to further develop your talent for cooking from a culinary art school with expand your knowledge and give you the experience to get a career in the food service profession. Training programs in the culinary arts do just that and as such offer internships as part of the program. These internships are mandatory and allow you to put into practice what you have been learning during your training program further enhancing your cooking skills.
Both Classical and modern culinary techniques are used in these programs teaching skills in kitchen management which can prepare you for many different positions at restaurants, hotels, clubs, resorts and other businesses that offer some sort of dining experience. These techniques teach you to take your own God given talent for cooking and developing it in to a career that is professional and rewarding. The more you expertise you obtain, and the more versatile you become, will give you the edge over your competition allowing you to shine.
Culinary art programs range from 1 to 2 years for study with either a certification or a degree. There are other training programs that last longer, but it is important to understand that these training programs will give you a better chance to be a success within your chosen field. A fast track program, so to speak to a career as a professional in culinary arts. Once your basic training is over you can apply for internships to obtain experience, making yourself a better candidate when applying for that entry level position at a restaurant, resort or hotel of your choice.
Remember that there are many different institutes and schools offering degrees or certificates in culinary arts. Request information about their programs and make sure to check our and compare what they offer. Hopefully you will find the one that offers the field you are interested most in and enroll.
