March 1, 2009
Eater's Digest
By Tan Hsueh Yun
These tomes weigh a ton and promise to be comprehensive. We grade these encyclopaedic cookbooks to see which one deserves real estate on your bookshelf.
HOW TO COOK EVERYTHING
By Mark Bittman
2008/Wiley/Hardcover/
1,044 pages/$62.01/Books Kinokuniya
For years now, my go-to book when I need a dependable recipe in a hurry has been this magnum opus by New York Times columnist Mark Bittman.
I thought the book was hard to beat but this revised, 10th-anniversary edition is actually better. For one thing, the expanded vegetables, fruit and grain sections reflect people's desire to eat more healthily.
The author has also included more information boxes that give good suggestions to help cooks widen their repertoire with ease.
There are no photographs in this book of 2,000 recipes but the information is solid. The recipes do not have long ingredients lists and the instructions are clear, so newbie cooks need not feel intimidated.
Bittman's matter-of-fact tone tears down barriers to cooking and challenges home cooks to venture beyond their comfort zones.
So there are recipes for such dishes as kinpira, the soy-braised burdock and carrot dish that is a bento box favourite. There is also a Puerto Rican style roast pork shoulder which takes so little work but is absolutely delicious. I can also vouch for Chicken And Garlic Stew and Vietnamese Meatballs.
Crisp-Braised Duck Legs With Aromatic Vegetables also lived up to its name, and is a good alternative to making duck confit.
The only disappointment was Caramel Walnut Bars, which was too sweet. But the crust did not shrink after baking and would work for cheesecake or lemon squares too.
If there is space for only one cookbook on the shelf, this is the one to get. Bittman is like the reassuring, encouraging tutor who helps you decode the stuff you did not understand in class.
MARTHA STEWART'S COOKING SCHOOL
By Martha Stewart with Sarah Carey
2008/Clarkson Potter/ Hardcover/504 pages/ $76.07/Books Kinokuniya
This is one classy-looking book, filled with gorgeous photographs and more than 200 recipes. Only Stewart's crack design team can make well-used cookware look so glamorous.
But the beauty is not just skin deep. I did not expect it but was glad to find a section with step-by-step instructions for setting up a charcoal grill, one on how to make a curry paste and, indeed, information on how to put out a grease fire.
The recipes? Well, I have some quibbles.
One for Macaroni And Cheese calls for the roux to be cooked for 45 seconds. This too-short cooking time resulted in a cheese sauce that had a slight floury taste to it. Also, the dish is meant to feed eight, but will not, unless it is eaten as a side dish.
A simple recipe for Pan-Roasted Chicken comes with puzzling instructions. The cook is asked to 'Heat a large, ovenproof skillet over high heat until shimmering, about 1 minute.' Usually, it is the oil in the pan that is supposed to shimmer, not the pan. After that, the recipe says to add 1 Tbs of oil and heat that 'until hot but not smoking'. Please. The minute the oil hits that 'shimmering' pan, it is going to smoke. And spit. So the instruction is downright dangerous.
This sort of thing really strains her credibility. So buy this book, if you must, for the photos. You will find less complicated recipes and more sensible instructions elsewhere.
In Stewart's school, students wear pristine uniforms and strive for perfection under the watchful eye of Mother Superior. But is she all she is cracked up to be?
THE AMERICA'S TEST KITCHEN FAMILY BAKING BOOK
2008/America's Test Kitchen/Hardcover/544 pages/$59.50/25 Degree Celcius
If you are the sort of cook who likes to improvise, this cookbook will drive you nuts. Deviate from the instructions even a little and you are likely to flop.
I found this out the hard way when I tried the recipe for Popovers. The batter for these puffs has to be blended for one minute. I guesstimated it the first time and the puffs had a fine, bread-like crumb. Lovely, but technically not popovers. The second time around, I took out my digital timer, followed the instructions to the letter, and was rewarded with textbook popovers.
The reason the recipes work so well is that the people behind the book, America's Test Kitchen, test and re-test recipes until they perfect them.
So many details in this 700-recipe cookbook show that it was put together with care. For starters, the book is actually a large ring binder, which will lie flat on the kitchen counter.
Throughout the book are information boxes with useful cooking tips and recommendations on baking equipment and ingredients - good to know if you are planning to buy cake pans and such.
Scared straight after the popovers, I followed exactly the instructions for Easy Pound Cake and Lemon Squares and was rewarded with perfect results. The only problem? The cake was way too sweet.
Still, I need to have this book of my shelf because it appeals to my inner nerd, the one who is so uncool in school but who always gets the best results.
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