# Favorite reference books



## cape chef

If you had to choose only five books to have as reference to all things culinary in your library what would they be? 

We are expanding our resource center/library at school and I have been asked to spearhead this process.

We have about 300 books at this point, including Escoffier and Larousse and the like, so think out of the box. Any thoughts?


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## thetincook

Here are the five books I turn to the most...

1)The New Making of a Cook, Madeline Kumman
2) A Mederretanean Feast..., Clifford A Wright
3)The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking, Barbara Tropp
4) Sauces, James Peterson
5) Fish and Shellfish, James Peterson


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## cousinwill

these maybe simpleton favorites

1/ mastering the art of french cooking
julia child/louisette bertholle/ simone beck 40th edition alfred a knoph publishing
the definative french cookbook of the 20th century

2/ The Silver Palate Cookbook workman pub
Julee Rosso & Sheila Lukins
the Guide to home entertaining well written great recipe's great insight

3/ Cucina Simpatica
Johanne Killen & George Germon harper Collins pub
The Owners and Chef's of Al Forno this is the finest Italian cookbook written in the english language not the most complete ,but the most authentic


4/ Seafood Expressions
Normand J Leclair Dome publishing
American regional cuisine at it's apex New England seafood straight forward
nothing that doesn't belong and everything that does he has created these dishes with no indulgenses of fusion or nouvelle, just classic american fare
he has written many books all are worthy this is a classic

5/ Kitchen Conversations
Joyce Goldstein Morrow publishing
As much a culinary text book as cookbook gives in sight to paring flavor's good substitutions wine's to have with great food from the world over


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## anneke

Culinary Artistry, Andrew and Page.


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## thetincook

Have you checked out The New American Chef by Andrew and Page?


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## pete

"Sauces" by Peterson is a must
"The Cheeser Primer" by Steven Jenkins
"The Physiology of Taste" by Brillant-Savarin
"La Technique" by Pepin
And for American chefs, "An American Feast" by Larry Forgione
Oops, I mean "An American Place"
Please forgive all the spelling errors this morning. I am still trying to wake up abd haven't had my coffee yet.


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## miahoyhoy

Revised, On Food and Cooking. By: Harlod McGee
Living Cuisine. By: Renee Loux Underkoffler
And other "Raw Food" books.
How about a running subscription to Art Culinaire? Wish my school had that when I was there.


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## kylew

Larousse..
CookWise
Bread Baker's Apprentice
Artisan Baking...
Professional Baking


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## shroomgirl

Time Life Series, it's pretty old by now but they are great!!! :bounce: 
Joy of Cooking....older versions, think 1973....Becker version.
Le Notre pastries, my copy is dog earred mottled and in serious need of a steaming.  
In the Sweet Kitchen, it goes into great detail on baking ingrediants.
still vacililating on #5, Silver Palates, Julia Childs (any of um), James Beard because he had a list of substitutes with the recipes....hmmmmm


CC....pictures are good....Anne Willan has a Look and Cook series that has beginning to end of recipe photos. I don't care for the recipes but the photos are good.


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## stacey2685

LArousse
Culinary Artistry
Le repetoire de le cuisine
Chef's companion
on cooking


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## suzanne

Another vote for an older version of Joy -- mine is from 1971, and it is excellent for basic information. Also:
_Vegetables from Aramanth to Zucchini _ and _ Uncommon Fruits and Vegetables_ by Elizabeth Schneider (Colchie)
_The Anatomy of a Dish_ by Diane Forley (also great for the scientific relationships of vegetables)
_American Food: The Gastronomic Story_ by Evan Jones (history! recipes!!)
_The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America_
_The Oxford Companion to Food_
_The Wine Bible_ by Karen MacNeil
_The Visual Food Encyclopedia_, Francois Fortin, editorial director
_The World Encyclopedia of Cooking Ingredients_ by Christine Ingram

Do I have to stop?


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## mezzaluna

Suzanne, with 50' or so of books, how can you possibly choose???


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## suzanne

Please -- if it were only 50, I'd have room to buy more!  

But the serious answer is: those are some of the books I turn to the most when I need to check FACTS about food and cooking. And specifically, about American food -- I didn't even list the Asian and British and Australian ones.  Oh, there are many cookbooks I love and refer to when I need ideas for dishes to cook; but these books (in addition to many already mentioned here by others) are the ones that are chockfull of information about ingredients, techniques, history, and so on. And that, to me, is the essence of a reference work.

And so now, of course,  I have to add a few more to my list:
_Cooking by Hand_ by Paul Bertolli -- another great source for information about Italian food
_The Wine Bible_ by Karen MacNeil (how presumptuous of me to recommend a wine book to Cape Chef!  )
_Simple Cuisine_ by Jean-Georges Vongerichten -- where it all starts with juices, flavored oils, broths, and the like.


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## jim berman

Epicurean by Charles Ranhoffer and Technique by Pepin.


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## moxiefan

Ferran Adria's two El Bulli books would make a handsome and eclectic addition to any library, I expect. At $300+ each, I wish there was a library in my neighborhood that would allow curious culinarians a peek at these tomes.

If your school doesn't have Michel Bras' Essential Cuisine or Pierre Gagnaire's Culinary Artistry, I think it should. I'm not a huge fan of the books, but they are something different. And, having recently been at school myself I know that too few students are aware that there are still chefs in Europe trying to be inventive. Hot Chefs, Hip Cuisine is another book I've seen recently that profiles global chefs.

I've also been recently eyeing the bound collections of Art Culinaire which seem to collect every 15 issues into a single massive book. I haven't sprung for them yet because the title has a "best of..." in it, and I'm worried it might not be complete. It looks to be entire issues, complete with advertising. Does anyone know for sure?

Lastly, there's a resource from Scandinavia published in English in German that I've recently discovered and would have loved to have had in my alma matter's collection titled Culinary Chronicle . Check that out... it's a hefty price tag, but all evidence points to it being pretty darned cool.


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## kylew

Sophie's Chioce!


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## skiplombardi

I find myself more and more, reading cookbooks for the pleasure of reading about food, rather than for reference. For example, how Daniel Boulud conceived the notion of "Scallops in Tuxedos."

But when I'm seeking information about a recipe or ingredients, I find myself going back to a couple of books that have served me well: One, I call "The Black Craig." I believe it's "The New New York Times Cookbook," by Craig Claiborne. I gave it the nickname, because it's the only one of his books with a black cover. If a recipe exists for a classic dish, it's there.

The other, which is falling apart from so much use, is "Chez Panisse Cooking," by Paul Bertoli. I had always known about Alice Waters' passion for ingredients, but Paul Bertoli makes it come alive in this book.

And finally, although I cook nearly exclusively Italian food these days, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking." Julia Child will always be the Grand Dame of French cooking for me.

Best regards,
Skip Lombardi

http://www.skiplombardi.com


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## pete

Another great reference book for American Chefs is "The Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink" by John Mariani. No recipes, but it gives the history of many dishes and describes how they were originally made. I found it to be a very enjoyable read, and a great reference book for doing research.


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## redace1960

absolutely include JOY OF COOKING c.1975. a perfect antidote to things
like 'squid with blueberries' and 'goofy things 
that might at one time have been food stacked 12 
inches high on a square plate' if nothing else, seeing as 
you're in charge of turning out future pros.


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## 100folds

A must have!!!!!


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## 100folds

My 5 Choices, or rather the books I use the most
1. On food and cooking -- Harold McGee
- it explains the science behind food and why recipes are written the way that they are. It takes cooking to the next level.

2. All of the Pepin books
- they were written in the 1970 and they show you all the techniques that are still used today. He was amazing man, chef! His knowledge is priceless and unfortunatley, his books are very expensive because they are no longer in print. I have all of them and they are used almost once a week.

3. Professional cooking, latest edition
- I have some of the other editions but they are not as good. This was my textbook for my classes in my apprenticeship. It covers the basics.

4. The art of french cooking
- yes julia child is amazing, god rest her blessed soul.

5. Cooking with herbs and spices
- its an encloypedia of all the herbs and spices. A listing of culinary uses, marsalas, spice mixtures, recipes, ect. A must have if you are interested in the science of flavours.

Thats it, if I have to choose.


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## beefcheeks

*On Cooking* -Labensky & Hause
My favorite all around reference book

*Culinary Artistry* -Dornenburg & Page
Because cooking is an art

*ON FOOD AND COOKING* -Harold McGee
How and whys of cooking

*Food in History* -Reay Tannahill
A great read on how food shaped this world

*The New Food Lover's Companion* -Sharon Tyler Herbst
My favorite book to read in the john :smiles:


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## redace1960

forgot one-
FOOD- waverly root.


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## dean

I don't know about 5 but the one I know that would be on the list is
The Cooks Companion by Stephaine Alexander :bounce:


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## chef_bob

* Food Lovers Companion - Sharon Tyler Herbst
* Sauces - Michel Roux
* The Joy of Cooking (first cook book I would buy anyone!)
* The Frech Laundry Cookbook - Thomas Keller


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## mudbug

I suppose it depends on what you already have... but without a doubt, and to support some previous responses:

*The New Food Lover's Companion* - Sharon Tyler Herbst
*The Joy of Cooking* - pre-1973


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## yvonne

It is the constant debate between art and crafts, classical and ethnic, Western and Eastern.

I would recommend that you include more world cuisines in your reference library. Give the students a grounding in the great international culinary traditions.

Also, since many students come abroad, or eat in "ethnic" restaurants, they will be able to relate.

Here are some to start with. These may not be scholarly and definitive works, but they will give them basic answers and get them curious. And these are the ones that I refer to often in my private collection.

Diane Kennedy The Cuisines of Mexico
Dharamjit Singh Indian Cookery
Madhur Jaffrey's World of the East Vegetarian Cooking
Jacki Passmore Savoring China
Sosamon Kongpan The Best of Thai Cuisine
Jacqueline Clark and Joanna Farrow Mediterranean: Food of the Sun
Anna Martini The Mondadori Regional Italian Cookbook

I also think that you should look at the demographic mix of your students and supply them with books that reflect their ethnic heritage. 

And I have always believed you should start with learning a country's cuisine in its unadulterated form, before you start riffing on your own fusion experiments.


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