Ruhlman's Twenty: 20 Techniques 100 Recipes A Cook's Manifesto
Has possibly replaced the Joy of Cooking as the most essential cookbook for every kitchen. I’m about halfway through it now and I’m already convinced of how useful a cookbook it is. Not just some great recipes, but some really essential information that isn’t solely intended for weekend feasts, but actual weekday cooking for working people.
Comments
Have you ever read How to Cook Everything? If so, I was wondering how you would compare the books. I’ve been trying to improve my cooking skills, which are very basic, and am thinking by your description that this book may be better than a basic cookbook.
I have and no disrespect to the awesome Mark Bittman, but I think this is better for your purposes simply because it How to Cook Everything is a little more recipe focused whereas Ruhlman’s 20 is more technique focused. In addition, I think the recipes Ruhlman has here are a bit more realistic for working weekday cooks. Not that Bittman doesn’t include plenty of simple recipes or shortcuts. Ruhlman just seems to start with the assumption that you’re looking to cook dinner on a wednesday or something and starts with the shortcuts. But what’s cool is taht as you make your way through the book, you learn ways to improve what you’ve already read with new techniques and whatnot. It’s just really brilliantly laid out and I think it’s absolutely the perfect book for someone trying to improve in the kitchen.
Just… don’t get mad at the somewhat condescending first chapter. He has a point and he makes it well, but “THINK” as a technique, let alone the first one, seems kind of cheap.
Nice, I’m going to put this on my list.