Len's News, Notes, and Stuff

Good Cookbooks Have Named Authors

I spend money on cookbooks even though there are free recipes online, and free recipes in papers and magazines.  I spend money on cookbooks with named authors even though the compilations by Best Cooking Ever Magazine are cheaper, and compilations titled Best Asian Food Ever are easy to find.  Why do I do this?  Because cookbooks by named authors are better.

Better how?  Fair question.  I find that the recipes are better, that’s the most important thing.  I find that I learn more from them, that’s something worth keeping in mind.  And finally, I enjoy reading them.

When you put your name on something, you are staking your reputation on the quality of that item.  In the case of cookbook authors, they’re not only staking their reputations but also their future income.  If you buy one of their cookbooks and the recipes suck, you’re not going to buy any of their other ones.

So why are the recipes in cookbooks with named authors usually better?  Because a good author will have tested and tweaked the recipes until they work well and give the results they want to produce – and which you want to produce by following the recipe!  Yes, they are skillful and knowledgeable, but they have also put in the time and considerable effort to fine-tune the recipes.  Compilation recipes will not have benefited from this kind of effort.  Free recipes you find online or in a magazine or newspaper also likely will not.

For example, I tried a free recipe for pumpkin muffins that was pretty horrible.  I didn’t realize it until I was halfway through the recipe and the process that whoever worked for the newspaper where I got the recipe from clearly had no idea what the hell they were writing.  The ingredients list and the instructions did not match – an ingredient appeared in the directions out of nowhere, late in the game and without noting how much to add.  Thanks for nothing!  But wait, that’s exactly what I paid for that recipe, so why am I complaining about getting what I paid for?

Then what about learning?  You learn little or nothing from a compilation cookbook that just lists recipe after recipe, with or without pretty pictures.  I prefer cookbooks without pretty pictures overall, but what I love about real cookbooks is the author telling you what’s going on behind the scenes.  Why is something done a certain way?  What’s the history behind this dish?  What are we aiming for with this dish or that dish?  What can be substituted, and what can’t be?  Why?

Compilation cookbooks are exercises in economy.  They are meant to be cheaply produced so that the publisher can make a quick buck.  They’re really not there to educate you.  But a good cookbook by a good author is an educational experience.  You will learn from the chef.  It’s like a little tutorial, and reading and trying the recipes will actually make you a better cook or chef yourself.  But follow a canned compilation recipe or something you clipped online or off a newspaper, and chances are you’ll learn very little.  You may get good at following that recipe, but chances are you won’t have learned anything really transferrable.

Now what about subjective enjoyment?  I like personality.  I like it when a book has personality because the author has personality.  Every chef in the world – you, me, the celebrity, the guy at the local restaurant – has a personality that comes forth in their cooking and in their words.  I enjoy reading the anecdotes, the words of wisdom and and words of admonition from named authors.  It’s like being there with them.  You get a sense for who they are.  You get a sense for what they value.  You get a sense for how they think.

And do you know what that means?  It means I know which book to pick up for ideas when I’m looking for a certain kind of approach, or if I’m feeling in a certain kind of mood and have a certain kind of attitude in mind for what I want to make.

You don’t get that from compilations and free recipes, because they are by nature devoid of character and personality.  And personally, I get very little enjoyment from being around people or items without personality.

Having a named author on the cover is no guarantee of a good cookbook.  Lack of a named author, though, is close to a guarantee that what you have in your hands is soulless, bland, and will do little to improve your skill and knowledge.

In my experience, good cookbooks have named authors.  That’s why I’ll look a little harder, spend a few bucks, and get good cookbooks from good authors.