Reddit reviews I'm Just Here for the Food: Version 2.0

I would go with things that start looking at techniques or at "why things happen."

Books I'd recommend:
I'm Just Here for the Food by Alton Brown

Cooking School published by America's Test Kitchen

And of course Jacques Pepin's Essential Techniques. The ebook is particularly nice.

One thing I liked a lot at that age was vintage cookbooks. The pictures in something like The Cooky Book were downright magical.

I'm the same way. Have you ever read Alton Brown's "I'm Just Here for the Food"? It's all about food sciencey stuff, not just recipes.

When I started out, I relied most of the Fannie Farmer cookbook, to be honest, but something like The Joy of Cooking, Bittman's How To Cook Everything or Alton Brown's I'm Just Here for the Food would be good, too. Joy is classic, simple recipes with clear instructions, aimed at beginners. Brown is excellent at explaining the science behind why reciepes work the way they do. Bittman emphasizes showing a technique, then showing lots of simple variations, allowing you to learn a skill and then apply it to different ingredients.

You might also take a look at Rhulman's Ratio --- for a certain sort of personaility, that book can be like a lightbulb going off. It's all about the common principles that underlay many sorts of recipes. Some people find it too abstract, especially if they're just starting (most actual recipes break his rules a little, one way or another), but if you're more of an abstract logical thinker it can be quite helpful.

But cooking in general can be quite diffucult to pick up from books --- techniques that are quite simple to demonstrate can be super difficult to describe. Youtube/the internet can be your friend, here --- Jacques Pepin, America's Test Kitchen, and Good Eats are all good at demonstrating and explaining technique. Check out the Food Wishes youtube channel, too --- Chef John is a former culinary instructor, and he demostrates a lot of classic techniques in the reciepes he does.

At the end of the day though, cooking's like Carnigie Hall. Think of stuff you like to eat, find a recipe for that stuff, and just go for it. If you start off making things you know and like, then it will be easier to tell if you're getting it right as you go along, and that I think is the most crucial and most difficult part of becoming a skilled cook --- being able to tell when something's ready vs. when it needs 5 more minutes, being able to tell if the batter looks right before you cook it, if something needs more seasoning and if so what kind. All that's mostly a karate kid, wax on, wax off thing --- you just got to keep making stuff in order to have the experience to tell when something's right.

Alton Brown's Good Eats series give explanations, not sure of his other but apparently the I'm Just Here for the Food is also in that format.

Alton brown is amazing. Pretty much everything of any practical application that I learned in 3 years of Culinary school he managed to Cram into 2 pretty easy to read books. I highly recommend them to anybody looking for the Why of cooking instead of just the how.

Ninja Edit: Books Here.

>Unrelated question, I read that meat should be poached with the liquid starting cold and then gradually increasing the heat so as to cook the meat evenly. However when grilling or baking an oven is required to be preheated, and I read the reason is again, so that the meat cooks evenly. Sorry if this is a dumb question, I know the medium of cooking is different but why is this contradicting?

Let's start here. You can safely ignore advice for starting things cold in any aqueous cooking method (poaching, braising, making stock, boiling vegetables) -- whether it starts hot or cold will have minor differences when it comes to when and which compounds move from your solids to your liquids, and other details like clarity of your final liquid (e.g. a broth or stock). These are fine finicky details however, and will have very little effect on the final flavor of your dish. When it comes to poaching meats, what matters it the final temperature of the meat. The closer the temperature of your poaching liquid is to that target temperature, the better -- whether it starts hot or cold when the protein goes in. The same basic principles apply for meat cookery when grilling or roasting, with the added caveat that you usually want to create a crust through the maillard reaction and caremelization, which requires high heat. Hence the very best methods are a combination of low and high heat, such as Sous Vide and Reverse Searing.

As for categorical learning, there are lots of resources!
One of my favorites is the website Serious Eats which is very science based and has plenty to learn sorted by technique or by recipe.

I personally learned with Alton Brown -- seek out the show Good Eats, or check out some of his books 123

There is no right or wrong way to learn to cook. In fact, the only real way is to just get in the kitchen and cook. Yeah, you will screw some stuff up, burn some stuff, and maybe make some truly awful food. But you will make great food as well.

No- his books are reasonably priced. A very funny guy who filmed the first season of the show out of his own home, he just wants to bring "good eats" to the masses.

It isn't a cookbook, but a book on how to cook. Alton Brown's I'm just here for the food 2.0. Love it. Also have several of his others in the series which are equally good IMO.

Here's some good resources that I usually tell people about when they ask what can help them cook more better.

• Alton "The Man" Brown. His book, I'm Just Here For The Food, is fantastic for those of us who are just getting into cooking. He teaches you how to cook, not how to follow a recipe...because they're two totally different things. You can find Good Eats, his show, around on the web too...it's like if Bill Nye had a cooking show. Just great stuff.
  
• The Start Cooking blog has recipes, but focuses more on beginner techniques and information. When you're getting started you'll ask yourself stuff like... What kind of knives should I have? Or... How do I get that giant pit out of an avocado without getting green crap everywhere? Or even... How do I mushroom? Which is the kind of existential question I know I've asked myself a dozen times or more.
  
• Working Class Foodies - They make some really good food, have some good tips, and it's all done on the cheap. Definitely a good channel to subscribe to on the YouTubes.
  
  And as for getting comfortable with using your knives, here's my advice. Make sure you have a GOOD knife. You can go to a restaurant supply store and get good knives for cheap, if you aren't at a spot where you can part with the cash to get superknives. Having a good, sharp knife is extremely important. Getting familiar with terms and handling is important, too. And finally, just cut stuff. Buy some potatoes and get to cutting...slowly at first, but once you get more comfortable pick up the speed. Make some mashed potatoes, hashbrowns, home fries, french fries, whatever. If you get sick of potatoes, use carrots or peppers. Just get some experience under your belt and you're well on your way.
  
  Good luck!

You need Alton Brown's cookbook. It will teach you how to actually cook food as opposed to simply telling you how to mix a bunch of expensive spices together. It goes through the basics of cooking (the application of heat to food), which is sorely overlooked in most recipe books. Highly recommended.

If you like Alton Brown, try checking out his books.

I'm Just Here for the Food: Version 2.0 and I'm Just Here for More Food: Food x Mixing + Heat = Baking

They also recently released a comprehensive book companion to the Good Eats series which is very good. Here

Je voudrais m'acheter un livre de cuisine qui parle un peu de la science derrière et qui explique à quoi sert chaque étape.

J'ai quelques références en anglais, du genre I'm just here for the food ou Cooking for geeks, est-ce que quelqu'un aurait de bons livres en français sur le sujet (ou de meilleurs bouquins en anglais)?

Alton Brown's I'm Just Here for the Food is a great primer on the science of cooking. I read it in culinary school, and it was a great distillation of the main concepts (which cuts are of meat are good for braising, searing, roasting, etc. and how to properly perform each technique). If you end up enjoying Alton Brown's style, I would also recommend Fish on a First Name Basis for fish cookery. Lastly, Cook's Illustrated is a wonderful resource on food and cooking. The yearly online membership is only approx $25, and you get access to all previously published recipes and equipment reviews.

In terms of equipment, the knife I personally use is the Victorinox 10-inch chef knife. Japanese steel is great and all, but for the same price you could get this knife, a good electric knife sharpener, and a honing steel and still have some left over. The best knife is a sharp knife after all. I would also highly recommend a T-fal non-stick pan for a solid multi-purpose first pan.

Finally, for an herb garden, I generally try to aim for either expensive or infrequently used herbs for indoor gardening. The reasoning behind growing expensive herbs is pretty straightforward. I primarily grow infrequently used herbs to avoid wasting what I wouldn't use up when cooking (as you mentioned is oft a problem). In my region, basil, sage, thyme, tarragon, and oregano would all be good candidates to grow. Parsley, cilantro, and bay leaf tend to be cheaper at the market in my area, so I usually just purchase those.

His books are pretty good for getting into some of the specifics more than the show.

http://www.amazon.com/Im-Just-Here-Food-Version/dp/158479559X/

http://www.amazon.com/Im-Just-Here-More-Food/dp/1584793414/

I'm a fan of Alton Brown's I'm Just Here For the Food.

Only book I know that covers everything from the very basics of starting cooking to advanced techniques. I also love that he doesn't tell you what to do, but the why; the science behind cooking.

Very easy to read and tons of great info.

If you haven't cooked much, I would recommend picking up Alton Brown's book 'I'm just here for the food' It covers cooking from a science and chemistry perspective, and understanding why something happens makes you a better cook. It also helps keep you from developing bad habits, or working on erroneous information (like
browning meat 'seals in juices'.) Also some very good recipes.

Link: I'm Just Here for the Food: Version 2.0 https://www.amazon.com/dp/158479559X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_g-7eAbXGFVZ5R

For the 'what do I need part' you can get enough equipment to get started from a thrift store, and cast iron skillets are cheap. A skillet/ saute pan, stock pot, mixing bowl and baking sheet will cover most things. For spices I would at least stock garlic, pepper, kosher salt. Lawry's can work in a pinch although I otherwise avoid spice mixes. If you're making Christmas treats, you're probably going to want cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, clove, vanilla, maybe allspice/ mace depending on the recipe. Buying those and the rest of your groceries at Aldi or Trader Joe's is more economical if there is one nearby. International food stores/ Indian groceries sometimes have much better prices on spices as well.

My go to for the holidays is the Nestle Tollhouse chocolate chip cookie recipe, it's all over the internet. Favorite cookies anywhere when they're fresh out of the oven :)

Alton Brown's book "I'm Just Here For The Food" would disagree with you. He begins the book by telling tales of people who have followed recipes straight into disaster. The only way to understand how to avoid that, is to have a basic understanding of the three main elements of cooking: heat, salt, and water (IIRC).

Seriously? Fuck ramen.

Learning how to cook will serve you well for the rest of your life. Better nutrition, less money, better taste, and everybody loves good food.

Get a copy of The Joy of Cooking for a compendium of awesome and some Alton, Brown, Books, to learn what equipment you need and how to cook.

(Commas to annoy Nazi's and show there are multiple links)

https://www.amazon.com/Food-Lab-Cooking-Through-Science/dp/0393081087/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1498103306&sr=8-1&keywords=kenji+lopez

https://www.amazon.com/Flavor-Bible-Essential-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1498103333&sr=8-1&keywords=flavor+bible

And this is a good primer for traditional French techniques, which most kitchens use extensively

https://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Art-French-Cooking-Set/dp/0307593525/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1498103367&sr=8-2&keywords=french+cooking

(but ALWAYS defer to the Food Lab, they use science)

https://www.amazon.com/Im-Just-Here-Food-Version/dp/158479559X/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1498103412&sr=8-4&keywords=alton+brown

If you go through these four books, then you'll be pretty set in basic knowledge.

I'm Just Here For the Food by Alton Brown. Contains the basics a beginner need to know, and get into the science of what is happening during the process.

Watching episodes of Brown's old show Good Eats is also a great idea.

When learning to cook, start small and work up. Also a cooking class may be helpful or beginner cooking shows. One of my favorites is Good Eats, it does a lot of skill building for the different episodes. I also like his book.

Alton Brown puts out a cookbook called I'm just here for the food that was a significant resource for me. A lot of the more basic applications of heat to food are discussed in the book, which helped kick-start me, and it's written in an "Alton Brown" style that's pretty entertaining. There are a few recipes, but each one focuses on a "style" of cooking (braising, roasting, sauteing, etc.)

Why add violently boiling water when you can get better results from baking the egg?

I'm Just Here for the Food - Alton Brown
http://www.amazon.com/Im-Just-Here-Food-Version/dp/158479559X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1250012904&sr=8-1

Tangentially related, I would get his books as well:

http://www.amazon.com/Im-Just-Here-Food-Version/dp/158479559X/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1291527138&sr=1-4 (This one is about cooking)

http://www.amazon.com/Im-Just-Here-More-Food/dp/1584793414/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1291527138&sr=1-6 (this one is about baking)

Read through those and you'll feel much more confident.

If you are cooking meat, I'd suggest getting a probe thermometer: http://www.amazon.com/Taylor-1470-Digital-Cooking-Thermometer/dp/B00004XSC5/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1291527262&sr=8-2

You'd be amazed how good any kind of meat tastes just with some salt and fresh pepper cooked to the exact right temperature tastes...

This is my go-to cookbook, as well as the Joy of Cooking, you can usually find an early edition at a used bookstore.

I think Alton Brown's I'm Just Here for the Food is a really good starting point.

It does a fine job of explaining why and how different cooking methods work, and pairs multiple techniques with recipes. I think the way they're presented is really good for someone who is learning.

I bought my Joy of Cooking as a poor college student. It is now 26 years old, and it will be handy to the kitchen for the rest of our days. Terrific book.

Alton Brown's your man, via TV, the web and the first book, especially. I'm Just Here For The Food is a better teaching book than Joy, though nothing beats Joy's comprehensiveness.

And, IMHO, Julia Child is the woman, though I'd recommend her The Way To Cook as the one book to get, if you have to pick one. We actually carry it with us when we travel for Thanksgiving. I was going to leave our copy at the in-laws, but my wife didn't want to part with it, even though I was going to order another one. Mrs. Child considered it her magnum opus, and she designed it carefully to teach someone how to cook.

What everyone says about 'just try it' and 'tweak your recipes' is true. Practice is where it's at, but informed practice will get you where you want to go much more quickly.

Happy cooking and Bon Appetit!

I also second The Joy of Cooking, and would like to add the following to your list:

• Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything and How to Cook Everything Vegetarian
  
  
• Alice Waters's The Art of Simple Food
  
  
• Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's River Cottage Everyday and The River Cottage Meat Book
  
• Any of Alton Brown's books, some examples here and here
  

1. Eat (and learn about) what you enjoy
   
   If you go searching for learn-how-to-cook tutorials and get stuck making some boring ass chicken recipe but don't even like chicken, you'll make the food correctly but have trouble enjoying the results. It's homework. You won't last making food you don't like.
   
   To stay interested, follow the foods you already love.
   
   For me, it was pasta. I went nuts. My first year or so learning, I was making an insane amount of pasta and was always stoked to eat the results, even if they sucked.
   
   
   
2. Learn from someone who actually cooks.
   
   Too many recipes have one-off ingredients you'll never use again. You want to learn how you can improve your food with what you already have (i.e. Don't worry about the imported, smoked, Himalayan pink salt yet).
   
   A person who understands food will give you so much more than a checklist and directions can. Understanding trumps a recipe every time. And you'd be surprised how little you need to make great food. A good cook knows how to do this.
   
   I was really fortunate to have a roommate who's Italian grandma was an amazing cook. He knew his shit. He would coach and correct everything I was doing with my horrible attempts to make pasta. It was fun and quickly showed me how to improve--all with no recipes. It showed me you can taste as you go.
   
   
   
3. Most cookbooks are shit for learning
   
   Today there a more books telling you what to do, and less telling you why you do it. The latter is the key.
   
   These two books really opened a lot for me regarding understanding food and how to make it better:
   
   I'm Just Here For The Food: Food + Heat = Cooking
   
   Cooking (James Peterson)
   
   Honorable mention:
   
   Ratios: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking
   
   Cheers, and best of luck. Now go eat!
   
   
   Also Good Eats and Mind of A Chef are amazing shows to watch. We are so visual nowdays.