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Review: Mastering the Art of French Cooking
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Mastering
the Art of French Cooking The 40th Anniversary Edition By Julia Child, Simone Beck & Louisette Bertholle ISBN: 0375413405 Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Publication date: Oct. 9, 2001 Format: Hardcover List price: $40 (Canada, UK) | ||||
| Type: Ethnic: French | |||||
| Sample recipe: Reine de Saba, Filets de Poisson Bercy aux Champignons | |||||
| Ambitions | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| intended audience: | novice | advanced beginner | good home cook | gourmet | professional |
| apparent goal: | stocking stuffer | sampler | comprehensive | Biblical stature | coffee-table |
| competition: | outclassed | also-ran | midrange | strong challenger | leads the pack |
| Content | |||||
| # of recipes: | <50 | <100 | <200 | <300 | >300 |
| practical recipes: | <20% | <40% | <60% | <80% | >80% |
| # of ingredients: | <3 | <6 | <9 | <12 | >12 |
| ingredient hunt: | 7-11 | pantry | supermarket | online | airfare required |
| recipe complexity: | baby steps | simple | medium | intense | professional |
| instructions: | inadequate | bare bones | full figured | educational | verbose |
| time conscious: | outright lies | speed of light | fairly quick | takes time | takes all day |
| photos/drawings: | skimpy | adequate | generous | instructive | glorious |
| recipe results: | dorm food | casual food | family meals | fancy food | fit for royalty |
| flavor quotient: | disappointing | fair | good | delicious | exceptional |
| Format | |||||
| layout: | ick | cluttered | clean | kind to cooks | work of art |
| legibility: | microscopic | challenging | adequate | clear | brilliant |
| production quality: | cheesy | questionable | years of service | gift-quality | stunning |
| value: | ouch! | a little pricey | on the money | excellent | worth splurging |
| Ease of Use | |||||
| page numbers: | invisible | hard to find | spotty | adequate | obvious |
| table of contents: | missing | frustrating | passable | useful | helpful |
| index quality: | none | tragic | adequate | good | excellent |
| page flipping: | infuriating | tedious | acceptable | rare | never |
| Author | |||||
| writer: | hack | cook turned writer | writer turned cook | comedian | auteur |
| cook: | self-taught | non-restaurant | chef | teacher | celebrity |
| Summary | |||||
| overall rating: | fair | good | above average | excellent | Ochef Top 100 |
| Comments: No cookbook has had more influence over how we cook and eat today, spawning, at the very least, a 40+ year interest in good food, in using great ingredients, and mastering certain fundamental cooking techniques. Mesdames Child, Beck, and Bertholle did much more with this book than teach generations of people how to prepare French dishes. They taught us how to get around in the kitchen, how to taste — and their efforts have raised the standards of home and restaurant kitchens immeasurably.
Do you need a copy of this anniversary edition if you have an earlier edition? No, even the 1983 revision took into account certain changes in the kitchen, notably the availability of the food processor. But if you are remotely interested in classical cooking and you don't have a copy of this book, you absolutely should. The book is exhaustive in its instructional approach, reflecting the authors' determination to make French cooking available to American cooks. The few illustrations are instructive and useful. |
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