I
have spent hours drooling over this book! When it arrived
in the post I was wondering what was in the package because
the book was a lot bigger and thicker than I had anticipated.
When
it comes to cookery books this one is quite something. Most
of today's cookery books seem to be just recipe books and
assume you know everything about cooking . . . which of
course most of us don't, otherwise why would we be buying
them.
Back
in the 1950s and early 60s every housewife would have started
married life with a cookery book showing her all that was
needed to cook traditional meals and showing the different
techniques in the kitchen, books like the Radiation Cookery
Book or the Main Cookery Book (published for use with gas
cookers). Fairly basic books but full of useful information.
The
Conran Cookbook has taken this idea and expanded it. The
inside cover describes the book as "Taking you from
the market place to the plate . . . encompassing everything
the home cook needs to know from the essential knowledge
necessary to choose and prepare over 1,000 ingredients to
equipping the kitchen, planning successful menus and cooking
over 450 delicious and nourishing dishes".
A
few words are not going to describe to you what this wonderful
book entails. The book is split into three main sections,
which are:
- The
Purchase and Preparation of Food
- Equipment
- Recipes
The
most informative section of the book is The Purchase and
Preparation of Food which is sub-divided into nine categories:
- Fish
and Seafood
- Meat
- Game
and Poultry
- Eggs,
Dairy Foods, Cooking Fats and Oils
- Grains,
Breads, Pasta and Dumplings
- Vegetables
- Fruit
and Nuts
- Herbs,
Spices and Flavourings
- Coffee,
Teas and Tisanes
If
you have a question about something to do with food and
its cooking you will more than likely find it here. If you
have only one cookery book in your kitchen this should be
the one.
As
you would expect from any book carrying the Conran name,
it is beautifully designed and illustrated, as well as been
clearly written and easy to follow. You wanted to know about
fish? All the main varieties of fish and shellfish are illustrated
and there are guides to preparing all the different types,
with each guide having step by step photographs showing
how it is done. This is the theme throughout the book covering
every area of food and its preparation.
It
is a mine of information. Not only is it for those new to
the art of cooking but also for those who have been cooking
for years and are afraid to ask about something for fear
of embarrassment.
This
would make a great Christmas present or be ideal for newlyweds
. . . or better still why not enrich your cooking skills
by getting a copy for yourself. It will be a shame to get
food stains on it but that is where it is going to be kept,
close at hand in the kitchen. Did I forget to mention that
there are some great recipes as well?
