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What Makes A Great Cookbook?

September 16, 2015 by Joy the Baker 42 Comments

What Makes A Great Cookbook?

I’ve been thinking a lot about what makes a great cookbook.  I’m currently working on my third book (wow…) about Brunch and as it carefully, lovingly, stressfully, curiously, and haphazardly takes shape, I think a lot about how to make it great. 

‘Great’ is both elusive and subjective.  I think it’s about being of service, being creative, communicating what’s beautiful about food and what’s beautiful about life.  Easy.  Super easy.  Luckily, I have shelves full of useful, beautiful, encouraging, inspiring… downright GREAT cookbooks to absorb as I make my own.  

Let’s talk about cookbooks:  the good, the great, the inspiring.  

What Makes A Great Cookbook?

•  So much of the information we take in comes from our computer screens, our phone screens, our electronic books (is that what they’re called?).  One thing we’ve lost in this new transmission of information is FEEL.  A great cookbook feels good to the fingertips.  It’s the kind of canvas bound, thick papered book that you want to run your hands over before opening.  Feel, for savoring.  One feel-good cookbook in my collection is Jamie At Home.  Its canvas cover, thick paper, and colorfully playful interior make it feel just… special, every time I take it down from the shelf.  

•  I eat with my eyes.  Ok… so I mostly use my mouth, but my eyeballs have a lot to do with how much I enjoy what I eat.  A great cookbook often has really stellar photography.  Mouth-watering, hunger-inducing, bright-light food photography.  I always reach for The Kitchy Kitchen when I need inspiration for approachable, everyday food.  The photography is clean, simple, special… and just makes me feel like I’m living a good good life.  

•  Some of my favorite cookbooks have a laser point focus, or a specific niche to tease out. Such focused cookbooks can be a wealth of knowledge… like little cooking encyclopedias.  I love The Perfect Egg  for all things eggy from breakfast to dessert, and an old cookbook called The New Complete Book of Pasta when pasta is on the brain.  One of my favorite baking books of all time:  The Cake Bible… it really is.  

•  I call upon a part of my brain called my Food Brain to think up the recipes I post here and in my cookbooks.  It’s not rocket surgery but my Food Brain needs feeding.  Great cookbooks are out-of-the-box and mega creativity. Hellloooooo:  Momofuku Milk Bar Cookbook.  Related:  Cornflake Chocolate Chip Marshmallow Cookies.  Be about it.    

•  I’m a self-taught baker.  Translation:  I don’t make very good baguettes and I’ve messed up more chocolate mousse than I care to mention.  For me, great cookbooks are those that nail me with technique.  It’s about rules and regulations.  I splurged on this Advanced Bread and Pastry just after I had finagled my way into my first bakery job.  It was a tremendous help in terms of technique and ratios.  School yourself… or let Julia Child school you:  Mastering The Art of French Cooking.  Classic and essential. 

•  A really supreme cookbook is a feel-good, approachable, new classic.  One of the best examples of this is Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: from my home to yours.  It’s classic yet inventive, and rooted in solid technique.  Dorie is a master / my hero.  Other feel-good very new classics is Food52 Genius Recipes and The Gourmet Cookbook.  

This is barely the tip of the iceberg.  Really… there are just too many great cookbooks to mention.  There are many more great cookbooks coming out this Fall!  We’ll talk about those soon.  I’m really excited.

xo Joy

 

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  1. Tracy

    September 26, 2015 at 7:31 am

    I cannot wait for your next cookbook!

    Reply
  2. Angela | The Awkward Blog

    September 22, 2015 at 2:30 am

    I can’t put my finger on what quite makes a cookbook ‘the one’- but if I go to bed reading it like a novel, then I know I’m onto a winner. I’m currently loving Rachel Khoo’s Kitchen Notebook- it’s both a delight to look at as well as getting meal inspirations! You’ll love the little illustrations inside it.

    Reply
  3. erinfae

    September 18, 2015 at 7:53 pm

    I read the subject line and then i read “I’m writing a cookbook about brunch” and i thought, well being about brunch is what makes something a great cookbook!

    All that aside, I think that consistency of recipe quality (which should go without saying but) is essential. I think that’s why blogger cookbooks are appealing. There’s already the proof around consistency. Personally, since I cook with both cups and a scale, I like it when a recipe gives me both weight and relative options, esp. with flour.

    What I don’t need from a cookbook: I don’t need a cookbook to reinvent the wheel every time. I just borrowed the my new roots cookbook and so much space is taken up with the very basics. It seems to be a bit at odds with what the cookbook is about. For basics, I’ll get a great tome like vegetarian cooking for everyone (which I think is one of the best cookbooks of all time for many reasons.) I borrowed the My New Roots book because I know I already like her recipes. I would have liked more recipes and less filler.

    Reply
  4. Joy

    September 18, 2015 at 8:06 am

    Can’t wait for your new book! So exciting!

    I echo what others have said. One of my favorite things is a photo for each recipe. That always makes me enjoy a cookbook more. It’s the enjoyment of the photography along with the side of my brain that needs to see what the dish could look like when I make it.

    Reply
  5. Trang Do

    September 17, 2015 at 9:45 pm

    Love your post!! I also used cookbooks to prepare different types of recipes!!
    Hugs,
    Love from http://www.trangscorner.com {a lifestyle, fashion, beauty, and food blog}

    Reply
  6. Danielle

    September 17, 2015 at 5:38 pm

    Well I just added a bunch of cookbooks to my wish list! :)

    But seriously…I need to know about your shoes. Because those are going on my shoe wish list for sure.

    Reply
  7. Gerry @ Foodness Gracious

    September 17, 2015 at 12:14 pm

    My bookcase is bending with my collection of books and no matter what electronic device is available, I always head to those book shelves for inspiration. My perfect book must have amazing photography because that’s already a huge interest of mine, but not just of the finished dish. Each recipe needs a story or background with photographs…ingredients, action and messy shots are all my favs :) Can’t wait!

    Reply
  8. Cy

    September 17, 2015 at 11:07 am

    Maida Heatter’s “Book of Great Chocolate Desserts” is another winner. She’s from Marion and Julia’s era. You can get her books at great prices, she’s another amazing baker worth checking out!

    Reply
  9. Cy

    September 17, 2015 at 10:38 am

    Growing up my mother always had “The Joy of Cooking”. Still good for classic “go to “recipes. My whole family are great cooks especially my dad. Nigella is probably my most used ” How to be a domestic goddess”. I also have great cook books from Rick Bayless, The Mexican Kitchen, Jacque Pepin and Martha Stewart for classics. I always add my own twist. The Beaufiful Mexico cook book and all in this series are pretty great, but sadly out of print now. If you can find one at decent price,buy it! I have two of Yotam Ottolenghi’s cook books and love those too! I have too many! My dad bought me a vintage copy of Julia Child’s Mastering the art of French Cooking, which is great to read, ( perfect instructions) and cook from. I almost forgot Mariam Cunningham’s” lost recipes” and “The Meat Club Cook Book” by three authors, whose names escape me now. Of course often now I use great food blogs(Joy!) and Smitten Kitchen are two favorites.

    Reply
  10. Pure Ella

    September 17, 2015 at 10:28 am

    Lovely books! This would be great to read before writing my first cookbook (eek!) which is now at the printer. Taking notes though for the next one when that happens :)
    Congrats to your #3!! :)
    xo

    Reply
  11. Mallory

    September 17, 2015 at 4:22 am

    I found a few new cookbooks- thanks. Really enjoyed reading this post and the feel under the fingertips is often key to even opening up a cookbook! Thanks…and those shoes in the top shot…swoon!

    Reply
  12. Lyz (Eat Me. Drink Me.)

    September 16, 2015 at 10:46 pm

    I’ve been thinking about this topic a lot lately as well. I’m in the process of writing my first cookbook, and whenever I’m feeling in a rut, I turn to my favorite cookbooks for inspiration. Right now, I find my own ideas about taste and technique continually pushed by Yotam Ottolenghi’s Jerusalem. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
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