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Thanks everyone, very helpful. My preferences are exactly those "more complicated" books that have many sub recipes, which are always excellent ideas for the larder and combining generally in home cooking.. So it's more of inspiration and ideas, i think most of us "steal" some things here and there from the complicated books, i guess very few really go all the way and prepare whole dishes, at least when it comes to the "really complicated books".

Thanks, didn't think it would be relevant, but on vegetables might be a different story, at least in one recipe sample i saw a dehydrator mentioned "-) Regarding "cheffy", not sure what is sous vide's status nowdays, seems used by many at home, anyways i know it is a very "meaty" focused machine in base but preffer to find interesting ideas for vegi use, so again, if there are interesting sources and books to explore for that matter, would be happy to get info :-)

I will also be glad to read thoughts on the "above" mentioned vegetables books by Fox and Mcfadden, looking for a new purchase and really want to order On vegetables.. Is it really interesting and inspiring in dishes and technique ? Am looking for the more complicated books, prefferebly with strong use of "flavor concentration" tools like dehydrator, sous vide and.. that's it i think :-) Centrifuges are too much i guess.. Any other good chef books lately that do use those tools, especially the dehydrator ? Thx..

As mentioned, the perfect scoop is the perfect beginners book for home ice cream, Sweet cream and sugar cones from B-Rite creamery is not bad either, fewer but solid basic recipes. For higher level of home gelato - Gelato Messina is a great book.

Thanks Jim, will go through the preview and maybe order this one. Thanks helenjp, I think my hope is to adopt interesting techniques, ideas and recipes to experiment with, as I'm sure I will not be able to find a lot of the excellent pickled ingredients from a recent visit to Japan. I had for example excellent pickled seaweed, might be of different types, very interesting different consistencies, delicate flavours, really delicious stuff. I'm sure I will not be able to come close to this "art level", but I do hope that a serious book, will help me utilize except for salt, some more Japanese staples like the Miso, Sake, Mirin, Soy, Vinegars.. I don't know if this is part of "long term" Japanese traditional fermenting or mainly salt is the star in those..

Thanks, interesting, will do.. Is it an Aby in your profile picture ? We have a pair, fantastic cats :-)

I'm looking for good titles and web sources that focus on Japanese pickles preparing, will be glad to get any interesting info, thanks :-)

Thanks nickrey, I forgot about this book, there seems to be now a kindle promo, and from few small elements like a promising carrot sorbet that seems much like my base sorbet receipe directions, it is for sure a book i should own, thanks a lot.

A year and too much money spent on books later :-) Answers here turned home library upside down, and i'm having great time getting influence from "more then a few" of the books people mentioned. The urge is strong again, and i wonder about two books that i didn't purchase yet and actually have some connection (Chihiro Masui..) - Pascal Barbot's cookbook and Noriyuki Hamada's Yukawatan, would be glad to get more info on the content and which of them might be more of a cooking influence/useful ideas, and not just amazing pictures. Also any other "newer" revealations from past year that were not mentioned in this thread and can cause me more financial damage, please do brong them on "-) Oh and some more questions if it's ok, in a "lighter" manner. thinking about Baneras from Atul K., as a good candidate for inspirational modern indian.. Purchased EMP which is very nice (altough by mistake ordered used in a langauge i don't speak..), did not get Alinea yet, which causes some sleeping problems so i guess it should also stay strong on the radar. And any other books that might concentrate on "flavor extract" and interesting "quite accessible" tools and ideas, like ones heavy on use of the food dehydrator, which i do have and find as a REAL must today in my kitchen. Thanks a lot :-)

At Amazon uk, actually any amazon, i assume nobody buys directly from the first page at "amazon price", as the prices never make much sense, you go below to one of the used or new link options, and then get very good deals, for eg. Notter's book is 30.5 gbp for new, before shipping. Unfortunately not every "shop option" sends to my country, i assume your life is much easier in that sense, and shipping costs are very low if you are in the UK (and Europe..). I think Book depository used to have better prices in the past, but lost a lot of ground in the last couple of years, as it seems that the options i mention from Amazon uk site (below the "amazon price") became signifacently cheaper in past years, without a proper respone from BD.. My feeling and opinion..

Books arrived, it's like a triple christmas in march "-) Brief first impression to whoever might be interested - so happy with Manresa and especially Sepia, so much interesting combinations and "small condiments" creation ideas to incorporate in home cooking, many many thanks for the insight on Sepia, this one was out of my list in the past, wasn't sure, but it so much goes in the Japanese directions i try to incorporate in last years at home, one hack of an amazing book, shrimps shells powder, how the hell me and my dehydrator didn't think about it till now ?! Different soy brands in recepies, that is serious stuff :-) Manresa also, must jump into it soon, very interesting dishes, and a lot of them, it also seems like a very "approachable" book, nothing really too crazy, and that is great. Quay and Organum, looked mainly into the second one, and not too seriously yet, a bit hard to "digest" the quite minimalistic artistic style, but i'm sure i will find also interesting small things to take from it, on the artistic side, organic is probably a real work of art, amazing looking book, but im not so good at deciding that "-) North looks intersting also, not a "fancy" book as the others, but some promising ideas that i will have to check and try. Marque and Ludobites, didnt open yet, got to spend too much time with Sepia "-) Btw got also Frozen Desserts by Migoya, stunning book, not sure yet about his ice cream recepies, have to check more seriously.. And to the long named user that mentioned Noriyuki Hamada's book - thank you very much for adding another book that will hunt me forever until i buy it :-) That looks and sounds like a another great book to have, especially regarding the Japanese direction..

Hello Mendel C-k, you just made my early morning hours, coming weekend and what left of the month of Februery :-) No problem, i forgive you for the lengthy message "-) I was curious and been reading about Martin Benn in the past, i think it was after a message in this forum "warning" the upcoming book. Asian is probably the "base of my home kitchen", no weekend session will start without having a good dashi stock in hand, plus a range of great and interesting asian condiments, so i guess it might be a great book for me. It was on top of my lists, but i think i've read some not so great initial reviews over the different amazons, altough no deep and "true" investigation yet. This along with doing the "look inside" and not seeing any food related pages, just about the chef and his restaurant, left me with nothing solid to rely on.. Now your amazing post changes the game, will have to recheck my list and do some more work in checking. I've just got El Bulli 1994-1997 as present from my crazy wife, last year it was excalibur dehydrator, i really like her. Which book are you reffering to ? Or to all of them in general ? Some new ones i think are out, i tend not to buy >50 any reasonable main currency books, also those are always very heavy books with significant shipping costs, so don't know, but sure those are always very very tempting.. I for sure get also mainly inspiration, just for opening and flipping pages, reading ingridient lists, "tasting" some of the techniques, so never trying to really replicate a whole dish. Unfortunately never been to Australia, but according to rumours, with the level of produce and sea/land offerings you guys there have access to, no wonder there are so many leading chefs from there nowdays, and great also to see even the produced tv food shows, i and my foodie friends enjoy them a lot, so "thanks" "-) It seems that great books in general coming out in last years - i got the book from the Gelato Messina guys, a really mighty fine effort in the ice cream front books, very much recommended for anyone who works a lot with an ice cream machine at home and even has business related aspiration.. For the price it was offered on book depository, another australian gem for sure. I think Quay, Manresa and Sepia will be an amazing addition to the library, even if i take out Yucatan from the equation for now, waiting for any of them to become cheaper as second hand, i think will take ages. And what do you mean by ask MM, regarding Alenno ? And thanks Nickrey with reminding me of Barbot and the Rocca Bros. and making me more confused "-) I will have to read over the net much more about what available as "hints" for those.. Indeed so many great options.. Thanks a lot again for the great info and help !!

Thanks for the great ideas :-) I will learn more about flour and water, me and flour is not a great love affair, but it might be a very cool present for a pasta fanatic friend.. I have a "shared library" with a couple of friends, and EMP, Heston, Keller's books are "accessible".. Alinea i also think one of the friends has, thanks for reminding me to check :-) gfron1 thanks for raising several options i didn't know about, i now want Fluidita so much :-) With the lower euro rate, maybe i find a good option to import it, around 150 eu still very very expensive :-( Same for Sat Baines's book, sounds like a lot of fun, what is the cooking style there ? I guess Indian in title is a little misleading.. I checked archives in the past, was aware of probably yours or others mentions of Chapter One and Marque, checked around at amazon uk and abe, found i think better prices now at amazon for those titles, so "pulled the trigger" on chapter one and north :-) Very happy and excited for that.. Abe showed "reasonable" and quite tempting prices on Marque and Ludobites, so went for them also, along with another old book from Paula Wolfert, love her old books.. Waiting with Yucatan and Manresa, and i must stop there i think, altough with the serious c.a.s i have, i doubt it will last for long :-) Will be very happy for any other recs and opinion on such books, thanks a lot !

I've decided to treat myself with several new cookbooks for birthday :-) There are so many great books from chefs with their michelin reastaurants in last couple of years, unfortunately i'm not able to take a "real look" at any to decide what realy suits me or not, but recs i read here in the past about interesting books, always led to really worthy and great purchases.. Like the Uchi cookbook, really brought inspiration and very good recipes, also several other good ones... I'm looking for the combination of "eye candy" but also a lot of very good recipes, processes and flavors that will not be the easiest at home, but still doable and if not, very inspirational :-) Please books with no heavy use of "ëxtreme" tools like centrifuge or rotovap, and really concentrating on the food and many recipes - i respect a lot the stories and "chefs philosophy", but not interested to read them in cookbooks, prefare inspiration through cooking :-) i marked several options and will be glad to get more info on them and on others.. First book i really want is the last Yucatan related release, altough not sure it will truly be doable with the special ingridients, but subject is fascinating. The Manresa book, i have the feeling it concentrates a lot about the food.. Clueless about Ben Shewry's Origin, Peter Gilmore's Quay and Organum, Bentley from Brent Savage, in pursuit of excellence by Joshia Citrin, Brifard's :e Cinq book and the list can go on and on, many candidates.. Will be glad to get help and ideas for the really special books you like in this direction, thanks !

Thanks a lot Kerry and Chocolot :-) The caramels recipe looks good, thanks for sharing it. I will do a small batch test, probably going for option 2, if i understand correctly it should be decreasing cream from 500 to 200 (that's a pretty steep change..) and using 300 fruit puree, which will increase nicely the sourness, i like it a lot in the case of high sweetness involved in those confections.. Kerry what does it mean that "all added as for cream", that addition of fruit puree as if to replace cream "volume" ? For the fudge i was also concerned with the "soggy" amarena, thanks for the warning.. I will probably have to think of something else, altough i can dehydrate the cherries (not sure effort worth it, they are already very sweet from the liquid..) or better, get good quality dried cherries or berries.

Hello, very long time reader coming out of the "shadows", very glad to be here ! Will be glad to get help and ideas for recipes for two items that i will help making as a present for a family wedding :-) Have been reading through the archives getting general directions for the recepies, have also several confections books like Greweling's chocolate and confections, but not much expirience in making sweet stuff, so i think your help will be great to be much more focused and use hopefully reliable recepies to "spare the life" of the good supplies :-) One item will be dark chocolate and finely diced amarena cherries fudge slabs for cutting, have manjari 64% for the task and will be glad to get recipes ideas from the professionals here.. Second item is passionfruit caramels (forgot to prepare mango puree at season so 100% passionfruit), and im familiar with the long Genin caramels thread, many small changing recipes ideas there and will appriciate getting help with the "right" direction.. Thanks a lot for any help on those !