What are your food-related reads these days?

[chezcherie]

While in Monterey over the weekend, I stumbled on A Meal Observed by Andrew Todhunter.

He claims to not be a "foodie" but he wormed his way into a stage at Taillevent and then subsequently ate a meal which is thus chronicled.

←

just picked this off the new book shelf at the library, and couldn't even cook dinner because i was busy zooming through it. thoroughly enjoyable little book, with glimpses into the back and front of the house of taillevent. i found this book to be full of little jewels, and really recommend it for a quick and delicious read.

[afn33282]

Wow, I can't believe nobody has mentioned this one so far, so get ready to have your minds blown by:

The Auberge of the Flowering Hearth by Roy Andries (Andreis?) de Groot. My favorite book on any subject. Also, don't miss Honey from a Weed by Patience Gray. And the Time-Life Foods of the World series (69-72) is considered a classic, and I can definately vouch for the book on China.

I must also agree that Elizabeth David's An Omelette and a Glass of Wine is cream of the crop. That woman has inTEGrity! And M.F.K. fisher is equally good. As well as The Art of Eating, try As They Were.

[malcolmjolley]

OK, I was getting VERY, VERY worried the Elizabeth David hadn't shown up in the thread.

Omellette and a Glass of wine is a fine collection of her magazine and newspaper work, but if I was going to chose only one of her books it would French Provincial Cooking or Mediterranean.

Lancelot: that list is screaming for Matt Kramer's Understanding Wine (the revised ed trhat came out a fewe years ago).

[Junior]

The three that I have in my library inculde, George Orwell's Down and out in Paris and London, A Moveable Feast by Hemingway, and The Saucier's Apprentice by Raymond Sokolov.

If you have Culinary Artistry, you could also have Becoming a Chef by Dornenburg and Page.

[zilla369]

Let us not forget The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen by Jacques Pepin.

[culinary bear]

Cuisine en Dix Minutes, Edouard de Pomiane...

Simple French Food, Richard Olney...

Charcuterie and French Pork Cookery, Jane Grigson...

I shall have to restrict myself to three, however painful the brevity.

[jackal10]

How can you have a serious library without Larousse, or Escoffier?

Escoffier's "Guide to Modern Cookery" is the one book I would not be without - his recipes and basic "faites simple" approach are still relevant today, and the basis for classical cuisine - just disregard the garnishes.

Le Repertoire de la Cuisine is an essential reference

Also rans include Alan Davidson's Oxford Companion to food.

Kurlansky's Cod is better than his Salt.

If you are interested in the sociology of food, then I would add

Much Depends on Dinner: The Extraordinary History and Mythology, Allure and Obsessions, Perils and Taboos, of an Ordinary Meal

by Margaret Visser

Feast: A History of Grand Eating -- by Roy Strong

Edited May 15, 2005 by jackal10 (log)

[maggiethecat]

Jane Grigson's Food With the Famous. It's worth the shelf space for the chapter on Sidney Smith alone .

[Kevin72]

Any of Andrew Dornenburg (sp?) and Karen Page's books, particularly Culinary Artistry. One of those books I just read over and over again the first year after I bought it.

[Sartain]

Totally agree that Larousse Gastronomique is essential to the list.

John Thorne's Outlaw Cook was mentioned upthread; I would say his Pot On The Fire and Serious Pig likewise deserves a place.

James Villas' books are likewise educational and entertaining.

The list as it stands is rather Euro-American centric. Can anyone recommend any text on other cuisines?

[FabulousFoodBabe]

What about ...

How to Read a French Fry Russ Parsons

Fast Food Nation Eric Schlosser

The Jungle Upton Sinclair

and for something a little lighter ...

The Gallery of Regrettable Food James Lileks.

[Really Nice!]

My list of things not already mentioned, good list btw:

• The Food of France - Waverly Root

• The Food of Italy - Waverly Root

• A Psychology of Food, More Than a Matter of Taste - Bernard Lyman

• Culinaria <insert country>- of any country or region if you want to learn more about that region. There's Caribbean, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Hungary, and European Specialties

• L'Atelier of Alain Ducasse - Jean-Francoise Revel Very good if you want to get inside Alain's head.

• L'Atelier of Joel Robuchon - Patricia Wells Very good if you want to get inside Joel's head.

• Elements of Taste - Gary Kunz You'll find that flavor/taste is more than sweet, sour, salty, bitter. It's about flavors that push, pull, punctuate, or act as a platform for others.

• Anatomy of a Dish - Diane Forley The first half of the book is about plants, their families, seasonality, parts of the plant and when we eat them (bulbs, stalks, flowers, roots, seeds), compatability, etc. The second half is about how to center proteins around those plants.

• Art Culinare - Ultimate in food porn.

Edit to remove Le Répertoire de La Cuisine as it is already in the list.

Edited May 20, 2005 by Really Nice! (log)

[artisan02]

I would add Delights and Prejudices, by James Beard. Not sure if it is still in print or not, but it is a fascinating account of his culinary upbringing. And a wonderful account of food in the Northwest.

[afn33282]

I will provisionally nominate Ali-Bab's Practical Gastronomy. Provisionally, as I haven't read it (I just got my copy from www.abebooks.com), but had seen it recommended in Becoming a Chef (where I was also turned on to many good books, including The Auberge of the Flowering Hearth, my favorite book on any subject, ever), and in Craig Claiborne's autobiography (A Feast Made for Laughter, a good read in its own right)'s recommended cookbook library, if I remember right, etc.

Edited to change underlines to boldface. Why? Because I'm a lemming. Squeak!

Edited July 4, 2005 by afn33282 (log)

[SuzySushi]

I'd add to these a couple of my frequent-reference books:

A Dictionary of American Food & Drink by John Mariani

The Lett's Companion to Asian Food & Cooking by Jacki Passmore

[M3brewboy]

What about Sauces by James Peterson?

[Moopheus]

Perfection Salad by Laura Shapiro

←

Her second book, Something From the Oven, is also good.

Food Politics, by Marion Nestle, for an interesting look at the relationship between the government and the food industry.

Culinary Artistry is probably the most circulated book at the library where I work.

Making of a Pastry Chef by MacClauchlan is the same for the dessert-oriented.

[coquus]

If we include Saucesand some of the other cookbooks suggested (and how can you have a culinary library without them), then I might suggest the following, wich also have substansial sections and anecdotal information appreciating said food.

Thai Food, by David Thompson

La Technique/La MethodeJacques Pepin

The Complete Book of PorkBruce Aidelson

Marcella's CucinaMarcella Hazan

The Cuisines of MexicoDiane Kennedy

The Making of a CookMadelline Kamman

These are seminal works, and I would personally not visit any Culinary Library that didn't have them in the stacks (library talk for shelves, my dad is a librarian ).

[sizzleteeth]

The Escoffier Cookbook

The Physiology of Taste - Jean Anthelme (Brillat-Savarin) is a very interesting read.

And if I can ever find an English translation of Les Classiques De La Table, which was co-authored by Brillat-Savarin, Louis (Marquis de Cussy), Alexandre Balthazar (Grimod De La Reyniere), Marie Antoine Careme, and Alexander Dumas – I’d snatch that up in a second as I’m sure it contains an untold wealth of information from the depths of French cuisine that, if for nothing else, would be interesting. Cussy alone was said to have more than 350 + recipes for chicken.

{edit}: Sorry... 366, one for each day of the year... including leap years.. or so I read.

Edited July 5, 2005 by sizzleteeth (log)

[coquus]

Can't believe I forgot to mention Copeland Marks's fabulous books of which I have read only Korean, but recently acquired another and am looking forward to it. Also Bread Alone, by Daniel Leader.

[Jennifer Iannolo]

This may be a bit more obscure, but the book Six Thousand Years of Bread: Its Holy and Unholy History by H.E. Jacob is a fascinating look at the development of mankind via the simultaneous discovery of harvesting wheat, inventing the plow, building an oven, etc. Until I read this tome of food history, I had not realized the true evolutionary impact of our daily bread.

I reviewed the book here if you are curious.

Thanks to all of you for these wonderful recommendations; it looks like I have some shopping to do. Given the name of my website, you can guess which book is on my top library shelf.

[ducphat30]

Blue Trout and Black Truffles~Peregrinations of an Epicure

by Joseph Wechsberg. Is a great look at the history of fine dining, as well as providing insights regarding dining in general. There is something about it that makes it a great read for anyone truly interested in food/dining/history, IMO.

Ducphat30

[thursdaynext]

Ran across this thread while on another search. I'm without access to my home bookshelves at the moment, but would like to add these off the top of my head in response to the original post:

Good to Eat (previously released as The Sacred Cow and the Abominable Pig) : Riddles of Food and Culture- Marvin Harris

The Anthropologist's Cookbook- Jessica Kuper

Might come up with a few more later.

[Tim White]

As a bibliophile/cookbook seller I can't fault any of the above but if Ihad to choose one it would be a dead heat between Patience Gray's Honey from a Weed and Elizabeth David's An Omelette & A Glass of wine

Some suggestions from down under....

Plenty: digressions with food by Gaye Bilson persnal ruminations from one of Australia's great restaurateurs that won several book of the year non fiction category awards down here

One Continuous Picnic by Michael Symons a history of Australian gastronomy now out of print

A History of Cooks & Cooking by Michael Symons originally published as The Pudding that took 1000 chefs

Can't believe you haven't included Michael Ruhlman's The Making of a Chef and The Soul of a Chef!

[rocketman]

Lets not forget The Seasoning of a Chef by Douglas Psaltis as its the book that spurned the largest debate ever here on Egullet.

Great book about a chef working his tail off to get into some of the finest kitchens in the country (and I might say not well kept freezers).

Edited January 23, 2006 by rocketman (log)