The Pastry Chef's Companion

[gfron1]

I pre-ordered this book on Amazon a couple of months ago and have really been looking forward to it. I wasn't quite sure what I would find, but being self-taught, thought it might be useful. Well...it will look nice on my shelf. Its a good book and all, but I was hoping for more. After a brief intro, it goes into 310 pages of terminology, followed by a few useful resources like conversion guides, troubleshooting, flavor profiles, etc.

But, if you ever want to know what pentosam gum is - its in there...right after peeps.

[alanamoana]

Rob, when you pre-ordered, was the 'search inside' feature available? I definitely find this a useful tool when ordering books. I also tend to wait until they have the book at the library and check it out before investing money (this is a new habit, as I'm a bit cheaper than I was when I was younger!).

I'm also a bit of a snob and won't order books if I don't know who the author is. Especially in a specialty category like baking and pastry.

Thanks for letting us know what you think though, this is another way to sift out the duds from the good books.

edited to add: after looking at the table of contents, I would recommend Paula Figoni's "How Baking Works" or even the Alton Brown book on baking for good information. The Figoni book is all about the ingredients and how they work individually and together (food science). Brown makes everything accessible...and with pictures!

Edited March 5, 2008 by alanamoana (log)

[gfron1]

I did minimal research bc it was free for me

[McDuff]

Rob, when you pre-ordered, was the 'search inside' feature available?  I definitely find this a useful tool when ordering books.  I also tend to wait until they have the book at the library and check it out before investing money (this is a new habit, as I'm a bit cheaper than I was when I was younger!).

I'm also a bit of a snob and won't order books if I don't know who the author is.  Especially in a specialty category like baking and pastry.

Thanks for letting us know what you think though, this is another way to sift out the duds from the good books.

edited to add: after looking at the table of contents, I would recommend Paula Figoni's "How Baking Works" or even the Alton Brown book on baking for good information.  The Figoni book is all about the ingredients and how they work individually and together (food science).  Brown makes everything accessible...and with pictures!

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I had Paula Figoni for baking formula technology in pastry school. You really got to love a teacher who describes a muffin as "perky."

[pastrygirl]

Rob,

How were you hoping for more? Are the definitions clear? Relevant? I'm going to help a few of my better staff buy some cookbooks, one was asking about a pastry dictionary. I've already plagiarized the relevant entries from The Food Lovers Companion (but haven't printed it all out yet). Do you think it would be useful as a dictionary for people with decent but not perfect English and a pretty basic understanding of Western food, or is it more esoteric, i.e. pentosam gum?

McDuff & Alanamoana,

Is the Figoni book pretty technical or could someone with a high school education understand it? Are there recipes or is it all theory?

Thanks,

Andrea

[gfron1]

I would say its very comprehensive and very accessible. If you're looking for a dictionary this may be it. I was looking for more. I was hoping to learn some new techniques possibly. Its a good book, just not what I wanted.

[alanamoana]

Rob,

How were you hoping for more?  Are the definitions clear?  Relevant?  I'm going to help a few of my better staff buy some cookbooks, one was asking about a pastry dictionary.  I've already plagiarized the relevant entries from The Food Lovers Companion (but haven't printed it all out yet).  Do you think it would be useful as a dictionary for people with decent but not perfect English and a pretty basic understanding of Western food, or is it more esoteric, i.e. pentosam gum?

McDuff & Alanamoana,

Is the Figoni book pretty technical or could someone with a high school education understand it?  Are there recipes or is it all theory?

Thanks,

Andrea

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The Figoni book is very accessible. There aren't recipes, just theory. It (the 2nd edition) is set up like a text book with experiments and questions at the end of each chapter. Overall, very good to understand the basics of baking.

Both Figoni and Rob's book "The Pastry Chef's Companion" are published by Wiley.

[gfron1]

I woke up thinking about this for some reason. I wouldn't get the book for your people and here's why - and, this is why, while its a good book, I wouldn't recommend it to others. The internet. There is nothing in the book that I can't google, pull off of eG or find in Wiki, AND with internet resources, they'll have links to demo videos, pictorial explanations, etc. The book just gives a definition, which is good if I'm having an open book test, but otherwise a restrictive source of information.

This is also, by the way, what intrigues me about the new Alinea book. It will have the paper version for facts and inspiration, but a companion website to add to the overall learningexperience. Should be the model for all books IMHO.

[pastrygirl]

I woke up thinking about this for some reason.  I wouldn't get the book for your people and here's why - and, this is why, while its a good book, I wouldn't recommend it to others.  The internet.  There is nothing in the book that I can't google, pull off of eG or find in Wiki, AND with internet resources, they'll have links to demo videos, pictorial explanations, etc.  The book just gives a definition, which is good if I'm having an open book test, but otherwise a restrictive source of information.

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Although a picture dictionary would be even better, our internet access up here is not great, so it may still be useful. At best, we run around 100 Kb/sec on our satellite connection, our slowest connection is around 14 Kb/sec and the dial-up gets disconnected constantly (incredibly maddening, but worth it if you're stuck out at that particular lodge for a week and are desperate for email). Video is between frustrating and impossible. We discourage staff from using the computers for personal use, which is sort of too bad, because I don't think anyone is going to the 1 or 2 internet cafes in town and googling about food, and few people have much in the way of computer skills. Bhutan is 85% stuck in the 17th century and 15% learning about the 21st.

Thanks all for the input, I will probably get both books.

[Woods]

Andrea, are you familiar with "Understanding Baking" by Joseph Amendola and Nicole Rees? Its a pretty thorough treatment of baking terms and basic explanations of why things happen the way the do. They have a companion volume called "The Baker's Manual" which is master formulas. I have found the first one to be very helpful.

Woods

Rob,

How were you hoping for more?  Are the definitions clear?  Relevant?  I'm going to help a few of my better staff buy some cookbooks, one was asking about a pastry dictionary.  I've already plagiarized the relevant entries from The Food Lovers Companion (but haven't printed it all out yet).  Do you think it would be useful as a dictionary for people with decent but not perfect English and a pretty basic understanding of Western food, or is it more esoteric, i.e. pentosam gum?

McDuff & Alanamoana,

Is the Figoni book pretty technical or could someone with a high school education understand it?  Are there recipes or is it all theory?

Thanks,

Andrea

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