French Cookbooks

[heyjude]

Searching on www.bookfinder.com, I found several copies of Vol.2, a couple of boxed sets of Vols. 1&2 and one of The Way To Cook. Sometimes it takes a few tries to find what you want if the site is being balky.

[John Whiting]

Anne Willan, French Regional Cooking.

This book is a staple in my kitchen.

And a very fine staple it is!

[Suzanne F]

Foodman: Re: Mastering the Art ... : I thought a combined edition was in fact issued for its 40th anniversary last year. So perhaps what you have is, in fact complete. If you have recipes for Baked Alaska ("la surprise de Vesuve") and Cream of Cauliflower and Watercress Soup ("Potage de la Fontaine Dureau"), and appendices on Stuffings and Kitchen Equipment -- then you've got it all. Those are part of Volume 2. Cook, eat, and enjoy!!

[Bux]

I really don't have a lot of cookbooks but I should say I am indebted to Volumes 1 and 2 of Mastering the Art of French Cooking for just about all I know of basic technique. Long after we stopped using the recipes, we'd return to those books, particularly the first Volume, for technical details left out of other people's recipes. Julia wrote for those who had not learned to cook from a French grandmother. The details in those books scared many of our contemporaries away from the books and they cooked with less understanding and less success because of it. Volume 1 is all tattered and torn. When I do look at it, the thing I most notice is that we've made notes calling for a reduction or elimination of the flour and other thickeners used in sauces just about across the board.

[Michael Laiskonis]

In addition, to Bouland's magazine suggestions, Saveurs can be quite accessible, though I tend to pass it over these days. Gault Millau, though not necessarily recipe-oriented, is my current fave, apart from Thuries.

I didn't realize Ali-Bab had been translated; I have a 1920s edition (moldy, but a steal!). Lots of fun and surely a hefty (and in my case, smelly) tome.

Also would add Ducasse/Dannenberg's Flavors of France and any of Vergé's books as mid-level options.

[John Whiting]

When I do look at it, the thing I most notice is that we've made notes calling for a reduction or elimination of the flour and other thickeners used in sauces just about across the board.

Exactly! A quarter century ago John & Karen Hess called attention to the American predilection for starchy fillers, which applies also to much of James Beard.

Another Anglo-American obsession is sugar, which can usually be cut in half unless it's a vital part of a chemical process, such as in preserving. Even here, I prefer to use much less sugar and, if necessary, refigerate or freeze the result. Oversweetened preserves tend to taste more like each other than like the fruits from which they are derived.

[Jon Tseng]

A little late in the day, but I'd also second the Patricia Wells/Joel Robuchon "Simply French" (also published - in english - as "cuisine actuelle"

i) the recipes work! (viz larousse)

ii) a good mix of the homely and the haute... yes there's recipes for foie gras with whatnot, but there's also recipes for a simply green salad and the (famous) mashed potato...

iii) most importantly it is one of the best interpretations of three-star standards to the practicalities of the home kitchen I've seen. The introduction is particularly enlightening, with a batch of simple rules (eg taste, taste taste!) which are as applicable at the aga as at arpege (howzat for alliteration!)

cheerio

J

[heyjude]

Has anyone seen a review copy of James Peterson's new French cookbook? It's due out about now.

[polly]

I really like Paula Wolfert's 'Cooking of south western France'.

Thats not the exact title. It's got some beautiful recipes.

[Bux]

When I do look at it, the thing I most notice is that we've made notes calling for a reduction or elimination of the flour and other thickeners used in sauces just about across the board.

Exactly! A quarter century ago John & Karen Hess called attention to the American predilection for starchy fillers, which applies also to much of James Beard.

John, are you saying that Julia increased the starches in traditional French sauces, more roux per liquid in a veloute for instance, for American tastes? Julia was basically my introduction to French cooking so it's hard for me to make a definitive judgement here. My gut reaction is that she was accurate to the French taste for Bechamels and Veloutes at the time, but that these sauces and roux, in particular, are less commonly used in contemporary French cuisine. A quick glance at a 1961 English translation of the Larousse Gastronomique, shows heavy use of flour in these sauces. I think the recipes are classic, but today, one is more likely to find one's fish fillet sitting in a nage rather than under a sauce supreme. Even such classics as coq au vin are more likely to have a thinner sauce, or one thickened by a reduction of the wine and stock.

If, on the other hand, you are implying that a good old American gravy might not only have more flour per ounce of sauce, but a more floury and less refined taste as well, I would agree. That Hess book was a gem and I wish I could find my copy.

[Bouland]

Going back a bit further in time than the 1960s, you'll find other items used for thickening sauces and soups in French cooking. The two that immediately come to mind are rice and bread. The rice is cooked in some stock until it falls apart and is then puréed for use. The bread is usually used in the form of bread crumbs. I'm currently working on translating and testing a series of recipes from 1907 and besides the two items just mentioned, flour is certainly used for thickening, but it is always cooked in fat for use.

[helenas]

If one decides to create a list of best french chefs books, what titles should be there and why?

[Jinmyo]

Jacques Pepin's Complete Techniques (combines La Methode and La Technique).

Why?

That's why.

[helenas]

Irene Sax votes for Girardet's book by timely reviewing it on epicurious site ( can be found here)

[russ parsons]

easily patricia wells' book with robuchon.

[steverino]

Although I own no other French method books, I can't imagine another having the depth and scope of "Complete Techniques". I am open to suggestions, however.

For now, though, I'm with Jin.

[Jon Tseng]

I'd second the Robuchon

the only genuinely successful attempt to translate three-star cooking for the home chef

J

Fernand Point's Ma Cuisine also has an awesome reputation, although personally I always found it a bit dull

[Gavin Jones]

I find it hard to determine what to look for:

Am I looking for

1. Recipes which will reproduce the peaks of 3* dining in my home.

2. Communication of an underlying aesthetic

3. An approach to domestic cooking which is informed by the techniques & innovation of haute-cuisine.

[helenas]

Mostly 2.Communication of an underlying aesthetic.

And probably it would be better to title this thread "Books of the Best French Chefs"...

[Dave the Cook]

Jacques Pepin's Complete Techniques (combines La Methode and La Technique).

Why?

That's why.

I believe this is evidence of gender bias.

[Lesley C]

I often use the Georges Blanc books: La Nature dans L'Assiette and, I think, La Vigne dans L'Assiette. They are also available in English. Also excellent and less "cheffy" are the Joel Robuchon books: Le Meilleur et le Plus Simple de la France (co-written with Christian Millau) and Le Meilleur et Le Plus Simple de la Pomme de Terre (co-written with Dr Patrick Sabatier). I'm not sure if these have been translated. The recipes are outstanding.

[helenas]

Thanks, Lesley.

Any opinion on Veyrat's books? His La cuisine paysanne is in my wishlist.

[russ parsons]

come to think of it, i'd also add georges blanc's new book on the cooking of old burgundy called simply "simple french cooking" in the English translation. everything i cooked from it had that old deep savor. i've cooked sporadically from what is called in english "the natural cuisine of georges blanc", and while i consider it probably the most beautiful cookbook ever published, the recipes were highly problematic.

[Lesley C]

Veyrat is a chef known for his innovative use of the herbs and flowers specific to his area, therefore I would think many of his ingredients would be tough to track down at your average North American supermarket.

I have many such chef's books that I read, but can't use. The Guy Martin vegetable book is good, but the recipes seem overly complicated. Chefs think differently than home cooks -- especially French chefs -- and I don't think their mindset translates well into the home-cooking mentality.

[Pitter]

While not comprehensive, the first book I always grab is Anne Willan's "French Regional Cooking." It's probably long out of print (1981) and the recipes are grouped by region rather than category. Whatever, everything I've made from there, if I follow the recipe, is fabulous. The Soupe de Poissons Provencale is one of my favorites for parties. It's the real thing.