Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking - Salt

I love this cookbook! I bought it for my wife but was hogging it so much I bought a second one for myself! I don't like most cookbooks because they tell you how to prepare a dish but they don't tell you why the ingredients work so well together. So if the dish does not quite taste the way I like, I have no idea how to fix it. This cookbook goes into detail about how the four elements, salt, fat, acid and heat, are used to create great dishes! I even learned how to make my own balsamic vinaigrette instead of paying a fortune for it in the supermarket!

I think this book is fabulous. I particularly like Samin's learning lessons from taken from her restaurant experience. The little stories help cement the concept in my mind. I have only been cooking a few years and consider myself a beginner still. The book is advanced enough to take me to a new level, particularly the good chapters on salt and acid. And the drawings are top notch and further solidify the message in this book. I am ordering three more copies for Christmas presents for family. They are already good cooks but can surely learn something from this masterpiece.

Any memorable, great food that I’ve eaten in restaurants seems like culinary magic! I would have never believed in a million years that I could ever reproduce anything in my own kitchen that would taste as remarkable as some professionally prepared meals that I’ve eaten. And it wasn't until I opened Samin Nosrat's Salt Fat Acid Heat that I started to believe that culinary magic is a skill that is taught and learned -- anyone can be a great cook.

If you're curious about Nosrat's culinary pedigree she started her professional cooking life at the famed Chez Panisse, in Berkeley, California. She then spent time and traveled the world learning more about cooking techniques, met Michael Pollan (who she took classes and learned a great deal from), and took over two decades writing this book. Part reference guide, part traditional recipe book, Salt Fat Acid Heat works to teach people how to become truly great cooks by understanding the basic underlying elements of cooking (which of course are salt -- flavour enhancer, fat -- carries flavour/builds texture, acid -- balances flavours, and heat -- the way to create textures). In some ways this photo-less book reminds me of The Joy of Cooking or Mastering the Art of French Cooking but Nosrat and her artful illustrator, Wendy MacNaughton, have created playful and useful info-graphics to help pictorialize techniques, ingredients, and dishes. It's also fair to point out, since many of you visit my site expecting vegetarian or vegan cookbooks, Salt Fat Acid Heat is really neither of those (there are sections on cooking meat) but I feel that this book looks to teach general elements of cooking which can be applied to any dietary preferences.

For people who know me I’m a fairly talented cook and I think I had gotten to a point that I thought I knew what there was to know about cooking because my food looked and tasted okay. What I've learned since opening Salt Fat Acid Heat is that there was still more to understand. The element I've really taken away from this incredible book is that part of becoming a truly great and skilled cook is to become more thoughtful. I am (almost) exclusively a cook-from-recipe home cook and from Nosrat I learned how to explore new techniques, trust my instincts and really enjoy the time I spend in the kitchen. So back to those memorable dinners...

It's summer and corn is bountiful! My way of preparing it -- steamed with salt and butter. Boring but it seems to be the way my husband and daughter enjoy it the best, until they saw the pile of corn that was de-kerneled sitting beside my big soup pot. There were complaints but I assured them that this recipe of Nosrat's -- Silky Sweet Corn Soup -- would be worth the change. So I boiled up the cobs to make the stock, then heated the butter to cook the onions (which I cooked until blond). Blond? Something I had never heard of and never gave cooking onions much thought. But thought is needed with knowing how to cook/when to apply which technique and she left me feeling released from the notion that there is only one way to cook an onion -- as she says, [Y]ou don't need to caramelize every onion you cook. Then I sauteed the kernels, added the stock and seasoned with salt to enhance the flavour. If the soup is too sweet she directs you to add an acid to balance the flavour. The resulting soup was as incredible as the ice cream I ate 5 years ago! The flavour so layered, it's almost indescribable. We tried the soup both chilled and heated garnished with her Mexican-ish Herb Salsa. This soup was not the result of magic but of simple ingredients that were properly prepared. It was at this point that I knew Salt Fat Acid Heat would be one of those cookbooks that I would keep returning to. There is no greater joy as a cook than to prepare a tasty meal for your kin. With this recipe she also hits home the fact that myriad ingredients and fancy techniques are not needed to be a good cook.

How many people do you know that can't or won't bake because "it's too hard"? I've baked but with lack-luster results so with another perfectly summer ingredient, the strawberry, I forged ahead to try baking up some shortcakes. Trying a variation of her Light and Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits I successfully baked the most beautiful shortcakes -- flaky and tender. They were the prefect way to showcase the strawberry compote and vanilla cream I made (those techniques/recipes are also in her book). You're probably wondering what the secret is? I won't tell you the whole method (read her book for that!) but what I will say is that this recipe made me realize that there is a reason why certain ingredients are chilled. This recipe helped me to slow down as a home cook and not rush through a recipe just to get an end result. The journey is half of the fun!

Nosrat is 100% correct when she writes: Store-bought croutons simply can't compete with homemade ones. Word. I think it's the texture and the flavour. No tooth-breaking or dried out old bread -- just the most wonderful Torn Croutons. I made them for her Summer Panzanella -- Tomato, Basil, and Cucumber. We enjoyed this panzanella so much that we had it three times over four nights! Partly it was because of the croutons, partly because of the that memorable Tomato Vinaigrette -- the dish was such a celebration of fresh summer ingredients. Again nothing complex only beautifully and simply prepared food. I felt confident to change it up after the first try by adding black lentils and some feta cheese. This is what begins to happen as you learn, you take small steps and become more spontaneous with your cooking.

Although I've tried around 10 recipes what the takeaway from this book is is that by learning how to use these elements my practice as a whole will improve. You probably will find no discernible change in my food pictures but trust me the flavours and textures of my cooking have already begun to change. I think this is why my review has taken me so long to write! The publisher sent me a review copy over two months ago but I've been reading and studying. In my opinion this is a book you need to take your time with, try recipes, practice techniques, and find joy in the simple art of cooking.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Simon and Schuster Canada for providing me with a free, review copy of this book. I did not receive monetary compensation for my post, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

An excellent book! Samin Nosrat is an excellent cook, but she is an even better writer and teacher. On par with Harold McGee but explains every day cooking issues even better than he does. I consider myself an accomplished home cook, but had never mastered the nuances of salt, fat, acid and heat until I read her presentations on them. I first bought a paper copy but found it so valuable I bought a Kindle edition as well for use on my tablet.

Love this book! Comprehensive, interesting, well written, really helpful and inspiring! Samin includes details and techniques that the most seasoned, well respected chefs use, but in a way that is not intimidating, but rather inspiring, intriguing and approachable. Really great too, for taking your cooking to another level! Combined with Wendy's beautiful, whimsical, educational illustrations, it's a must read!

I read this book from cover to cover in a week, and as Samin says, it's the best way to do it (don't skip around!). I have always wanted to be able to cook but I found recipes frustrating and difficult to follow. This book is the ultimate guide to giving you the tools, knowledge and confidence to not only cook, but to create. I am shocked at what comes out of my kitchen sometimes but then it's not so shocking once you think that really it's because you've done what Samin taught you to do: balance the salt, fat, acid and heat of your meal. Read the book all the way through and go forth, confidently, into your kitchen!

Cooking just makes more sense thanks to this book. It explains all of the things that you know instinctively about food, but​ never had the words for. The writing is conversational and vivid, and the witty illustrations are the perfect complement. This one deserves a permanent place in every kitchen.

Samin Nosrat's excellent book tells you how to cook as opposed to being another collection of recipes that you'll soon put away. This is cooking instruction simplified to four basic, but important, pillars of understanding and how they apply to the various dishes we cook: salt, fat, acid and heat. Simple things that I never previously considered make a world of difference in the preparation and execution of any meal. Nosrat's book takes what you thought you knew about how to cook and expands it to a new level. You will be surprised at how making some subtle changes in your cooking will yield infinitely better results. Highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys cooking or wants to better their craft.

I am thoroughly enjoying this book, my only regret is not having it years ago. I now have a clearer understanding how each of the four elements affect food and cooking and it has changed my approach to food preparation and cooking. This is not a thumb through and find a cool recipe kind of book. Rather, it is requires reading and study. Having said that, there are wonderful tried and true recipes in the book.

This book is a great resource for all aspiring and current home cooks and chefs. I've been cooking for over 40 years and found a wealth of information to tweak my personal recipes in this highly readable book. It also gave me the courage to venture into areas I had been reluctant to try in the past. If you like to cook or eat, you'll appreciate this surprisingly entertaining book.

What a great combination of informative, guiding principles of cooking, combined with illustrative guides to techniques and recipes. Such a better way to illustrate the methods and results, rather than the over-stylized perfection photos of professional platings. You know, what you never really achieve at home...Samin and Wendy's collaboration is just a generous and fun way to learn a new intuitive approach. Oh, and the food is the bomb!

I purchased this book for my girlfriend based off the awesome reviews. From what I can tell it teaches about the foundation of cooking, and is an easy/exciting read. I actually ordered this several months back, but the package was lost. Thanks so much to the store for replacing my lost package free of charge. I always have had great experiences with the store Customer Service. Hoping my girlfriend will love it!

I love to read cookbooks...And this one is very well done. A girl can dream can't she? I like the simple way the fundamentals of cooking are explained in Salt Fat Acid Heat. You can't go wrong with this guide to cooking.

You NEED this book!

This is the book that I wish I had had when I was first learning how to cook. Samin and Wendy beautifully outline the whys of cooking through fun stories and gorgeous illustrations. And understanding these whys, along with practice and making mistakes, is what will ultimately make you more comfortable in the kitchen. Samin’s theories will forever change the way you prepare food.

This is a must read for anyone who is a chef, thinking about becoming a cook, or a complete food and cooking nerd. It is easy reading and quite informative. I've been a chef for over 30 years and I feel like I have a kindred spirit in Samin Nosrat.

Too many times I've bought books that promised technique and just give recipes. This is the important elements of cooking demystified with some recipes as examples to drive home the lesson. It's like Harold McGee took: "On Food And Cooking" (science heavy food book) then reduced it to its most essential elements, then taught you how to apply the information. Wow! I own a lot of cookbooks (over a thousand) I have all of Michael Ruhlman, Thomas Keller, Marco Pierre, Pepin, Julia child etc etc but this one will stay nearby In my living room or in the kitchen. There's a lot of information but it's not stale and dull, there are fun and creative drawings as examples and lessons sort of that lucky peach vibe going on. But underneath that are rock solid fundamentals written by a professional for a novice or more experienced cook. I rarely review books but in this instance I'm going to say if you're debating this book just go ahead and order it. The entire book feels well thought out page by page, i'm hooked on Samin's style and will continue to buy her a books! Keep them coming Samin!

I am teaching someone how to cook. And I mean truly from the ground up. This book is a gift for teaching. We made two recipes, the Buttermilk Roast Chicken and the Panzanella/Tomato Vinaigrette following the recipes quite closely. Both turned out exceptionally well. Not all cookbooks have well tested recipes. This book does. ... The graphics are quite amusing. The instructions clear with the voice of the author. A wealth of information and I say this with 48 years in the restaurant business and over 600 cookbooks on the shelf.

This is a major work and a real game changer. It is a reference book that live on the shelf in my kitchen as I will use it as a daily reference. It is creative yet a scholarly work, and the artwork is playful, colorful, and fun. A must for every good
cook!

This book is so well written and beautifully illustrated. It's a joy to read and learn through Samin Nosrat's experience as an accomplished chef. There are some recipes included, but the main focus is how to improve any food without recipes. I have many cookbooks, but this is the one that will remain in my kitchen for a long time.

I purchased this book after I had a chance to review it from library. I like the contents and the way explain individual element of cooking.This is a great book to learn the fundermental of major ingredients.
I took one point away due to the way of shipping. My new book came in broken.

This is a wonderful book for people who are interested in growing as cooks rather than simply gathering more recipes. I love the illustrations and the information is excellent and well presented. I bought a copy for myself and for my friend who cooks without recipes.

While I also love food photography, the artistically perfect images can be daunting. I'm also a photographer and personal health chef, so I understand the lighting, food designing etc. I'm not expecting mine to look like the images, and yet they are still intimidating. The fun imagery in Chef Nosrat's cookery book are friendly and funny. I've also learned a lot of deeper details that are often easier to learn and execute than the typical methods, such as measuring salt, and why salt matters, when, on what and how. Great information! I knew salt mattered, but now I feel that I can become a seasoning aficionado. Though hand-fulls of salt to boil pasta? Not gunna happen for me. So while I might not agree with every detail, there is so much of value in this book, that I've been reading it like a novel, which I never do with cookbooks. So, thank you Chef Nosrat. I did Not receive a free cook book for this review.

...Salt Fat Acid Heat is okay. It reads like it was written by someone who is an excellent student who can now share what she's learned from her teachers. If you're just learning the basics of how to cook and this is one of many introductory how-to books you're reading, it's fine. The illustrations are lovely. If you have a few years experience cooking, though, you won't likely find anything particularly insightful or original.

(If you're looking for a great recent how-to cook book, I recommend The Food Lab by Lopez-Alt. I wish I'd had his book when I was a beginning cook, and even as an experienced cook I learned a lot about the "whys" behind techniques I've learned through years of trial and error).

The book has a lot of personal anecdotes of the author - e.g., "I first experienced salt when I was a kid at the beach. I was at the beach with my mom. We had a beach umbrella. It was red. etc. etc." If your more interested in acquiring more knowledge and fundamentals of cooking as well as the principles, these boring anecdotes can be torture.

I haven't finished it yet (for obvious reasons) so maybe I'll have an update if I ever get past the personal anecdotes that are very important and significant to the author but can be mundane and tortuous to the reader interested in knowledge (about cooking/gastronomy).

UPDATE. I did read more of the analysis part and so far the explanations don't have any..explanatory power, analysis nor was it helpful - e.g., "salt enhances, develops, amplifies, and heightens flavor of the food etc. etc." I mean...I know food tastes better with salt and you can describe "tastes better with salt" using other terms but..it doesn't offer any explanatory insight. I don't think I'm going to waste my time with the rest of the book only bc I'm assuming the sections on acid, fat etc. are going to be similar in their analysis and offers no..real insight.

I hope others reading this corrects me and tells me I'm wrong (so I would be curious about the rest of the book)

I have the ultimate compliment: I read the e-book from my public library, THEN I bought the hardcover edition. I have no idea why the store is not showing my purchase as hardcover, since it was definitely from the store. Somewhere in the middle of "Salt," I was a skeptic ("okay, very good concept, love the anecdotes in the introduction, but I already know all this stuff"), then thought "perhaps 3 stars: a very good reference book for a beginner." However, somewhere in the middle of "Acid" I became a believer: I actually started wanting to do taste experiments with different acidic ingredients. This book is beautifully written and incredibly well-organized. Her dozens of charming and informative anecdotes about her years at Chez Panisse, her family, and her travels aren't name-dropping: they're informative. Every single story is a teachable moment, including the embarrassing mistakes she made as a cook at Chez Panisse. When I came to the Recipe section after reading about Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat (and much more, including "look, smell, touch, see and, of course, taste"), I was blown away. The recipes are brilliantly and thoughtfully organized and beautifully described--for example, each recipe in "vegetables" demonstrates a different cooking method. Every pasta recipe demonstrates a member of a different family of sauces. She provides beautiful recipes as a springboard from which she hopes we'll jump off and improvise. The e-book edition that I read from the library was first-rate: lots of gorgeous illustrations, clickable TOC and index. I thank her editors, who have not demanded one-page recipes (one of my cookbook pet peeves): Samin is looking over our shoulder as we stand at the stove, telling us what we should be seeing or smelling, and telling us what to do if we're not seeing what she's seeing. I bought the hardcover edition not only because this will be a reference book, but because I want the book right beside me as I cook and whisk. I'm happy that the store's "Look Inside" shows us her introduction, which displays the charming style that makes me want to head right into the kitchen. However, I'm disappointed that the "Look" doesn't give us a hint of what is in the amazing Recipe section. Just imagine reading a chapter titled, "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Chicken." I don't even eat chicken, but that chapter made me want to cook chicken at least six different ways. Her recipes include some basics such as mayonnaise, but the vast majority take us to a new land. For example, I've made blue cheese dressing dozens of times, but never with a TB of red wine vinegar. Guess what? It works! This book would be a GREAT gift suggestion: it will help beginning cooks gain confidence, and even this elderly, experienced "know-it-all" home cook not only learned a thing or two, but can't wait to try more of her recipes. After all, I've never confit'd tuna, nor have any of the hundreds of cookbooks I've read enticed me to do so, but I'm about to give it a try. UPDATE: today I confit'd tuna, following Samin's instructions exactly. It worked perfectly! Where I live, green beans aren't quite ready for harvest, yet I'm dying to serve it to my next dinner guests ("oh, yes, of course it's not canned tuna, I confit'd it") and am accordingly doing some deep thinking about whether sugar-snap peas Nicoise makes any sense :). Tip from me: the refrigerated confit'd tuna + OO makes a solid mass, so, in order to use the tuna, spoon out as much as you think you'll use onto a small plate or bowl, then let this tuna + OO covering warm up at room temp while returning the rest to the fridge. Once it warms up, you'll be able to separate the tuna from the OO, drain the tuna on a paper towel, and use as you wish.

This book is a "must have" reference. It is informative and engaging. Cooks at any stage will benefit. However, DO NOT BUY ON KINDLE! This is a reference book, which means you will want to refer back to refresh your memory on, say, the effect of acid on meat. There is no way to easily search the text, and, if you go through the tedious task of paging through the index, once you find what you might be looking for, the KINDLE edition does not allow page numbers in the "go to" menu. "Location" is a stupid and unmanageable search criteria. In most cases, there are multiple page references, requiring the user to go back to the index, scroll through, and click on the next blue-colored page number. The Kindle edition does not even include page numbers on the page images, so you cannot simply "turn" the pages until you find what you need. Buy the book.

This book has received a great deal of critical praise. Make of that what you will. The first chapter on salt was, however, a revelation to me. Previously I regarded salt as somewhat as a necessary evil - something to be used, but only in moderation because using too much would somehow be unhealthy. And then I cooked the crispy spatchcock chicken. Roast chicken had always been my go-to Sunday night family dinner. Maybe a used a little salt, but only a little. But the reaction of the family when I cooked the crispy spatchcock chicken was amazing. It was on the next level of cooking. It was, without doubt, the best chicken I have ever cooked. All because I now understand the role and purpose of salt. Do yourself, family and friends, buy this book, read it, and then cook. Seriously, this is a sensational book that has changed how I regard cooking.

Twenty or thirty years ago, I remembered there were things called libraries, and that I really didn't need to buy every book I wanted to read. This saves me hundreds if not thousands of dollars per year. But for books I really like (maybe five or so a year,) I then buy them.

I cook quite a lot, and easing into retirement, I will be cooking more. This is quite simply the best book about cooking - with great charts and illustrations - that I can recall for at least the last ten years. I love that she breaks down the basics and describes the categories and degrees (sometimes that last literally.) And there is mix and match and experiment built right in.

My one complaint is that there aren't enough recipes, and I hope that Samin Nosrat will produce those.

This cook book provides a large amount of background on how to create balanced and complex flavors in a meal. It teaches the reader how to taste something and recognize what it needs. Additionally, it gives background on what spices, fats, and acids go together depending on what region your cooking from. Hugely helpful and just entertaining to read.

I bought this book for myself and am now going to buy it for my sister for Christmas.

Absolutely the most influential book in my collection. This book doesn't teach you WHAT to cook, but HOW to cook, and that's what sets this book apart from other culinary works. By working on these four basic elements of cooking, one can improvise meals and dishes, rather than copy from somewhere else. My cooking skills have grown by miles since reading this book, and I can't wait to start it again!

I can't say enough good about this book. I usually don't bother with cooking books, but this had such high praise from people I respect that I bought it. My cooking has elevated significantly since reading it and incorporating some of its advice into my methods. It does not take the "cooking for dummies" approach, but rather explains how the different elements of cooking interact and the importance of their roles in what we taste. I highly recommend this to anyone who likes to cook for their family and wants to improve their skills and knowledge. My family has benefited greatly from the lessons I learned from this book.

A great book for creative cooks. She provides so many great tips on how to be a better cook and how to add flair to everything you make. I love Samin's sense of humor and the drawings are great. This is one of my favorite cookbooks. I would not recommend it for people who just want to follow recipes!

I love this book! I am not naturally what you would call a good cook; in fact I am pretty much the opposite. I never felt like I had the necessary instincts to even follow a basic recipe (although baking is a different story). This book has really demystified cooking and helped me learn WHY to do certain things. It has really tremendously improved my cooking. Samin is a great writer, and I love the watercolor illustrations. The recipes are simple and adaptable. A chef friend flipped through my copy and told me it's basically what she learned in culinary school. It's really a fantastic resource, as well as a beautiful book to have on a coffee table.

I love this book. I was already a solid cook, but this really well-written, inviting, beautifully illustrated, witty book has already upped my game. Cookbooks usually tie you to the recipes, which can be delicious but limiting. This one teaches you about good cooking, gives some recipes, invites you to play around with them, and helps you gain the necessary confidence and skills to cook recipe-free.

The excitement for this release cannot be contained. I already have two copies (one for me, one as a gift). Cracking it open and leafing through I know everyone else in my life can benefit from the knowledge and freedom Samin puts forth in this incredible and fantastically illustrated book.

What a fantastic resource! Thank you Samin for your talented work. I have heard the author interviewed several times lately, most recently on the bon appetit podcast. Samin mentioned that she is always learning and open to it. So as a foodie and nutritionist, my hope is to educate the mainstream on what constitutes healthy cooking and dietary fats. There is SO much confusion and misinformation. I would love for our talented chefs and authors, who touch so many lives to be able to pass along not only cooking advice but be knowledgeable about our ancestral, traditional ways that employ nutrient dense, healthy whole foods to support the collective health and wellbeing of our society. As well as encouraging sustainability and humane animal husbandry. Canola and other vegetable oils are doing great damage to our health. These are industrial waste products that are highly processed, undergo great heat extractions and washed with harmful chemicals, then dyed. Please take the time to learn more about what you are putting into your body.

I love it. I got it as a Christmas present and I was delighted since I had read so much about it. I have only started reading it, but it clearly deserves a place on my shelf next to Alton Brown and Mark Bittman's books.

I’m seriously loving this book, and if you like food, so will you. While the recipes in the 2nd half tend towards the basic (which is not a bad thing if you think a recipe is a poetry prompt and not a holy text) the first half exploring the science and uses of 4 foundational elements of cooking, as well as the tips and techniques and charts scattered throughout, are useful and fascinating.

I have a large library of cookbooks and this is, by far, my favorite instructive book. The foreword's description is spot on: "...reading Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat feels less like being in the pages of a cookbook than at a really good cooking school..." I have several cooking instruction books, but this is by far the best. The author explains the science behind cooking in a way that is exciting. You learn the chemistry of cooking without even realizing it. I can't recommend this book enough for anyone who wants to go beyond blindly following a recipe.

I learnt so much reading this book, and I consider myself an experienced amateur cook. I have tried new dishes based on this but it has substantively improve the dishes already in my repertoire. As I write this a pasta sauce I love to make is cooking away and 2x better because of the tips about cooking onions in this book!

This book is so well done. It's well written, clear, and concise, and a great reminder of how much fun cooking is and can be. This cookbook has been at my bedside table as well as in my kitchen as I use it both as a reference, recipe guide, and igniter of my imagination.

Samin is a visionary. It's an absolute pleasure to read her prose, to study Wendy Macnaughton's illustrations, and to cook from their brilliant collaborations of food and design.

I feel smarter already just having purchased it.

This is the book we all wanted- how to cook without recipes!! The author may be an excellent cook with good intentions, but her writing, from her voice to her structure, has no coherence. It may be because I am male, I find her folksiness and cutesiness intolerable, as she delights in cliches like "this wine and chocolate would be perfect for after a long day, lol!"
She also recalls memories of foods from her childhood (and adult life) with an annoyingly gushy and almost transcendental tone. I'm sorry, but saying that she almost fainted when taking a bite of an especially good cake is just ridiculous. She also mentioned certain flavors which "haunted" her because they were so good. I feel like this lady plays with herself watching the Food Network

Nosrat constantly describes flavors or ingredients being "COMPLEX" or "BRIGHT", descriptors which she doesn't define... the reader is instead left to interpret what the heck they mean.

Half the time I don't know if she's writing an Eat-Pray-Love novel promoting herself or actually trying to teach me something. She jumps from extremely basic topics to advanced recipes, from fully-explained scientific detail about some cooking methods to completely glossing over reasoning behind other cooking methods. At the end, I learned some tips and tricks but mostly gritted my teeth through the whole thing.

God, I'm glad I bought this used.

I’ve tried having this book replaced and I can’t seem to get an undamaged copy. Packaging was fine in all instances however covers indicated they were each dropped of roughly handled at some point.

I just received this book and have tried just one recipe. Therefore, my rating is based just upon this initial experience and I will change it if other recipes go better.

So, the recipe I tried out, and followed to the letter, was for a method of roasting a chicken that was supposed to produce skin so crisp it “shatters like glass.” Well, could anyone who loves roast chicken resist a promise like that? The method, which is a bit time consuming, involves first spatchcocking the chicken, seasoning it, then leaving it uncovered in the fridge for 24 hours, then browning both sides in a skillet, then roasting in a hot oven. Presumably drying out the chicken for 24 hours removes some of the moisture from the bird.

So the result was pretty similar to a chicken roasted the standard way. Upon first removing it from the oven the skin was nice and crisp. Unfortunately, just as with any other chicken, within moments the skin began to soften, and after letting the bird rest for 3 or 4 minutes the skin had completely softened. So for all that extra trouble there was really nothing to be gained. And I do not think that drying the chicken for 24 hours produced any benefit for the flavor or texture of the meat.

Because this recipe did not deliver on its promise, and because it made me waste my time with the extra effort, I consider it a flop. And that is why I’m giving the book one star.

Just so you know, I roast chickens all the time and do a lot of baking, so there is no problem with my oven temperature. To those of you who don't like my review, keep in mind that it is one person's experience (someone who happens to know how to roast a good chicken). There are plenty of five star reviews if you are just looking for someone to agree with. Because I hate wasting time, money and ingredients, my approach to a new cookbook is to try out a representative or signature recipe and follow it to the letter. If it's a bust I don't waste any further time with the book. I returned this one.

It is deliciously simple, yet elegant, much like her recipes. I can now improvise in the kitchen, because I have an understanding of cooking basics, and what makes everything from icing to pot roast delicious.

Update:
Why is this author soliciting chefs on the basis of race?? See twitter post from her page below:

I made a mistake and wanted to order the hard cover of this book and mistakenly ordered the digital version and there was no way I could find to cancel the order. If I wanted to cancel the hard cover I purchased right after I realized my mistake I could however no way to cancel the digital one. I want everyone to be aware of this issue.