The Supermarket Gourmet

Buck Reed Buy the Book Even though trends indicate that less people are cooking at home these days, cookbook sales are climbing almost every year by 3-6 percent. Who is buying cookbooks? Not surprisingly, over 60 percent are bought by women, of which most are college educated. According to my wife, the other 23 percent are bought by me. And, 76 percent of people who buy two cookbooks a year say they cook at home at least once a week. Cookbooks bought for personal use are clocked in at 70 percent, while the remaining 30 percent are bought as gifts. And what kind of cookbooks are they buying? American cooking tops the list, followed by Italian cuisine, desserts, and seafood. So, what type of cookbook would best suit you? Well, you must ask yourself if you are looking to cook better or become a better cook. If you just want to cook better, then you are looking for recipes that will actually work and you can easily follow. This is called having faith in the book. However, if you want to become a better cook, you want a book that will explain how the basic techniques work, and how to get the most out of ingredients. The books you are looking for will inspire you to think “outside the recipe.” How can you tell if a cookbook is not for you? As you thumb through it, look through the ingredients. Are they calling for things like saffron or truffles in every recipe? You have to ask yourself if you are really going to cook with truffles at $1,300 per pound? Is the book trying to get you to Sous Vide everything, which isn’t a bad technique and could elevate your game considerably, but could be difficult for people who are tim- challenged. Some of my favorite books include authors such as James Peterson. He puts out a book about every two to three years and usually tackles one element of cooking. He explains things very well, in an easy manner that most everyone can understand. Then there is the other side, with Kevin Gillespie and his book, Fire in my Belly. It is easy for me to say that I can get a lot from this book, not just with his inspiring stories about food but his recipes as well. Take his sweet bread recipe. Although I doubt many of us will ever really cook with them or even try this recipe, he tops his fried sweet breads with a celery relish. Looking at this recipe, I cannot help but think this relish would be great in tuna or chicken salad, which most of us make and eat. So, from this one recipe that most would pass by, we can elevate our cooking. A cookbook shouldn’t just be a collection of recipes. It should inspire you to actually cook something. It should tell you something about the ingredients, the region the recipe comes from, and how the person feels about this dish. You may never cook with geoduck, but maybe a good seafood cookbook will encourage you to pick up those clams at the grocery store.