Books: Food Reference

An Edge in the Kitchen

Some of the most frequent questions I get are about selecting and buying knives. The home cooks who write to me are very intimidated by the large array of knives on the market and by the great emphasis put on "knife skills" by television chefs, so I knew a whole book on the subject would be well received. An Edge in the Kitchen: The Ultimate Guide to Kitchen Knives; How to Buy Them, Keep Them Razor Sharp, and Use Them Like a Pro by Chad Ward offers all you need to know about knife construction, an intelligent guide to selecting just the knives you need (and no more), step-by-step illustrated directions on how to slice, dice, and chop like a pro, and a whole chapter on keeping your knives in good condition. A lot of knife wisdom served with a splash of wit and a sprinkle of trivia make this a book you'll want to read from cover to cover as well as to prop up by your knife block.

Murray's Cheese Handbook

The Murray's Cheese Handbook: A Guide to More Than 300 of the World's Best Cheeses

For sixty-five years, Murray's Cheese Shop in New York's Greenwich Village has been teaching shoppers about the world's cheeses and tempting them to try something new. Now, current proprietor Rob Klaufelt and his staff have combined their knowledge in The Murray's Cheese Handbook to offer advice to those who can't walk into their store. In addition to noting the milk type, whether the cheese is raw or pasteurized, the area of origin, and texture of the cheese, each of the more than 300 cheeses is described in detail. Cheese serving tips and wine and beer pairings are included.

Essential Cookbooks

Many of you have e-mailed me to ask what books I think are essential to have in your library. There are so many that come to mind, it is hard to make a short list. But, just for starters, I would suggest The New Doubleday Cookbook by Jean Anderson and Elaine Hanna, In the Sweet Kitchen by Regan Daley, and any book by Jeanne Lemlin, Madhur Jaffrey, Julie Sahni, and Marcella Hazan to cook from. For reference, I would recommend: The New Food Lover's Companion, by Sharon Tyler Herbst and The Oxford Companion to Food, by Alan Davidson.

The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen (Memoir)
The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen by Jacques Pépin (Houghton Mifflin) is an account of the fascinating, action-packed past of one of America's most renowned chefs. From his childhood in wartime France, to his experiences in the kitchen of Paris's most famous restaurant, to his friendships with the legends of the American culinary scene, this is not your usual memoir. A story so amazing, no fiction writer could have imagined it. You will only want to put it down long enough to try each recipe as you come to it.

Vanilla: The Cultural History of the World's Favorite Flavor and Fragrance
No one knows more about vanilla than Patricia Rain. An anthropologist, culinary historian, author of six books on vanilla, and President of The Vanilla Company, Rain has devoted her life to exploring the secrets of this enigmatic orchid. In Vanilla: The Cultural History of the World's Favorite Flavor and Fragrance (Tarcher/Penguin: $22.95) she shares the fascinating history of this native American flavor and gives the reader a new appreciation of all the labor that goes into producing the slim, silky beans and little bottles of pure vanilla extract that we take for granted. To learn more about the book, the author, or the many quality vanilla products offered by The Vanilla Company, visit Vanilla.com.