The New Making of a Cook: The Art, Techniques, and Science of Good Cooking

by Madeleine Kamman

The Making of a Cook became an instant classic upon its publication in 1971. Since then much has changed in the way America cooks and The New Making of a Cook meets these changes head-on. This fully revised edition teaches every technique used in today's homes and professional kitchens, from julienning vegetables to roasting meats to steaming fish to baking bread. With years of experience teaching America's top chefs how to cook, Madeleine knows what works and why. Today's cooking is much more heart-healthy, and The New Making of a Cook is filled with low-fat cooking techniques, along with hundreds of recipes that extract maximum flavor from the least required amount of fat (though culinary indulgences still remain). In addition to techniques and recipes, The New Making of a Cook tells the important whys of cooking-why meats brown in the pan; why egg whites stiffen when they are beaten. The New Making of a Cook is an extraordinary and indispensable reference from an extraordinary teacher. Completely rewritten for today's cook, it will become a classic all over again.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Reference, Nonfiction, France

1228 pages, Hardcover

First published December 2, 1994

About the author

Madeleine Kamman was a French chef and restaurateur, cookery teacher and author of seven cookbooks, who spent most of her working life in America bringing the rigors of French technique to American ingredients and audiences.

Reviews

[Justin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is thick and comprehensive. On the other hand, the book doesn't have as many useful tips as I'd like (or at least they are too much work for me to find) and has few pictures. This would be a great one stop resource for a new chef (it has tons of useful recipes) but probably doesn't add much to those who already have a dozen or so cookbooks

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grounded in the tried and true old school traditions of French cookery with some nice adaptations (Kamman consciously made an effort to make her book accessible to American tastes). This book illustrates that there is room, when discussing good Western European based food and cooking, to be between too pretentious and too rustic.

[Steven · Rating 2 out of 5]

As much as I LOVE food and as much as I enjoy cooking and learning about cooking, I just couldn't make it through this ponderous textbook from cover to cover. It will remain a valuable reference book, but that's all. If you want to learn the science behind creating an unbroken emulsion in a perfect aioli, than you might enjoy this book.

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This may be my favorite, if not one of my top 5 favorite cookbooks. It not only provides recipes and cooking instruction, but gives really good depth on understanding of ingredients and cooking methods. I learned how to improve my own cooking an incredible amount from this book.

[Susan Janke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Madeline is amazing...this book is sitting right in the kitchen and is used frequently. I especially appreciated her stock recipes and demi glace recipes...they are a labor of love to make, but there's no comparing to store bought stocks and sauces...

[El Keitho · Rating 5 out of 5]

the only cook book I have ever read cover to cover. everything you need to know.