The Best Recipe: Soups & Stews

by Cook's Illustrated

The Test Cooks at Cook's Illustrated, America's Test Kitchen, simmered enough chicken soup, beef stew and corn chowder to feed a small city-- the result? More than 200 exhaustively tested recipes and hand-drawn illustrations, kitchen equipment tests and blind food tastings that share our discoveries of the undisputed best ways to make America's favorite soups and stews. 3rd title in "The Best Recipe" series.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Reference, Food, Nonfiction

336 pages, Hardcover

First published September 15, 2001

Reviews

[Lynda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adore this cookbook. Have made 5 of the recipes and every one came out perfect.

[Jennifer Tacbas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is, hands down, the best cookbook I own. The authors go out of their way to describe their process of finding the best way of making each soup/stew, such as which potatoes they tested, how they varied cooking processes, and how they concocted the best choices for seasoning. These descriptions not only help you to appreciate the final recipe but actually make you a better cook - they help you consider ways to improve your other recipes.

Many recipes also feature "How To" drawings for prep techniques helpful to the cook for each specific recipe, such as Corn Chowder's description of the proper way to milk corn. This book is also complete with short articles on different vegetables and spices, describing their origin, how they are grown, how they are processed, and which variety is the best for certain types of dishes.

Overall, this is a cookbook that contains some of the best recipes I've ever tasted and has taught me just as much about ingredients as it did cooking. My only regret is that I didn't begin to use this cookbook sooner.

[Cris · Rating 1 out of 5]

Considering the author is listed as "Cook's Illustrated" it's surprising how illustrated the book isn't. The little intros that summarize the desired result of the recipe and the experimentation involved is potentially helpful in deciding whether a specific recipe might suit.

However, the lack of illustrations limits the appeal of the recipes.

[Darby · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like soups and stews, this is the book for you. More then 200 recipes. It explains in detail the recipe from start to finish. Cook's Illustrated books always have lots of extra information to trouble shoot and tips and tricks to help you cook. It goes into stocking making suggestions, how to crush tomatoes, how to choose the right meat for a stew and why some products are better then other. The book also covers recipes to accompany soups and stews such as rice, cornbread and mashed potatoes. And of course there is science sidebars to tell the science behind some aspects of the recipe. They have wonderful photographs and illustrations that actually help you in your process. One of my favorite things about this book though is it has healthy recipes that are delicious.

[Anna Nesterovich · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are lots of soups to try, so I'm going to try one at a time.
p. 44 - 4 stars - Chicken Soup with Wild Rice, Leeks, and Mushrooms - Ok, it's a soup. Just a normal soup my grandma would do. Though in my understanding it's certainly not a chicken soup. If it has mushrooms in it, it's a mushroom soup!
p. 109 - 4 stars - Cream of Asparagus Soup - a good way to get rid of asparagus :)
p. 180 - 4 stars - Classic Gazpacho - Another soup that's just soup.
All in all, I'm torn between 3 and 4 stars. On the one hand, the recipes I tried I are all solid 4 stars recipes. On the other hand, the book could use a lot more pictures and much less words.

[ba · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Not only 200 exemplary recipes--ranging from Manhattan Clam Chowder and Cream of Tomato Soup to Lobster Bisques, Chicken Noodle Soup, Irish Stew, and Beef Goulash--but an armament of technical information, tips, and equipment recommendations all cooks will welcome."

I concur.

Man, I'm getting hungry!

[Catherine Woodman · Rating 4 out of 5]

this series from Cook's Illustrated is inspired--all of the cookbooks are excellent

[Sheila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic!