Larousse Gastronomique

by Prosper Montagné, Jenifer Harvey Lang (Editor)

Since its first publication in 1938, Larousse Gastronomique has been an unparalleled resource. In one volume, it presents the history of foods, eating, and restaurants; cooking terms; techniques from elementary to advanced; a review of basic ingredients with advice on recognizing, buying, storing, and using them; biographies of important culinary figures; and recommendations for cooking nearly everything.

The new edition, the first since 1988, expands the book’s scope from classic continental cuisine to include the contemporary global table, appealing to a whole new audience of internationally conscious cooks. Larousse Gastronomique is still the last word on béchamel and béarnaise, Brillat-Savarin and Bordeaux, but now it is also the go-to source on biryani and bok choy, bruschetta and Bhutan rice.

Larousse Gastronomique is rich with classic and classic-to-be recipes, new ingredients, new terms and techniques, as well as explanations of current food legislation, labeling, and technology. User-friendly design elements create a whole new Larousse for a new generation of food lovers.

This edition has been modernized and includes additional material on other cuisines.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Reference, Culinary, Nonfiction, Cuisine

1360 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1938

About the author

Prosper Montagné was one of the most renowned French chefs of the Belle Époque and author of many books and articles on food, cooking, and gastronomy, notably Larousse Gastronomique (1938), an encyclopedic dictionary of the French culinary arts. While Montagné was once as famous as his friend Auguste Escoffier, and was one of the most influential French chefs of the early twentieth century, his fame has faded somewhat. In the 1920s, Montagné, Escoffier, and Philéas Gilbert—their close friend and collaborator, and an acclaimed chef and writer in his own right—were the French chefs and culinary writers esteemed above others by many French journalists and writers. After Montagné's death, the chef and author Alfred Guérot's description of the troika as the "celebrated contemporary culinary trinity: Auguste Escoffier, the father; Philéas Gilbert, the son; Prosper Montagné, the spirit" reflects the reverence in which all three were held by the French culinary community.

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nice, comprehensive and informative book. I love leafing through it. Warning: don’t ever attempt any of the recipes!

[Zarb · Rating 3 out of 5]

If, like me, you're a certain kind of person, a bit of a food snob perhaps, You will aspire to own this book and like me you will enjoy owning it but ever really do anything with it, because it's not really a very useful book, nor is it very enjoyable to flip through. But after spending so much $$ and having far to much misplaced respect for old world traditions, you will fail to realise or admit that a better choice of culinary bible would have been the Oxford Companion to Food and anything by Harold McGee. Don't get me wrong, the world needs this book, but you probably don't.

[Glenn Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have you ever looked up a word in a dictionary only to lose yourself in the heady foam of English language.
Now imagine that every definition described food.
Only food.
Glorious glorious food.
Hungry?
You will be.

[Karen Powell]

Highly regarded as a French gourmand's Bible, I keep this book close to the kitchen as a culinary dictionary. Entries are organized alphabetically, and brief recipes are filed where appropriate. For example, if you want to find different ways to cook sole, look up "sole," and the entry will provide an explanation of the subject, tips on how to select and prepare the fish, then different recipes that focus on ingredients rather than step-by-step instructions such as "Turn the oven to 400 degrees...."[return][return]My edition is old, from the '60s or '70s, but it is still is useful to have around. Larousse Gastronomique is a companion to the kitchen and certainly not a replacement for a cookbook, as the recipes are there more for inspiration than direct instruction.

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

A reminder that as a child and thru high school my knowledge of the world was greatly dependent on the World Book Encyclopedia and Classic Comics, the precursors to our ability to search for every topic on earth thru the internet. Thanks to Erin and Andrew for this wonderful browsing companion. I find it impossible to read an entry without finding a term or reference that I don't know and need to look up elsewhere in the book.

[Jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a book!

For those who love a good reference and good food Larousse is the book for you. Even after 8 years of having this book I am still enamored with it. Most everything is there. This issue, published in 1988, has its quirks and some difficulties with certain translations. What is really interesting is the fact that it was published right before the big fusion cuisine movement so many of the recipes are uniquely French--or the French take on world cuisine.

Very intense recipes--for those who prefer to do something the 'right' way.

Hard to beat!

[Catherine Woodman · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the reference books we turn to when we need to know something that we don't know--with the internet, this is less of a necessary item on every cooks bookshelf, but we are book people, we have hundreds of cookbooks, so we of course have this too and use it farily frequently even to this day--there is alot to know...

[Gerry Pelser · Rating 5 out of 5]

The constant companion. If I were ever to be in the "big Brother" house and allowed to bring only one book in, this would be it. Who knew there were so many ways to cook and egg? This book took me from someone who could make a passable bowl of spaghetti, to someone not afraid to experiment with tastes and flavour combinations.

[Kenji Alt · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's only shortcomings are its extraordinary franco-centricity, as well as factual errors here and there. Very useful resource though. Don't bother with recipes from it - obviously not very well tested (it's a reference book, not a recipe book).

[Shashi Bellamkonda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a not a ordinary cook book but a great encyclopedia of all things food and french. In my previous career as a chef I started with this book and the choice of what you can make gets scaled unbelievably numerous.

[Karyna · Rating 5 out of 5]

im sooo in love with this book!
found a '61 edition.

every day i find something exciting to read!

[Jess B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just the sheer effort put into this is astounding. It's a massive amalgamation of recipes, history, techniques, and science. Every entry is very easy to read and understand. For anyone super into food, this is a thing of beauty. I've never had so much fun reading an encyclopedia; this is definitely how they should all be put together!

[Kiira · Rating 4 out of 5]

the photos were nice

[Redsteve · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is essentially what an encyclopedia would look like if it was written by a gourmet chef. History, biography, botany, zoology, chemistry, medicine, technology, inventions, law (the book has more than two pages on the evolving French laws for bakers), economics, mythology, etymology, quotations, geography, culture, and (of course) food and drink – all through the eyes of a dedicated gourmand. Originally written in 1961, some of the non-Western terms have somewhat weird spellings. While it does cover subjects from all over the world, certain sections are extremely francocentric (e.g. the section on Banquets doesn’t mention any non-French cultures after the fall of the Roman Empire) – the writer also goes into much more detail when it comes to French cities, towns and regions. Alarmingly, it also gives tips on how to discover if your butcher is attempting to sell you horsemeat as beef. NOTE As someone who lives and cooks in Louisiana, be advised that specific terms and definitions in this book may differ from what is meant in local cookbooks. Hell, this book mentions many methods of sautéing chicory, but never once does it mention making coffee with it. Warning, although there are a ton of recipes (and variations) in this book, the author is assuming a fair degree if cooking skill in the reader. Solid 4 stars.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

A famous culinary encyclopedia that was originally eurocentric, if not francocentric in it's design and content (printed sometime in the '30s I think). This edition, which is the English translation of the 1984 updated French language version was last reprinted in 1998 and has more entries dealing with different international cuisines. It is good, because the French sure enough know their food, but a little dated, because a lot has happened on the world food stage in the past quarter century. The photos of what I'm sure would be tasty, splendid food look, for the most part, dated and unappealing. Still, this is a great, comprehensive food encyclopedia that's just interesting to page through.

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

I consider myself pretty adept in the kitchen, and cooked and read enough for this book to catch my attention. It wasn't as helpful as I expected it to be, though I picked up a few practical points. I don't think I'm part of the target audience as a home cook, as a lot of the material was irrelevant to my kitchen and the ingredients that I have available or are within our budget. I'm glad I got it out of the library instead of buying it.
I'll add that the team who wrote this know their stuff, unless it's about grilling/BBQ. They seem pretty clueless on that topic, at least from the point of view of an American charcoal enthusiast.

[Helana Brigman · Rating 5 out of 5]

For the French-loving-foodie on your Christmas list, if you haven’t gotten him/her a present yet, I would highly suggest picking this book up. Again, the Larousse Gastronomique cookbook is a bit of an investment, but consider all of the future tasty treats you will be investing in for your own stomach down the road. Or, just get it for him/her just because. Honestly, does anyone really need an excuse to cook classic French food? - See more at: http://www.clearlydeliciousfoodblog.c...

[Trang Dương · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mình rất tiếc khi bản tiếng Việt của cuốn sách này không được tìm thấy và cũng không biết làm thế nào để thêm vào thư viện Goodread. Đây là một cuốn sách rất độc đáo, viết nên bởi sự tìm hiểu sâu rộng của tác giả về các vấn đề đời sống như thức ăn, quần áo lót, cờ vua và nhiều thứ nữa...Mình đã không ít lần shock khi đọc về cuộc sống của con người cách đây chỉ vài thập kỉ. Bên cạnh những thông tin sách cung cấp, còn có rất nhiều hình minh họa hehe.
Tuy nhiên mình chỉ cho 4 sao thôi vì đôi lúc hình minh họa không được hài hước cho lắm :))

[Gary Burden · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I started training as a chef I was given a copy of this. I won my current copy in 1993. It is well thumbed and has been my kitchen bible for over 30 years. To interpret the recipes you do need a basic knowledge of culinary terms and basic skills. It’s a must for any budding chef or wanna be domestic goddess...

[DesignDonna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have the 1963 edition, so I'm not sure if this one's the same.

This is not a cookbook, but a reference volume for people who already know how to cook. Covers all the basic recipes, the French classics, and more.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

A masterpiece of everything about French cooking and more. Probably will never actually "finish" reading it. I can sit down and spend hours just reading on item after another and cross-referencing. Or if I need instant info I can just look it up.

[Eileen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Browse through it- You’ll be in awe of what French cooking entails. This is an encyclopedia! It covers anything and everything from utensils and tools to cooking methods and terminology and etymology. Just wow!

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can't live without this. All foodies should have a copy!

Of course I am "reading" it all the time... it's a culinary encyclopedia. Needless to say I have not finished it!

[S · Rating 5 out of 5]

beautiful dictonary/encyclopedia type - full of illustrations and history

[Libbeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I use this as a reference book more than an actual cookbook.

[Lisette Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marvellous anecdotes and information

[Tamara Edens]

Epic source of tradition French cooking.

[Paul Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE reference for cooking

[John Millard · Rating 5 out of 5]

A reference, a cookbook, a history book. Every serious chef has one of these to fall back on.

[Humberto Aguilar · Rating 5 out of 5]

La Biblia de la Cocina