Dinosaur Foodies discussion

Goodreads Summary

Michael Ruhlman’s groundbreaking New York Times bestseller takes us to the very “truth” of cooking: it is not about recipes but rather about basic ratios and fundamental techniques that makes all food come together, simply.

When you know a culinary ratio, it’s not like knowing a single recipe, it’s instantly knowing a thousand.

Why spend time sorting through the millions of cookie recipes available in books, magazines, and on the Internet? Isn’t it easier just to remember 1-2-3? That’s the ratio of ingredients that always make a basic, delicious cookie dough: 1 part sugar, 2 parts fat, and 3 parts flour. From there, add anything you want—chocolate, lemon and orange zest, nuts, poppy seeds, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, almond extract, or peanut butter, to name a few favorite additions. Replace white sugar with brown for a darker, chewier cookie. Add baking powder and/or eggs for a lighter, airier texture.

Ratios are the starting point from which a thousand variations begin.

Ratios are the simple proportions of one ingredient to another. Biscuit dough is 3:1:2—or 3 parts flour, 1 part fat, and 2 parts liquid. This ratio is the beginning of many variations, and because the biscuit takes sweet and savory flavors with equal grace, you can top it with whipped cream and strawberries or sausage gravy. Vinaigrette is 3:1, or 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar, and is one of the most useful sauces imaginable, giving everything from grilled meats and fish to steamed vegetables or lettuces intense flavor.

Cooking with ratios will unchain you from recipes and set you free. With thirty-three ratios and suggestions for enticing variations, Ratio is the truth of cooking: basic preparations that teach us how the fundamental ingredients of the kitchen—water, flour, butter and oils, milk and cream, and eggs—work. Change the ratio and bread dough becomes pasta dough, cakes become muffins become popovers become crepes.

As the culinary world fills up with overly complicated recipes and never-ending ingredient lists, Michael Ruhlman blasts through the surplus of information and delivers this innovative, straightforward book that cuts to the core of cooking. Ratio provides one of the greatest kitchen lessons there is—and it makes the cooking easier and more satisfying than ever.

I have this ebook and several others from Michael Ruhlman , they often go on sale for $2 and I admit I have not read any of them. The other books I have are from his “How to” series of cookbooks.

The only book I have read by this author is a hard bound cookbook and often refer to it is Ruhlman's Twenty: 20 Techniques 100 Recipes A Cook's Manifesto and yes I paid full price for this one when it first came out. It is a methodology type of cookbook and I found his method is best for making popovers.

I will take a look at his ratio book. As for 1-2-3 pie dough I use often. Bread making tends to have a mathematical formula for hydration, both from different books. Although I imagine Ratios are everywhere in cooking, I do believe learning cooking techniques improves cooking more than recipes, formulas and ratios… in my unprofessional opinion.

Mickey wrote: "I have this ebook and several others from Michael Ruhlman , they often go on sale for $2 and I admit I have not read any of them. The other books I have are from his “How to” series ..."

I have not read anything from Michael Ruhlman and I will not lie, I did the "hula dance" when I read As the culinary world fills up with overly complicated recipes and never-ending ingredient lists..." in the summary. As that is precisely my personal frustration. At this I point I should be far more confident then I am. And there I believe is not only my problem but many others.
I just picked up my copy from the library yesterday. I am sure I will be investing in my own copy and am looking forward to this and others from this author.
Thank you, Mickey! As always your information and knowledge is so very appreciated!

I am at the point where I really don’t need to look at recipes to put a decent meal on the table. I still use recipes for special items I do not make on a regular basis. Books will only take you so far, Although I live in the countryside and the nearest supermarket is ten miles away. At 70 MPH I can be almost halfway across the state in two hours give or take. I have taken around 70 home cooking classes taught by professional chefs. Even YouTube will take you so far, until they come up with smell-a-vision. Cooking classes has the smells, how bread dough should feel, proper way to handle knives and more. Still if one cannot afford such, books and videos is still better than not knowing anything about cooking. Busy parents no longer have the time to teach their children how to cook anymore.

Another note: I rarely look at books for recipes. Most of my favorite recipes are in an app called “Paprika”.

In the next few years in my old age, I will be moving into a small apartment. I am slowly transitioning to all digital books and media where everything is stored in my iPad.

Mickey wrote: "I am at the point where I really don’t need to look at recipes to put a decent meal on the table. I still use recipes for special items I do not make on a regular basis. Books will only take you so..."

We went apartment shopping recently as a possibility in the future. With the kids grown, the house and responsibilities in kind have grown to a place we question our "why" more frequently than not. One thing is for sure, the accumulation of "stuff" is being actively addressed! 😊
I took out my old copy of The Dinah Shore Cookbook and recipes kept through the generations. Oh, how I do miss the simplicity! Maybe that is it for us as a whole. Simplicity! Such a beautiful word! 😊
I agree books and on line platforms are limiting. And families cooking and baking together seems lost. I am not without hope. I see families wanting and working to rectify but with as mention the modern overly complicated and lack of hands on it is difficult. I hope this book will set forward momentum, confidence, and correct sourcing, ie. classes, time, togetherness. I learned to boil an egg at The Girls Club back when girls and boys club was still seperate. I understand the why but the price has been great to many if families are to remain multi incomed. Something has to give and personally I hope the trend of family re-connecting in the home continues.

I have said this before, if your looking for simplicity and a minimal ingredient list, the only cookbook you need is How to Cook Everything: The Basics: All You Need to Make Great Food--With 1,000 Photos: A Beginner Cookbook.

The reason for people moving to the boondocks is because they believe the world is coming to an end. I moved to the countryside to be near my other family members that believed the “end is near” nonsense around the year 2000. Most of my family members still cling to these religious concepts, I am not one of them. This trend is reversing now that the boomers children are revolting and moving back to cities and suburbs because they had no social life and discovered the downside of homeschooling from parents that did not know what they were doing.

I enjoy the peace and quiet of the countryside, but it has its own drawbacks. Taxes is cheaper, internet cost more, but propane gas is higher than natural gas, traveling to and from is expensive, septic fields do not last forever (who wants to spent $30,0000 every thirty years for your toilet) and well water needs your own softener and water purification systems that can be costly (If your well ever dries up, your land will become worthless). If your home catches on fire it will burn to the ground, fire department is over ten miles away and they have to bring water tanker trucks with them. Need an ambulance, you will probably die before they get to your home and get you to a local hospital that has no cardiology department, MRIs and good doctors. You will also pay more for your trash pickup without recycling.

Again on the plus side, is it peaceful and quiet living in the boondocks and you can have animals and a large garden, but also includes more work and money.

One more thing, I steam my eggs now, either in my instant pot or steamer basket, one can have more control from soft to hard boiled.

A quote from Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking (1) around page 13.

”This book is composed of such ratios.
Cooking is infinitely nuanced and there are ultimately too many variables to account for in any single recipe … snip… Good technique must be used in conjunction with the ratio. “which is why this is a book and not a sheet of paper. You need the ratio and the user’s Technique must be practiced—you can never stop getting better.”

From my message #2 posting, about technique. I have just started to read the book. I have a feeling, the book might describe techniques to go with the ratios. I have a feeling that the ratios are approximates and techniques are the methods to fine tune a recipe. So much for simplicity.

Mickey wrote: "A quote from Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking (1) around page 13.

”This book is composed of such ratios.
Cooking is infinitely nuanced and there are ulti..."

I know that initially it will be much like going to culinary school at the very basic level and looking at the book I feel confirmed in my thoughts. But, I think upon completion not only will I be able to remove some of my personal weird fears such as homemade mayo but like chefs at high end restaurants planning the daily menu I will be able to look at what I have or what is freshly available to me and my mind will be able to conjure up what I want to make. No recipe, just like grandma did so long ago when she was the beginnings of all great recipes served up easily for her family. Maybe simplicity is different for me than for you. And, why wouldn't it be. As your skill and technique are advanced my own. My hope for myself is that simplicity will come with the growth in my confidence and knowledge. This is a book and will require investment but I am in. I will be the first to admit I was a little daunted when I first picked it up but I have since spent a little time with it and still looking forward to spending even more time with it. If it can fill in the gaps keeping me from being the homecook I aspire it will be worth its weight in gold.
I have been meaning to mention to you, while we were downtown we ran across a small teaching restaurant. They were closed when we walked by but for fun I believe we will be getting involved with them. There have been a few teaching classes hosted about the city and I have been to a few but other than having a great evening I really came away with nothing more than I went in with. If this one is the same I won't stay long but if it will couple along well with the book well now wouldn't that be a fine bunch of eggs in my basket!!
I hope you will give the book a chance even if some you might like to skip through.
In the section: Using this book. This book is about the culinary fundamentals, without which, as Escoffer said, nothing of importance can be accomplished. Nothing. But because it's about the fundamentals, it's also about all the things you can do with those fundamentals, about variation and improvisation.While it's filled with recipes, I like to think of it as an anti-recipe book, a book that teaches you and frees you from the need to follow.

sђellΐe wrote: "But, I think upon completion not only will I be able to remove some of my personal weird fears such as homemade mayo but like chefs at high end restaurants planning the daily menu I will be able to look at what I have or what is freshly available to me and my mind will be able to conjure up what I want to make. ."

I am beginning to think your definition of simplicity is different than mine. When I think of simplicity as in getting things done as quickly as possible, cutting corners and not perfection.

Making all kinds of basic foods from scratch like mayonnaise is time consuming. Yea I have made mayonnaise, butter, yogurt, cheese, meatballs, jams, canning, pickling and more, all of which I rarely do any of these things anymore. Yes, I currently have a small hen house in my back yard and I have eggs anytime I want. I have gotten raw milk from my neighbor and pasteurized my own milk and dairy products. It is a waste of time and it gets tiresome over the years when I can get it at my local supermarket. It might be cool to say I have done this, like sourdough bread, but gets tiresome over time. Even though the from scratch foods might taste better and be healthier. Still time is a major factor when one can be with friends and travel to see different places.

Making foods of all kinds of foods from scratch is time consuming. Another thing that bugs me, almost every cookbook that makes foods from scratch tries to use a minimal of equipment. One can use a double boiler to make hollandaise sauce or lemon curd. Or use a high powered blender and have them done in less than five minutes and taste just a good.

If you’re looking to make everything, and I mean everything, from scratch (I believe is what you mean by simplicity) then this book might be what you really want. An Unapologetic Cookbook. This author is crude, but everything is made from scratch, including ketchup.

There is an old saying: Learning something new is hard, once you learn something, then it becomes easy.

I admit I have problems with this book Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking (1). It is one of his older books and it will not save you in the kitchen by remembering a bunch of ratios. Remembering ratios will get you close, but far from ideal. Most of his recipes are by volume and not by weight, volume of flours can weigh greatly for baking and the results may not be ideal. I prefer measuring by weight and then sift the flours for most recipes. Another problem with this book is that they are very few photos of what the author is talking about and in my opinion does not do a good job of describing what the result should be like.

The only recipe that I found interesting was making his Tempura Batter. Corn starch does help in making a crispy end product, but why I never thought of of adding baking soda. The past recipes for Tempura Batter that I used in the past, never included baking soda. Probably why my fish had a lighter color and I tended to overcook such items. After all, I should have thought better, I’ve always known that adding baking soda to biscuits gave my biscuits a nice golden brown color. Without baking soda my biscuits would be much lighter in color and not visually appealing, although tasted great. Now my battered fish has a perfectly nice golden color that matches the flavor.

Also, I really do not have a problem with recipes. I use recipes often for meals that I do not make on regular basis. I think most people in the kitchen are unorganized. Most of my web based recipes are in a single app called “Paprika” in which I have hundreds of often used recipes that I can bring up on a moments notice on my iPad.

For recipes that are on many of my digital cookbooks, I use a Website called. https://www.eatyourbooks.com/ it does cost some money, but one can lookup recipes and the service will list the books and page numbers of the cookbooks you have. Then go to that book on your shelf or ebook and start cooking.

I think what also goes smoother is “Mise en Place”. First I gather all the ingredients, all prepped and ready to go in small and large bowls. Then get the equipment, pots and pans out and start cooking according to the instructions. Read recipe instructions first, I cannot stand it when some extra ingredient is listed in the instructions and not on the recipe list.

Back again regarding Ratios, I do have a much much better cookbook by Michael Ruhlman and that book is Ruhlman's Twenty: 20 Techniques 100 Recipes A Cook's Manifesto, In my unprofessional opinion, this book is very good and has several photos to help guide you in your cooking adventures. I imagine that practice makes perfect, not only in the kitchen, but also writing cookbooks.

Enjoy Life… Mickey.

Thank you Mickey for your thoughts on this book. 😊

Exactly what I had hoped has begun happening from reading this book. The independence and freedom from a recipe. I think I was most likely already there and just needed the little confidence push.
I never really was very interested in any of the recipes and photos were not here nor there for me, just the insight. Although the 3-2-1 pie dough is fabulous and I agree with Ruhlman, I can make it without thinking and feel like I know what I am doing 😆 Which basically sums up the whole book for me. Never did I ever think I might consider making cream puffs, the assumption of difficulty and mess has kept me from even thinking about making them. I have been so seriously excited to be so wrong! I also want to make his duck sausage and most likely will this weekend.

Organization in the kithen. Oh, I think you may just be right! While I know I suffer seriously from any kind of organizational skill, I read your process and prep and find myself exhausted. Truly I am sorry while I know it could be life changer I can honestly say, never will I ever be better. Now with that said, my son was here last night while I was making dinner and actually said, you know mom, you would have been a great prep cook. And there I was no recipe just doing what I knew. It was a great feeling even if a fired prep cook the truth would be. He just happened in on a pretty straight forward meal. Salmon on a bed of spinach baked in foil, a little brown sugar and soy go along way.

I will certainly be checking out more of Michael Ruhlman books. I am really enjoying this one and will look for Ruhlman's Twenty: 20 Techniques 100 Recipes A Cook's Manifesto

Always Mickey~I appreciate your thoughts and knowledge, I truly admire you and are inspired by you. Never will I ever becomes One day soon when you are around! 😊

Enjoy your day!
Shellii

Yes to the pie dough recipe, I’ve used it for many years. Just in time for the Fourth of July. I usually make a cherry pie and a blueberry pie, stripes for the cherry pie and cut out stars for the blueberry pie using two separate rectangular Pyrex dishes. My family members prefer blueberry pie because it is a pie that is rarely found in store bought pies. The star cutters are also used for cookies at Christmas time.

The chapter on sausage making caught my eye also. I do have other books on sausage making and I have never made them. I do have a Kitchenaid grinder attachment and the the only thing I have made with it are meatballs and falafels. Someday I might try making sausages.

Around the Fourth of July the air has always had a smokey atmosphere from outside grilling and fireworks. This week the smoke from the Canadian forest fires is especially strong here in Michigan, I can only imagine what it is like in Canada.

Enjoy the Holiday.

Mickey wrote: "Yes to the pie dough recipe, I’ve used it for many years. Just in time for the Fourth of July. I usually make a cherry pie and a blueberry pie, stripes for the cherry pie and cut out stars for the ..."

I hope you do not mind but we needed a good book for July in the group. I have taken it upon myself to use your recommendation for Ruhlman's Twenty: 20 Techniques 100 Recipes A Cook's Manifesto.
I stopped into the library on our way to the pool and I agree with you. This looks to be a great book to continue the groups culinary adventures

Your pies, my friend! I never even thought to add such special touches! 😊
I recently purchased a huge box of plastic cookie cutters mostly because I make my dogs treats and wanted to "fun up" their cookies a little. They didn't care but I enjoy it 😉
I have a neighbor who is the Christmas Cookie Queen. She starts baking and the whole neighborhood gets excited for the tray of assorted holiday cookies we all will recieve. Best Christmas present, every year! But I have noticed there have never been cutout cookies on the trays. I am hoping that maybe I can surprise her with a fun assortment of cutout cookies. Not competition, there is none! But hoping a way to say Thank you and show her how grateful we are for her. ~Them~

Have a Wonderful 4th of July Mickey and we will keep Canada in our hearts

Shellii

It’s your site, choose any books you want. However, two “new” books I believe was a game changer for me. By “new” I mean came out in the last year.
Fridge Love: Organize Your Refrigerator for a Healthier, Happier Life―with 100 Recipes

Snackable Bakes: 100 Easy-Peasy Recipes for Exceptionally Scrumptious Sweets and Treats

As for Christmas cookies, I use the star cutouts of different sizes to make Christmas trees by stacking them and put them next to the gingerbread house on a quarter sheet pan for decoration.

Twenty is still a good choice, however this book is all about flavor and texture, not a book on healthy eating.

Enjoy….