Cookwise: The Secrets of Cooking Revealed

I suspect Shirley O. Corriher and her book, `Cookwise' are two of the most commonly quoted sources in culinary writing today. Like James Beard's `American Cookery' and Julia Child's `Mastering the Art of French Cooking', this book has become such a well-established authority in it's field that any attempt at criticism may seem like sacrilege. Well, I'm here to tell you that the reputation of this book is entirely deserved, and you should have no feelings whatsoever that there is any hype involved in the book's good name.The primary value of the book is not that it explains mysteries of cooking technique, but that it explains them so well. I just finished a review of a book that attempted to explain the difference between saturated, mono-unsaturated, and poly-unsaturated fats, and it made a complete botch of the job. Shirley's explanation is so clear, it embarrasses you into having dozed through that lesson in high school. In fact, Shirley's book gives the clearest possible argument I have seen in a long time for justifying subjects like physics and chemistry in High School for people who plan to go into law or computer sciences or hair dressing. Everyone must eat. Therefore, everyone must either cook or rely on someone to cook for them. And, no sass about a raw cuisine either, because understanding what the absence of heat does to foods is as important as the application of heat.My first very pleasant surprise when I started this book is that the first two chapters deal with baking subjects rather than savory cooking. And, I have read many an essay in the beginning of books on baking, and not a single one of them explains the mysteries of wheat flour, yeast, gluten, and bread making quite as well as Shirley's first chapter. Even Shirley's very good friend, Rose Levy Beranbaum does not tell the story quite as effectively. (No reason to pass on Beranbaum's books, however, she covers the whole picture very, very well.) The legendary star of the first chapter is Shirley's grandmother's `Touch-of-Grace Biscuits' on pages 77 - 78. James Villas has done a whole book on biscuits and intimates that none of his recipes quite reach the heights of this one spectacular biscuit. Shirley repeats this performance in the second chapter on pastry and piecrusts. One of the many lessons in this chapter which make you wish you had read this book years ago is the connection between creaming butter and sugar and the lightness of the resulting baked product. I won't give away the punch line. You should read the book.The end of chapter has a section explaining fats and their role in cooking and baking which alone is worth the price of the book and so much more. The section begins by simply reviewing all the advantageous things fats do for various types of cooking, and various methods for reducing the amount of fat in various cooking methods. It is essential that this section be read in the light of the fact that we simply cannot live without some dietary fat as a source

I took a class from Shirley before buying the book. In that 2-hour class, I learned more "rules-of-thumb" about cooking than I had gathered in 25 years of cooking. Finally, it all makes sense - the necessary logic to alter recipes when they're not right - the ability to read a recipe and KNOW it is right or wrong before you waste the time and ingredients! Let's take biscuits: they sound simple; most are awful. After listening to Shirley - or reading about biscuits in her book, I realized I could apply the same principle to a box of Bisquick! I took an unmeasured amount of mix, added milk to a manageable consistancy, rolled in flour, and now my biscuits are the best in town. It's just hard not to share the secret!This should be regarded as a textbook, not a recipe book for entertaining. I read it slowly, applied her wisdom -tried to challenge it, and by the time I finished the book, I feel as if I finished my first year at the Cullinary Institute. If you care about what you cook, if you enjoy puttering in the kitchen, this book is the key to success.Example 2: a famous cook used two boxes of light brown sugar - same brand. One carmelized, the other flunked. They called Shirley in a panic. It took her a while to realize that at that time, the FDA did not reguire brown sugar to be labeled cane or beet based. Cane carmelizes, beet does not. Now, don't we need that information BEFORE we try to impress our closest friends - or the boss - with an elegant creme brulee! You'll appreciate what you learn here, but don't expect an easy read. My copy is already dog-earred; I can't possibly remember it all, and so much is vital to success.

This book is a precious fountain of knowledge and experience. The author who is clearly an able cook and teacher offers information that is vital for anyone who wishes to understand the processes that occur while we cook. The language of this book is very friendly and reading it, one gets the impression that the author is right there explaining and supporting. What can this book contribute to your cooking abilities? It allows the serious home-cook to improve existing recipes or create new ones according to his/her taste. It empowers us to correct mistakes (who hasn't blundered a recipe and wished for the ability to fix it?), adjust recipes to local materials and fine tune all those nagging little techniques we never quite got to mastering (the elusive meringue, getting consistently perfect pie-crust etc'). This isn't a recipe book and shouldn't be treated as one. The recipes are examples of subjects explained and are not the real value of this book. The more useful recipes are the ones that provide basic examples (and there are enough of those). If you want to prepare something "Now" (as one of the reviewers of this book pointed out) and have no desire to pursue excellence in your kitchen, then this book isn't for you. As a serious amateur cook and baker, I feel this book has promoted me to a higher level of cooking abilities. I have learned more from this book than any other cookbook I have and I do have quite a few. My cooking library consists of about 60 cookbooks and this one gets into my top 5 list of favorites hands down.

I have collected cook books all my life, but have never seen anything like Shirley Corriher's Cook Wise. For people who want to truly cook - not just follow recipes, this book is a Godsend... Cooking is chemistry, and Corriher makes it accessible (wish I'd had this in high school!). She explains everything you could ever want to know (and then some) about the chemical processes of eggs, fats, breads, sauces, etc., giving the reader a new-found confidence in recipe creation.