Raw: The Uncook Book: New Vegetarian Food for Life

I love this book, and since going 75% raw in December '06, I have used it often along with two other books: Alissa Cohen's Living on Live Foods, which is more of a basic sort of "The Joy of Un-Cooking" type book, with hundreds of easy recipes for daily eating, and "Rainbow Green Live Food Cuisine" which is a little less accessible to a general audience, but has a more scientifcally based, low-glycemic, healing with raw foods approach, written by an author who is a holistic MD. I recommend all three of these books as a good foundation with a variety of approaches to start you on your way. I think Juliano's book is fantastic because not only does it include a decent amount of recipes that are quick and easy to prepare with basic ingredients, but it also features complex recipes with more gourmet, exotic ingredients, which, while probably too demanding and time-consuming for most people to prepare regularly, show you how you can raise raw food cuisine to a true culinary artform. In my estimation, Juliano has the most sophisticated palate and the most innovative, sometimes ingenious, recipes of any of the raw food books I've seen (although at times he seems to rely a little heavily on the Nama Shoyu--raw organic soy sauce). The book has mouth-watering and inspiring color photographs and, I might add, several oddly, unintentionally funny photographs of an exuberant Juliano with long blond hair, posed shirtless or wearing brightly colored spandex,looking like a younger, thinner, transgendered Fabio. But it's all part of the package, and I love him for it. Although there are some recipes that I wish were explained better (I've found this in every raw food book I own), for people who appreciate gourmet food or meals with complex flavors, this is the book that will make you and yours fall in love with raw food. For me, the more elaborate receipes are like reading a fantasy book--I may not have the desire or ability to make them now, but I LOVE imagining the possibility that I could make them one day. Alissa Cohen's raw book is also good; I use it almost every day and the ingredients are simpler and easier to find. Those are great recipes when you're in a hurry. But her recipes are mostly more wholesome, everyday cuisine without much flair. Juliano's recipes take raw food to another level entirely, and will delight anyone you serve them to, including discriminating, non-raw foodies. I should mention I did make one of the more elaborate recipes recently--Juliano's fettucine alfredo. His version was far more complex than Alissa Cohen's version, and this recipe took me two hours to make--longer than I hoped. But my friends and I all thought it was one of the most delectable, intricately flavored dishes we've ever eaten, hands down. And we all felt buzzed afterwards--the amount of energy we had after finishing a large plate of this "fettucine" was remarkable. Raw food rocks! I feel grateful to Juliano for sharing his visionary,joyful and vibrant way of

I can't recommend this book highly enough. I was on the way to raw food when I bought this book, so I was sprouting and already had the dehydrator. However although I was preparing raw meals using recipes I got off the web, they weren't always the most tasty and they seemed to be settling into a pattern of boring repetition. I was feeling doubtful about maintaining this approach although I felt the health benefits of it. Juliano's cookbook has opened my eyes to the potential of raw food. This book is full of delicious recipes that are easy to make. Raw soups take seconds to blend up. Having raw condiments on hand for new flavours. Yes the dehydrating takes up to 24 hours, however unlike ordinary cooking where you have to watch the food and check it all the time, dehydrating just goes on in the background while I get on with my life - and because I can cook in bulk, the breads stay fresh and tasty for weeks. The detail and the photos in the book are great, and so is the flexible approach where if one ingredient or three are not available then we are encouraged to improvise.This book is the most innovative, practical and delicious cook book I have ever used - and I use this all the time now. Highly recomended.

I truly love this (un)cookbook. I am new to the whole raw food thing and Juliano's lucious recipes made a believer out of me. I can recommend this book whole-heartedly...but there are some things to consider before you buy it.First, you need to have several small appliances to be able to do most of the recipes as described. You'll need a juicer (preferably a Champion, according to Juliano), a powerful food processor, a blender, a dehydrator, and if you have any money or desire left, a coffee grinder.Secondly, a lot these recipes aren't ones that you can whip up at a moments' notice. Nuts, seeds and grains need soaking time and sprouting time. And while things get a whole lot easier when you start the recipes a head of time, you'll still be spending a good bit of time in the kitchen combining stuff. Thirdly, this is not a low fat diet. All the fats do come from vegetables and nuts, which contain the 'good' fat we're all looking for, but still, it's something to be aware of. Even with these qualifications, I still think this is a great addition to any cookbook collection. And though I just can't seem to get some of the recipes right (my Mango Essene bread was just plain gross) I am truly glad I got this book because of the way it reintroduced me to eating the earth's offerings.

Reading through the intro. you will discover that Juliano is eccentric and adventurous. His personality shines through the recipes. I could sit for hours and lust after the very appealing dishes and gorgeous pictures. Alas, I have to make them in order to get a bite(the pictures are so clear that you would think you could taste them off the pages!) Well I have prepared them and they are just as marvelous as I thought. As a newish raw fooder, I am surprised by the miracle of appetising Living/Raw food dishes. But so thankful that there are "uncook" bks out there like this! I have no trouble finding the appropriate ingredients. The only daunting aspect is the recipes that call for sprouted seeds, etc. But as this is a foundation of raw eating, I know that in time that will be a part of my weekly un-cooking, eating program. And there are plenty of recipes without worrying over that, to stop me! As someone who has suffered with excruciating chronic pain conditions, I am thrilled to say that eating this way has been a miracle in my life. YAY! for recipe books and information such as this! May all the world become healthier and happier through better eating!~Eat Alive and Live Well!

I had the enviable opportunity of dining at Juliano's restaurant in San Francisco this past summer. Being new to raw foods, I was not sure what to expect. The food was absolutely delicious, out-of-this-world, and beautifully presented. The textures and flavors were amazing. The experience inspired me to learn more about raw foods and to put _Raw: The Uncook Book_ at the top of my Christmas list. Luckily, I did get this as a present, and I made one of the recipes this evening. It turned out great! My sense of the recipes is that many are somewhat complicated in that they cross-reference other recipes, but that you can take short-cuts to "ease into" this cuisine if you don't have time to do everything. Ultimately I believe Juliano's claim in the introduction that with a little practice, raw food preparation takes less time than cooked food prep. Finally, the majority of ingredients are not that exotic and easily obtainable in most regions. The book is filled with humor and beautiful color photographs. I highly recommend it!