The German Cookbook: A Complete Guide to Mastering Authentic German Cooking

`The German Cookbook' by Mimi Sheraton and `The New German Cookbook' by Jean Anderson and Hedy Wurz are both written by leading American culinary writers. Although their publication dates are separated by thirty years, Ms. Sheraton's earlier book has been brought up to date at almost exactly the same time the newer book was published by Ms. Anderson and her co-author. The raw numbers put Ms. Anderson at about 390 pages of recipes for a list price of $30 and Ms. Sheraton at about 500 pages of recipes for a list price of $35. Ms. Anderson includes an excellent bibliography of both English and German sources, including a reference to Ms. Sheraton's book. Ms. Sheraton has no bibliography, but includes the excellent feature of an English and a German index. Ms. Anderson includes a very nice glossary of German culinary terms. Ms. Sheraton's list of terms is much shorter, at the end of a short chapter on cooking utensils, which looks almost identical to such a section you would find in a good book on French recipes. In fact, it has a lot of similarities to a much more complete section in Julia Child's landmark `Mastering the Art of French Cooking' which appeared just a few years before Ms. Sheraton's book. While my primary objective is to compare the two German books, I will say at this point that neither comes close to matching the quality of Ms. Child's classic. Ms. Sheraton, with the longer book, is claiming to be a complete guide to mastering authentic German cooking while Ms. Anderson specifically aims her book at `new' German cooking and avoids any claim to being a survey of all German cuisine (Ms. Sheraton does say, here and there, that there are some typical recipes which are simply so starchy and plain that she thinks they will be of no interest to American cooks, so she leaves them out). A quick look at the first few chapters confirms this assessment. In appetizers, Ms. Sheraton has 18 recipes while Ms. Anderson has but 10. In the next chapter on soups, Ms. Sheraton has 38 recipes while Ms. Anderson has but 25. And, Ms. Sheraton follows her soup chapter with a chapter on soup garnishes. Which of these two books one may wish to buy has a lot to do with what you want from a `German cookbook'. I happen to be from a German and Pennsylvania German background, so I am looking for a wide variety of recipes for classic German and Austrian dishes. For this, I certainly prefer Ms. Sheraton's more complete coverage. I think the most typical buyer may be interested in a few famous German / Austrian recipes such as Sauerbraten, Sauerkraut, Spatzle, Wiener Schnitzel, Sausage dishes, and Strudel (It is entirely coincidental that all of these dishes start with an `S'). A comparison of all these dishes in both books shows that in every case, not only does Ms. Sheraton have more recipes, her recipes are also more complete. One place where this is most dramatic is in the recipes for strudel. Ms. Anderson gives but one recipe for strudel, calling it a `Bavari

I had never tried cooking German food before I bought this book. The other German cookbooks I have all make it seem so difficult. Now though, I have many recipes I want to try! The ones I've tried so far have been easy to follow, used mostly basic ingredients that are easy to find, and turned out tasting authentic. I find the book to be well-researched, well-written and informative, and easy to understand. It not only gives recipes, but information on when, where, and in what circumstances different foods may be served. There are everyday recipes and also some to be used for special occasions. This is an all-around great cookbook for anyone wanting to try German food.

This cookbook is one of the few that actually makes German cooking intelligible for an American. The recipes are fully "translated" by which I mean the measurements and such are ones that we use in the USA. Other German cookbooks do not have this. The author does a wonderful job in explaining how the food is served and cooked. This is the best German cookbook I have ever seen.

This German cookbook is specially designed for use by Americans: measures, ingredients, temperatures, cuts of meat, etc. However, all of the recipes are very authenic and wonderfully traditional. One does not have to fear conjuring up some strange variation of a traditional German recipe; something that is bad enough to make a German epicurian flee from the table! Included with the recipes one will find ample text that describes the qualities and goals of the German chef, plus valuable techniques that can make all the difference between average and excellent results. There are two complete recipe indexes: English and German. For the record, I lived in Germany for a number of years, and worked with Germans in the states for many more. This is the only German cuisine cookbook that I have ever found, which is truly great in all respects.

Recipes are easy to follow and always turn out. Ingredients are easy to find. Out of 15 or more German cooks that I own, I use this one the most. I find that it is on a level with the old TIME-LIFE Foods of the World Series with many more recipes.