Samin Nosrat

If you loved the Netflix show, think of this as all the entertainment of that and twice the learning. I freely admit to referring to the author as "St. Samin of my Kitchen" and this book is my Kitchen bible. If you are a person who thinks they can't cook, read this book. But really read it--absorb it, take notes. Then PRACTICE. Eventually you will understand that those four elements: salt, fat, acid, heat are TRULY the keys to not just decent cooking, but great cooking. This book gave me a show more lot of confidence to go "off book" and start improvising more. A few of her recipes are now staples, like the Borani Esfanaj (Persian Spinach Yogurt), which takes me back to my childhood growing up in Los Angeles and frequenting Persian food restaurants with my dad. Also--that recipe alone is worth its weight in gold for this tip: placing cooked spinach on a parchment-paper lined cookie sheet to prevent overcooking and discoloration (see p. 372). I've only just begun to try the actual recipes (the first half of the book is a how-to guide to cooking), but I can also highly recommend the Glazed Five-Spice Chicken (338-9), which is well-worth the overnight marinade.

Nosrat's writing style is welcoming and humorous--Wendy MacNaughton's illustrations keep things light and whimsical but still informative. Nosrat is self-effacing in recounting tales of her own learning and even if you think you don't LIKE to cook--spend some time with this book. You may change your mind. show less

For those, like me, with the most rudimentary of cooking training and little opportunity to learn more than just how to follow a recipe, this book is eye opening. Perhaps those who are formally trained or schooled at home or in family restaurants by family members who were not afraid to experiment with food, creating their own recipes handed down by generation, take for granted a lot of the knowledge imparted in this book. It is far more than a cookbook -- its 150 recipes do not nearly fill show more the 480 pages of it. The bulk of it is solid, useful information about why the title elements are important in cooking, how they enhance flavors and why. I have had my copy of Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook since my wedding shower in the 1970s, followed shortly by Irma Rombauer's The Joy of Cooking, and later Julia Childs, The Moosewood, and a variety of others followed. But aside from beloved recipes that I have tried and repeated over the decades in those books, and likely know by heart now, I feel I can pass those on to someone else and use this book alone as my cooking bible. Ironically, after all the years of rebelling against by society's cramped expectations about "women's sphere" and therefore pursuing an education and career in a testosterone-driven profession, I have an urge to learn to cook well and adventurously in my declining years. My partner cooks for us; he spoils me that way, but I want to learn to be better at it and share the kitchen with him and this book is going to be my constant companion when I retire and embark on that new adventure. show less

Сочена за най-гениалната книга в кулинарното изкуство, тя просто потвърди отдавнашното ми виждане, че всички форми на това "изкуство" са просто усложнени упражнения в това да накараш продуктите в ресторантската кухня да имат вкус на добри и пресни, традиционни храни и show more авторката изобщо не крие това.

Колкото и да сотира, фламбира и маринова, всички тия усилия идват от стремежа й да достигне в кухнята на ресторанта си оня вкус, който помни от обикновения сандвич със солено домашно сирене и краставица в питка, който майка й е приготвяла за плажа в родния й Иран или кебапът, който чичовците й и сега, по време на семейните събирания, пекат на толкова нагорещена тенекия, че космите на ръцете им изгарят.

Наистина, книгата е добре написана, с ясни и понякога поетични обяснения, но седемнайсет вида сол и няколко "пласта" подкиселяване ми идват както в повече, така и напълно излишни. Повечето от написаното е теория, предназначена за хора, достатъчно опитни в основите на готвенето, която може би ще да е полезна за професионален готвач или фууди-хипстър.

Аз обаче не съм нито едното, нито другото и ако ми се прииска сандвич с домашно сирене и краставица, мога просто да си направя такъв, да го посоля с обикновена сол и да го изям с кеф. А историята, как някакъв международно признат готвач накарал авторката да сложи малко оцет (о ужас!!!) в супата си и нейния тотален шок как това подобрило вкуса, доста ме разсмя. Оцет в супата! Кой да знае, че в кварталната ми шкембежджийница толкова ги разбират работите :Р show less

I was hoping to learn more about the chemistry of cooking, as the title implied. And as a vegan, much of the book is useless to me.

One week later: Last night I made a vegetable melange I've been making for years that's always delicious. I took some ideas on salt from Nosrat's book this time & it made the flavors more subtle, the whole dish more wonderful than it's ever been. My previous rating for the book was 2.5 stars. I'm upping it for the salt chapter alone.

Back again: I've now made the show more one entree a vegan can eat in this book and had to add my own herbs, lemon, dulse, and some other things. For Nosrat, unless something is categorically "ethnic," seasoning seems to begin and end at salt & pepper, which is funny since she does this whole thing on how limited salt & pepper are. You'll need to get creative when using her recipes.

The above recipe was so delicious, I was going to give the book a 4. But 1) with slight variations, it's in about half of the vegan cookbooks I have; and 2) that a 2017 general cookbook indulges the economic, environmental, and ethical nihilism of eating animals to the point of being at least a third about animal products disgusts me. If you don't eat animals, check this book out of the library. If you do eat animals do some thinking about the fate of the planet. The run-off from farms creates dead zones in the oceans. The land taken up for feed could be used to grow food for the underfed or, as in the case of Brazil, could remain forested and the original inhabitants allowed to live unmolested. Eating meat is not sustainable this late in the anthropocene. show less