Overview

This enormous volume inspires awe and some moments of disappointment. James Peterson presents an amazingly rich collection of recipes (600) and information about techniques in his book titled very simply “Cooking”. Just opening to the table of contents, spanning six pages, is enough to convince you that this could be the one, the book that covers all the bases you might need for a strong standard repertoire of dishes. The table of contents lists every major recipe in the book. Wonderful. Not only a wealth of classics, but a long list of technical explanations with photographs (1500), tips and recommendations turn this into a book which many owners would be satisfied with. It’s aimed at a USAmerican audience and is probably of most use to cooks with some confidence in approaching cooking, even if they aren’t experienced cooks.

Full review

Structure of the book

Cooking starts with “The 10 Basic Cooking Methods”, fairly well explained, then launches into chapters on many different types of dish (starters, salads, sauces and salsas, cookies, etc) and ingredients (different meats). At 534 pages, you can appreciate how much information this book contains. Refreshingly, the author isn’t shy about variety meats (offal) and other items less popular in the USAmerican kitchen (duck, lamb).

About the author

James Peterson is an American cookbook author and culinary teacher, and is known for his understanding of French cookery in particular. He has his own website, Jim Cooks.

How is this book interesting/special/new/useful?

This is a book with a personal touch. The author is present, but without ego impinging on the information. Peterson’s introduction sets the scene both for his approach and for the concept of the book. Here’s a chef who knows how to teach and understands that people might want a book that focuses on classic techniques with everyday dishes. His tips are numerous and valuable, from the values and pitfalls of browning meat to egg safety to yeast amounts for different doughs. The book feels modern without venturing into the very modern… it’s that safe, comfortable approach that will work for many readers.

Recipes are clearly explained and Peterson places emphasis on understanding how to do things, rather than cutting corners to pretend things are simple.

What problems/flaws are there?

Where does it fail? Well, to start with, there isn’t a moment’s acknowledgement of non-USAmerican readers, bar a somewhat hidden conversion chart way down the back of the book. The United States’ metricated Canadian neighbours will find no joy here, let alone the rest of the world which is even more metricated and less familiar with ingredient and vocabulary differences. I laughed at the specification of 1/64 teaspoon of yeast per cup of flour for a slow-rise dough. Kindly, Peterson provides a tip for how to achieve that proportion, but perhaps more realistic basic quantities and weights could have helped.

Many recipes have been through some Americanisation, so you can’t approach Cooking with an expectation of real authenticity. It’s not bad, but this is definitely not a book that consistently aspires to give you the true picture — there are many examples of a sort of homogenised version of traditional dishes. For instance, Peterson’s basic Thai curry paste falls a long way from authenticity, yet his full Thai curries actually come acceptably close to the real thing. A particularly odd example of homogenisation is Peterson’s “Red Wine Pot Roast” — the author piles in a number of stew ingredients (beef, wine, meat glaze, herbs, onions, carrots, mushrooms, peas, beans, turnips, celeriac, bacon, leeks, fava beans, fennel) and calls this a pan-European standard (“the classic red wine pot roast served all over Europe”), as if everyone in Europe suddenly cooks in basically the same genre. Sure, it’ll taste good, but I doubt it would be recognised by a Pole or a Briton or a Swede or a Spaniard or…

A more fundamental issue is that the book didn’t seem clear about who the readership should be. Despite the wealth of information, it won’t help novices get going unless they already have a “feel” for food and technique as some of the most basic basics are skipped or given very brief treatment (few knife skills, no pictures of equipment, uneven explanation of ingredients). There are many small colour photos throughout showing techniques and cooking steps. These are often very useful, but the photos are sometimes quite dark or just poorly lit and not particularly vivid, so interpreting the author’s intention could be tricky. Mysteriously, Peterson frequently chose images with arty narrow depth of field (meaning lots of blurring in the fore- and background) rather than simple, clear instructional photos. I wouldn’t like to rely on the photos for boning a shoulder of lamb either, but at least there are photos, unlike an earlier textual description of the process for a leg of lamb. Pictures are missing from other techniques that would have benefited from some visual support (e.g. scrambled eggs).

Who might enjoy/use this book most?

The contrast between this book and a competing volume, The Cook’s Book (edited by Jill Norman, Dorling Kindersley publishers), which appeared around the same time, is stark. The latter is dominated by excellent, clear photos of technique, components and plating, but aims higher in the dishes included and therefore the likely readership, and feels rather cold. Meanwhile, Peterson’s Cooking is a more relaxed, friendlier work.

In summary, this is an excellent work for USAmerican readers who approach the idea of cooking with confidence and curiosity. You could almost have this as your only book, but not quite. Readers who need clearer hand-holding for the very starting points of cooking might need to look elsewhere.