The Best Kitchen Quick Tips: 534 Tricks, Techniques, and Shortcuts for the Curious Cook [Paperback]

Editors of Cook's Illustrated Magazine (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2003

But what is a quick tip? For the editors of Cook's Illustrated it's an easier way of performing a kitchen task that either saves time or money or improves the quality of the outcome. The tip may call for an odd appliance such as a hair dryer (for smoothing chocolate frosting) or a surprising ingredient such as miniature marshmallows (placed on the ends of toothpicks to hold plastic wrap above an iced cake). You will find practical tricks for peeling tomatoes, chopping garlic, knowing when your steamer is out of water (add marbles to the bottom of the pot) and toasting pine nuts (use a popcorn popper). Arranged alphabetically it takes you through softening Almond Paste to drying Wine Glasses on chopsticks.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Founded in 1980, Cook's Illustrated has emerged as 'America's Test Kitchen', renowned for its near obsessive dedication to finding the best methods of home cooking. The editors of Cook's Illustrated are also the authors of the range of best-selling cookbooks and they present America's Test Kitchen cooking show on public broadcast TV. The show features editors, test cooks, equipment testers and food tasters and has its own web site www americastestkitchen.com

Product Details

• Paperback: 403 pages
• Publisher: Cook's Illustrated; 1 edition (February 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0936184655
• ISBN-13: 978-0936184654
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #380,185 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

116 of 120 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If You Cook - You Need This Book, January 4, 2004

By 

Westley (Stuck in my head) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Best Kitchen Quick Tips: 534 Tricks, Techniques, and Shortcuts for the Curious Cook (Paperback)

The editors of Cook's Illustrated magazine have compiled some of the most inventive kitchen tips published in Cook's over the last decade. Regular readers of the magazine will recognize the Quick Tips from the corresponding feature, which features ideas submitted by Cook's readers. The 534 tips, techniques, and shortcuts are presented in alphabetical order, from almond paste (how to soften it) to zucchini (seeding it). So, finding the tip you need is effortless.

The tips run the gamut from food preparation (removing corn kernels from the cob) to clean-up (removing silverware from the dishwasher easily) to ingredient selection (distinguishing hard- from soft-shelled lobsters) to grilling (oiling the cooking grate) to food storage (freezing meat) and everything in between. Each tip is illustrated in one or more hand-drawn, straight-forward diagrams, making implementation simple. Although some of the tips are somewhat obvious, most are ingenious and will truly help you prepare food in an easier and more efficient manner. Most highly recommended.

68 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good but there are better books out there, March 3, 2005

By 

Emily Dellas "chef/cooking teacher" (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Best Kitchen Quick Tips: 534 Tricks, Techniques, and Shortcuts for the Curious Cook (Paperback)

While this book certainly has a few tips that are good to learn, there are better books out there. With an eye-catching cover and interface, I thought this book was great at first blush but upon really trying to use it more, the tips are annoyingly obvious and things that you would figure out how to do without direction (ex. freezing lemon slices for drinks- slice as you would and stick in the freezer; keep batter from splattering out of an electric mixer- cover the mixer with a towel). Especially if you have other works from the Christopher Kimball/America's Test Kitchen oeuvre, this book will simply feel repetitive. A much better (more informative, better laid out, and truly interesting) book is David Joachim's Brilliant Food Tips and Cooking Tricks.

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Helpful for the beginner, June 11, 2005

By 

Barbara L. Pinzka "Book Friend" (Cincinnati, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Best Kitchen Quick Tips: 534 Tricks, Techniques, and Shortcuts for the Curious Cook (Paperback)

The tricks and tips described in this book are probably known to any cook with a few pots and pans under her/his belt. Nevertheless, the book did remind me of a few old favorites. I'd give it to a young person embarking on adulthood but not to anyone who has cooked, while paying attention, for more than a few years. One positive - the tips are explained, which helps a person retain the knowledge -- and the writing and illustrations are good, for the most part.