On Cooking: A Textbook of Culinary Fundamentals (3rd Edition) [Hardcover]

Sarah R. Labensky (Author), Alan M. Hause (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0130452416 | ISBN-13: 978-0130452412 | Publication Date: July 19, 2002 | Edition: 3

For introductory food preparation courses in culinary arts hospitality management, and food and beverage programs. Attractively designed and extensively illustrated with color photographs, line drawings, charts, and sidebars, this contemporary introduction to cooking and food preparation focuses on information that is relevant to today's students. Comprehensive and well written, it emphasizes an understanding of cooking fundamentals, explores the preparation of fresh ingredients, and provides information on other relevant topics such as food history and food science.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This book is simply the best one of its kind. A masterful collection of reliable recipes and step-by-step procedures, accompanied by brilliant food photography and lore, it is a must for every kitchen-home or professional." — Dr. Noel Cullen, Certified Master Chef and Past President, American Culinary Federation

"On Cooking has everything a culinary student or young chef needs-clear, close-up photos, basic butchery, principles of the bake shop and magnificent dessert presentations. For working professionals, it is a gold mine of invaluable tables and charts and hard-to-find information. Best of all, On Cooking provides all of this priceless information in one single book. I predict that it won't take long for a professional chef's copy to get that battered, grease-stained, much-used look." — Shirley O. Corriher, CCP cooking teacher and author of CookWise

From the Back Cover

Attractively designed and extensively illustrated with color photographs, line drawings, charts and tables, this contemporary introduction to cooking and the culinary arts focuses on, information relevant to today's students. Comprehensive and well written, On Cooking emphasizes an understanding of cooking fundamentals, explores the preparation of fresh ingredients and provides information on other relevant topics such as culinary history and food science.

KEY FEATURES

• Over 1800 original color photographs and line drawings illustrate preparation and presentation techniques and identify fresh foods and ingredients, tools, and equipment.
• New chapter on Mise en Place explains this important professional conceit and illustrates basic techniques.
• Expanded Principles of Cooking chapter provides step-by-step photographs and explanations for each cooking method.
• Essays and recipes from over 50 prominent chefs, food writers, and food producers allow readers to benefit from the combined expertise of these professionals.
• Over 750 proven, tested recipes from the authors and from numerous chefs working in culinary schools, restaurants, and hotels throughout the country are included. New recipes focus on classic dishes and competency-based skills, giving beginning cooks a strong foundation on which to build.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1216 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall; 3 edition (July 19, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0130452416
• ISBN-13: 978-0130452412
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #328,136 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Culinary Arts., October 6, 2006

By 

Themis-Athena (from somewhere between California and Germany) - See all my reviews

This review is from: On Cooking: A Textbook of Culinary Fundamentals (2nd Edition) (Hardcover)

One of the many neat features of studying at Cornell University is that, even if you're not enrolled in its famous School of Hotel Administration, you can attend one of the cooking and wine tasting classes organized especially for non-Hotel School students, and get at least a flavor of the five star culinary instruction provided by the chefs teaching at that school. (That is, you can do so if you're willing to get up an extra hour or two early on the morning of non-Hotel School student enrollment, and if you're lucky enough to beat the crowds or at least slip in as a substitute participant.) In addition to numerous recipes and pieces of valuable advice, information and memories -- particularly of the last night, on which we had to put together a four-course meal, fine dining style, complete with menu, garnishments and perfectly laid table -- Cornell's "cooking class" has enriched my kitchen by two items I have since found it very hard to do without: A professional grade chef's knife, and Sarah Labensky's and Alan Hause's "On Cooking," which we used as our textbook.

Much more than that, however, "On Cooking" is in fact a near-complete reference on everything related to the culinary arts, from the history of cooking to new foods developed in the 20th century, from sanitation and safety to nutritional values, from recipe writing to menu composition, from knifes and other pieces of equipment to edible kitchen staples, from the principles of cooking to various techniques and food presentation -- and of course, on every conceivable kind of food, from coffee, tea, spices and condiments to dairy products, stocks, sauces, soups, red and white meats, charcuterie, fish and shellfish, eggs, vegetables, potatoes, grains, pasta, salads, fruits, sandwiches, hors d'oeuvres, canapes, breads, pies, pastries, cookies, cakes, custards, creams and frozen desserts. Along the way, numerous tables, diagrams and pictures illustrate and exemplify the given information, making it easy to digest and memorize. The book concludes with an extensive bibliography and recommendations for further reading, and a detailed glossary of essential culinary terms.

Recipes are chosen to match individual chapters, and provide both a practical application and a more profound understanding of the respective chapters' subject matter. They include everything from American and international classics (assorted muffins, scrambled eggs and eggs benedict, focaccia, club, Reuben and other sandwiches, minestrone, French onion soup, gazpacho, New England clam chowder, Cesar, Roquefort, Thousand Islands and other dressings, various mayonnaises, coleslaw, cobb salad, Asian chicken salad, salade Nicoise, potato salad, Thai noodle salad, spanakopitta, grilled portabella mushrooms, carpaccio, lemon curd, hummus, various salsas, guacamole, pesto, hollandaise, bolognese, barbecue, bordelaise, bearnaise, Madeira, mornay, tartar, bechamel and other sauces, various stocks, broths and consommes, polenta, various kebabs, pilafs and risottos, paella, falafel, quiche lorraine, pizza, cannoli alla siciliana, macaroni and cheese, fettuccine Alfredo, clams casino, gravlax, oysters Rockefeller, fillet of sole bonne femme, matzo balls, duck confit, chorizo, chicken cacciatore, coq au vin, chicken curry, pico de gallo, chicken and veal fricassees, osso buco, chili con carne, Swedish meatballs, assorted burgers, meatloaf, T-bone, pepper and other steaks, cassoulet, chateaubriand, tournedos Rossini, beef Stroganoff, entrecote bordelaise, boeuf bourguignon, Hungarian goulash, ratatouille, baked beans, spaetzle, gnocchi, hush puppies, roesti potatoes, gratin dauphinois, baked potatoes, crepes, applesauce, New York cheesecake, sabayon, frangipane, assorted pies, tarts and tortes, various meringues and sorbets, creme brulee, chocolate mousse, chocolate angel food cake, sponge cake, brownies, ladyfingers, Madeleines, toll house cookies, gingerbread cookies, buche de noel, and spiced cider) to more unusual dishes such as:

Chilled cherry soup
Perfumed shrimp consomme
Beet vinaigrette
Shallot curry oil
Walnut pesto
Nopal cactus salsa
Pink peppercorn beurre blanc
Crayfish butter
Zucchini bread
Potato cheddar cheese bread
Salmon and sea bass terrine with spinach and basil
Salmon croquettes
Grilled red snapper burger with mango ketchup
Tex-Mex turkey sausage
Sauted pork medallions with red pepper and citrus
Marinated loin of venison roasted with mustard
Roast pheasant with cognac and apples
Stuffed wontons with apricot sauce
Wild rice and cranberry stuffing
Goat cheese ravioli in herbed cream sauce
Spicy sweet potato and chestnut gratin
Grits and cheddar souffle
Potato-ginger puree
Cilantro puree
Grilled seckel pear with sherry bacon vinaigrette
Balsamic raspberries
Figs with berries and honey mousse
Kirsch mousse
Pistachio citrus cheesecake
Chocolate flourless cake
English muffin loaves
Oatmeal stout ice cream
Quince jam

At 1100+ pages a veritable brick, despite its size "On Cooking" has become as much a key part of my kitchen as my chef's knife, my tea infusers, and various other pieces of equipment. I don't harbor any intentions of becoming a professional chef (nor any aspirations to even remotely that level of culinary skills), but I love to cook, and this is one of the cookbooks I'd be least likely to part with -- ever.

"Cookery is become an art, a noble science; cooks are gentlemen." -- Robert Burton, British author (1621).

Also recommended:
Around the World Cookbook
Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home: Fast and Easy Recipes for Any Day
Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant: Ethnic and Regional Recipes from the Cooks at the Legendary Restaurant (Cookery)
Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian: More Than 650 Meatless Recipes from Around the World
Joy of Cooking: 75th Anniversary Edition - 2006

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A gem!!!!!, March 31, 2005

By 

Cosmas Bisticas "Chez Cosmo" (Denver) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: On Cooking: A Textbook of Culinary Fundamentals (3rd Edition) (Hardcover)

This was my first textbook at culinary school and it is by far the most comprehensive collection of culinary information I have ever come across.

It references everything from Nutrition to proper knife care, from meat cuts to the proper way for handling an array of ingredients. If you are serious about cooking, you will find the answers to all of your questions within this book, not to mention a great collection of recipes from restaurants around the US.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My Teacher, December 2, 2002

By 

Beth Garvin (Jackson, MS USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: On Cooking: A Textbook of Culinary Fundamentals (2nd Edition) (Hardcover)

I am lucky enough to have studied under Chef Labensky. This is an outstanding book. This was our text book at Mississippi University for Women. We used it for everything. It gives great history, backgrounds, techniques, and recipes. My husband, Colley, (Which I met at MUW)and I still use it on a regular basis and we have been out of culinary school for 2 years. I highly recommend this book for anyone considering culinary school.