Most Helpful Customer Reviews
25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Title Says It All, December 12, 1999
This review is from: Craig Claiborne's Kitchen Primer (Basic Cookbook) (Paperback)
I bought two copies two years ago, as a gift and the other for myself. I wish I had been smart enough to look for a book like this in 1990, when I began to take cooking seriously. Now that I've got a small library of cookbooks (30+), I tend to rate cookbooks' usefulness on two criteria: the writing and the instructions. This one should be read for both. The Introduction and First Steps in Cooking alone are worth the price of the book. I've now realized that the best cookbooks are those that convey to the reader that cooking is really a simple undertaking. Some recipes simply take more muscle or thought, but fundamentally, it's just cooking and cooking well is about organization, understanding food, and community. That is, you don't just cook for yourself; you cook for others, too, so you might as well learn how to do it confidently. Claiborne shows you that cooking is just cooking and you can still produce food that tastes good. He never talks down to you. His instruction is that of a relaxed teacher, someone who seems to assume that you've been too busy to focus on other things to learn how to cook. Therefore, his tone IMHO is that of a person who understands the reader is intelligent but just hasn't had the time or inclination to cook. The novice and the expert will learn from this little gem.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best beginners cookbook around, October 10, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Craig Claiborne's Kitchen Primer (Basic Cookbook) (Paperback)
When I was (heck, I still am) learning how to cook, I ransacked bookstores and yard sales for the book that could give me the basics without a lot of fluff. I have everything from Cooking for Dummies to Jane Brody's Good Food Book (even Kids Cooking from Klutz Press). And, with all of those books, I find myself referencing this book before any other. Simple, clear writing, and about the right size (I found the hardback version that was reprinted in 1996). Size is pretty important, after all -- when you're cooking, it's hard to flip through pages of a tiny paperback or lug around a massive binder...but I digress. If you are new to cooking and can't boil an egg (much less water!) or figure out what pot to use, this book is for you.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The one book survival guide for life in the kitchen., October 30, 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Craig Claiborne's Kitchen Primer (Basic Cookbook) (Paperback)
Craig Claiborne has presented the fundamentals for "exploration" and "colonization" of the most essential room in everyone's home! The presentations are crisp and clear and every recipe or set of instructions actually works! The primer gives basic lists of tools, simple recipes, lots of explanations and inspires confidence on every page. When I was a novice in the kitchen, this book was a map and compass. Now, many years later, it is a valued reference book that contains many fundamentals. While not as comprehensive as "The Joy of Cooking", this little book deserves an early place on the kitchen bookshelf. And it is a great book to give as a gift to "start-up" cooks (such as the college grad in a first apartment)!
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