Culinaria France [Paperback]

Andre Domine (Author)

Book Description

Series: Culinaria | Publication Date: October 15, 2008

Food and culture are inexorably tied together. The Culinaria series reports on every aspect of a country s cuisine within the context of the people who created it. One of the most successful series in cook book history, these new editions are updated with the guidance of first-class chefs, and come in a durable flexi-cover format to withstand abuse while spending time in the kitchen.

The teams behind each Culinaria volume spend months in the region they are working on, allowing them time to fully absorb all of the food and drink a country can offer. Profusely illustrated with spectacular photography and abundantly peppered with authentic recipes, these volumes are a treat for both the mind and the palate.

Learn about the history behind the dishes, their cultural significance, and how to prepare them.
Beautiful photographs take you on a tour from the local villages to inside the kitchen where you will find the final product.
Enormous variety of magnificent photographs and tempting recipes together with knowledgeable text that is easy for readers and cooks of all skill levels to understand.

Product Details

• Paperback: 468 pages
• Publisher: h. f. ullmann (October 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0841603626
• ISBN-13: 978-0841603622
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 8.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #877,102 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A feast for the senses, April 26, 2009

By 

Bookphile (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Culinaria France (Paperback)

This is a very comprehensive look at the cuisines of various regions of France. Though it does contain recipes, it's not really a cookbook. Rather, it's an in-depth look at how France's culinary traditions shape the country as a whole.

One of the things that is most striking about this book is the realization of the care and detail that goes into preparing meals in France. Some of the foods discussed are very labor-intensive and it's clear that food is more than just sustenance, it's an art. This highlights the differences between American fast food and processed food culture and the slower, more artful way of cooking that is often practiced in France. If looking at the pictures and descriptions of French meals doesn't make the average American want to slow down and learn to savor a meal, nothing will.

The book also delves into the wines and spirits of France, which are every bit as interesting and integral to the country's culinary traditions as are its dishes. The book details how wines are produced and the care that goes into ensuring that they are at their peak before they are bottled. What's truly wonderful to see is how important the human element is to this process. Rather than mass-producing wines through the use of machines, the book illustrates how some growers rely on the expertise of their human employees in order to ensure that the wines will be a truly sublime experience.

What I enjoy most about the two Culinaria books that I own is the realization that a slow, detailed, and artistic approach to food and drink is not something that has been totally lost in our busy, fast-paced culture. The books help emphasize how a human connection to the foods and beverages we consume help bring about a fuller appreciation of life. Food can be so much more than just mere sustenance, it can be a sublime art.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Culinaria France Big, Beautiful Coffee Table Book, January 2, 2011

By 

Kathryn S. Leon (Southern California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: CULINARIA FRANCE (Relaunch): Country. Cuisine. Culture. (Hardcover)

I now have all the Culinaria books. After hearing that the new Culinaria books would be greatly reduced in size, I was delighted to receive this BIG volume with lots of pictures, recipes and interesting reading. It lives up to its predecessors magnificently. You will not be disappointed in this volume.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My husband calls this book my "bread porn", August 9, 2010

By 

C. Kittrell "Voracious Reader" (Florida) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Culinaria France (Paperback)

This series is like a drug. I obsessed about buying each of the books in the series (and I still desperately want The Caribbean but cannot justify the cost for it). I reverently and lovingly pull the books down off the shelf and flip through the pages when I want to be "transported" to another world. I occasionally cook recipes from them, but I have to tell you that I do not buy these books for their recipes (in fact, I may never cook a recipe out of the SE Asian or Russian books, as it is just not my taste). These are just too beautifully written to pass up. They could easily be used as travel guides to do some basic preparation to visit a country (although you could never take these monsters with you while you traveled--my mother has to look at them at the dining room table because they are too big for her to hold!).

This review is supposed to be for "France" so I will tell you that mostly what I do with this book is look at the bread and sigh and say "Why doesn't my baked bread ever look like that?" It's "bread envy" pure and simple. This series makes a gorgeous coffee table book, if you are willing to share (I don't want anyone else's hands on my Culinaria). I, on the other hand, might start keeping it in my nightstand drawer as a replacement for romance novels. :)