Larousse Gastronomique (Hardcover)

~ Prosper Montagne (Editor), Larousse Gastronomique (Author) "ABAISSE A term used in French cookery for a sheet of rolled-out pastry..." (more)
Key Phrases: Académie Française, sprinkle with fine salt, dry mushroom duxelles, United States, Middle Ages, Cabernet Sauvignon (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

First published in 1938 and last revised in 1988, Larousse Gastronomique one of the culinary world's most familiar reference sources has been updated again with a sleek, stylish look for a new generation of cooks. The encyclopedia continues to retain its focus on the classic continental culinary tradition, but this new edition acknowledges the growing importance of other cuisines by including, for the first time, entries on American cooking and by offering more information on terms, ingredients, and dishes from other parts of the world. Larousse does overlap with The Oxford Companion to Food (LJ 10/15/99), a recent addition to the culinary reference shelves, in that both works cover ingredients, dishes, famous persons, and cooking techniques. However, even when the same topics are covered, such as chocolate or lemons, there is enough difference that libraries will want to have both. Larousse will probably be the first choice of cooks who need information on culinary terms and cooking techniques, and, unlike Oxford, it contains more than 3500 recipes and an array of gorgeous color photographs. An indispensable part of any culinary reference collection, this is highly recommended for all libraries. John Charles, Scottsdale P.L., AZ
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

For decades, the definitive reference book for chefs and anyone else devoted to the world of good food and cooking has been Larousse Gastronomique. The last English-language edition of this venerable French publication appeared in 1988, so the arrival of the 2001 edition comes onto the scene at just the right time to refresh reference collections. A translation of the French edition of 2000, this new work shifts the book's traditional focus more definitively to world cuisine, even though coverage still emphasizes the triumphs of European gastronomy in general and French cooking in particular. Although by no means comprehensive, articles on national schools of cooking are especially helpful to distinguish each country's or region's salient cooking ingredients and methods. Recipes abound, but they are designed as exemplars, and only skilled cooks will derive real direction from their abridged instructions. Many color illustrations add to the volume's attractiveness and its utility. This is a required purchase for any reference collection in food and cooking. Mark Knoblauch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 1360 pages
• Publisher: Clarkson Potter; Rev Sub edition (October 2, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0609609718
• ISBN-13: 978-0609609712
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 8 x 2.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #5,007 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

161 of 164 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tout le Monde, July 5, 2003

By	Jason_Els (Warwick, NY USA) - See all my reviews

Certainly the grande dame of cookbooks can't be everything to everyone but what it does do, better than anything else, is teach you the proper way to master the myriad of cooking techniques. If the book is heavy, it's because it's the foundation of every other cookbook you could own. Certianly "Joy of Cooking" is also remarkable in this respect, but if you want to rise about just being good, Larousse will teach you. Yes it is Franco-centric but deservedly, the French have a culinary legacy second to none in the world and the techniques you learn in Larousse will serve you well no matter if cooking Chinese, Italian, or even New American.

The four foundations the book synthesizes are: Technique, Tools, Ingredients, and Creativity. Ever wanted to know the essence of celery? Just how an egg does all the things that it does? Larousse will tell you. Similary, with tools, Larousse is an illumination. If Williams Sonoma ever seemed superfluous, Larousse will shock you into realizing there are advantages to owning copper pots, balanced wisks, and a bombe mould or two. Correct tools are essential to exemplary results.

Larousse is not a dead book of "ancient regime" heavy sauces (though they are included), but rather a living book, inspirational in its depth. If it can be accused of being stodgy, and it has, it's because it wants to emphasize the basics of cooking and, once that is mastered, leaves you free to go out on your own. Once the four foundations have been mastered it's up to you to excel. That's not to say there aren't complex and difficult recipes, there are; but they tend to be more traditional though make no mistake, the top chefs of France have contributed recipes to Larousse.

There are shortfalls. As noted before it does not cover the other grande cuisines of the world (namely Chinese and Italian) with anything remotely resembling a catholic perspective, but then it doesn't purport to be an all-encompassing cookbook. As a book it is dry and its emphasis on exact, rigid technique seems rather imperious. While the haughty tone may seem to be a fault, it's actually worded so as to express the exact requirement of a task in the clearest terms. When you get to the highest levels of cooking techniques there is no room for error. You're dealing with physical and chemical properties that require exact processes to succeed. Pull them off and you'll amaze yourself.

If you learn to cook using Larousse Gastronomique and follow it faithfully, there won't be a cuisine in the world you can't tackle or a cooking task you won't perform without confidence. I can't say that about any other cookbook.

104 of 105 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Considerably shallower than the 1969 original translation :(, December 26, 2004

By	Morgan Venable "aspiring pelican" (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I just bought the 1969 first edition for $45 at a used shop. I hadn't noticed that the modern version reviewed here was actually on remainder for 5 bucks less -- the cashier pointed this out to me, and I went back to compare. There was a note in the old edition saying "This (better) ed OP". I trust my local bookshop, so I put them side by side, and was shocked to find that a *large* number of recipes have been excised from the original edition. In some cases it's merely the omission of a few variations under a heading [see "achar" -- from 3 recipes to 1 in the new], but in many cases it's a wholesale excision [see "ketchup" -- no recipe in current version AFAICT].

I believe very much in cookbooks that do one thing and do it right -- ethnic cookbooks dedicated solely to their particular cuisines. A grand unified cookbook is a noble undertaking, but in this edition it appears that depth has been sacrificed to include a broader range of items in less-than-ideal detail.

I have been saddened in recent years to see the great cookbooks watered down or losing focus -- the new Joy of Cooking feels much the same to me when compared to my mother's version.

Bottom line: Larousse had a great vision -- an encyclopaedia of *French* Cuisine. The addition of other cuisines by the editors should not have been undertaken without the same attention to detail. The end result is still a massive and relevant book, but lacks the focus and truly stunning depth of the original.

If they decide to compile a 10,000-page multivolume compendium, then we'll be talking. Until then, I'm sticking with the older editions.

58 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential, Exhaustive Reference to French and World Food, May 26, 2004

By	B. Marold "Bruce W. Marold" (Bethlehem, PA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This weighty, 1200 page volume is a reliable gold standard among culinary works. It should not surprise that it is originally a work published in French (Larousse is a major French publisher that specializes in encyclopedic volumes on many subjects). The inevitability of the volume is based on the premier place of French cuisine on the world stage and on the very European tradition of publishing great omnibus works on just about every subject imaginable. It was Diderot in 17th century France who invented the encyclopedia and great references in most subjects are available in French or German or even Italian long before they are available in English.

The blurb on the front of my edition states that the Larousse Gastronomique is the `World's Greatest Culinary Encyclopedia'. I cannot judge this statement for volumes available in French, German, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, Thai, Hindi, or Arabic. But, in English, this is undoubtedly true. This statement is true not only for the size of the volume, but for the great range of subjects the editors have chosen to include. The entries cover all the obvious things such as vegetables, meats, fish, shellfish, herbs, spices, fruits, and spice mixtures.

On these subjects, the writers do not limit themselves to a simple description of appearance, taste, seasonality, geographic distribution, and a statement of culinary uses. It includes representative recipes for almost all basic foodstuffs, the number depending on the relative importance of the food. The entry for aubergines (eggplant) includes a general recipe for the preparation of the vegetable plus eight recipes within the article itself plus references to eight other recipes under other articles. The drawings or photographs accompanying articles on major foodstuffs like aubergines are truly first rate. I am pleased, but not surprised at this, as I have come to expect European editors to do as good or better job of illustrating books than American publishers, especially where these illustrations are an important aspect of the work. Regarding the illustrations in general, the genius of the editors is in the great variety of media used in the pictures. Where technical detail is important, color drawings are used to focus on the important and hide the incidental in pictures of raw ingredients, for example. Where a prepared dish is pictured, photographs are typically used. Where the subject is a geographical or historical subject, the first choice is usually an historical engraving, painting, or cartoon.

If the book covered no more than these foods, it would be a valuable work indeed, but it also covers such diverse subjects as geographical regions of culinary interest such as Provence, both common and rare kitchen tools such as the autoclave and the bain marie, culinary songs such as chants used by street vendors in Paris, types of eating establishments such as café, bistro, and restaurant. One of my favorite things is to be looking for a particular entry and run across some other totally appropriate, yet totally unexpected entry. My most recent find is an article on the traditional fraternal orders and associations of culinary professionals in place in France, some since the Middle Ages. This relatively long article is accompanied by full color pictures of the robes worn by members of these orders.

The range of subjects covered by the book is quite international, but there is a clear emphasis on French techniques, history, produce, and dishes. The coverage of wine and cheese around the world is extensive, as these products are so important to French gastronomy. Some subjects that are very important to Asian cuisines get relatively little attention. Soy gets a half page article, and miso gets no more than a paragraph. Lemons get a page and a half, yet lemongrass has no article at all. On the other hand, techniques for butchering a chicken get two full pages.

I do not often refer to the Larousse Gastronomique for recipes, but it is always my reference of last resort when all other sources fail. The only culinary question on which it is mute is on substitutions. A replacement for buttermilk can be found in any number of lesser references, yet the Gastronomique simply does not cover this.

The Larousse Gastronomique is simply the essential reference to French technique, ingredients, culinary history, and geography. Get this before you get your Julia Child and your Jaques Pepin and your Patricia Wells. I seriously doubt if the latest editions have any significant improvements over used editions of thirty or even fifty years ago. Just be sure to get one in good condition. You will refer to it often.

Essential.