Customer Reviews

Raw: The Uncook Book: New Vegetarian Food for Life

5 star:		(64)
4 star:		(35)
3 star:		(19)
2 star:		(19)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

I'm new to raw foods "cooking", so I'll start with the first salad in Juliano's "Raw". Let's see, the ingredients include: anise hyssop, borage, bronze fennel, chickweed, meadow rue... What the heck is meadow rue? Let's check the glossary, "a delicious leaf"...Thanks Juliano. I'll also need mizuna, salad burnet, society garlic and summer purslane. I've heard of some of these items, but I've never seen them in Seattle natural markets, and Seattle's a very vegetarian cuisine savvy city. Unless you can grow these things yourself, good luck finding them. I must admit that despite the fact that I prepare food from scratch quite a bit, I found Juliano's recipes too complicated and under-explained to attempt a single one. Other raw foods "cookbooks" explain raw foods prep in considerably more detail, such as "Warming Up to Living Foods" by Elysa Markowitz, and "Sproutman's Kitchen Garden Cookbook" by Steve Meyerowitz.

Juliano writes that the purpose of the book is to introduce or reacquaint the reader to raw foods, and to provide the tools to eat this way. Unfortunately, I'm not sure Julanio succeeds in these goals, although he certainly gave himself a nice modeling portfolio. Since most readers will be unfamiliar with raw foods, he needs to provide more guidance than most cookbooks in what are the ingredients, how to shop for them, the kitchen equipment needed, and how to prepare the foods. The guidance is too sparse and at times inadequate in these areas. A few of the many examples of inadequate instruction:
* Many recipes require a dehydrator, yet there's zero guidance on how to select one.
*Several recipes call for "coconut meat", such as the carrot cake which calls for 2 cups. Approximately how many coconuts will I need to buy or find on the beach to yield 2 cups? Will one do, or do I need to buy a second one? Juliano doesn't say.
* Rejuvelac is common fermented beverage among raw fooders. However, as the Sproutman points out in his raw foods book, "there can be good fermentation or bad fermentation." There should be guidance on how to tell if the liquid has fermented, and when exactly should you discard it and start over.
* Sprouting seeds is an important prerequisite to many of Juliano's recipes, yet he briefly outlines only one method of sprouting, and one of the less common/less effective methods. It would be nice if he discussed and provided photographs of several options. Afterall, there was room in the book to provide several full-page pictures of Juliano. (The book contains about 8 pictures, several of them full-page of Juliano doing something other than food preparation.)

Which brings us to book's design. Some call it beautiful, and it's true it's full of beautiful colorful food photography. However, overall, I find it busy, wasteful and extravagant. The designers seemed to go wild displaying every design element they could. Every page is glossy and has multi-colored striped horizontal rules of varying thicknesses running through it, often bisecting an otherwise gorgeous plate of food. Some pages have writing at a 90 degree angle running up the page. I could go on with examples, but my point is, what could be a very visually appealing coffee table book is loud and annoying with a multitude of inconsistent design elements.

Despite the busy design elements, it certainly was inspiring to look at glossy photos of delicious-looking raw foods. (And if you like that Romance novel cover look, you might find it inspiring to look at glossy photos of Juliano. :-) However, I'm sticking to less expensive raw foods books that do a better job of explaining how to prepare this healthy, but often complicated cuisine.
~Reviewed by Groovy Vegan for Amazon.com

I had the enviable opportunity of dining at Juliano's restaurant in San Francisco this past summer. Being new to raw foods, I was not sure what to expect. The food was absolutely delicious, out-of-this-world, and beautifully presented. The textures and flavors were amazing. The experience inspired me to learn more about raw foods and to put _Raw: The Uncook Book_ at the top of my Christmas list. Luckily, I did get this as a present, and I made one of the recipes this evening. It turned out great! My sense of the recipes is that many are somewhat complicated in that they cross-reference other recipes, but that you can take short-cuts to "ease into" this cuisine if you don't have time to do everything. Ultimately I believe Juliano's claim in the introduction that with a little practice, raw food preparation takes less time than cooked food prep. Finally, the majority of ingredients are not that exotic and easily obtainable in most regions. The book is filled with humor and beautiful color photographs. I highly recommend it!

Overall, this is a great book. It's inspiring and fun, and the food doesn't get much healthier. I've really gotten into the book during the last couple of weeks, and most of the recipes I've tried are very good. You don't need all of the ingredients he lists, so don't be afraid to omit or substitute. I do not yet have a dehyrator, and my oven doesn't go below 170 degrees, but I have been able to test some of the bread-type recipes. They're very good. Actually, everything has been very good so far (especially the milkshake!), except the Butternut Squash Soup. I found I just don't like raw butternut squash.

If you are on a low calorie or lowfat diet, be aware of these things:

1-There is no calorie information. Once I calculated the calories for the Cashew Gelato, I found out why! It was enough for a whole day's calories for anybody. But it really looks like ice cream.

2-Many recipes use nuts, dates, orange juice, olive oil, avocados, and maple syrup. I think that keeping the avocados in any diet is a good idea, though. Flax seeds show up a lot, too, but they are highly beneficial and don't seem to always get digested, if you know what I mean!

3-Juliano's "butter" is olive oil with salt. He says, "Slap an extra slab of 'butter' on everything! You can eat all you want and get what olive oil promotes most: healthier hair and skin and better circulation." Easy for him to say. He's already skinny.

About the orange juice-it shows up everywhere. He combines it with things I never would have thought of. However, he usually lists low calorie substitutes. And he never claimed this was a diet book!

I found sprouting to be surprisingly easy, but his chart for sprouting and soaking times is incomplete. Sometimes he refers you to the chart, but what you need is missing. More information on sprouting would be helpful.

Juliano is clearly in love with this way of cooking and this way of life. His enthusiasm is contagious. He seems to jump off the pages. Along this line, his sense of humor shows through when he names his recipes odd names which can be very misleading. Two examples are "Cottage Cheese" and "Nacho Cheese", which have no ingredients remotely contained in real cheese (except oil). I'm not saying these recipes aren't good substitutes or good on their own merit, just that the names are misleading.

If you are new to vegetarianism or raw foods, I would not suggest switching over to this way of eating quickly. It will shock your system, and you'll probably get discouraged. Break yourself in over the course of a few months, and your body will thank you. This is the nicest book I've seen on the subject.

Reading through the intro. you will discover that Juliano is eccentric and adventurous. His personality shines through the recipes.

I could sit for hours and lust after the very appealing dishes and gorgeous pictures. Alas, I have to make them in order to get a bite(the pictures are so clear that you would think you could taste them off the pages!)

Well I have prepared them and they are just as marvelous as I thought. As a newish raw fooder, I am surprised by the miracle of appetising Living/Raw food dishes. But so thankful that there are "uncook" bks out there like this!

I have no trouble finding the appropriate ingredients. The only daunting aspect is the recipes that call for sprouted seeds, etc.

But as this is a foundation of raw eating, I know that in time that will be a part of my weekly un-cooking, eating program. And there are plenty of recipes without worrying over that, to stop me!

As someone who has suffered with excruciating chronic pain conditions, I am thrilled to say that eating this way has been a miracle in my life.

YAY! for recipe books and information such as this! May all the world become healthier and happier through better eating!

~Eat Alive and Live Well!

The colorful photos and imagination of ingredient components that put together this wonderful work of food art called an uncook book is worth 4 stars. RAW is indeed worthy of coffee table status. Each recipe appears to be indescribably delicious and full of adventure to the chef looking for a challenge.

One such recipe, Hummus a L'orange was gold. I've prepared raw sprouted hummus before and the taste was never very desireable, yet Juliano's version with the addition of cashews, miso, amongst other obscure ingredients and exotic spices has turned this ordinary dish into a festival for the tastebuds.

The falafel patties were more of a dissapoinment to me. Since this recipe also required sprouted chickpeas, I made it alongside the hummus recipe. The high percentage of salt called for in this recipe was overkill, leaving the main ingredients without a note of possibility in taste. Suggestion: if you must use salt, add at the end and a little bit at a time. Juliano's intentions for the high amounts of sodium chloride (present in both sea and table salt) is understandably to impress upon the palate of a cooked food eater.

Since many of the recipes within this book are multi-stepped, and some requiring other recipes within his book, they appear to be meant for company or pot luck type functions, rather than simple meals a raw eater could throw together to enjoy by his raw self. In other words, if you are a begninner in the kitchen, RAW will prove quite a challenge for you.

Yet many recipes DO seem easy to put together, like the soups, salads, and some of the drinks, and as long as you have all the ingredients or good substitutions on hand, you are good to go. Good-quality blenders and knives are a necessity for most of these.

There are many more complicated recipes that appear sublimely delicious which I do desire to try, and with some careful planning for several days of soaking and sprouting; and ensuring other recipes are prepared before-hand to be ready to add with the list of ingredients to the one I eventually DO prepare; and perhaps adding in the necessary dehydrating time involved - I am quite certain that I may win over the approval of many family and friends to the raw eating way of life. Timing may be everything so my suggestion to you is to whip out your calendars and make sure those soaking, sprouting, other recipe-making and dehydrating works with your own schedule.

Whether the recipes are actually accomplished by the reader, or the photos and recipes are merely visually enjoyed, any raw fooder would undoubtedly glean good ideas and insight from the wonderful work of RAW.

I never imagined ethical eating could be combined with such inspiring presentation, stylish layout of recipies and a kookie/fruity character like Juliano at the helm; dropped right into the mainstream for all to see. This book is truly one of a kind, as is its author. As a vegan, I was drawn to 'raw cuisine' because it really is the natural extension of the health and nutritional angle of vegetarianism. Any vegetarian/vegan who struggles through life trying to maintain their eating ethics must long for options like those featured in this book. Flipping through the book will produce waves of arousal as you are confronted with Juliano's gorgeous arrangements of raw ingredients. My only problem is this the daunting task of preparing most any dish in the book. Most recipies require you to reference other recipies, often doubling the number of ingredients and prep time. The abundance of 'sprouted' ingredients in each recipies seemingly makes it necessary to begin sprouting days ahead of your meal. Many of the vegetables are so obscure that you'd have to live in a posh environment like whichever part of Cali Juliano hails from to find the right stuff. But, given those complaints, I'll bet it's all well worth it. I'll bet you really do feel better for eating raw foods. I'll even bet the recipies turn out as delicious as Juliano contends. But I doubt I'll have the time and money to get one of his more elaborate creations together on my own. If only there were one of his restaurants in my city. That way I could taste the end result before embarking on the incredible journey that is required to make these meals a reality in one's own home. Obviously, I am jealous of Juliano's ability to pull off this culinary lifestyle. Any steps that I, or anyone else who reads this book, can make toward Juliano's vision is worth the effort. Happy reading and eating.

The book is wonderful. As the other reviews state, it has great design and pictures. The food takes some getting used to, however. As someone who has been a vegetarian their entire life I didn't expect to have any trouble with the dishes. My first experiment with a burrito recipe produced something that I couldn't even swallow (and took most of a day to prepare). After more recipes and experimenting, I've learned to follow the recipes with caution. I would recomend adding the "Nama Shoyu" (an ingredient similar to soy sauce in nearly *every* recipe) last to the recipes and in small amounts. Several of my trials were way too salty because of it. Also, be careful with the addition of ginger unless you really like its flavor in everything. Aside from the reliance on the basic combo of Nama Shoyu, ginger, garlic, and jalepeno, many of the recipes are very good. I particularly enjoyed the desserts. Overall a good book, but not for those that are in a hurry or not really into veggies.

I love this book, and since going 75% raw in December '06, I have used it often along with two other books: Alissa Cohen's Living on Live Foods, which is more of a basic sort of "The Joy of Un-Cooking" type book, with hundreds of easy recipes for daily eating, and "Rainbow Green Live Food Cuisine" which is a little less accessible to a general audience, but has a more scientifcally based, low-glycemic, healing with raw foods approach, written by an author who is a holistic MD. I recommend all three of these books as a good foundation with a variety of approaches to start you on your way.

I think Juliano's book is fantastic because not only does it include a decent amount of recipes that are quick and easy to prepare with basic ingredients, but it also features complex recipes with more gourmet, exotic ingredients, which, while probably too demanding and time-consuming for most people to prepare regularly, show you how you can raise raw food cuisine to a true culinary artform.

In my estimation, Juliano has the most sophisticated palate and the most innovative, sometimes ingenious, recipes of any of the raw food books I've seen (although at times he seems to rely a little heavily on the Nama Shoyu--raw organic soy sauce). The book has mouth-watering and inspiring color photographs and, I might add, several oddly, unintentionally funny photographs of an exuberant Juliano with long blond hair, posed shirtless or wearing brightly colored spandex,looking like a younger, thinner, transgendered Fabio. But it's all part of the package, and I love him for it.

Although there are some recipes that I wish were explained better (I've found this in every raw food book I own), for people who appreciate gourmet food or meals with complex flavors, this is the book that will make you and yours fall in love with raw food. For me, the more elaborate receipes are like reading a fantasy book--I may not have the desire or ability to make them now, but I LOVE imagining the possibility that I could make them one day.

Alissa Cohen's raw book is also good; I use it almost every day and the ingredients are simpler and easier to find. Those are great recipes when you're in a hurry. But her recipes are mostly more wholesome, everyday cuisine without much flair. Juliano's recipes take raw food to another level entirely, and will delight anyone you serve them to, including discriminating, non-raw foodies.

I should mention I did make one of the more elaborate recipes recently--Juliano's fettucine alfredo. His version was far more complex than Alissa Cohen's version, and this recipe took me two hours to make--longer than I hoped. But my friends and I all thought it was one of the most delectable, intricately flavored dishes we've ever eaten, hands down. And we all felt buzzed afterwards--the amount of energy we had after finishing a large plate of this "fettucine" was remarkable. Raw food rocks!

I feel grateful to Juliano for sharing his visionary,joyful and vibrant way of eating (and living) with the rest of us. He's a true inspiration, and, I believe, an artist of the highest order.

I am SOOO glad I got this book from the library FIRST! I recommend that. I am a Michigan mom that is into healthy foods, where organic food is quite costly. I'm a health educator with nutrition as a major and I am always interested in new and exciting ways to be healthy, prepare vegetables, and healthy food. BUT....JUST in case you are not totally engrossed in RAW food yet, I recommend you borrow it. I read about this book, and its author from a Fitness magazine I read. It sounded GREAT! I thought it would be a great book to get recipes for my juicer and learn some other healthy recipes as well. Well, I sat down to read/look at the book, it has beautiful pictures and text, and some fun sounding recipe titles etc. But I soon realized that this was not going to work for me and my family. I have 2 kids ages, 5 and 3, and a husband that is healthy and fit, but would not touch most of this stuff with a 10 foot pole. I would be putting a LOT of time and preparation into stuff that only I would probably eat. This type of dieting is a bit over the top. And may be fun once in awhile. It would be a fun trip to his restaurant, to have SOME ONE ELSE make it. Juliano is as interesting looking as his food. But unless you are totally committed to this way of life, you may be totally flustered by the amount of time and energy it will take to sprout, dehydrate, chop and chop, and prepare more than half the stuff in this book. The list of ingredients is also daunting to say the least. Anyway, I suggest you get the book from the library first, and see if this is what you really want. It saved ME some money! If you are a single vegan, or have kids and a spouse that can handle all the vegan ingredients, and they don't mind you living in the kitchen preparing, and/or if organic produce is readily available and affordable to you, than this book is for you. I applaud the healthy ideas, colorful foods, and interesting recipes, but be sure you have the time, or care enough to spend your time on this.

It is hard to choose a star rating for this book because it is not your typical cookbook. Not because it is raw, but because of how I have used it. Although I have only made a recipe or two from this book in the 2 months I have owned it, I think this is a wonderful book. It is inspiring and will fuel creative cooking (and uncooking) in your kitchen. The recipes I have made have been wonderful, but most of the ingredient requirements are too long. As a functional cookbook, this is surely a mere 1 star for the average cooker. But as a mind expanding book filled with beautiful pictures and creative recipes it is 5 stars. The photos make the food look fantastic, and Juliano doesn't look too bad himself. But unless you are an accomplished home chef or experienced rawist, these recipes will seem daunting. Everyone I have lent the book to has enjoyed it, though, even if they didn't rush out and whip up a 20 ingredient recipe from the book. But I love this book and I think you will too, unless you are looking for a traditional functional cookbook. This is more of a hypothetical exploration of what food can be, and at Juliano's restaurant, food is. One thing is certain. Reading this book will make you want to go to his restaurant and let him go to the trouble of making all these wonderful dishes for you!